Author: Ken Crawford

To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted.
— Titus 1:15

Rust stains, grass stains, blood stains, chocolate stains… stains that are real nightmares in the laundry room. They don’t just leave a stain on the surface of the fabric, but they also leave a residue that infiltrates the fibers of our clothes. Evil is that way. We must not kid ourselves. Evil corrupts and leaves a residue that corrupts everything it touches, including the hearts of otherwise decent people. That’s why we are urged to stay far away from evil and avoid its very appearance. That’s also why Jesus died: to not only overcome the Evil One, but to also clean away the stain and its residue.

Father, guard my path and give me good Christian friends who will help guard my life from evil. In addition, dear Father, please help me as I seek to share the cleansing and liberating power of Christ with those around me who are caught in evil’s destructive and deceptive grasp. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

…You were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession — to the praise of his glory.

God is true to his word. He keeps his promises. But, that was not enough for him. He gave us a down payment, a deposit, so we could be sure of our inheritance and look forward to the full realization of our salvation. He gave us the Holy Spirit. When God buys us out of slavery to our mortal bodies and redeems us into our eternal home with bodies that will not grow old or decay, we won’t need the deposit; we will have the full inheritance. But until then, until we go to him, isn’t it amazing that he makes his home within us!

Transcendent and yet ever-near God, thank you for not making me wait to experience your presence. Thank you for giving me “a foretaste of glory divine.” Thank you for sending your blessed and promised Spirit to live in me and remind me where my home truly is. Until the day I see you face-to-face, I want to honor your presence in my mortal body by living a life that is pure, holy, and a blessing to others. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” [Paul] asked them. “No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” … Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.” As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied.
— Acts 19:2 NLT; Acts 19:4-6 NLT

Faith and baptism in the New Testament, and especially in the book of Acts, are tied to the gift of the Holy Spirit. As we saw yesterday (Romans 8:9), the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is God’s defining mark that we are adopted into his family. The promise of God’s forgiveness and the gift of the Holy Spirit are foundational blessings of our salvation and are received at our conversion (Acts 2:38-39) and continue to be ours. When we talk about the blessings of salvation and the grace of God, let’s not forget to emphasize both the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38) and the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome temptation and sin (Romans 8:13). Conversion to Jesus means being reborn by the power of the Holy Spirit (John 3:3-7; Titus 3:3-7).

Holy God, your grace toward me is amazing! That you forgave all of my sins when I came to Jesus is such a wonderful gift — to know that you forgave me and made me a new creation, pure and holy! Forgive me, dear Father, for the times I have remembered this grace and forgotten the additional gift of grace — the Holy Spirit — that Jesus sent to live in me. I look to the Spirit’s holy presence to strengthen me and lead me in the way of Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
— Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV

Are you a dreamer? Even if you are not a dreamer, imagine the most highly impossible thing you could do to honor God. Then realize that God can do far more through you than that — more than you can even begin to imagine! And the power to do it? The power at work within you? Ah yes, you guessed it: It is the power of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 3:16)! The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work within each true follower of Jesus (Ephesians 1:17-20).

Father in heaven, you are holy and mighty and incomprehensible. I can’t begin to fathom your greatness, yet I can come to you as my Father because of your loving grace for me. Please empower me and use me to bring you glory and bring your grace to others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

On the last and greatest day of the festival of Tabernacles, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
— John 7:37-39 NIV

Think about the incredible promise from our Lord in this passage: “Rivers of living water will flow from within those who believe in Jesus.” That living water flows through us in a never-ending supply. That living water is the Holy Spirit. What an incredible promise and what a deep well of grace!

Father God, thank you for the incredible gift of your Holy Spirit welling up within me. Help me recognize your powerful presence in my life and empower me through the Spirit to bless others to your glory. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
— 1 Thessalonians 4:7-8 NLT

Scripture calls us to two powerful principles through this passage. First, the message given to us by the apostles is not man’s opinion, but God’s truth — we must not ignore it! Second, God gives the Holy Spirit to Christians, not just a one-time or temporary gift of the Spirit but an ongoing and indwelling gift of the Spirit. Jesus promised something very similar during his ministry (John 7:37-39, as seen in tomorrow’s scripture). In other words, we cannot use up our supply of the Holy Spirit; the more we rely on and need the Holy Spirit, the more God gives us the Spirit. It’s impossible to do better than a never-ending supply of what we need to live for God!

O Father, Sovereign Lord, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit who lives in me. Thank you even more for the continual outpouring of the Holy Spirit into my life as I need and rely on the Spirit to sustain, empower, and transform me to be more and more like Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
— 2 Timothy 1:7 NIV

As Paul faced the challenges of imprisonment and impending death, he reminded Timothy in the next verse (2 Timothy 1:8) not to be ashamed of the message of Jesus or of him as Jesus’ messenger. This ability for Timothy (and for us) not to be ashamed comes from the Holy Spirit. The indwelling presence of the Spirit brings us power, love, and self-discipline. We shouldn’t be timid. The powerful presence of our almighty God lives within us!

Father, forgive me for the times I have been timid about my faith. I recognize that my timidity showed itself in those times when I didn’t depend on your Spirit to strengthen me and give me boldness to say the things I need to say in the ways I need to say them. Please fill me with your Spirit so that I can be a person of character and compassion, demonstrating power, love, and self-discipline in my life. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
— Romans 8:26-27 NIV

How do we ask for the Holy Spirit? How do we pray when we don’t know what to say? In these verses, Paul tells the followers of Jesus in Rome that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us, even to the point of articulating to God what we can’t put into words! Not only that, but when we point our hearts and requests and thanksgivings to God, the Holy Spirit cleans up our prayers and conforms them to the will of God! Even in asking for the Holy Spirit to be at work in our lives, he goes to work for us in and through our prayers!

Precious God, Almighty Father, words cannot express the depth of my appreciation for your gift of the Holy Spirit. Even when I don’t know how to pray or what to say, I know the Spirit is there with me, sharing my heart with you in ways that are pleasing to you! Thank you for this grace and the gift that makes it possible. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Lord, You make all things new and you bring hope alive in my heart. You make the Spirit in me to be born again fresh and new each day. Thank you for this new year and for all of the potential it holds. Come and kindle in us the mighty flame of your Holy Spirit so others can see the glow of your presence in me. May my journey in this life lead others to find salvation in Jesus and hope eternal.
In the name of Jesus, Amen