ICS Daily Devotions
Welcome the Holy Spirit
John 14:15-18 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
We have not been abandoned to deal with the struggles of life. Instead, we have a helper. Jesus assured His disciples that they would not be left as orphans, but another “Helper”—the Holy Spirit, would be there to guide them, just as Jesus had done while He was with them. The key for us is knowing the person of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the third person in the Godhead of the Trinity. At the time of creation, the Holy Spirit was the one who brought things into being. He was also the one who brought Jesus back from the dead. Therefore, there is tremendous creative and resurrection power in the Holy Spirit, and He is active in our lives. He is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. He is our Comforter, Counselor, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener and Standby, and He will dwell in us forever if we acknowledge, pursue, and welcome Him. Because He resides in our hearts, we can commune with Him wherever we are.
Some of us may struggle to know the Holy Spirit because we can neither see nor touch Him, but some of us are simply uncomfortable with the idea of Him working in our lives. Nonetheless, in order to know the Holy Spirit, we must first believe that we have the ability to know Him because it is the deepest desire of God to journey with us and develop a close relationship with us.
The Holy Spirit has a mind, will, emotions, and a voice. He will not lead us to do something that is contrary to the Word of God, or make unholy, unjust and unrighteous decisions. In fact, He will warn us when He doesn’t approve of our choices.
He will also prompt us to spend time with God. To have fellowship with the Holy Spirit is to commune with Him—to be actively engaged in a relationship with Him. The best way to get to know someone is to spend quality time talking to the person—to be real in their presence. Begin each day by acknowledging and appreciating His presence, thank Him for being the partner in our lives. Also, speak to Him throughout the day and be open for Him to speak into your life.
Sermon Series: Looking Forward to 2020
