Tag: Holy Spirit

Good Gifts

Matthew 7:11 “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.”

My son is struggling with English this semester. English has always been a challenge for him but this semester they are reading Shakespeare’s Macbeth and a book called Brave New World.  Neither story is an “easy read”. So, in order to help my son get through this class and graduate on time, I have decided to read Brave New World myself, learn what he is being taught in class, then reteach it to him in a language he will understand. Timing and circumstances make this the best solution for us right now. Now some of you are probably saying, “UGH! Not me. I don’t think I could do that.” But when you love your child and want the best for them, you may sometimes sacrifice your wants and needs in order to help them.

This got me thinking. If I, a sinful human, am willing to do this for my son, how much more does God want to do good things for me. In Matthew 7:9-11, during his sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructs us to be persistent in our pursuit of God by continuing to ask, seek and knock on the door. God loves us so much that he gave his only son to die for us, so of course he will give you good gifts when you seek to understand his will for you, just like I want to give this good gift to my son.

Please note, Jesus said ‘good gifts’, not ‘everything your heart desires’. If a child asked their parent for a poisonous snake, of course they would not give it to the child because the parent knows that a poisonous snake is not a good gift. In the same way, God does not give you everything you ask for because even though you want it, it may not be a good gift for you.

So, how can you know what a good gift is? As you learn more about Jesus by hearing and reading the Word, your heart, mind and soul will be transformed by the Holy Spirit. Then you can be confident that your prayers are in line with God’s good and perfect will for you.

Dear God, thank you for loving me so much that you sent Jesus to die for me and the Holy Spirit to guide me. Please help me to seek you so that I may know your will for my life. Amen.

All Things Work Together

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Have you heard the worship song called “Way Maker”? It is one of my favorite songs and we listened to it yesterday at the beginning of our company’s weekly Zoom call.  A few lines of the song say “Even when I don’t see it, he’s working.  Even when I don’t feel it, he’s working.  He never stops, he never stops working.”  Since yesterday, the words to this song keep popping into my head, showing up on my social media feed and even in my daily devotions so I was pretty sure God wanted me to share this devotional with you this week. 

God has a plan and His plan is that everyone comes to know Christ Jesus.  So, you and I, as Christians, go about our everyday life but behind the scenes, the Holy Spirit is working on people.  He is working, even when you don’t see it.  He is working, even when you don’t feel it.  He is working on your neighbor.  The neighbor that doesn’t mow his lawn and leaves his trash cans out two days too long.  He is working on the funny co-worker that always cracks a joke on all the Zoom calls.  He is working on the total stranger that you’ve “bumped” into at the grocery store 3 times.  He is working on your brother.  He never stops working and you are part of his plan.  He is going to use you, because you have been called according to his purpose.

If you are a Christian, the Bible says that ALL THINGS that have happened to you will be used by God for good.  Not just isolated incidents, ALL THINGS.  But that doesn’t mean that everything that happens to you will be good.  The pain of loss, the sorrow of depression and the sting of rejection can be used for good too.  Because you have experienced those things yourself, you can recognize them in others.  Then comes the cool part, the Holy Spirit will do what he does best and He will put people in your path.  All you have to do is look up.  Smile.  Say hello.  Have a conversation and let the love of Jesus shine out of you.  Cultivate relationships with the people God is already putting in your path.  Then over time they will begin to see that there is something different about you.  When they comment about it (and they will) you can tell them about Jesus.  Then let the Holy Spirit do the rest.

Lord, thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to help me with your plan.  Please open my eyes to what the Holy Spirit is doing in the people that are all around me every day so that I can be the physical hands and feet of Jesus on earth.  Amen

Are You Humble?

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Are you humble?  That is honestly a trait that I have had to work on this past year. On a regular basis I ask God to give me humility.  It is an intentional prayer that I pray.  It is not that I go around bragging about what I have or what I have accomplished in life.  But sometimes I find myself thinking that I am better than someone else.  

I am sure you have done it before. Maybe you were at the gas station and a car pulled up at the pump behind you and it backfired before the driver turned it off.  Just for a brief second you thought to yourself, “Wow, I’m glad that is not my car.  Of course, my car would never do that because I take better care of my car than that.”  Or perhaps on your way in to work and saw someone sitting on the ground against a building and thought to yourself, “So glad that is not me. But if it were me, I surely wouldn’t sit here in front of everyone looking so sad.”

The fact of the matter is that God sees value in everyone He made, and he wants us to do the same.  I know that God made me in His image, so therefore I know that I am A-W-E-S-O-M-E. But He made others in His image too, so I need to see the worth of those around me. I need to honor and serve them as Jesus did.  The Holy Spirit gives us the power to overcome our flesh.  He also gives us the power to choose. So, like Colossians 3:17 says, “Whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus.”  When you find yourself thinking something negative, stop and remember that they are a child of God too.  God loves them just as much as He loves you.

Dear Jesus, please send the Holy Spirit to show us the worth of those around us and give us the humility to honor and serve them as Jesus did.

Technology and The Bible

Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. (NLT)

Technology.  I don’t understand how an image that is 100, 500, or even 1,000 miles away can reappear on my computer screen in my bedroom.  I don’t understand how it works, but it brings me so much joy.  I am comforted by it.  I can see and hear my Mom and Day and know that they are safe.  I can sing Happy Birthday to my sister and see her excitement. 

I can share technology with other people and they can experience the same range of emotions too.  In that way, technology is like the Word of God.  When I read the Bible, I am comforted by the words I read.  I can share God’s word and I see it bring joy to other people too.  Simple words that individually are just words put together brings happiness and comfort to me every day.  I honestly don’t understand how it happens.  But I still want to share it.  I want other people to feel the same way, have the same experience. 

My soul is filled up.  Don’t you want to feel that way too?  Don’t you want that empty feeling to go away?  The only way to do that is through the Word of God.  Everything else is temporary. The Word of God will fill the empty space permanently.  It will bring you peace, and forgiveness, and a joy that you will want to share with other people too.  Jesus did all the hard work while he was here on earth.  When he left, he left the Holy Spirit here to help us.  Open your heart to hear God’s Word and the Holy Spirit will do the rest.

Don’t have a Bible?  No problem. I’m sure you have a smart phone.  All you have to do is download the YouVersion Bible App (which is FREE) and click on Plans.  Then search for “Gateway”.  In the search results you will see “Fresh Start Bible One-Year Reading Plan”.  Click on that and then click “Start Plan”.  You can read the Bible by yourself or you can read it with friends.  The best thing about the YouVersion Bible App is that you can click a button (it’s at the top of the screen on my phone) that looks like a little speaker with sound coming out of it.  If you click on it, it will read the Bible verses to you.  SA-WEET!

Dear Lord, thank you for the people that created the technology we use everyday to stay connected to our loved ones.  Encourage me daily to use the same technology to dive into your word.  Amen.