I once went on a spiritual retreat at a state park. The cool wind blowing on the beach that day became for me a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The strong breeze of the Holy Spirit powerfully swept away things that were draining my spiritual life away and swept me up into new life in…
The Holy Spirit 11 – The Eternal Spirit
All three Persons of the Godhead were involved in our salvation. “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Hebrews 9:14). The unblemished Christ poured out his…
The Holy Spirit 10 – The Spirit of Glory
Ask anyone to define “glory” and they will struggle for words. How would we give a definition of “God’s glory”? What does it mean to “glorify God”? How are we to understand the “Spirit of Glory”? Here are my thoughts. God’s glory is the totality of his majestic nature. As Thomas Watson said, “Glory is…
The Holy Spirit 09 – The Spirit of Grace
At a time when I had unwisely stepped into some spiritual darkness, I had a profound grace moment. God in his favor gave me his unmerited and undeserving grace. Amazingly, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Grace. He enlightens our minds. He seals our hearts in adoption. He regenerates us with spiritual life. He…
The Holy Spirit 08 – The Spirit of Adoption
We grieve over the neglect and abuse of unwanted, orphaned children. Fortunately, some are adopted by loving families. Adoption means becoming part of a family and having a sense of belonging. In a similar way, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Adoption. “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you…
The Holy Spirit 07 – The Spirit of Life
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Holiness. He is also the Spirit of Life. God is life – he has life within himself (John 5:26). God is the source of life. God gave life to all creation. Further, the Holy Spirit gives and imparts spiritual life (John 6:63; 2…
The Holy Spirit 06 – The Spirit of Holiness
Imagine a person whose house is on fire. The fire is raging out of control. Soon a fire truck pulls up with sirens blaring. The person runs out of their house in a rage and says, “What right do you have to come to my house! I can handle this fire myself!” How often the…
The Holy Spirit 05 – The Spirit of Truth
We might feel with longing: “I wish Jesus was here. I wish Jesus would step through the door and tell me what to do in this situation.” Three times in John’s Gospel Jesus speaks to this by applying a title to the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of Truth. First, as Christ followers, the Spirit…
The Holy Spirit 04 – He is Spirit
Who is the Holy Spirit? In earlier devotionals, I wrote that “the” Holy Spirit is unique, fully God, the Third Person of the Trinity. I also emphasized that the Holy Spirit is all “holy” – separate, pure, sacred, and reverenced above everyone and everything. He is also named as “Spirit”, indicating three aspects of his…
The Holy Spirit 03 – He is Holy
A child could ask, “Why is the Holy Spirit called ‘holy’?” We might struggle to answer: “Is ‘holy’ descriptive? Or is ‘holy’ his nature? Or both?” Other spirits – human and demonic – are given descriptive categories in the Scriptures: • Human – A human spirit. A haughty spirit. A crushed spirit. A steadfast spirit….
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