Category: purpose in life

Full of the Spirit

[Jesus said,] “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you — they are full of the Spirit and life.”
–  John 6:63 NIV

The apostle Paul said essentially the same thing as in today’s verse when he wrote, “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him …” (Philippians 3:8-9). Paul was saying that everything is nothing without Jesus. So much of what we pursue — what I have pursued — really counts for nothing. Economic meltdowns, which invariably happen, are reminders that the only investments that last, that are sure, are investments in Jesus and his kingdom. So we are called to turn our hearts to Jesus, to be shaped by his words, guided by his Spirit and conformed to his character. Jesus’ words are lasting, eternal, and life-giving. Better yet, there is someone lasting and eternal and life-giving in his words — the Holy Spirit. That is why one of the ongoing works of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, is to bring to our minds the words of Jesus (John 14:26). So read the Gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But more than reading the words, ask the Holy Spirit to be alive as you read and are shaped and given life through the words of the Savior!

Holy God, I praise you! I thank you, Father, for sending the Son to die for our sins and for showing us the way home to you. I thank you, Jesus, as Son of God, for sending the Holy Spirit as my Advocate and Comforter, to be your presence within me and to bring me life through your words. I thank you, Holy Spirit, for living within me, and I ask that you conform me to Jesus and produce your holy fruit in me. Amen.

In Spirit and Truth

[Jesus said,] “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”  – John 4:23-24 NIV

Jesus’ words, spoken to the woman at the well in Samaria, echo down through time. They cut through the worship wars of every era. They rattle our selfish preferences and challenge our dogmatic positions. They remind us that worship is something much more than a responsibility, a ritual, a place, a time, or a style. Worship is a gift. We cannot even properly worship without the Spirit of God in us. Those who are born of water and the Spirit (John 3:3-7) are given the opportunity to worship because of the Spirit’s presence. And when they are led to worship in the Spirit, they are then called to make that worship authentic. Worship in truth is worship that is consistent throughout life — living-sacrifice worship (Romans 12:1-2). As the Spirit permeates our being, influences our hearts, and conforms us to Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18), then worship is no longer about a place (John 4:21), but about presence! The Holy Spirit, God’s abiding Presence in us, makes the life of God come alive in us — not just on a “worship day,” but every day in all of our ways.

God and Father, I want to be a true worshiper! I want to worship you spirit to Spirit. I want my worship words to be consistent with my daily worship in thought, action, and speech. As the psalmist said so long ago, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Through Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Without Limit!

For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. – John 3:34-35 NIV

John’s gospel declares again and again that Jesus is God among us. He speaks the words of God. His actions are the actions of God. He follows the will of God. On Jesus and in Jesus, the Spirit of God operates with absolute power and authority, yet in complete harmony with the will of God — the dance of grace between Father, Son, and Spirit in Jesus. If we want to know how God acts, how God feels, what God wants, or what God would say, we only need to look to Jesus. He is Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23). He is God come to care for his people (Luke 7:16). He is the Holy One of God (Mark 1:24). He is God made flesh (John 1:11-14). He is the Son who fully reveals the Father because he operates fully by the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:16-21; Acts 10:37-38).

Almighty God, LORD, Yahweh, the God of our fathers — Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — I praise you and thank you. I praise you for your holiness that is beyond my comprehension and for your self-revelation in Jesus who was flesh and blood like I am. Even though I cannot fully understand this truth, thank you that as Father and Son and Spirit you operate as God, the Lord, who is one God. Just as you have given your Spirit without limit and the Son has shown me who you are, I pledge to you my love, heart, soul, mind, and strength. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

 

Unlimited Power!

[Jesus continued,] “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. – John 3:8 NIV

As a young boy, I remember taking apart an old clock radio to figure out how it worked. I learned a great deal — including the importance of unplugging something electrical before taking it apart! But, I can’t figure out the way the Spirit works on the hearts of men and women to bring them to Jesus and to give them new birth. I can see the changes in people’s lives. I can hear their confession of faith. I can watch them being baptized. But each of these things is evidence of the greater reality that I cannot fully comprehend or explain — they are evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit in people’s lives to open their hearts to Jesus and surrender to him as Lord, to cleanse them of their sin, to live inside of them, and to include them in the family of God. However, I am thankful that I recognize that Jesus said I couldn’t fully comprehend this new birth but also that I have repeatedly seen the Spirit make incredible differences in the lives of people. While, according to the old English adage, you might not be able to “teach an old dog new tricks,” I know that the Holy Spirit can give anyone, young or old, new life!


Thank you, dear God, for things beyond my ability to comprehend fully — things like your holiness, your grace, and your love. I am thankful today for the work of the Holy Spirit to bring new birth into the lives of people. I confess that I do not fully comprehend how all of this happens, but I do believe the Holy Spirit makes it happen. So thank you! Thank you for your mysteries and thank you for your gift of the Spirit. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

 

What?

“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!

Father God, 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.

 

Holiness cannot be contained.

[John the Baptizer continued,] “I didn’t know [Jesus] was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.” – John 1:33-34 NLT

John doesn’t claim that he has any special knowledge of Jesus’ identity because of insider information as a cousin of Jesus. No, John’s recognition was based on the revelation from God and the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is God’s Chosen One, and a key part of Jesus’ role as the Chosen One is baptizing people with the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ identity, ministry, and message are all tied to the work of the Holy Spirit! We can’t follow Jesus without a deep appreciation and recognition of the vital role the Spirit plays in Jesus’ life as well as our own!
Gracious God, the Almighty, who has chosen to dwell in my heart through your Holy Spirit, thank you for revealing yourself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Be at work in my life through the Spirit. Purify my heart, transform my mind, and empower my actions so that I will honor you and help others know your Son. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

 

Yet to be written!

Some of you were once [living sinful lives].
But you were cleansed;
you were made holy;
you were made right with God
by calling on the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ and
by the Spirit of our God.
– 1Corinthians 6:11 NLT

The verses leading up to this passage give a laundry list of sins (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). Then Paul makes two points using the verb “were.” His first point is that some of us “were” people habitually living those sins! The second point is that now, however, we live with a new reality because we “were” cleansed and made right with God. We can call this “the grace of were.” We are no longer guilty of the sin we used to commit. We are no longer under the condemnation of our rebellion and failures. We are no longer slaves to the old way of life, to what we “were”! Rather, because the Holy Spirit entered our lives to sanctify us — to make us holy, new, clean, pure, valuable — we ARE holy and right with God. Each of us is a new creation and lives in a whole new world (2 Corinthians 5:17). Such is the power of the Holy Spirit and the gift of the Spirit’s grace and presence.

Father, thank you that I am not who I used to be. Thank you that all the old is gone and the new has come. I pray that I will live out this new life in holiness and honor, empowered by the Holy Spirit and conformed each day to be like my Savior, Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.

 

Rich or Poor?

The Lord does not look
at the things man looks at.
Man looks at the
outward appearance,
but the Lord looks at the heart.
– 1 Samuel 16:7

Have you ever wondered how many potentially good friends you may have lost simply by judging them on your first impression of them? I’m amazed at how the first impression very seldom tells us much of substance about another person. We’re not really going to be able to evaluate people properly until the Lord reveals at judgment what is really in their hearts. Don’t you think that we should give them time to reveal what is in their hearts before we make a decision about them?! Let’s don’t just look on the outward appearance!

Father, you alone know each heart. Please help me be more patient with others before forming an opinion about them. Please give me eyes to see them as Jesus does. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Active listening requires a response…

Do not merely listen to the word,
and so deceive yourselves.
Do what it says.
– James 1:22

What we know and what we believe are not all that significant if they do not show up in the way we live our daily lives. Pure and simple, faith not lived out in everyday life is not faith; it is facade. Just as Jesus had told us to put into practice what we have learned from him, his brother James reminds us the same thing: when we learn the truth of God’s word, there is only one thing left for us to do: put it into practice!

Holy God, help me put into practice what I know is your will and your truth today. In the name of the Lord Jesus I pray. Amen.

The Fire of the Spirit

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
Romans 12:11

The phrase, “keep your spiritual fervor” is an idiom that literally means “to boil in the spirit.” We are to be on fire with the Holy Spirit! That’s the key to “never be lacking in zeal” and “serving the Lord.” Inspired, empowered, and filled with the Holy Spirit, we can be passionate for Jesus.

O God, I want to honor you in all I do. I want Jesus to be seen in my actions and speech. I want to reflect your righteous character and your gracious compassion and I know that without the Spirit’s cleansing and power, I can’t do it. So fill me with your Spirit, cleanse my heart and make it yours. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.