Daily Devotional #1,773

I was at the store the other day and passed by the frozen poultry and there were a number of frozen turkeys there. I noticed them because I’m the turkey cooker in our family. Roasting a turkey is pretty straightforward but the trick is to know when it is done. Sometimes they have these little plastic pop-up valves that will let you know that you are at least close to where you want that turkey to be. I thought about that and thought about how we as followers of this Jesus of the Bible are to be growing and maturing and becoming more like him. But how do you know where you are in this “cooking” process of Christian maturity? When we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, God begins at that moment to reside in our hearts, through the Holy Spirit. And as we grow in our love and our obedience to him, our lives change. And when he is at work…well we have an indicator as to where we are in our journey. In Galatians 5 it says “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” God doesn’t tell us to try to make those things come about in our lives, but they, like the fruit of a tree, come about from our nourishment and growth in Christ. So how are you doing? Are you loving? As you go through your week, are you joyful? Do you experience peace and are you patient with those around you and patient with God? And on top of that is faithfulness and gentleness and self-control. These are the things that God produces in our lives through the work of his Holy Spirit in us. So, by all means, when you have the choice to act this way, do so! But remember, for them to become a part of who we truly are, that will come from our love relationship with God. And some of the ways to make that relationship stronger are through prayer, listening to God through his word, the Bible, and just hanging out and worshiping each week with others who are on this same journey as you. So take a look and no matter what you find in you, give God the green light to fill you with his love and his kindness and his splendid presence. Journey towards being like Christ…and don’t be the turkey! Here’s our Bible verse for today…

Galatians 5:22-23 NLT But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Remember I’m praying for you!
With love, PJ