| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Character and integrity” Our Bible verse for today: “Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character.” 1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV) Our thought for today: “We become like those we associate with” I would like to take Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 15:33 and turn it around from a negative to a positive. If it’s true that bad company corrupts good character, then it’s also true that good company can reform bad character. Or, good company can take my flawed character and help me to become a better man than I am. It’s a basic truism of human nature that overtime we become like those we associate with. That’s what Paul was referring to. So, if you hang around with people who curse like drunken sailors, pretty soon profanity will probably be coming out of your mouth too. If you spend your evenings in a drug house with drug addicts who are shooting up heroin, before long you’ll have a needle in your arm too. But on the positive side, if your friends are all soccer moms driving mini-vans and working the concession stands, chances are you’ll be doing those things too. And if your companions are mostly Christians who love Jesus and who are active in church, there’s a pretty good chance that will be true of you as well. Men and women of godly character and integrity get and stay that way by associating with others who value and practice those character traits as well. This is what Solomon was referring to in Proverbs 27:17 when he wrote, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” And this is why it’s so important not to skip the gatherings of your church family. As the writer of the letter to the Hebrews tells us, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing …” Hebrews 10:24-25 As was noted in yesterday’s devotional, this Sunday at Oak Hill Baptist Church we will celebrate our annual Homecoming Day. It will be a time of celebrating the church family God has formed at Oak Hill, and it will be a time of encouragement and strengthening each other. We invite you to join us (see yesterday’s devotional for the details). It’s true that we become like those we associate with. I can’t think of any group of people I would like to be more like than the members of Oak Hill Baptist and so, I very much look forward to being with them. I hope you plan to be with a group like that as well. God bless, Pastor Jim |
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