Category: living by faith

 “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!” Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away —all who have been called by the Lord our God.”  – Acts 2:36-39 NLT

A promised gift of the new movement of God prophesied in Scripture is the Holy Spirit. We often focus on the forgiveness of our sins, and clearly, this forgiveness is a great blessing of grace won by the sacrifice of Jesus. This blessing is for all who confess Jesus as Lord and Christ, trust his sacrifice to cleanse them from their sins, and are baptized into his name. But there is another gift that is just as precious: God’s holy presence placed within each of these cleansed, redeemed, and newly adopted children of God. This presence, this gift, is the promised Holy Spirit. We must never, ever, underestimate this gift that Jesus has poured out on us and placed within us (Titus 3:3-5).

Father God, I recognize the very many great gifts that you have poured into my life. Today, however, I am overwhelmed by your grace and mercy. You sent and sacrificed Jesus for my sin. You raised Jesus up and conquered the power of death. And now, Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to cleanse me, indwell me, empower me, transform me, and ultimately bring me to you. Thank you! In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jesus was filled with the
joy of the Holy Spirit, …
Luke 10:21 NLT

All too frequently, we pursue the wrong things hoping that they will make us happy. Real joy, however, comes from the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. When we look at the life of Jesus and at the lives of his early followers, we see that the presence of the Holy Spirit brought them joy. The Spirit’s presence can do the same for us. This joy from the Spirit comes from many things, including but not limited to these blessings:

• Insight and understanding into the scriptures and into life.
• The abiding presence of God within us.
• The connection that the Holy Spirit gives us with other believers.
• The assurance of our relationship with the Father as his children.

Joy comes to us because of the Spirit’s presence in our lives!

Father, thank you for providing me with your source of joy, the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, I thank you. Amen.

“As for me, this is my covenant with [those who repent of their sins],” says the LORD. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants — from this time on and forever,” says the LORD.
— Isaiah 59:21 NIV

Isaiah 59:1-16 is one of the most crushingly sad sections in the entire Bible. God is frustrated and heartbroken because his people are in such blatant rebellion and have no one to lead them back to him. They have been crushed by their enemies, and they are without hope — spiritually and physically. So, God decides to act! He moves with fury and might against his people’s enemies (Isaiah 59:17-19). Then he promises to send his Redeemer. From that moment on, God’s Spirit and God’s words will rest with his people forever. As was often the case, such prophecies had double fulfillments: One was in Old Testament times and another, in New Testament times. We have just seen the New Testament fulfillment in the gospel of Matthew: Jesus is this Redeemer, and the work of the Spirit brings the dawning of God’s kingdom. While we live in difficult times for the followers of Jesus, we also live under the promise that God’s Spirit will not depart from us and that the Spirit’s presence assures us that God’s words will not be taken from us!

Father, thank you for your Word, and your words. Thank you that your Word is the great Redeemer who has delivered us from Satan and sent your Spirit to us. We praise you and thank you for this grace, and we pledge ourselves to your work in our world, transformed by your Spirit and informed by your Word. In Jesus’ name, we thank you! Amen.

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.  – Romans 5:5

The source of our hope is not just in Jesus’ prior work on the Cross and in the empty tomb. It isn’t dependent just on our own will-power and commitment to hang on to hope. No, God made sure the fire of hope could never run out of fuel in our hearts. He did this by filling us with his Holy Spirit and pouring his love into our hearts. That same Spirit will help raise us up and give us life when Jesus returns (Romans 8:11).

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the gift of your Holy Spirit who keeps my hope alive and fills me with a sense of your loving presence. May my life today, and everyday, display my confidence in your love by sharing your kindness with others. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace.
— Micah 5:4

The great hope that we have is that our Good Shepherd will return for us, call us each by name, and bring us securely into his fold. There we will share in his protective care and eternal peace.

Lord God, thank you for sending Jesus to not only be the sacrificial lamb for my sins, but also the Good Shepherd. Thank you for the promise of rest, protection, and peace that are part of both my present and my future life with you in your Son. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

We have an advocate who pleads
our case before the Father.
He is Jesus Christ,
the one who is truly righteous.
He himself is the sacrifice
that atones for our sins—
and not only our sins
but the sins of all the world.
1 John 2:1-2 NLT

The world is indeed a mess right now! People everywhere are searching for solutions to our woes. Crisis after crisis, laws and regulations are created and enforced in an attempt to make us change our behaviors. The solution to all of our problems is so simple and yet so overlooked. The message of the church today must resound: Jesus died to set you free from the guilt and punishment of your own sins. He didn’t do it just for you; he did it for everyone else, too! Spread the word!

I am humbled to the point of silence, Almighty God and Heavenly Father, that you would take your most precious gift and offer it for something as ugly and horrid as my sins. I can think of no way to repay you, but I want to thank you by sharing this good news with everyone else for whom you’ve made this sacrifice. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” –  Romans 10:15

How beautiful are your feet? People with beautiful feet are either “sending folks” or they are “going folks” who share the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. Which are you? If we’re not one of those two options, we’re Christians with ugly feet. Now nobody would want that to be said of him or her? So let’s make a partnership agreement with other believers by either going and asking for their support and help, or by helping and supporting others while they are going!

Almighty God of the nations, I know it pains your heart to see so many people in our world today that do not even know the name of your Son, much less trust in him as their Lord. Through your Holy Spirit, stir in us the desire to have beautiful feet just like our brothers and sisters had in those early chapters of the book of Acts. May the Gospel spread in our day as it did in theirs! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. – Ephesians 4:30-31

Don’t make God’s Spirit grieve! But how do we do we cause the Spirit of God to grieve? By harboring bitterness, unleashing anger-driven rage, fighting with others and slandering their name while plotting to harm them. Not only are these behaviors in direct opposition to the will and character of God, they are are also the exact opposite of the qualities the Spirit is seeking to produce in our lives — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control faithfulness (Galatians 5:22-23). No wonder such evil behaviors grieve the Holy Spirit.

Almighty Father, please conform me to be more like Jesus by the power of your Holy Spirit as I commit to display Jesus’ character and compassion in my life. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.
Luke 3:8 NLT

Grace is given to us as a free gift. It cannot be earned or merited. But salvation that does not move us out of our self-destructive and rebellious ways is counterfeit. Repentance is a life change. It is a realization that we have been going the wrong way on a one-way street. It is an acknowledgement that trying to guide our own lives is always going to end in disappointment, disaster, and death without Jesus being Lord of both our lips and our lives. We know that God’s grace is marvelous, but let’s also learn that his will is gracious. As we do, we will change our behavior to reflect the character of the Father who sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins!

Loving and merciful God, I realize that you saved me from my past sins and also want to save me from the consequences of future sins by calling me to obedience. Please help me as I turn my life over to your will. Please strengthen me with your Spirit so that I may resist temptation and reflect your holiness. Bring to life in me the fruit that reflects your salvation and your character in me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

 

We always thank God for all of you,
mentioning you in our prayers.
1 Thessalonians 1:2 NIV

Why is it so hard to share with others that we have thanked God for bringing them into our lives? God let his Son Jesus know his love and approval. Remember his words at Jesus’ baptism and transfiguration? “This is my Son, whom I love…” The apostle Paul also let the struggling churches he started know that he was praying for them regularly (cf. Philippians 1:3). It’s a great blessing to thank God for someone special in our lives. It’s a double blessing to let those people know we’ve thanked God for their being in our lives. Let’s commit to be a “double blessing” people today!

Gracious Father, you have blessed me in so many ways! Today, however, I’m especially aware of the many incredible ways you have blessed me through other people. I want to thank you now for the many wonderful Christian people you have placed in my life. Please guard and strengthen them and use them to bless others as they have blessed me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.