In today's verse 15, we're going to explore the role of the Holy Spirit in living with the joy available to us in God.

Know that as a believer, the Holy Spirit is with you, ready to search the heart of God for you, and to give you this free gift of

joy if you'll simply trust him and receive it. May your relationship with the Spirit deepen today

and yield a joy so real and strong that no trial or tribulation could come against it. Welcome to the First 15 podcast. We're going to be. Our scripture for today comes from 1 Thessalonians 1, verse 6 through 7, where Paul writes,

and you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction

with the joy of the Holy Spirit so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in

Akaya. Relationship with the Holy Spirit empowers us to live a lifestyle of consistent joy.

It's only by the filling of the Spirit that we have access to the deep

reservoirs of joy found in the heart of our Heavenly Father. Galatians 522 is clear that the fruit of the

spirit for believers is to be joy.

So as temples of the Holy Spirit, we need to search out what it looks like

to allow the fruit of joy to be evident in our hearts and lives.

Scripture is filled with direct connections between the filling of the Holy Spirit and joy.

Romans 1417 says,

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1352 says,

And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

1 Thessalonians 1, verse 6 through 7 says,

And you became imitators of us and of the Lord,

for you received the word in much affliction

with the joy of the Holy Spirit,

so that you became an example to all the believers

...