Author: Ken Crawford

[Jesus said,] “If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you.”
— John 14:15-16 MESSAGE

Love is shown by the actions that back up a person’s words. We show our love for Jesus by what we do, by obeying what he has taught us. Jesus, however, doesn’t expect this demonstrated love for him to be a one-way street. He shows us his love for us by having the Father send another Friend like himself to us. This Friend, the Holy Spirit, is called the Advocate or Comforter or Helper in other translations. The Father sends this Friend so that we will never be alone. We can be confident that we will always have the presence of God in our lives!

Father, words can’t express my thanks for the gift of the Holy Spirit. I know that even when I am by myself, I am not alone. I know that when earthly friends forsake me, or those close to me betray me, your Presence is my Helper and my Friend. Thank you. Please forgive me for not seeking this Friend’s help and support in times of trouble. Please make the presence of this Friend very clear as I live my daily life. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
— Matthew 6:14

As Christians, we live in the environment of forgiveness and grace. As we forgive others, the basis of that forgiveness is the incredible debt that God has already forgiven us (Matthew 18). But at the same time, as God sees that his forgiveness is kept in circulation and passed on to others by us, he joyously pours out more forgiveness on us. As hard as it is to forgive someone when we have been genuinely harmed, Jesus wants us to know that the blessings of doing so far outweigh the costs!

Loving and just God, thank you for cleansing and forgiving me by the atoning sacrifice of your Son Jesus. Thank you for challenging me to forgive others as you have forgiven me. Thank you for demanding that your people be a community of forgiveness. Forgive us, and especially forgive me, when we are reluctant, slow, or suspicious about forgiveness. I ask especially that you will forgive (_____________) for (_______________), and I ask you to bless this person with your love and grace. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
— Romans 8:26 ESV

Nearly all of us have been at this desperate place. Our souls are brittle and dry. All our prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling. They fall lifelessly to the ground and come to rest at our feet as bitter reminders of our failure and spiritual impotence.

Like every other great blessing from God, prayer has its origin and power in the Father’s grace. Thankfully, the power of our prayers is not dependent upon our feelings, our perceptions, or our choice of words. The power of our prayers rests in the hands of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit — as the Helper, Advocate, and Comforter — intercedes for us with our Father.

Our Comforter articulates what we cannot say and captures the emotions we cannot verbalize. Our Advocate takes our prayers before the Father after his work of perfecting our words and emotions. He then intercedes for us according to the Father’s will. Prayer, then, is not just a spiritual discipline, but also an incredible gift of our Father’s grace. The Spirit assures us that we will always be heard and that our deepest longings will always be understood by the Father who loves us and always longs to hear the cry of our hearts.

Father God, I praise you. Because of the intercession of the Holy Spirit in this very moment, I know that you hear more than what my words say. You know what’s on my heart. You know my doubts, my insecurities, my secret sins, and my frustrating struggles. And, dear Father, you know my deep desire to have these things redeemed and transformed by your grace so that I live for your glory. I thank you for your grace, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
— Mark 10:13-14

We humans are always trying to define our place in the “pecking order” of life. Jesus reminds his disciples that they have to throw away the everyday rules of the pecking order if they are to really be part of his Kingdom. In fact, he was quite angry with them because they denied toddlers’ access to him, apparently because these disciples didn’t deem the little ones worthy of their Master’s time, energy, and attention. Jesus, as he so often did, turned their common worldly values upside down and reminded them they needed to pay more attention to the character of toddlers than their own sense of importance if they were ever going to understand God’s Kingdom.

Father, thank you for valuing me as your child. Re-awaken in me the wonder, humility, and awe as I seek to live for you and your Kingdom! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.sts

“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.”
— John 3:4-5 NLT

We can begin life all over again. This new beginning is called the new birth. We can be “born of God” (John 1:12-13). While a physical rebirth is not possible, each true follower of Jesus is “born of water and the Spirit.” Confessing Jesus as Lord, sharing with him in his death, burial, and resurrection through baptism, and being cleansed and filled by the Holy Spirit give us a new life. What we once were is gone, and we become new creations in Jesus through the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 2 Corinthians 5:17). Life begins again; only this time, our new life happens because of the cleansing and power of the Holy Spirit who then lives in us!

O Father, thank you. Thank for making me new, fresh, and clean. Thank you for reminding me of the new birth by living in me through the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, I offer you my thanks! Amen.