Receiving and Releasing the Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Isaiah 11:2

And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

In this passage, Isaiah was prophesying of the nature of our coming Savior.  The scripture foretold that Jesus would be given extraordinary endowments through the agency of the Holy Spirit.  Because we are indwelled by Jesus Christ when we accept Him as Our Savior, we inherit these same wondrous endowments for ourselves.  The inheritance that we receive is not temporary or occasional.  It is a permanent and enduring influence on our lives.

With our inheritance, we receive three pairs of spiritual influences to assist us in being holy, pure and wise.  Each pairing is made up of a spiritual gift and the resulting impact of that gift in our lives:

1) We are provided wisdom from which comes the understanding to perceive moral and intellectual truths.

2) We are provided counsel from which comes the might that gives us the direction and the power that we need to carry out the plans that emerge from our spiritual insight.

3) We are provided knowledge from which comes the fear of the Lord which establishes the foundation of our relationship with the one true God, Our Father in heaven.

This passage is usually taught as the "7 gifts of the Holy Spirit."  The Holy Spirit resting upon us as we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior is the first and most important of the seven gifts.  It is only through the Holy Spirit that we receive the other six endowments.

Let us be mindful of all the gifts that Christ made available for us when He died on the Cross.  May we let the fullness of the Spirit of the Lord overwhelm us each day.  May His fullness in our lives result in us producing great fruit for the Kingdom of Almighty God and bringing honor and glory to Our Savior.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the wondrous nature that You have given us in Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  We pray that the fullness of the Holy Spirit will rest upon us.  We seek Your wisdom so that we may have understanding in all matters.  We seek your counsel that we may become mighty warriors for Your kingdom.  We ask, Lord, that You inspire us to take the knowledge that we have of You and turn it into a reverent awe that changes how we live every moment of our lives.  We ask all these things in the name of the One who gives power to the faint and might to those without strength, Jesus Christ.

Empowered to Deliver God's Message

Acts 9:17

So Ananias departed and entered the house.  And laying hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."

And in an instant, Paul not only received his physical sight, he also received the filling of the Holy Spirit.  Thus, he received wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge of God and a holy reverence for God.  All of these gifts came on him at once. His vision of who He was in Christ, along with all of its associated power, served to allow him to replace the evil man that he had become with the new, righteous man that he was to become.

From this passage, we learn that for those of us who have received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior that we become new men and women in Christ, just as the sinner and prosecutor of the early church, Saul, became the new man Paul.  As new men and women in Christ, the Holy Spirit is given to us to reveal the lies of this world.  The power of the Holy Spirit within us allows us to become new creatures who proclaim the Good News and serve as conduits of God's love.

But do not miss the second message of this passage.  There would have been no conversion for Paul without the obedience of Ananias to got out and deliver the message of God, even though He questioned the righteousness of the one that he was called to minister to.  We must be careful not to withhold the message of hope from anyone because we feel they are not worthy.

Let us make ourselves seekers of the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Let us learn to overcome the world through the power of Our Wonderful Counselor.  Let us make ourselves deliverers of the truth to others who God places around us.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the anointing that we receive as disciples of Jesus Christ.  We pray that You will open our eyes to the things of the world that are creating ignorance and pride in our lives so that we may turn away from them.  We ask that You release the gifts of the Holy Spirit into our lives so that we may see the vision that You have for our lives and be empowered to go out as messengers of hope in the world that surrounds us.  We pray that our hearts are prepared to view every person as worthy to receive the Good News that we possess.  We ask all these things in the name of the One who rescues those whose spirits are crushed, Jesus Christ.

Knowing What to Pray

Romans 8:26

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.

While intercessory prayer is very rewarding and plays a powerful role in deepening our relationship with Our Heavenly Father, it can sometimes lead us down paths that are challenging, perhaps even frustrating.  The Holy Spirit has been placed along side of us to insure that we are not deterred by our frustrations.  There are several important areas where the Holy Spirit supports us in our weakness.

First, the Holy Spirit is our perfecter in praying for the true needs of others.  We are generally very comfortable seeking the hand of God for protection and provision for ourselves, our families and those close to us.  It is natural and easy for us to pray for those that we love.  At times, however, we may be at a loss to know what the will of God is in the lives of those that we are praying for.  We can be comforted and confident in knowing that our prayers will be perfected before the Father by the Holy Spirit.

Second, the Holy Spirit opens our eyes and soften our hearts toward all mankind.  It is not our nature to pray for those we do not feel close to or perhaps even dislike because of their behavior toward us or others.  In His ministry, Jesus often argued with the apostles because He wanted to be among those in the most need of His redemptive work, not those that were more socially acceptable.  Jesus wants us to intercede for the world around us, whether we feel drawn or repulsed by the ones that we pray for.  As we mature in Christ, the Holy Spirit will help build up our sensitivity to and our desire to pray for the needs of all mankind.

Finally, the Holy Spirit has been sent to strengthen us when we are personally overpowered by the things that the world has brought against us.  When we are so broken that we do not even know what to pray for, the Holy Spirit is beside us to silence our fears and help us through our discouragements.  Most importantly, the Holy Spirit stands with us to make intercession for us before the Father so that the enemy cannot prevail against us.

Let our hearts be softened so that we may extend our intercessory prayers beyond our comfort zone.  Let us rely on the Holy Spirit to direct us and support us in our prayers.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You that You have provided Your Holy Spirit to help us pray in accordance with Your will for our lives and the lives of others.  We rejoice in knowing that the Holy Spirit will perfect our prayers before You.  We pray, Lord, that Your Holy Spirit will prepare our hearts to be intercessors for all of mankind.  Be they far or near, be they friend or foe, Father, teach us how to pray for their needs. When we are too weak to pray properly, or even pray at all, may Your Holy Spirit strengthen us and intercede for us.  We pray all these things in the name of the mediator between God and men, Jesus Christ.

Giving of Ourselves in Preparation for the King

Luke 12:40

You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

God's Holy Word inspires us to turn our thoughts toward the day that Jesus will return to the earth.  This will be a great and magnificent day for which all of us need to make ourselves ready.  On His arrival day, the Lord will separate those who knew Him and served Him from those who did not.  We certainly want to be in the group that He separates for life in His Kingdom.

Our preparation for an uncertain time and date can be complicated.  Our human nature makes it difficult for us to prepare for a time in the future that we cannot clearly mark on our calendars.  We may even be uncertain about how we should prepare for the arrival of the King of Kings.  To further complicate our preparation, we can get lost in all the demanding needs of this world and lose sight of the right way to prepare for our coming King.  It is important for us to understand that we can simplify the process of making ourselves ready for Our Coming King.  All we need to do is examine whether we are pursuing this world or the kingdom of God.  Then we must be aware of and committed to the precept that we are not only waiting servants, but that we are also working servants as we wait.

The Lord in His mercy, by His Word, directly instructed us in the following simple ways to prepare for His coming.  He taught us that those who feed Him when He is hungry, give Him drink when He is thirsty, clothe Him when He is in need and visit Him when He is sick or in prison will be the ones that inherit His Kingdom.  He added that even though we may not see Him in these conditions that when we serve those who are in these conditions, we are serving Him.  

Let us go out and be working servants as we wait on the arrival of Our King, Jesus.  May we find His presence and serve Him in the faces of the world that surrounds us.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You that Your Holy Word prepares us to receive Our King, Jesus Christ.  Open our eyes, Lord, so that we may see the opportunities to serve Our King every day.  Prepare our hearts, Lord, to freely give of ourselves to others just as we would if we were serving Jesus Himself.  May the presence of the Holy Spirit within us by Our Guiding Light.  We ask all these things in the name of the One who rewards those that seek and serve Him, Jesus Christ.

Claiming the Fullness of Life

Ephesians 3:19

May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Jesus loves each one of us unconditionally.  He loves us so much that He gave up His position as Son of God to become Son of Man.  He endured the pain and shame of the Cross so that He could become the sacrificial lamb that was necessary to provide the blood to wash away our sins, to make us acceptable to the Father.

He extended His unconditional love by sending the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sins, so that we would understand His offer of salvation and accept it.  He continues to extend His unconditional love by dwelling within each of us that have accepted Him as Our Savior, so that we may have the strength and the power to overcome the sinful nature that still tries to rule in our lives.

He continuously pours out His perfect love and forgiveness to each of us.  He places no limit on the love that He pours into us because He wants it to overflow our cups.  He wants us to become living vessels of His perfect love and forgiveness so that the world will know Him and know the fullness of His love.

Let us lift the name of Jesus above all other names.  Let us rejoice in His incomparable love.  Let us claim the fullness of life and power that comes from a relationship with the Son of God.  May our changed lives proclaim His immeasurable love, so that others may be drawn to Him. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the perfect love and forgiveness that You have poured out into our lives.  We exalt the name of Jesus who became the Son of Man in order to fulfill our need for a perfect sacrificial lamb.  We thank You, Father, for the blood of Your Son that washes away our sin and makes it possible for us to receive and share Your perfect love.  We ask that we may become instruments of Your good work and vessels of Your perfect love and forgiveness for the world around us.  We pray that we will live in the fullness of the life and power that is offered by You through Your Son.  We ask all these things in the incomparable name of the Son of God, the Son of Man, Jesus Christ.

Where Are We Standing?

Matthew 26:56

But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophet might be fulfilled.  Then all the disciples left him and fled.

When the time of testing comes in our lives, where will we stand?  Will we stand on the promises of Jesus or will we try to stand on our own strength and capability?  Scripture reveals to us that we will be just like the apostles if we rely on our own strength.

The men who had lived with Jesus for three years, sat under His teaching and witnessed all the signs and wonders of His ministry abandoned Him in His time of trial and their time of testing.  How could this happen?  It is the weakness of the flesh that failed the disciples.  They did not yet have the strength of the Holy Spirit to overcome their weaknesses.  What a dramatic difference the Holy Spirit made in their lives.  After their baptism of the Holy Spirit, all of the apostles boldly proclaimed the Good News of Jesus Christ.  All but one, John, died as a martyr while sharing the salvation plan.

We can be sure that in the flesh we are no stronger than the apostles.  If we try to live by the flesh without calling on the Holy Spirit to guide us and strengthen us, we will fail in following Our Savior.  Thankfully, God promises us in His Holy Word that He will perfect His strength in our weakness if we abide in Him.  He secures this promise through His Holy Spirit who continuously stands with us so that we will not fail in the times of our testing.

Let us be strong when the world tries to weaken us.  Let us be bold when the world tries to shut us down.  Let us stand on the promises of Jesus Christ.  

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You that You have provided Your Wonderful Counselor to be with us, to guide us and to strengthen us in our weaknesses.  We proclaim our weakness before You, Lord.  We ask forgiveness for straying from You.  We boldly claim Your promise to perfect Your strength in our weakness as we surrender to Your reign in our lives.  We ask all these things in the name of the One who gives grace to the humble, Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Cleansed of All Unrighteousness

Matthew 5:8

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Let us be certain that none but the pure of heart shall see God.  Let us understand that nothing we can do on our own will satisfy the requirement of pureness of heart when it is time for us to stand before Our Creator. 

The purest of notions have no eternal value if the heart of the man is impure.  The most impressive outward actions are meaningless if the heart of the man is impure.  The Pharisees are outstanding examples of these statements.  The Pharisees were outwardly righteous, but inwardly they were full of impurity in their hearts.

Let us not forget that without Christ we are no better off than the Pharisees.  Our hearts are naturally unclean and we have no power to make them pure.  The only way that we can be pure in heart is to have the blood of Jesus cleanse us from our sins.

By the grace of God, we can submit our lives to the One that was 100% pure. We can make the desire of our hearts to be pure through Him.  We can have hearts that are as pure as Christ, the angels in heaven and the glorified saints.  Even though we may fail from time to time, we can turn our minds over to Him to be constantly renewed.  Yet imperfect, we can have hearts that are entirely pure through the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  And thus, we can be sure with full faith and confidence that we will see God at the time that He has set aside for us to stand before Him because our hearts will be pure.

Let us rejoice.  In Christ, we have been cleansed of all unrighteousness.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Jesus to this earth as our model of purity.  We ask that You mold our hearts so that we may submit to Your Son to rule and reign in our lives.  May the power of the Holy Spirit constantly renew our minds.   May You provide the armor of protection that we need to shield us from the impurities that the world so freely throws at us.  May the world around us be drawn to Your Son, Jesus, because of the purity that they see in us.  We ask these things in the name of the One who is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, Jesus Christ.

Sending Out the Invitations

John 3:29

It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the best man is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success.

John the Baptist was joyful and absolutely secure in his role as the best man to introduce the Bridegroom.  He was quick to let everyone know that it was the Bridegroom that was worthy of all the praise, honor and glory.

The promises/vows of Jesus Christ are the foundation upon which we stand as Christians.  Our responsibility is to go forth and share His vows with the world.  We are not to take one iota away from His message in order to make ourselves the center of attention or perhaps to shape the message in a way that is more appealing to hardened hearts.  We are simply to allow the joy that we have received as a result of His vows to be poured out from us on to the world around us.

As it was for John, we should find great pleasure in being ministers of the Gospel.  To be able to carry the message of salvation within us and allow it to flow out to the world around us should be the perfection of our joy.  It should be the greatest desire of our hearts just as it was for John.

Let us boldly proclaim the sacred vows that Jesus has taken for His bride.  Let us go out and invite the world to the coming wedding feast.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You that You have provided the Bridegroom to come to get us to be His bride at the wedding feast of the Lamb.  We rejoice in knowing that we have the privilege of extending invitations to the greatest of all marriage ceremonies.  Prepare us, O Lord, to humbly extend Jesus Christ's invitations to those around us.  We pray, Father, that none shall reject the sweetest of all invitations.  May all praise, honor and glory go to Our Savior.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Coming Bridegroom, Jesus Christ.

Seeking Our New Path

Isaiah 52:12

For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

As the glorious Easter celebration approaches, our thoughts are likely to turn toward a new path ahead in our lives.  Let us not rush out to make decisions.  Let us move forward toward our new path, not in a disorderly fashion, but under the leading hand, instruction and protection of the Holy Spirit.  

Let us move on to our new path knowing that God will be with us.   Through His Son, His Holy Spirit has been sent to guide us.  Under submission to Our Savior, we can let loose of the things of this earth and grasp on to the things of God's kingdom.  We can shake ourselves from the dust of our doubts and our fears.  Our victory was settled on the Cross.  May the presence of the Lord be constantly before us and behind us.

Let us live each day knowing that the Lord Jesus reigns in our lives.  Let us live in the fullness of the good tidings that came in with His birth and move ahead confidently under the promises of His death and Resurrection.  Let us place our futures firmly in His hand.  Let us live today in freedom, in peace and in service to His calling on our lives.  Let us move forward boldly into our manifest destiny in Christ under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your constant presence in our lives.  We thank You that You go before us to prepare our path forward and that You stand behind us to protect us on our journey.  We bless the name of Jesus whose victory on the Cross allows us to live our lives without fears or doubts.  We pray that the Holy Spirt will guide us as we seek the new lives that You have set aside for us.  May those around us in the world be drawn to Your Son as they see us living our lives under His reign.  We ask all these things in the name of our ever present shield, Jesus Christ.

Introducing Jesus to Those Around Us

John 3:30

He must increase, but I must decrease.

John the Baptist had the perfect understanding of His relationship with Jesus Christ.  He knew that he was a sinful man who was created, prepared and sent to show the way for the One from Above who was coming to save the world.  He understood that he had no power and that all the power belonged to Jesus.  Most importantly, John was completely satisfied with his place and the work assigned to him.

From the life of John the Baptist we get a great model for bringing others to salvation.  It is our job to bring others to Christ.  It is not our job to save them.  The saving work of the Cross will be done by Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit.

We also learn from the words of John the Baptist the model for our spiritual maturation.  We must increase our life in Christ as we allow our life in the flesh to decrease.  We must allow our new man to rise and our old man to die.  We do not lay down what we are called to do in the flesh, but instead come in complete harmony with the work of the beloved One who dwells within us.

Let us free ourselves from the idea that our job is to save others.  The work of salvation belongs to Jesus alone.  Our job is to introduce others to Jesus and to let them see the impact of His presence in our lives so that they are drawn to Him.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Holy Word which lays out the models for our lives through the lives of Your servants spoken of in the Bible.  Help us, Lord, to understand the depth of the teachings that come from each of Your precious servants.  Open our eyes, Lord, so that we may surrender our lives completely to Your Son, Jesus.  Help us, Lord, to live our lives in such a way that others are drawn to Your Son.  As we give up our lives in the flesh for our lives in Christ, bring others to us to be introduced to Jesus.   May our living testimonies affect the world.  We pray that we see many around us surrender their lives to the King of Kings, Jesus Christ.  We ask all of these things in the name of Our Divine Deliver, Jesus Christ.

Rightsizing Our Relationship with Almighty God

Psalm 34:3

Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!

Throughout the Psalms, we read David's prayers of praise.  He praised God to help overcome his fears and to call on his all-sufficient Lord.  David recognized God's faithfulness in meeting his needs and he also recognized that God was bigger than any problem or fear that he had.

We will spend all eternity praising Our Heavenly Father.  Why not practice our imperfect praise here on earth in preparation for the unspeakable joy we will receive from our perfect praise forever?

It is time for us to magnify God in our lives.  He is much bigger than we allow Him to be.  We need to downsize our problems, upsize our view of who God is and rightsize our relationship with Him.  We can gain much by joining Paul in exalting the name of Our Lord.  

Let us proclaim the glorious perfection of Our Father in heaven.  Let us join together in bringing glory to the Most High God.  Let us open the gateways of heaven through our worship of the King.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the privilege of exalting Your name here on earth and in heaven for all eternity.  We lift You up above all others.  There is not a single name that approaches the majesty and power of who You are.  Teach us, Lord, to have the faith of the Virgin Mary who said, "My soul magnifies the Lord," as she prepared to receive something that she did not believe to be possible.  May Your grace cover us, Lord, so that we may live in reverent awe of who You are.  We pray that the Holy Spirit will lead us and inspire us to pour out praise to You each day.  We ask all these things in the name of the One worthy of all praise, Jesus Christ.

Being Set On Fire by The Scriptures

Luke 24:32

They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”

Two men walking on the road to Emmaus were met by Jesus, who accompanied them on the journey and joined them in their discussions about the recent events surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. They did not recognize Him, but marveled in His knowledge of the events.  Later Jesus revealed Himself to the men, resulting in their realization of how stirring that His words had been earlier.

The Scriptures can be a sealed book.  The very identity of Jesus Christ and His salvation message can be hidden from us.  The power and the truth are unveiled only through Jesus Christ.  With Christ as Our Savior, we receive the words in Scripture as if Christ Himself is speaking them to us.

To aid us in our study of the Bible, we are joined in each reading by the Holy Spirit who directs us to focus on Jesus.  The Holy Spirit whispers gentle urgings into our hearts as He reveals the truths and promises given to us through Jesus Christ.  The Holy Spirit directs us to abide in Christ so that we may follow the path of salvation and sanctification that the Word of God provides us.  If we are obedient in following the urgings of the Holy Spirit our hearts will burn with a fervent love for Our Savior and we will live in the fullness of His presence.

Let us surrender ourselves to the consuming fire of the Holy Spirit.  Let our hearts burn within us with the knowledge of Our Risen Savior.  Let our lives reflect the burning passion of Our King.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending us the Living Word, Your Son, Jesus Christ.  We thank You for inspiring the writers of the Bible who made the Living Word readily available to us for reading and study.  We rejoice in knowing that the Holy Spirit joins us as we seek to make Your Word the fire that fuels our love for Your Son.  As the Word comes to us with evidence, power and sweetness, may our hearts burn with eagerness to be transformed by our relationship with Our Lord. We pray that our fire be so strong and so bright that others will be drawn to surrender their lives to Our Savior King.  We ask all these things in the name of the eternal flame, Jesus Christ.