Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Attitude”
Our Bible verse for today: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “Be a thermostat”
Do you know the difference between a thermometer and a thermostat? A thermometer simply reflects the temperature of whatever it is immersed it, a thermostat controls the temperature.
People can be like thermometers and thermostats. A person who is like a thermometer simply reflects back whatever it is they are experiencing. If they enter a room where there is anger, soon the thermometer will be angry too. If there is sadness, soon the thermometer is sad. If there is frustration, eagerness, resentment, you name it – whatever the surrounding environment is the thermometer quickly reflects it.
On the other hand a person who is a thermostat controls and changes things. If a thermostat enters a room and discovers anger they take steps to cool things down and introduce a sense of peace and calm. If they find sadness the thermostat offers comfort. If there is fear they offer courage; anxiety – peace; doubts – assurance. And if there is joy and celebration, the thermostat adds to it and ramps it up.
Where does the ability to be a thermostat kind of person come from? For the Christian it comes from the Holy Spirit living in your heart and working in your life. Such attributes are what Paul refers to as “The fruit of the Spirit”. As a Christian grows in Christ-likeness the fruit of the Spirit becomes more and more a part of that person’s personality.
These are the attributes which progressively become part of who that person is and what they are like. Your attitude becomes one of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. That then is what you bring with you wherever you go. As a walking, talking, mobile temple of God’s Holy Spirit you bring the fruit of the Spirit with you and you can introduce those attributes into any situation you’re involved in.
Over time the fruit of the Spirit should come to define a believer’s personality as that person matures in their Christian faith. That being the case, the more you do the things that place you in a position before God whereby He can mold you and shape you, the more the fruit will be evident in your life. I’m referring to the basic disciplines of the Christian life and they include things like prayer, Bible study, worship, acts of service to others, and regular participation in the life of a good church family, just to name a few.
You can be a thermostat. When the fruit of the Spirit defines who you are as a person, you can be an agent of change in whatever situation you find yourself. A good place to nurture the soil of the soul so that fruit grows in your life is in church on Sunday mornings. We’d love to have you with us at Oak Hill Baptist. I hope to see you there.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 