Holy Spirit

Verse
"Write this letter to the angel of the church in Sardis. This is the message from the one who has the sevenfold Spirit of God and the seven stars: 'I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive — but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead. I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God.'"

— Revelation 3:1-2 nlt

Thought
Jesus knows us. He knows us personally. He knows our...

 

Verse
But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us.

— Galatians 5:5 nlt

Thought
Righteousness is a key element of God's character. Righteousness lies outside our ability to achieve or acquire on our own (Rom. 3:19-25). But, Jesus came to earth, died, and was raised from the dead to make righteousness possible for us (Rom. 4:25; 1 Pet. 3:18). A crucial part of our power to live righteously before God, however, is still the...

 

Verse
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self–discipline.

— 2 Timothy 1:6-7 tniv

Thought
We are timid because we are fearful. We fear failure. We fear danger. We fear risk. We fear mistakes. But as Jesus' parable of the talents reminds us (Matt. 25:14-30), playing it safe out of fear in matters of faith is highly displeasing...

 

Verse
And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

— Romans 5:5 tniv

Thought
When our son was small and we were new parents, we couldn't imagine loving anyone like we loved him. In our limited experience, it was intimidating thinking about having another child because we wondered if we could love anyone the same way. The amazing thing about love, however, is that the more you love the more...

 

Verse
A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.

— Romans 8:2 msg

Thought
Life as a follower of Jesus — as a person "in Christ" — is enabled by the new power that is in operation within us. That power is the Holy Spirit, the strong wind of heaven that clears the air and frees us from bondage to sin and death. Romans 8 is the great...

 

Verse
[Jesus said,] "The Spirit can make life. Sheer muscle and willpower don't make anything happen. Every word I've spoken to you is a Spirit-word, and so it is life-making."

— John 6:63 msg

Thought
We can't make life happen. We can live with purpose, but life happens by grace. We can't will genuine life into being and we can't work hard enough to make it happen. We can assemble the pieces of a great life, but Someone greater has to step in and breathe life into those pieces. Jesus...

 

Verse
We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: ... in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love;...

— 2 Corinthians 6:3-6 tniv

Thought
"Can I see your ID please?" We are asked this question in a number of ways throughout our lives. Underneath this request is a deeper question: "Can you prove who you are?" While we can list qualities...

 

Verse
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To those who are victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give each of them a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.

— Revelation 2:17 tniv

Thought
The Spirit speaks to Jesus' churches and to Jesus' Kingdom people. The Spirit reminds us that no matter how difficult our challenges may be, we will be sustained, shown as innocent, proven victorious...

 

Verse
For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.

— Romans 8:22-23 nlt

Thought
As beautiful and...

 

Verse
But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

— Romans 8:10-11 tniv

Thought
Our physical bodies are mortal, finite, and temporary. We don't like to think about this or admit to ourselves, but after a...