Holy Spirit

Verse
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being....

— Ephesians 3:16 tniv

Thought
Years ago, a good friend made a graphic playing off the "Intel inside" branding. It read, "Spirit Inside!" Yes, the power within us, the operating system that moves us in the direction of Jesus, is the Holy Spirit. So one of the greatest things we can do to empower those we love to live for Jesus is to pray Paul's prayer for them. And...

 

Verse
We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.

— Colossians 1:28-29 tniv

Thought
Paul's ministry was powered by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was the energy that so powerfully worked in Paul. And this Spirit-energy that propelled Paul, led him to work for the same goal in people that the Holy Spirit has for all of us...

 

Verse
Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God's Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident. God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us. By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge — a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete.

— 2 Corinthians 1:20-20 msg

Thought
"Yes!" Jesus is God's way of saying "Yes!" to every promise made to deliver us and...

 

Verse
Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."

— Revelation 14:13 nkjv

Thought
Jesus talked about the Holy Spirit as The Comforter and promised the Spirit's abiding and comforting presence within us (John 14-16). Paul talked about the Holy Spirit as the assurance of our sharing with Jesus in heaven (2 Corinthians 1:22; 2 Corinthians...

 

Verse
Again he said, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you." Then he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

— John 20:21-22 nlt

Thought
We are here on purpose. What we have been given and the time in which we live are not accidents, luck, or the achievements of our own hands. God has formed us, Jesus called us, and the Holy Spirit indwells for such a time as this. Just as surely as God sent Jesus by the miraculous conception of the Holy...

 

Verse
[Jesus said,] "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere — in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

— Acts 1:8 nlt

Thought
Power. Spirit. Witnesses. Everywhere. Four simple words that stand for one simple truth that has changed the world for Jesus countless times throughout history. Imagine what would happen in our day if we took these four words seriously...

 

Verse
Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the sevenfold Spirit of God that is sent out into every part of the earth.

— Revelation 5:6 nlt

Thought
I have lived my life away from the overt persecution of the church. Sure, we face a more covert pressure and ridicule, but I've never faced death or bodily harm...

 

Verse
But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.

— 2 Thessalonians 2:13 tniv

Thought
Our salvation is based on God's never ending loop of grace. Our hearts respond with trust in God's message about Jesus. God's grace releases the power of the Holy Spirit into our lives to make each of us completely, and totally, holy. Our...

 

Verse
Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.

— 1 Thessalonians 5:23 nlt

Thought
Yesterday, we were reminded of the Spirit's power to help us overcome sin, especially strongly rooted sin and addictive sin. Today, we see a prayer from Paul for new followers of Jesus. These people had been convicted by the Holy Spirit and made holy by the Holy Spirit when they came to...

 

Verse
For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

— Romans 8:13 tniv

Thought
"Try harder!" That's the dominant message most folks hear out of religion, especially as religion deals with chronic misbehavior and addictive sin. Yet nearly all of us know from experience that trying harder doesn't do it. Oh yes, many do need more passion to live for Jesus, but simply trying harder doesn't give...