ROMANS 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
TO PONDER
Tomorrow is Pentecost Sunday; the day often called 'the birthday of the Christian church'. There are lots of reasons why people have referred to it this way throughout history but I think the most common and the most significant is that it is the day that the promised 'Holy Spirit', the helper or advocate that Jesus had promised he would send to the disciples arrives and it is really the first public proclamation of the death and resurrection of Jesus, beyond the group of his close followers, which also linked Jesus death and resurrection with forgiveness of sin for all who believe that Jesus is the Christ. I'm sure we'll hear more about that next week.
So today, let me just say this...the facts themselves are not enough. Just saying Jesus died and was raised to life doesn't bring joy. However, when we can articulate why he died and rose, as the disciples were able to do on that first day of Pentecost, it is a very different story.
Jesus died, so we could be forgiven. He was raised again to life so we could have joy and peace and that we might overflow with hope by the power of the Spirit. - The facts themselves are not enough. Even the explanation itself is not enough. It is only as we encounter the person of Jesus, the son of God, the word made flesh, by the power and indwelling of the Holy Spirit that the joy of that news hits us as it should and the hope that is within us begins to overflow and impact others.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Please help me to see and hear where the Holy Spirit moves and is at work in my life. Please help me to see and to hear where he leads and how I should follow. Help me to trust more in you as you lead and guide me to the places and the people you have prepared in advance for me to encounter in your name. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle.