Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: Conflict”
Our Bible verse for today: “Don’t you know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “The Holy Spirit can work through you to resolve conflict”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 is part of a larger teaching by the Apostle Paul regarding sexual purity and the importance of believers not allowing their bodies to be used in immoral ways. To emphasize that point, in verses 19-20, he reminded his readers that the human body of a Christian is actually a vessel – the temple – of the Holy Spirit. And therefore it should not be used for immoral purposes or subjected to impure and unholy activities.
However the larger and universal point contained within that lesson is that the physical body of every believer is actually a walking talking mobile temple of the Holy Spirit. Wherever you go, you bring the Holy Spirit of God with you. And therefore, you also bring with you the Fruit of the Holy Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)
That being the case, we can quickly see how it is that the Christian should be an instrument of peace and a resolver of conflicts. Being a walking talking mobile temple of God’s Holy Spirit, you bring with you into every situation the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. If you walk into a room and there is anger there, you can introduce the peace of the Holy Spirit. If there is sorrow, you can bring joy. If there is hate, you can counter it with love. Hurts can be healed with kindness, evil opposed by goodness, betrayal covered by faithfulness, aggression met with gentleness.
It has been said that a Christian has the ability to be either a thermometer or a thermostat. A thermometer simply reflects back whatever the temperature in the room is, but a thermostat changes it. A person who is like a thermometer is influenced by, and reflects back, whatever the emotional situation is. But the person who is the thermostat takes immediate and positive action to change it. The Holy Spirit within you gives you the ability to be a thermostat for Him. If you let Him, in every situation, He can use you to change things for the better.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 