Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “God’s power in you and for you”   Our Bible verse for today: “Do not be children in your thinking, be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.” 1 Corinthians 14:20 (ESV)   Our thought for today: “How much have you grown and matured?”   I read something recently that challenged me to thoughtfully consider where I’m at spiritually these days, especially with in terms of growth and maturity. So, I took some time for introspection – a couple of days to prayerfully review my journals from the past year, as well as my annual goals and objectives from the last five years. In the process I considered questions like, “Did I achieve my goals and objectives?” What challenges have I experienced in the process?” “In what ways did I experience God at work in the middle of those circumstances?” “What did I learn from that and did I grow and mature as a result of it?” And, “Where am I today in terms of spiritual maturity and in my relationship with God?”   I suppose, in some respects, that kind of self-analysis is similar to the growth charts parents keep to track the physical growth of a child. You’ve seen the pictures of a child standing up against the wall and there are marks with dates indicating how tall the child was at a given time in the past and where the child is today. There are powers at work within the body of that child causing growth and maturing to happen over time.   Likewise, there’s a power at work within the Christian that is causing spiritual growth and maturity. It’s the power of God’s Holy Spirit at work within you and that growth can be tracked too. There are indicators. How Christlike have you become over the years in your thinking, attitudes, and conduct? To what degree do you experience and demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in your life (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.) Can others see Jesus in you?   As a Pastor, there’s no greater joy for me than to see evidence of that growth in the lives of people in our congregation. That is the evidence of the power of God at work within them.   So, where are you at? How much have you grown? I encourage you to do some thoughtful, introspective, self-analysis. (But also, don’t be too hard on yourself. There’s a lot of truth in the old saying, “I know I’m not yet who I should be, but thank God I’m no longer who I used to be.”)   How much have you grown and matured? That is the evidence of God’s power at work in you.   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Copyright © 2025 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “God’s power in you and for you”   Our Bible verse for today: “God, you are my God; I eagerly seek you. I thirst for you; my body faints for you in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water. So I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory.” Psalm 63:1-2 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “You need this”   Today is Saturday, tomorrow is Sunday. You need to be in church tomorrow. I mean it. You need to be there. Your soul needs it. All throughout the week the world has been sucking your soul dry. Hopefully you have a good pattern of daily spiritual disciplines that help to keep renewing your soul, but you also need the spiritual nurture that comes from being in the sanctuary, with God’s people, engaging in corporate worship.   That’s what David was writing about in Psalm 63:1-2. His soul had been sucked dry by the world. It felt desolate and in need of refreshing. So, he went to the sanctuary to experience God’s glory and to be renewed. There are some spiritual experiences that can only happen in a spiritually-charged group setting. The spiritual dynamic in such times is powerful and your soul needs it. That’s why the writer of the letter to the Hebrews told us in Hebrews 10:24 that we are not to skip the regular gatherings of our church families. We need to be there.   Life is a battle – an ongoing spiritual battle. But we cannot live in a state of constant war. If we try to, it will exhaust us. But that’s exactly what Satan wants. He wants to keep you engaged with him so he can bury you in battle after battle, overwhelming you, sucking your soul dry. That’s why so many passages in both the Old and New Testaments urge us, even command us, to withdraw and renew. You need a refuge from the storms of life, from the battles. Daily time with God is one of those sources of refuge, but so is a great time of corporate worship.   God wants to be powerful in you and through you, but you have to do your part to create the conditions for that to be so. Corporate worship is one of those places where God will do a deep work in your soul. It is one of those shelters from the storms of life, a break from the battles, that God will use to renew and refresh you. You need this if you are going to be powerful in the rest of life.   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Copyright © 2025 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “God’s power in you and for you”   Our Bible verse for today: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “God’s got ya”   The other morning, I read something in my pastor’s devotional book that reminded me of a scary but thrilling adventure I had decades ago. It was on my 50th birthday. I decided to celebrate by going skydiving. Although I had never been skydiving before, I did not want to do a tandem jump, being attached to an instructor. Instead, I wanted to do what they call “an assisted freefall.” In that scenario, I would not be attached to anyone. However, two instructors would jump with me and would fall right next to me. If I freaked out and didn’t pull the cord for my parachute, one of them would reach over and try to pull it for me.   So, there I was, falling through the sky at 120 mph from 17,000 feet. The ground seemed to be rushing up at me very fast and I wondered if perhaps I was going to die. But I did remember to pull the cord, the parachute did deploy, and I gently floated to the ground for a soft and safe landing.   God’s power in our lives can be a lot like that parachute. Sometimes life can feel like you’re falling out of the sky at 120 mph and the ground is coming up fast. But then God grabs you, arrests your fall, and gently guides you safely down to a soft landing. Here’s how the writer of my devotional for that day described it:   “It takes a serious level of unswerving resolve to jump out of a plane and then trust a piece of cloth to deliver a safe landing. Commitment to God and his purposes should look like that to us. We are fully in his hands, and we trust him to land us securely. Let’s grit our teeth and dive deeply into what God has planned for us!”   Do you feel as if you are freefalling through life? Well, God’s got ya. His power is enough to hold you up and deliver you safely to a soft landing, just like that parachute.   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Copyright © 2025 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “God’s power in you and for you”   Our Bible verse for today: “But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Luke 6:27-28 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Choose love over hate”   In Luke 6:27-28 Jesus told us to do something that is very hard – especially in a society like ours that is filled with so much anger and hate. Our natural tendency when we are ridiculed, attacked, or treated unfairly is to punch back; match their angry rhetoric with angry rhetoric of our own; respond to their mistreatment of us by mistreating them back. But is that effective? Is it Biblical?   In Luke 6:27-28 Jesus told us to respond to their anger with demonstrations of His love. In Romans 12:14;17 the Apostle Paul wrote, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse … Do not repay anyone evil for evil.” In 1 Peter 3:9 we read, “… not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing …” And in Proverbs 25:21-22 Solomon wrote, “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.”   Those are just a handful of Scriptures that speak to the issue. There are many more but the Lord’s point is clear, we are not to respond to them by being like them. We are to respond to them by being like Jesus.   That does not mean that you are to be a doormat or a verbal punching bag. Of course, you can take the actions necessary to protect yourself and your family; and you can cut abusive people out of your life and refuse to have anything more to do with them; and you can respond to the lies being told with the truth. It’s not that we can’t respond, it’s a matter of how we respond.   As author John Eldredge observed, “Hatred has become the new “spirit of the age;” the mounting tensions in this country are symptoms of a much deeper reality.” That deeper reality is the spiritual warfare Paul described in Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.” People aren’t the real enemy, Satan is. Satan is the deeper reality, and we defeat the hatred of Satan with the love of Jesus.   The power of God’s love to defeat Satan’s hatred is very real, but we will have to choose love over hate.   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Copyright © 2025 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “God’s power in you and for you”   Our Bible verse for today: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares upon him, because he cares about you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Do your part to lay hold of it”   Sometimes we make it sound too easy – this stuff about trusting God, dialing it back, resting in faith. Just do it, right? Just flip the switch in your brain and all your worries go away, right? No. Not right. It’s not that easy.   Instead, we will have to be intentional about it and we will have to fight for it. We must want it and we will have to seize it. The power of God is available to us in our times of troubles. He will calm us, He will give us peace, and He will help us, but it isn’t magic. It doesn’t just happen. There are things we must do to lay hold of it.   In 1 Peter 5:6-7 the Apostle instructs us to first humble ourselves. In other words, get on your knees, admit to God that you need His help, and ask Him for it. Then, make a decision to cast your cares upon Him. This is what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 11:28-30 when He said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Jesus will help you, but you do have to come to Him and you do have to give your burdens to Him.   The Old Testament prophet Isaiah told us something similar in Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is stayed on you.” Once you have brought the situation to God in prayer, once you have released it to Jesus, continue to keep your focus on Him and not on your problem or burden.   Returning to 1 Peter chapter five, Peter goes on in verses eight and nine, “Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. Resist him, firm in the faith …” Again, intentionality. You keep your head, you recognize the schemes of Satan, you resist him, and you stand firm knowing that God will help you deal with the situation.   God is not weak and His arm is not too short. He can and will use His power to help you deal with your situations. The power of God is available for you but you must do your part to lay hold of it, and you must be intentional about doing so.   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Copyright © 2025 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “God’s power in you and for you”   Our Bible verse for today: “God has made us plain and simple but we have made ourselves very complicated.” Ecclesiastes 7:29 (TEV)   Our thought for today: “Dial it back and relax a little”   This morning, I want to continue our thinking from yesterday about the beauty and serenity that can come from living a simple and uncomplicated life of faithfulness and goodness. I love the way the translators of Today’s English Version of the Bible express Solomon’s thoughts in Ecclesiastes 7:29. There Solomon implies that God intends for us to have a life that is calm and peaceful rather than being too caught up in and consumed by the noise and busyness of life.   In Psalm 131:1-3 King David expressed a similar focus, “Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I do not get involved with things too great or too wondrous for me. Instead, I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like a weaned child. Israel, put your hope in the Lord, both now and forever more.”   Please don’t miss the fact that that was David, the king, who wrote those words about himself. As busy as he was, as much as he had going on in his world, and as much as his time and attention was sought by people and events, he had learned to quiet his soul and to rest in God. Remember, David was a man after God’s own heart. That’s where his focus was. His heart belonged to God and therefore his focus was on God.   God has not called us to live a hectic life at a frantic pace, always stressed and striving and straining. He has called us to “be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 42:10.) He simplified it further in Micah 6:8, “Mankind, he has told you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.”   I will leave you this morning with one of my favorite quotes from the writer J.R.R. Tolkien, from his Lord of the Rings series: “The future, for good or ill, was not forgotten, but ceased to have power over the present. Health and hope grew strong in them, and they were content with each day as it came, taking pleasure in every meal, and in every word and song.”   I believe God wants you to slow down, relax, and enjoy your life. So, if you believe He is indeed sovereign over the affairs of your life, and you believe that He does have the power to orchestrate events in your life according to His perfect will, and if you really do believe He loves you and wants the best for you, then trust Him, dial it back, and relax a little.   God bless, Pastor Jim    (If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Copyright © 2025 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, Tn 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “God’s power in you and for you”   Our Bible verse for today: “But we encourage you, brothers and sisters, to do this even more, to seek to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, so that you may behave properly in the presence of outsiders and not be dependent on anyone.” 1 Thessalonians 4:10-12 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Good people living a good life”   If you spend much time listening to news reports and social media, then it probably seems like the world is on fire and that it might just explode at any moment. There are wars and rumors of wars; school shootings and political assassinations; violent mobs on the streets and on college campuses. There are angry rants on social media; high inflation and higher interest rates; and our nation is more divided now than at any point in recent history. There seems to be no relief in sight.   However, I recently came across a thought from writer Will Durant in his book “The Story of Civilization” that seems to present a more accurate perspective of what’s really going on in the lives of ordinary people: “Civilization is a stream with banks. The stream is sometimes filled with blood from people killing, stealing, shouting, and doing things historians usually record – while, on the banks, unnoticed, people build homes, make love, raise children, sing songs, write poetry, whittle statues. The story of civilization is the story of what happens on the banks.”   Yes, bad things do happen. There is a lot of chaos in the world. But the truth is, like Durant observed, most of us are just living life – and getting along quite well, thank you very much. For most of us, our days are filled with family and school and jobs and recreation and just living. We sleep, eat, work, play, make love, go to church, and just live life. And… life goes on.   This is what Paul was writing about in 1 Thessalonians 4:10-12 and it is what God calls us to do – live simple lives of faith and respectability. While some people are overly-obsessed with the 24/7 news cycle, and they waste lots of time being fanatical Facebook warriors, expending enormous amounts of emotional energy fighting endless verbal battles that change no minds and ultimately make no difference, most of us are focused on just living life. There is stability and consistency, peace and contentment, that comes from settling down, settling in, and just living a good life.   Most of life consists of the small stuff – the simple things of everyday life. I encourage you to focus less on all the noise and drama found in the news and on social media, and focus more on the everyday business of simply living a good life. The power of God, long-term, is found in the quiet and even subtle way that God’s people live good lives.   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Copyright © 2025 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “The power of God in you and for you”   Our Bible verse for today: “God, create a clean heart in me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “The place to start is with yourself”   Are you tired of all the evil in the world? Do you long for it to be cleaned up, banished, washed away, and replaced with kindness, goodness, and peace? Me too. But I would submit that the starting place for that is in your own heart (and in mine), rather than in the hearts and minds of everyone else.   Commonly we believe the problem is with everyone else. It’s the world that’s a mess! But in reality, it’s you and me – it’s us – we are a mess. The evil lurks in your heart and in mine and it has to be dealt with there, first, before we will be ready to turn our attention to what others may be doing wrong.   In Psalm 51:10 King David pleaded with God to “Create a clean heart in “me” Lord, renew a steadfast spirit in “me.” Start with me. Help me to get my heart right. Later I will pray for others to get right with you. At another time I will talk to them about what they should do. But for now, let’s focus on me. Let’s get me straightened out first.”   If you don’t deal with the evil within you, don’t expect God to deal with the evil around you. It starts with you, and with me.   As was noted in yesterday’s devotional, we live in an evil and angry society. Displays of outrage and acts of violence are a daily occurrence. And with every new outrage there is more shouting, more anger, more violence in return. It has become a self-perpetuating cycle that continues to escalate, and many Christians are caught up in it – they have become a part of it. There’s a lot of truth to the old adage, “We have encountered the enemy, and he is us.” Very often it’s the man or woman in the mirror who is the problem and therefore it needs to be the man or woman in the mirror who initiates the solution to the problem. Get your heart right first, then you can worry about what other people are or are not doing.   If we want God’s power applied in our lives and in our world we must first repent of our own sins. It’s only then that we can begin to become part of the solution.   It has to begin with you and with me. The place to start is with yourself.   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Copyright © 2025 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “God’s power in you and for you”   Our Bible verse for today: “Lord, set up a guard for my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips. Do not let my heart turn to any evil thing or perform wicked acts with evildoers.” Psalm 141:3 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Watch your mouth”   The other day political activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated. He was murdered as he spoke to a group of college students. As I write this, the police are still searching for the murderer.   I liked Charlie. Although I did not fully agree with everything he said, I admired his brilliant intellect and I especially appreciated his calm and respectful demeanor – even in the face of outrage and vitriol coming from his opponents. Charlie had the ability to keep his emotions in check and to engage in reasoned and measured dialogue even about the most contentious of subjects. That’s an important and needed personality trait that all Christians should develop and maintain – especially in this angry and emotionally charged culture that we live in today. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus called for us to be the peacemakers. Other places in the Bible call for the people of God to be the calm voices of reason when everyone else around us is freaking out.   In the days since the killing there have been some outrageous statements made by some on the political left that the killing of Charlie Kirk was a good thing, and that he deserved it and brought it on himself. They have said that our society will be better now that his voice has been silenced. Such statements are cruel, mean-spirited, and harmful. They are also wrong. We needed his voice.   But there have been equally inappropriate comments made by some on the right. One angry pastor posted this on Facebook shortly after Charlie was shot, “They’ve shot Charlie! That’s it! They have crossed the line! Here we go!!” Such words could easily be taken as a call for revenge. But if we return tit-for-tat, if we respond to their angry words with angry words of our own, if we shoot one of their spokesmen because they shot one of ours, then our actions are no better than their actions. Christians should be the solution to the problem rather than adding to it.     The killing of Charlie Kirk was murder and it was tragic. But the way we respond to it matters. What we say and how we say it matters. The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to respond in ways that bring glory to God and helps to make the situation better not worse. Go ahead and be angry. Something like this should anger us. But also watch your mouth. Ask God to put a guard over your lips. Ask Him to give you self-control and wisdom so you can speak in ways that help rather than hurt.   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Copyright © 2025 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “God’s power in you and for you”   Our Bible verse for today: “Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! I say, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I put my hope in him.” Lamentations 3:21-24(CSB)   Our thought for today: “Even in the worst of times He is there”   The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah is known in history as “The weeping prophet.” That’s because all throughout the long book he wrote he was in distress over the spiritual bankruptcy of the people and the nation. He knew the pain and heartache they were bringing on themselves and it broke his heart.   But Jeremiah is also known in history as “The Lamenter” because once God’s judgment finally came upon the people, Jerusalem was overrun by their enemies and it was reduced to rubble and ruins. The people were then carried off into captivity and Jeremiah was left wandering the streets of the destroyed city lamenting the fate of the nation – thus the name of the book “Lamentations.”   In yesterday’s devotional we read the story of King Hezekiah coming before the Lord in the temple and crying out to him for help and relief. Those were deep and dark days for him. Likewise, in the book of Lamentations we find Jeremiah in desperation crying out to the Lord. Those were deep and dark days for him as well. But even in those dark valleys, Hezekiah and Jeremiah had faith that God could and would hear and answer their prayers. Jeremiah’s declaration in Lamentations 3:21-24 is a profound proclamation of faith in God’s watchcare, protection, and provision. Jeremiah knew God was sovereign over that situation and that He had the power to deal with it for His people.   Have you had times like that in your own life when your world seemed to have fallen apart and you could see no way to recover from it? Do you remember some of your deepest and darkest days? But as it turned out, did you discover that God was there for you after all and that He used His power to help get you through it? The truth is that He has done so in the past and He will do so again.   Jeremiah’s declaration in Lamentations 3:21-24 was true for him and his people then, and it is true for you and your people today. God is there, He is aware, He cares, and He has the power to deal with your situation. Call to Him. Ask Him. Trust Him.   God bless, Pastor Jim     (If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Copyright © 2025 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571