TODAY’S SIGNATURE VERSE ••• Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. (John 16:7 NKJV)
PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• Yesterday, my friend Lexi and I were at our favorite used book store, and she found a book from an author we both like… we were talking about another book this author wrote and wondered if it was the sequel… and mused why the title wasn’t what either of us thought it was. She bought the book and told me if it ended up being the sequel, she’d let me borrow it.
Later in the day, Lexi and I were hanging out in my prayer room, talking. I was sitting on the pew facing the bookcase — a rare perspective for me— when I saw it. The same book Lexi had just bought. Sitting beside the same book (we now know), it’s the sequel for… and we both started laughing! I didn’t remember I owned it, and apparently, I had never gotten around to reading it.
So I felt pretty stupid… especially since I probably have half my books cataloged in the app, LibraryThing. And that is a shelf I’ve already scanned… I do this so that when I go to the used bookstore, I can remember if I already have a title. Clearly, it’s worked well, right?!
How often do we do the same in our spiritual life! We forget about the tools and resources we have from the Holy Spirit! Powerful tools were equipped with as Christians, but tools we often forget to pick up and use. Tools like…
FRUITFULNESS: Galatians 5:22-23 reminds us that the Holy Spirit promises to bring fruitfulness into the life of every believer — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Beautiful fruits which equip believers to stand out in the world, and show others the hands and feet of Jesus! We don’t live out these fruits perfectly, but there’s no reason for a believer to think he can’t master a joyful heart, even in hard circumstances. If he’s walking with Jesus, he can.
TRANSFORMATION: The believer doesn’t have to wallow in his sinful nature. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” When the believer spends time reading the Bible, and in prayer, the Holy Spirit convicts his heart and transforms him. The sinful ways become unattractive, and he chooses a more godly path.
BOLDNESS: Staying in 2 Timothy for a moment, chapter 1, verse 7 reminds us that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” The Holy Spirit gives us the power to be bold and fearless in our faith. But too few of us leave this blessing on the shelf, collecting dust, failing to utilize the power we are given as children of God. We neglect this benefit for fear that we won’t know an answer, but if we’re exercising the TRANSFORMATION benefit and spending time in the Bible, we can trust the Holy Spirit to give us the words we need and bring Scripture to mind as we need it. That’s a promise Jesus made when He spoke about talking about Him to others… Luke 12:12 says, “For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
GUIDANCE: God is not a God of confusion but of clarity. He may not be as obvious as we’d like Him to be… unfortunately, I’ve rarely seen a neon sign emerge from heaven that points us toward a specific decision (though I have a friend whose had a neon sign experience in answer to prayer! It didn’t drop from heaven, but don’t think God can’t use neon signs!) John 16:13 says, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” We can trust that we have direction and wisdom as we need it.
The Holy Spirit does this and so much more… if we let Him. Ever the gentleman, the Holy Spirit doesn’t force us to do anything. He wants us to be a willing participant in the process of making us more like Jesus and stronger in our faith. After all, you don’t become a Christian one day and have a theology degree the next. It takes effort and study, and as we grow in spiritual maturity, the Holy Spirit reveals more to us.
Jesus told His disciples, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7). And in Acts 1:8, Jesus said, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” The Holy Spirit not only makes us more like Jesu, but He equips us to fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).
From the moment we believe in Jesus and trust in Him, we are given the Holy Spirit. But the question is — do you live like you have His power in you? Or do you forget that His power is right there, ever with you, and ready for you to use if only you will ask?
Last thought — I’m reminded of something I recently saw on Pinterest: “You cannot pray for an A on a test and study for a B. You cannot pray for a faithful relationship and still live an unfaithful life. Moral of the story is you cannot pray for something and act less.” And that’s it in a nutshell! We have what we need! But too often, we act like (or forget!) that it was ever ours!
So open your Bible. Read it. Pray. And let the Holy Spirit do His great work in your life!
Today, as you pray, thank the Father for His Holy Spirit. Thank Him that everything you need to live a godly, Christian life has been given to you. Ask for the boldness to take Him at His word and trust in the gifts and resources available to you through the Holy Spirit.
SHARING ••• My Grace-Full Life is written by Denise Heidel. You are welcome to share anything I write, but please credit my writing and graphics accordingly. Visit www.MyGraceFullLife.com to read past blogs. Subscribe through my website to have My Grace-Full Life delivered to your email. You can unsubscribe at any time. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the NKJV translation.
