| Good morning, everyone, Our theme for this month: “Living with joy” Our Bible verse for today: “Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Spiritual maturity produces joy” The most joyful and joy-filled people I have ever known have also been the most spiritually mature. A coincidence? I think not. Spiritual maturity produces joy. In Galatians 5:22-23 Paul writes about the fruit of the Spirit (the character traits of Jesus that the Holy Spirit progressively develops in the lives of His faithful followers). They are “love, joy …” and seven more. Joy is the second character trait of Jesus that the Holy Spirit wants to develop in your life, and spiritual maturity produces that joy. As we continue our study of Paul’s letter to the Philippians we need to always keep before us the main theme of this letter, which is “joy in Christ.” Every lesson Paul teaches in this letter is designed to increase the joy we experience as a result of our relationship with Jesus. In this section of his letter Paul writes about how a maturing follower of Christ should live. What he’s referring to here, without actually using the term, is what theologians refer to as “The Doctrine of Sanctification”. “Sanctification” is a fifty-cent theological word that has a double meaning. It means “to set apart” and “to make holy.” So, in its fullest sense when you sanctify something you first set it apart and then you proceed to make it holy. That’s us as followers of Jesus. In the moment we place our faith in Him for the forgiveness of our sins we are “set apart” for God – we are separated out from the rest of the human race and adopted into God’s heavenly family. We have been “sanctified” – set apart for God the Father. And then from that moment on the rest of our lives are intended to be a process of becoming increasingly holy in thought, word, and deed. The actual process of sanctification is a lifelong transformation designed to make us more and more like Jesus. And please don’t forget that it is a process and it is lifelong. It occurs little-by-little over a very long period. Until your dying day God will still be working on you. There’s an old saying in the Christian world that goes, “I’m not yet who I should be, but thank God I’m no longer who I used to be.” That should be true of all of us. In Philippians 3:12 we find that Paul is using himself as an example of the point he is making. Even at this point in his life with Christ – as the famous Apostle Paul, he still had not arrived. He was still a work in progress. Me too. You too. We all are. But the good news was that God was not done with Paul and He isn’t done with you or me either. There is more spiritual maturity to come and that means there is more joy to come because, spiritual maturity produces joy. 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 |
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