Refreshing

Daily
in God’s Word
Emphasis on

Holy
Spirit
 The Infilling of the Holy Spirit
January 1

 Bible Reading: Ephesians 5:1-21

 Key Verse: Verse 18 - “And be not drunk with wine,
wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;”
Key Words: but be filled with the Spirit

The word filled in the original Greek means to be

controlled by. Paul tells us in our text that there is a three-
fold result of being filled with the Spirit.
First of all, there will be a spiritual song in my heart. I can
know if I am filled with the Spirit by the music that I love and
the songs I put into my heart.
Secondly, I can know if I am filled with the Spirit because
of my thankfulness – not just saying “thank you,” but being
thankful.
Thirdly, I can know if I am filled with the Spirit through
my submission, primarily to those who have the rule over me.
Speaking to a large audience, D. L. Moody held up a glass
and asked, “How can I get the air out of the glass?”
One man shouted, “Suck it out with a pump.”
Moody replied, “That would create a vacuum and shatter
the glass.” After numerous suggestions, Moody smiled,
picked up a pitcher of water and filled the glass. “There,” he
said, “all the air is now removed.” He then went on to explain
that victory in the Christian life is not accomplished by
“sucking out” sin here and there, but by being filled with the
victory.
So it is in our lives, if we want to live victoriously, we
must be controlled by the Holy Spirit of God.

What to do:
✞Ask the Holy Spirit to control your life today and
everyday.
 ✞Now that you’ve asked Him, allow the Holy Spirit to
control you by removing your will, desires, and “selfish
spirit.”
✞You will know whether or not you are filled with the
Holy Spirit by your music, thankfulness, and
submission to Godly authority.

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The Comfort of the Spirit

January 2

 Bible Reading: John 14:15-26

 Key Verse: Verse 26 – “But the Comforter, which is
the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my
name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all
things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said
unto you.”
Key Words: But the Comforter, which is the Holy
Ghost

Part of the work of the Holy Spirit is to comfort us

during trying times. In our text, Jesus had been teaching the
disciples that He must soon depart from them. This would
certainly have been of much concern to them. For the last
three years, Jesus had taught them, aided them, protected
them, and provided for them; but now it was time for Jesus to
depart. So Jesus promised them that the Father would send a
Comforter to teach and aid them as they went about the
ministry without Him.
In his book, Symbols of the Holy Spirit, Gordon
Brownville tells about the great Norwegian explorer, Roald
Amundsen. He was the first to discover the magnetic
mederian of the North Pole, and he as well discovered the
South Pole on one of his journeys. Amundsen took a homing
pigeon with him on every trip he took. When Amundsen had
finally reached the top of the world, he opened the bird’s cage
and set it free. Imagine the delight of Mrs. Amundsen back in
Norway when she looked up and saw the pigeon circling in the
sky! No doubt she exclaimed, “He’s alive!”
 So it was when Jesus ascended. Although he was
gone, the disciples clung to His promise to send them the
Holy Spirit. No doubt, joy flooded their souls when He
ascended from the earth. The Holy Spirit was and is a
continual reminder that Jesus is alive. What a comfort!!

What to do:
✞Thank God daily for His Comforter, the Holy Spirit.
✞Remember that the Holy Spirit is all you need to
comfort you during your trials.
✞Every time the Spirit comforts you, remember Jesus
lives!

Why should the children of a king

Go mourning all their days?
Great Comforter, descend and bring
Some tokens of your grace.

Do you not dwell in all your saints,

And seal the heirs of heaven?
When will you banish my complaints,
And show my sins forgiven?

Assure my conscience of her part

In the Redeemer's blood;
And bear your witness with my heart,
That I am born of God.

You are the earnest of his love,

The pledge of joys to come;
And your soft wings, celestial Dove,
Will safe convey me home.
~Isaac Watts

Like Him
 January 3

 Bible Reading: Romans 8:26-39

 Key Verse: Verse 29 – “For whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of
his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many
brethren.”
Key Words: to be conformed to the image of his
Son

Attitude determines outcome. Our spirit most often

refers to our heart attitude.
Several centuries ago, the emperor of Japan
commissioned a Japanese artist to paint a picture of a bird.
Months passed, then years. Finally, the emperor went to the
artist’s studio to ask for an explanation. The artist set his
blank canvas on the easel and, in fifteen minutes, completed
the painting of a bird that became a masterpiece. The
emperor asked why there had been such a long delay. The
artist then went from cabinet to cabinet. He produced
armloads of drawings of feathers, tendons, wings, feet, claws,
eyes, and beaks of birds. These he placed one by one before
the emperor.
The principle is that it takes time to build a masterpiece.
The Holy Spirit operates in the life of the believer so that
we may be conformed to the image of God’s Son. This is not
done in a moment of time. The whole process is detailed and
painstaking. We are told in Galatians 4:19, “My little
children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be
formed in you.” Then, the day shall come when the Emperor
of All Emperors will come for us and the completed work will
come forth in a moment. “…it doth not yet appear what we
shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be
like him; for we shall see him as he is.” I John 3:2
To God be the glory!!

What to do:
✞Be patient, God is not through with you yet.
 ✞Be useful in God’s service where you are, and with
the talents God has given you.

********************

The Torch & The Puddle

January 4

 Bible Reading: Isaiah 54:11-17

 Key Verse: Verse 17- “No weapon that is formed
against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that
shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt
condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the
LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the
LORD.”
Key Words: No weapon that is formed against
thee shall prosper

Let me begin by saying that I know Isaiah 54 was

written in regard to the nation of Israel; and I also know that
its message is prophetic. With that being stated, let me say, I
also know that, as Donald Grey Barnhouse once said,
“Spiritual onslaughts are wiped away by the power of the
Spirit.”
Barnhouse reports the following.
“One rainy day as we drove at more than sixty miles an
hour on a highway in the southwest, a great truck approached
us; it hit a puddle and flung gallons of muddy water in front of
us. As I cautiously applied the brakes, the wiper and the fresh
rain worked together to clear the windshield and to restore
visibility. At no moment were we endangered by the muddy
bath.
Spiritual onslaughts are wiped away by the power of
the Holy Spirit Who maintains us in the heavenly places in
Christ. I have learned to enter into the secret place where ‘no
weapon that is fashioned against you shall prosper, and you
shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their
vindication from me, says the Lord.’” (Isaiah 54:17)
What to do:
✞Do not rely on your own strength; but rely on the
strength of the Lord.
✞Often, what appears to be dangerous is nothing
more than opportunity. Be brave and use every
opportunity for God’s glory.

********************

The Holy Spirit & Assurance

January 5

 Bible Reading: I John 5:1-13

 Key Verse: Verse 13– “These things have I written
unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God;
that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that
ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
Key Words: that ye may know

Have you ever doubted your salvation? Be honest now!

The book of I John has a duel theme. In chapters one and
two, John deals with our fellowship with God. In chapters
three, four, and five, he deals with the assurance of salvation.
In reality, a lack of fellowship with God will bring a lack of
assurance of salvation, but the Holy Spirit works to give us full
assurance of salvation.
In Hebrews 10:15 we see the Holy Spirit witnessing to us.
In I John 5:10 the Holy Spirit is witnessing in us, and in
Romans 8:16 the Holy Spirit is witnessing with us. These
three witnesses of the Holy Spirit allow us to have full
assurance of our salvation. Let me explain.
On the wall in my parent’s home there are four pictures:
one of my dad, my mom, my sister, and myself. One day as I
was looking at these pictures, I said to my mother, “I’m not
really your child, am I?”
When my mother inquired as to why I would think such a
thing, I pointed to the pictures and said, “All of you have dark
hair but me.” Back then I was the only blonde in the group.
My mother took me to a back room, pulled out an old shoe
box with pictures in it, thumbed through the pictures until she
came to a particular old picture, and showing it to me, she
asked, “Who is this?”
I said, “It looks like me, but the picture is way too old for
that.”
Mom then said, “This is your dad when he was your age.”
I then knew I was the child of my father. This picture had
witnessed to me, it had witness in me – now I had complete
assurance that I belonged. I took that picture everywhere I
went. I showed that picture to all my family – that picture
now witnessed with me.
So it is with the Holy Spirit. He witnesses to us, in us,
and with us that we are the child of God. “Blessed assurance,
Jesus is mine.”

What to do:
✞If you doubt your salvation, evaluate first of all your
fellowship with God.
✞Living in sin produces doubt.
✞If you are still unsure, seek counsel from your
pastor, youth pastor, or Sunday School teacher.

********************

The Spotlight
January 6

 Bible Reading: John 15:16-27

 Key Verse: Verse 26 – “But when the Comforter is
come, whom I will send unto you from the Father,
 even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the
Father, he shall testify of me:”
Key Words: he shall testify of me

One way you know if the Holy Spirit of God is at work

in your life is by who you are drawn to. The Holy Spirit does
not draw your attention to material things, man or even
Himself. The work of the Holy Spirit is to draw your attention
to Jesus Christ.
In his writing on the victorious Christian life,
Robertson McQuilkin suggests that we imagine the following:
The President of the United States comes to speak at
your church, school, or community function, and as he enters
the band strikes up, “Hail to the Chief.” As the President
walks to the microphone, the spotlight follows his every step.
Suddenly, the crowd rises. They turn their backs to the
platform where the President is standing, and they all begin to
point to the balcony. As they point, they erupt in applause for
the fine performance of the spotlight operator!
Absurd? Of course, but it illustrates a truth about the
Holy Spirit. The Spirit glorifies and shines on the Son. The
work of the Holy Spirit is to focus on the central figure of time
and eternity: the Lord Jesus Christ.

What to do:
✞Understand fully the ministry of the Holy Spirit,
which is to draw us to Jesus.
✞Have your family write down some ways the Holy
Spirit draws our attention to Jesus.

Present In Spirit
 January 7

 Bible Reading: Galatians 4:1-16

 Key Verse: Verse 6 – “And because ye are sons, God
hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts,
crying, Abba, Father.”
Key Words: God hath sent forth the Spirit of his
Son into your hearts

During the latter stages of World War II, General

Douglas MacArthur kept a promise he had made to the people
of the Philippines when he was forced to leave the islands in
1942. He returned with enough troops to help the Filipinos
recapture their country.
Grateful for his assistance when all had seemed lost,
the government in Manila later directed its armies to begin a
tradition of calling out MacArthur’s name at every parade roll
call. Each company designated one officer who would
respond by answering, “Present in spirit.” That symbolic
gesture helped to ensure that the dedication and courage of
the general would live on in the hearts of the soldiers long
after MacArthur was gone.
Those words, “present in spirit,” remind me of One
who is actually present with every born-again Christian.
When Jesus came to earth as our Savior, He died on the cross
and rose from the dead, providing a way to escape the
takeover of our hearts by the enemy. After Jesus left this
earth, He sent the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.
Although Jesus is not with us now in bodily form, the Spirit
makes Him real to us.
If Philippine soldiers can, in a simple ceremony, gain
great encouragement by remembering MacArthur, how much
more can we as Christians be heartened by the indwelling
Holy Spirit, who convicts, guides, strengthens, and enlightens
us! We need only to surrender to His control. Victory is
assured because He is always present.

What to do:
 ✞When you need encouragement, remember “present
in the Spirit.”
✞Are you totally surrendered to the Spirit’s control?
✞Always remember, I’ve read the last chapter of the
Book. We are victorious!

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Stopping the Flow
January 8

 Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:25-32

 Key Verse: Verse 30 – “And grieve not the holy Spirit
of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of
redemption.”
Key Words: And grieve not the holy Spirit of God

The word grieve in the Greek is the word lupeo.

It is where we get our word loop. It carries the idea of
a water hose with a loop, cutting off the flow of water.
Now the water is still there, but it’s unable to flow
through the hose because of the loop or the knot. The
same is true when we grieve the Holy Spirit. His
power is there, but our sin will not allow it to flow
through us.
Harry Moorehouse, while still a young man,
was conducting evangelistic services. But there was no
revival. God had given precious revivals both in
America and in Great Britain, but in this city it was as
though he were beating against a stone wall. Day and
night he was on his knees searching his heart and
crying out, “O God, why is there no revival?”
One day he was walking along the street, and
the Holy Spirit showed him a large placard on which
appeared these words: “Harry Moorehouse, the most
famous of all British preachers!” At once he said to
himself, “That is why there is no revival!”
He went at once to the campaign committee,
and said, “Brethren, now I know why there is no
revival. See how you have advertised me as the
greatest of this and the greatest of that! No wonder
 the Holy Spirit cannot work! He is grieved and
quenched because you haven’t magnified the Lord
Jesus Christ. ‘He’ is the wonderful One. I’m just a
poor, simple, humble servant, preaching the glorious
Gospel, and saying ‘Behold the Lamb of God that
taketh away the sins of the world.”

What to do:
✞Evaluate your life and see if you are grieving the
Holy Spirit. You can know by the spiritual impact you
are having on others. So how is your spiritual impact?

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Strengthened Within
January 9
 Bible Reading: Ephesians 3:1-17
 Key Verse: Verse 16 – “That he would grant you,
according to the riches of his glory, to be
strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner
man;”
Key Words: strengthened with might by his Spirit
in the inner man

The ability to win spiritual battles does not come from

being physically strong, but from the strength given within.
Spiritual victories come from the Holy Spirit.
F. B. Meyer once had a firewood factory that employed
former prisoners from the local jail. Meyer would give them a
job to do, would pay them good wages, give them a place to
live, and would encourage them spiritually. In exchange, he
expected them to be good employees. If they were not, he lost
money and would have to fire them. Meyer did have to fire
many of them, and the process of doing so grew wearisome; so
Meyer purchased a circular saw powered by a gas engine. In
one hour it turned out more work than could all the combined
efforts of all the men during one day.
One day Meyer had a little conversation with his saw,
“How can you turn out so much work?” he asked. “Are you
sharper than the saws used by man?”
“No.”
“Is your blade shinier?”
“No.”
“What then? Better lubrication against the wood?”
The saw’s answer, could it have spoken, would have
been, “I am stronger because of the driving force behind me.”
Meyer observed later that many believers are working
in the power of the flesh, in the power of their intellect, their
energy, their enthusiastic zeal – but without effect. They need
a greater force behind them. They need the power of the Holy
Spirit.

What to do:
✞Be energized in the inner man by the Holy Spirit.
This comes through a right relationship with God, by
focusing on Jesus and doing what we do for God’s
glory. It comes from witnessing and desiring to see
souls come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

********************

Our Best Is Nothing Without

Him
January 10

 Bible Reading: Romans 8:26-31

 Key Verse: Verse 26 – “Likewise the Spirit also
helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we
should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself
maketh intercession for us with groanings which
cannot be uttered.”
 Key Words: Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our
infirmities

Note, if you would, the word infirmities found in verse

26. The word means “feelings of weakness in body and
mind.” I have found in my own personal life that when I am
weak, only then am I strong in the Lord.
Charles Spurgeon once preached what he considered to
be one of his poorest sermons. He stammered and
floundered, and when he got through he felt that it had been a
complete failure. He was greatly humiliated, and when he got
home he fell on his knees and said, “Lord, God, Thou canst do
something with nothing. Bless that poor sermon.”
All through the week he uttered that prayer. He woke up
in the night and prayed about it. He determined that the next
Sunday he would redeem himself by preaching a great
sermon.
Sure enough, the next Sunday the sermon went off
beautifully. At the close, the people crowded about him and
covered him with praise. Spurgeon went home pleased with
himself, and that night he slept like a baby. But he said to
himself, “I’ll watch the results of those two sermons.”
What were they? From the one that had seemed a
failure, he was able to trace forty-one conversions. And from
the magnificent sermon, he was unable to discover that a
single soul was saved. Spurgeon’s explanation was that the
Spirit of God used the one and did not use the other. We can
do nothing without the Spirit Who “helpeth our infirmities.”

What to do:
✞Remember, it is not about you. It’s all about Jesus.
✞Remember, God uses the simple to confound the
wise.
✞Do your best for God’s glory, and leave the results to
God.

Our Aim In Life

January 11
  Bible Reading: Acts 4:1-12
 Key Verse: Verse 8 – “Then Peter, filled with the Holy
Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and
elders of Israel,”
Key Words: Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have an

entire nation that is filled with the Holy Spirit? No! Oh well,
then how about an entire church that was Spirit-filled? The
results would be overwhelming!!
I recently read that the Kurku, a tribe in India of some
98,000 people, have as their supreme desire and objective in
life to be filled with demons. When filled, they believe that
their life will be immune from attacks and harm from all evil
forces.
Oh yes, they believe in “god” which they say is a good
spirit. They believe the good spirit created the world and
created them as well. But they believe that the greatest force
came from the demons, the evil spirits.
Now, I wonder what would happen if 98,000 of God’s
people in our country had as their aim in life to be filled with
the Holy Spirit of God. The churches would awaken, and
before long a continual stream of missionaries would be
flooding such places as India, and an enormous number of
souls would come to Christ as Savior, because our aim in life
would be right on target!!

What to do:
✞Ask yourself, what is your aim in life?
✞Ask your family, what is their aim in life?
✞How many people have you won to Christ, and how
many have you witnessed to?

Convicting Men of Sin

January 12
  Bible Reading: Acts 18:18-28
 Key Verse: Verse 28 – “For he mightily convinced the
Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures
that Jesus was Christ.”
Key Words: For he mightily convinced the Jews

The Jews were convinced that Jesus was the Savior as a

result of the working of the Holy Spirit (see verse 25). There
is no limit to what can be accomplished for Christ when the
Holy Spirit takes charge.
In East London during the visit of Moody and Sankey, a
hall in the dense working population of that city had been
reserved one evening for an address to atheists, skeptics, and
freethinkers. Bradlaugh, champion of atheism, heard of this
meeting, and ordered all the clubs he had formed to take
possession of the hall. They obeyed, and five thousand men
marched in from all directions.
The atheists laughed when Moody asked the men to
choose their favorite hymns. Mr. Moody spoke from “Their
rock is not our Rock, even our enemies themselves being
judges.” He poured in a broadside of telling incidents from
his own experience of the deathbeds of Christians and
atheists, and let the men be the judges as to who had the best
foundation to rest their faith upon. He attacked them in their
most vulnerable points, their hearts of unbelief.
The sermon ended, Mr. Moody announced a hymn and
gave opportunity for all to leave who did not want to stay for
the inquiry meeting. Moody was astonished when not one
man vacated his seat. After a few words Mr. Moody asked all
who would receive Christ to say, “I will.”
One person, the leading club man, shouted, “I won’t!”
Moody said: “Men, you have your champion here in the
middle of the hall who said, ‘I won’t.’ I ask every man here
who believes that man is right to rise and say, ‘I won’t!’”
None arose.
“Thank God,” said Moody. “Now who’ll say, ‘I will’?”
The Holy Spirit seemed to have broken loose upon that
great crowd, and five hundred men sprang to their feet,
saying, “I will!” “I will!” till the whole atmosphere was
changed, and the battle was won.
What to do:
✞Operate in the power of the Spirit without fear and
intimidation of man.
✞Pray and ask God to infill you with His power.

********************

Guided By the Spirit

January 13
 Bible Reading: Acts 16:1-13
 Key Verse: Verse 7 – “After they were come to Mysia,
they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit
suffered them not.”
Key Words: but the Spirit suffered them not

Have you ever had a door closed on you? I mean literally,

have you ever been talking to someone about the Lord; and
they slammed the door in your face? It is pretty obvious at
that point that they really want you to leave. It’s not the end
of the world!
I have found that when one door closes, another one
opens. So it was in Paul’s life. Paul desired to go to Bithynia,
but the Spirit of God closed the door. But in closing the door
to Bithynia, He opened the door to Philippi.
The story of missions in more modern times tells of
missionaries whose plans have been changed by the Holy
Spirit. Adoniram Judson wanted to go to India; but his course
was changed, and he went to Burma instead. When David
Livingstone was twelve years of age, he read an appeal for
missionaries to go to China, and he decided to go. His next
decision was to be a medical missionary. With this in view, he
began to complete his medical studies.
About the time he was ready to go, the opium war broke
out. Englishmen were banned from going to China. Robert
Moffitt was in England at that time telling others about the
South African mission. Livingstone was interested in Moffitt’s
story and said, “What is the use in waiting for the end of the
opium war? I will go to Africa.”
Thus the Holy Spirit led Livingstone to Africa, and the
dreadful slave trade was laid bare to the world as a result of
the Holy Spirit opening one door and closing another.

What to do:
✞Do not begrudge closed doors. Look for open ones.
✞Be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
✞Understand that all believers who are accomplishing
things for God’s glory have experienced at least once in
their life the sadness of a closed door, but the joy of
another door opening.

********************

One Who Falls Beside Us

January 14

 Bible Reading: John 14:1-18

 Key Verse: Verse 18 – “I will not leave you
comfortless: I will come to you.”
Key Words: I will not leave you comfortless

The word comfortless in the Greek is an interesting word,

orphanos. It is where we get our word orphan. Jesus is
saying to his disciples that He will not leave them, or us, as
orphans to defend ourselves and provide for ourselves, but
that the Holy Spirit will come and comfort us.
Estella Myers, a missionary working among the Karre
people of French Equatorial Africa, had tried to explain to the
native helpers the meaning of the word comforter. In order to
find something fitting she explained the ministry of the Holy
Spirit as “He encourages, exhorts, admonishes, protects, and
guides the Christian.”
Finally they exclaimed, “Oh, if anyone would do all that
for us, we would say, ‘He’s the One Who falls down beside
us!’”
When porters carry heavy loads on their heads and go on
long journeys, they may become sick and struggle to the end
of the line of carriers. Finally, they may collapse and be killed
and eaten by wild animals during the night. If someone
passing sees them prostrate and stoops to help them to safety,
they speak of such a person as “the one who falls down beside
us.” It is this expression which the missionary translator took
as the translation of comforter, for this is the One Who
sustains, protects, and keeps the children of God on their
journey toward their heavenly home.

What to do:
✞Rely upon God – He will not leave you comfortless
(as orphans).
✞Remember your needs, protection, and guidance
does not ultimately come from man, but from God; so
thank Him and serve Him today and everyday.

********************

Led By the Spirit

January 15
 Bible Reading: Matthew 4:1-11
 Key Verse: Verse 1 – “Then was Jesus led up of the
Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.”
Key Words: led up of the Spirit

There is an old saying that goes, “Make sure you know

who you are following before you follow them.”
The same can be said in regard to the spiritual things.
Always make sure you know that you are being led by the
Spirit and not by your own selfish desires or the pull of the
world. One way you can know if it is the Spirit leading you is
the Spirit leads upward, but the flesh and the world lead
downward. Matthew 4:1 says that Jesus was “led up of the
Spirit.”
The flesh and the world will lead you directly into
destruction. The following incident related by Sir Samuel
Baker illustrates the point well:
“Many years ago, when the Egyptian troops first
conquered Nubia, a regiment was destroyed by thirst in
crossing the Nubian desert. The men, being upon a limited
allowance of water, suffered from extreme thirst; and,
deceived by the appearance of a mirage that exactly resembled
a beautiful lake, they insisted on being taken to its banks by
the Arab guide. It was in vain that the guide assured them
that the lake was unreal, and he refused to lose the precious
time by wandering from his course. Words led to blows; and
he was killed by the soldiers, whose lives depended upon his
guidance. The whole regiment turned from the track and
rushed toward the welcome waters. Thirsty and faint, over
the burning sands they hurried; heavier and heavier their
footsteps became; hotter and hotter their breath as deeper
they pushed into the desert, farther and farther from the lost
track, where the pilot lay in his blood; and still the mocking
spirits of the desert, the afreets (evil spirits) of the mirage, led
them on. The lake, glistening in the sunshine, tempted them
to bathe in its cool waters, close to their eyes, but never at
their lips. At length the delusion vanished – the fatal lake had
turned to burning sand! Raging thirst and horrible despair!
The pathless desert and the murdered guide! Lost! Lost! All
lost! Not a man ever left the desert; but they were
subsequently discovered, parched and withered corpses, by
the Arabs sent upon the search.”
No sin lures unwary souls from the path of
righteousness. The Holy Spirit warns and entreats them.
They grieve Him and drive Him away; and when it is too late,
they mourn their folly.
What to do:
✞Make sure you are
following the Holy Spirit.
 Again, the Spirit leads upward, not downward.
✞Be a loyal follower.
✞Be a faithful follower. These things pay spiritual
dividends.

********************

The Holy Spirit’s Work

January 16

 Bible Reading: Romans 12:1-5


Key Verse: Verse 2 - “And be not conformed to this
world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your
mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Key Words: And be not conformed to this world

The pull of the world is great. We are bombarded daily by

the world of Wall Street, Madison Avenue, and Hollywood
Boulevard. The pull to love the world, rely on the world, and
look like the world is continual; but that certainly is not God’s
desire for our lives. God desires that we be different from the
world. This can only be done as the Holy Spirit is allowed to
work in us.
In St. Peter’s Cologne, there are two pictures of the
crucifixion of Peter. They stand side by side, and the
existence of these two pictures is explained this way. “In the
beginning of the 19th century, when Napoleon came and
ransacked the city, he robbed St. Peter’s of one of those two
pictures (the original) and took it away. While the first
picture was taken from the city, the artist, in the absence of
the original, painted another picture. In time, the original
was returned and the two were placed side by side. Experts
now say that there is little difference between the two
drawings – you cannot tell which one is the original.”
Now that is a picture of the glorious work of the Holy
Spirit. The original is absent; Jesus has gone on to heaven.
But the Holy Spirit is here; and He is the Master Artist; and in
the absence of the Original, He is painting a likeness of Jesus
on the canvas of our hearts so that others can see Jesus
through you and me. May we be worthy copies of the
Original, conforming to His likeness.

What to do:
✞Understand that the Holy
Spirit is working in you for God’s glory.
✞Don’t begrudge events in your life. They are making
you more like the Original.

********************

Music Within
January 17

 Bible Reading: Colossians 3:1-17

 Key Verse: Verse 16 - “Let the word of Christ dwell in
you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing
one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
Key Words: in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs

We read in the book of Ephesians, chapter 5 and verse 19,

that when we are filled with the Spirit there will be a song in
our heart. That song would have to be either a psalm, hymn,
or spiritual song, or a combination of all three.
Time magazine ran the following article, which is very
applicable for today’s devotion.
The magazine cited a man who went to a psychiatrist
complaining that he was always hearing radio broadcasts.
Thinking to humor him, the psychiatrist asked what he was
hearing right then. The man replied that he was hearing Rudy
Vallee broadcasting from the Steel Pier in Atlantic City.
After much questioning he discovered that the man
worked in a glass bottle factory and had gotten some silica
crystals in dental cavities. The combination of the silica,
saliva and some bridgework in his mouth had literally
transformed him into a walking crystal radio receiver!
The psychiatrist referred the patient to a dentist who gave
his teeth a thorough cleaning, filled the cavities and redid the
bridgework. As a result, the patient “went off the air,” was
able to concentrate, and lived happily ever after.
The Bible says that those who are filled with the Spirit
are tuned into the heavenly frequency and carry a song
around with them everywhere they go – speaking to
themselves in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and
making music to the Lord in their hearts.

What to do:
✞Understand that what you are filled with is what will
come out of you.
✞Godly music can’t come from a worldly heart and
vice versa.
✞Thirdly, get a clean-up job, not on your teeth, on
your heart.

********************
Sealed
January 18

 Bible Reading: Ephesians 1:1-14

 Key Verse: Verse 13 – “In whom ye also trusted, after
that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye
were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,”
Key Words: ye were sealed with that holy Spirit

The word sealed comes from the Greek word sphragizo,

and it means to stamp, to keep, to preserve.
In our text, verse 13 gives us a breakdown as to what
happens to us at salvation. First of all, we hear the truth, the
gospel- the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Secondly, after we hear, we believe, we accept Jesus as our
Savior. Thirdly, after we believe, the Holy Spirit seals us until
the Lord returns for us.
The word sealed, again, means to be preserved, to be kept
from being ruined or destroyed.
My parents had a garden. Looking back on it, it was more
like a farm. My mother would take and cook the vegetables
that we would gather from the fields, and she would can them.
The process went something like this. Mother would heat up
a big boiler of water and put canning jars and lids in the
boiling water. Then she would take the jars out and put the
cooked vegetables in them and put those hot canning lids on
the jar. As the jars and lids would cool down, you could hear
the lids begin to pop. Mother would say, “Well, they’re sealed
now.” Those vegetables were sealed until Mom would go and
take them off the shelf and unseal them. So it is with our
salvation. Once we’re saved, the Holy Spirit seals us,
preserves us until the Lord comes back for us. That’s the
reason I can say, “Once saved, always saved!” Not because of
what I do, but because of what the Holy Spirit has done –
sealed us until the day of redemption.

What to do:
✞Make your salvation sure. Are you truly born again?
✞Thank God for His keeping power.
✞Rest in the Holy Spirit’s keeping power.
✞Don't exchange the permanent for the temporary.

The Holy Spirit and Fire

January 19

 Bible Reading: I Thessalonians 5:15-28


 Key Verse: Verse 19 – “Quench not the Spirit.”
Key Words: Quench not the Spirit

The word quench means “to extinguish a fire”. We are not

to extinguish the fire of the Holy Spirit in our personal lives
and in our church.
Wilbur Chapman tells the following which illustrates the
fire of the Holy Spirit.
“The remedy for a church that won’t budge is FIRE. Have
you ever watched a little boy try to get a big old box turtle to
move? The more he coaxes it, the slower it goes. He then gets
a stick and tries to club it. What does the turtle do? It just
pulls its head, feet and tail inside its shell for a spell. It just
sits there. Those turtles, you know, are a patient lot. You
can’t get them to move by ordinary means when they get
peeved. But you just watch that little boy. You can almost see
the wheels turning in his mind. He’s nobody’s dummy. He
gets one corner of the old turtle and props it up with a stick.
Then he runs into mama’s kitchen and pulls the chair over to
the cabinet. He scrambles up on the chair and then on to the
cabinet. From there he can reach into the cupboard where the
matches are kept. With a fist full of matches he scurries down
off the cabinet onto the chair. He now runs outside to see if
old turtle is still up on the homemade jack like he’s waiting for
an oil change. Now what does the little boy do? …… You
guessed it. Maybe it was you that did this! He lights the
match and holds it under the old turtle. Well, let me tell you,
it isn’t long until things begin to happen. Old turtle backs off
of his homemade jack kind of quick like and you’ve never seen
a turtle hot foot it so fast in all your life. He doesn’t ask
questions. He doesn’t need to be told which way is north or
which way is south.
“If you think a turtle can’t go fast, put some fire under Bro.
Poke Turtle and he’ll make the gravel fly. He’ll do a wheelie…
and did you know that if God could put some FIRE under us it
would burn out rebellion, stubbornness, starchiness, and the
lack of concern in this age. It would burn out all the formality
and the cobwebs of programs, and put life, vitality, heartbeat,
and pulsation into the church until it could do the things that
God intended it to do. May the Eternal One inject into the
moral plasma of our being that energizing drive, until we’ll go
forth with burning hearts, brimming eyes, and bursting lips.”

What to do:
✞Ask God to put the fire of the Holy Spirit in you and
under you.
✞Ask God to put the fire of the Holy Spirit in your
pastor and church.
✞Never quench the fire of the Holy Spirit by living for
self.

********************

The Holy Spirit and Gifts, Pt 1

January 20

 Bible Reading: Romans 12:4-21

 Key Verse: Verse 6 - “Having then gifts differing
according to the grace that is given to us, whether
prophecy, let us prophesy according to the
proportion of faith;”
Key Words: Having then gifts differing

As you read verse 6 through verse 8, you see the seven

gifts of the Spirit. Each is useful, and in order for the church
to function as a unified body, all seven gifts are vital. There
are none more important than the other, and none less
important than the other.
Prophecy focuses on truth, while ministering focuses on
being a servant to others. The gift of teaching focuses on
learning, while exhortation focuses on motivation. The gift of
giving focuses on meeting needs, rulership focuses on
overseeing and organization, and mercy focuses on
compassion. Each gift is important in the operation of the
church. There are no big I’s and little U’s.
A talented organist in the days before motor-driven or
electric organs gave a magnificent concert in which the big
pipes on the organ sent forth glorious and thunderous tunes.
After people finished congratulating the organist, the little
fellow who had worked with all his might at the bellows
remarked, “We did pretty well, don’t you think?” The organist
scornfully replied, “And what did you do?” giving the young
lad no credit at all. Sometime later during another concert,
the organist came to the stormy passage that required all the
wind the bellows were capable of producing. But instead of a
great thunderous sound, the organ began to fade away. The
organist signaled for more wind. Instead the little fellow
pulled the curtain aside and said, “Is it I or is it we?”
Every gift is needed.

What to do:
✞Use your gift for God’s glory.
✞Understand that every gift is important.
✞Remember though, the gift was given to you through
the Spirit, so thank God for it.

THE HOLY SPIRIT

We may hear choice preachers

Expound God's written Word,
But, unless the Holy Spirit teaches,
It's as though we'd never heard.
He gives light to darkened hearts,
And sight to blinded eyes,
And the precious Truth He imparts
Is eternally realized.
He never speaks of Himself
As He functions here on earth,
But draws lost souls to Christ,
 Repentance, and new birth.
He's the One sent by our Lord
To comfort, teach, and Guide,
Entering our hearts at salvation
Forevermore to abide.
He's the third person of the Trinity,
Equal with the Father and Son;
Each have different functions,
Yet, our God is One.
The Holy Spirit can be blasphemed,
Rejected, quenched, and grieved;
Or He can be heard and followed,
Submitted to, and received.
Father, help us to depart from evil,
And all known sin,
As we learn to listen to The Holy Spirit-
Your still, small voice within.

********************

The Holy Spirit and Gifts, Pt 1

January 21

 Bible Reading: I Corinthians 12:1-11

 Key Verse: Verse 4 - “Now there are diversities of
gifts, but the same Spirit.”
Key Words: diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit

The book of I Corinthians is not a book of commendation,

but a book of condemnation, a book of correction. Paul is
writing the believers at the church of Corinth because they all
wanted the same gifts. We are told in I Corinthians 12:29-30,
“Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all
workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? Do all
speak with tongues? Do all interpret?”
It seems as though some had become puffed up and proud
of their gifts, and looked down upon others whom they
thought had a “lesser” gift. They failed to understand that
every gift of the Spirit was valuable.
The following is one of Aesop’s fables and it illustrates this
point as well.
“A Stag overpowered by heat came to a spring to drink.
Seeing his own shadow reflected in the water, he greatly
admired the size and variety of his horns, but felt angry with
himself for having such slender and weak feet. While he was
contemplating himself, a Lion appeared at the pool and
crouched to spring upon him.
“The Stag immediately took to flight, and exerting his
utmost speed, as long as the plain was smooth and open, kept
himself easily at a safe distance from the Lion. But entering a
wood he became entangled by his horns, and the Lion quickly
came up to him and caught him. When too late, he thus
reproached himself: ‘Woe is me! How I have deceived myself!
These feet which would have saved me I despised, and I
gloried in these antlers which have proved my destruction.’”
The moral of the story is what is most truly valuable is
often underrated. Indeed, as Christians we should never
lessen the gifts and talents that God has given us.

What to do:
✞Thank God for every gift He has given you.
✞Use your spiritual gifts for His glory.
✞Never look down on the gifts possessed by others.

Pastor’s Note: I do believe that some of the gifts listed in I

Corinthians 12 are no longer in existence today; i.e. tongues,
interpretation of tongues, and healing, just to name a few.

********************

The Indwelling of the Spirit

January 22
  Bible Reading: Romans 8:9-15
 Key Verse: Verse 9 – But ye are not in the flesh, but in
the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is
none of his.”
Key Words: the Spirit of God dwell in you

The word dwell means “to take up residence.” When a

person accepts Christ as their Savior, the Holy Spirit takes up
residence in the inner man.
We are told in I Corinthians 6:19, “What? Know ye not
that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in
you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”
This indwelling provides many things for us, but it most
certainly will provide the assurance of our salvation.
Let me explain. Say one of my grandchildren moved in
with my wife and me. That would provide many things: love,
joy, peace, etc. but it would also require many changes on our
part. I, for example, would have to go from watching the
History Channel to watching such things as the Animal
Channel. Meal time would be different. Since my wife and I
are empty-nesters, we don’t prepare big meals – a sandwich, a
cup of soup, a bowl of cereal – but now, with a grandchild,
mealtime would change, I’m sure. Places I never go, I would
find myself frequenting, such as McDonald’s, Burger King,
etc. Time and space do not allow for us to talk about such
things as bathroom time, hot water for the shower, additional
laundry, discussing why I refuse to have a dog live in the
house, nightly homework, and the list goes on and on. But the
point is that when the grandchild took up residency, there
would be some changes. We would most certainly know she
was living with us.
The same is true of the Holy Spirit. The things I used to
do have changed. The places I used to go have changed, the
things I used to watch have changed. My desires have
changed all because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This
provides great assurance of my salvation. To God be the glory
for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
What to do:
✞Make sure of your salvation – does the Holy Spirit
dwell within you?
✞Thank God for this change.
✞Now, not only does the Holy Spirit dwell within you,
but you can also live in the Spirit.

********************

Resisting the Spirit

January 23

 Bible Reading: Acts 7:51-60

 Key Verse: Verse 51 – “Ye stiffnecked and
uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist
the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.”
Key Words: ye do always resist the Holy Ghost

The message of the deacon, Stephen, found in Acts 7 is

powerful and straightforward. He reminds the Jewish people
of their fathers and how they wandered in the wilderness
because of disobedience, and then reminds them that they as
well were a disobedient people. He called them stiffnecked
(stubborn) and uncircumcised in heart and ears. Their heart
and ears were covered with old Jewish traditions and
ritualism. As a result, they resisted the Holy Spirit’s
conviction and the call to salvation.
I read an interesting story that may explain why Jews and
Gentiles both resisted the Holy Spirit.
“For many years Mr.& Mrs. Emmanuel O. Lago were
missionaries in Palestine. He was from the north of Ireland
but when clad in a Palestinian shepherd’s garb, he could easily
pass for an Arabian shepherd.
One day while visiting the area of Beersheba, Mr. Lago
encountered some shepherds sitting near the roadside while
their sheep grazed on the stony hillside. ‘How do you call
your sheep?’ he asked.
In a low voice, a shepherd gave a call to his sheep and the
missionary repeated the call quite accurately. Then Mr. Lago
borrowed the cloak and staff of the shepherd. Walking among
the grazing sheep, he called the sheep repeatedly, but not one
sheep even lifted its head from grazing.
Then the ‘true’ shepherd without cloak or staff gave the
same call as the missionary. What a difference! Immediately
every sheep lifted its head and came trotting to the shepherd.”
It is said that only a sick sheep will fail to respond to the
wooing of the shepherd. The moral is only the spiritually sick
will fail to heed the wooing of the Holy Spirit and resist His
call.

What to do:
✞Heed today to the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
✞Stay sensitive to the conviction and calling of the
Spirit. **This is done in part by living a pure, Godly
life and staying in the Word and in prayer.

Walking in the Spirit

January 24

 Bible Reading: Romans 8:1-8

 Key Verse: Verse 1 - " There is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who
walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
Key Words: who walk not after the flesh, but after
the Spirit
 Have you ever thought about what it really means to walk
in the Spirit? The answer to how we can walk in the Spirit is
actually found in Amos 3:3, “Can two walk together, except
they be agreed?”
If I am to walk in the Spirit, I must be in agreement with
the Spirit. It’s not about my will, but about God’s will being
done. The thing that makes anyone an effective servant is a
spirit of agreement with God, which requires our submission
and obedience to Him, even when we fail to understand all He
is asking and requiring of us.
The following story, I believe, illustrates this point.
“At three o’clock one wintry morning, a missionary
candidate climbed the steps to the examiner’s home. He was
shown into the study where he waited until eight o’clock for
an interview. Upon arriving, the old clergyman proceeded to
ask questions. ‘Can you spell?’
‘Yes, sir,’ was the reply.
‘All right, spell baker.’
‘Baker, b-a-k-e-r.’
‘Fine. Now do you know anything about figures?’ the
examiner inquired.
‘Yes, sir – something.’
‘How much is twice two?’
‘Four,’ replied the lad.
‘That’s splendid,’ returned the old man. ‘I believe you
have passed. I’ll see the board tomorrow.’
At the board meeting the man submitted his account of
the interview. ‘He has all the qualifications of a missionary,’
he began. ‘First, I tested him on self-denial. I told him to be
at my house at three o’clock in the morning. He left a warm
bed and came out in the cold without a word of complaint.
Second, I tried him on promptness. He appeared on time.
Third, I examined him on patience. I made him wait five
hours to see me, after telling him to come at three. Fourth, I
tested him on temper. He failed to show any sign of it; he
didn’t even question my delay. Fifth, I tried his humility. I
asked him questions that a five-year-old child could answer,
and he showed no indignation. So you see, I believe this lad
meets the requirements. He will make the missionary we
need.”
If I am to succeed spiritually, I must walk in the Spirit.

What to do:
✞Walk in the Spirit, not the flesh.
✞Understand if walking in the Spirit means that I am
in agreement with God, then walking in the flesh must
mean I am in agreement with the world.

********************

A Biblical World View of Jesus

January 25

 Bible Reading: John 7:3-53

 Key Verse: Verse 39 – “(But this spake he of the Spirit,
which they that believe on him should receive: for the
Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was
not yet glorified.)”
Key Words: But this he spake of the Spirit

The modern Christian is dwarfed and underdeveloped.

The average spiritual diet served by the average preacher for
the modern-day Christian does not provide the necessary
nourishment for growth and maturity. They offer programs,
parties, and promotions; but power is conspicuously absent
from the average church. Out of desperation and frustration,
as the old prophet said, “They hue out cisterns which can
hold no water. It’s not by might or power, but by my Spirit,
saith the Lord.” We can neither outwit nor overpower the
devil. We have substituted organizing for agonizing, playing
for praying. We have substituted the upper room for the
supper room; and instead of turning out giants, we are
turning out Lilliputian (extremely small) saints.
The late Peter Marshall, Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, told
of a little town in Scotland which had employed a man for
many years just to keep a spring of water cleaned out that
provided drinking water for the community. For lack of
finances, a cut-back was ordered in the municipal operations,
which resulted in eliminating this man’s job. Not long
thereafter, the whole community became sick and many died.
It was discovered that the epidemic was the result of polluted
drinking water. A similar problem is hindering the churches
today. Too many lives of members are not kept clean. The
viruses of sin have made many sick, and it is now spreading
into epidemic proportions.
The only way this is going to change is if we, as believers,
yield to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. Power comes
through the presence of the Spirit.

What to do:
✞Speak up for God.
✞Live for God through the power of the Spirit.

Fruit of the Spirit

January 26

 Bible Reading: Galatians 5:19-26

 Key Verse: Verse 22 – “But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness,
faith,”
Key Words: But the fruit of the Spirit

T. Dewitt Talmadge was the creative and colorful pastor of

the Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York in the late 1800’s. His
sermons, many of which have been put in print, contain
remarkable and entertaining content. His sermon God
Among the Orchards fascinates its readers with its tour of
Bible orchards. Talmadge carries his readers from Adam’s
orchards in Eden to Solomon’s orchards in the Song of
Solomon, to Pilate’s orchard and the cross of Christ, until we
reach the orchard in Heaven.
There is just nothing quite like fruit: tasty, healthy, and a
wide variety. Every year at Thanksgiving our ladies put
together a Thanksgiving basket for our senior saints. There
are a number of things in these baskets but the primary
component is fruit.
There is something special about fruit: the colors, the
shapes, the sizes, the smells. The English word fruit comes
from the Latin frui which means “to enjoy or take pleasure
in.” What would life be without fruit? Fruit puts freshness
and sweetness on our tables.
Paul, describing Christian character, uses the picture of
fruit. The reason for this is that fruit is the result on the
outside of the tree, that shows the life and work which is
taking place on the inside of the tree.
The fruit of the Spirit is the result of the work taking place
on the inside of our lives. You know what is on the inside of a
person by what is produced on the outside.
Spirit fruit is not the result of any work we do, but rather it
is the result of the Holy Spirit working within.
Fruit does not grow naturally – weeds grow naturally –
fruit grows supernaturally. What fruit are you producing
today?

What to do:
✞Honestly evaluate the fruit in your life.
✞Understand that love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and
temperance cannot be worked out unless they are first
produced within by the Holy Spirit.
✞Producing fruit doesn’t save you; it just lets others
know that you are saved.
 ********************

Physical vs. Spiritual Power

January 27

 Bible Reading: Romans 15:1-13

 Key Verse: Verse 13 – “Now the God of hope fill you
with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may
abound in hope, through the power of the Holy
Ghost.”
Key Words: through the power of the Holy Spirit

Have you ever stopped and thought about the comparison

of having no physical power with having no spiritual power?
First, those who have no physical power have trouble
moving about physically. The same is true when it comes to
spiritual power; those who have no spiritual power can’t
“move” in the spirit to accomplish spiritual things. The
person with no physical power has no strength nor will power
to pray, read God’s Word or come to God’s house. So it is with
those who have no spiritual power.
Second, when one is lacking in physical power they must
depend on others to do their work for them. The same is true
when it comes to spiritual power. Those who lack spiritual
power know that the work of God must carry on, but depend
on others to accomplish their work.
Third, when one is lacking in physical power they become
easily discouraged. This is also the case when one is lacking in
spiritual power. They depend on others to always be there to
encourage them.
Fourth, when one is lacking in physical power they often
depend on others to prepare their meals for them and feed
them. And so it goes for those who are not spiritually strong.
They as well will starve to death spiritually if some other
spiritually strong believer doesn’t take time to prepare and
feed them a “spiritual meal.”
 Fifth, and last of all, those who are lacking in physical
power cannot clean and dress themselves; they become dirty
and naked before the world. So those who are spiritually
strong must constantly motivate and help those who are
spiritually weak in these areas.
These are just a few of the comparisons between physical
power and spiritual power. Is it not true that we primarily
focus on our physical power rather than our spiritual power?
Need I remind you of what Paul said in Ephesians 6:10,
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the
power of his might.”
So let’s not focus solely on our physical power, but pay
close attention to our spiritual power as well.

What to do:
✞Ask God, not just for physical strength, but for
spiritual strength as well.
✞Pray for others, not only to be physically well, but
also to be spiritually whole and strong.
✞Honestly evaluate your spiritual strength by the five
characteristics in our devotion.

********************

The Deity of the Spirit

January 28

 Bible Reading: John 4:1-26

 Key Verse: Verse 24 - “God is a Spirit: and they that
worship him must worship him in spirit and in
truth.”
Key Words: God is a Spirit

There are those who not only question the deity of the
Holy Spirit, they flatly deny it!
  The Jehovah’s Witnesses say, “The Holy Spirit, the
so-called third person of the Trinity, is not a
person but an active force.”
 L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology: “There are many
spirits of God.”
 Herbert W. Armstrong and the Worldwide Church
of God: “People have accepted the heretical and
false doctrine introduced by pagan false prophets
that the Holy Spirit is a third person of the
Trinity.”
 Transcendental Meditation, founded by Mahesh
Prasad Warma, later known as Mahesh Yogi says
that, “Nature is the Holy Spirit.”
But in spite of all the denials and false beliefs, a thorough
study of the Scriptures regarding the Holy Spirit would reveal
the Third Person of the Trinity is God.
The deity of the Holy Spirit ought to be clearly recognized
in Scripture. Look at these facts: Christ is born, the Spirit is
His forerunner, Christ is baptized, and the Spirit bears
witness. Christ is tempted, and the Spirit leads Him up.
Christ ascends into heaven, and the Spirit takes His place.
The same characteristics that are applied to God are also
applied to the Holy Spirit.
This can be clearly seen through the titles attributed to
the Spirit. He is called the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ,
the Mind of Christ, the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of
Adoption, the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of Liberty, of Wisdom,
of Understanding, of Counsel, of Might, of Knowledge, of
Godliness, of Fear. This only begins to show how unlimited
the Holy Spirit is!!

What to do:
✞Let the Spirit of God control your life and thoughts.
✞Let Him be your liberty, wisdom, counsel, might,
knowledge, and Godliness.
 ********************

The Holy Spirit in Action

January 29

 Bible Reading: Genesis 1

 Key Verse: Verse 2 – “And the earth was without
form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of
the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face
of the waters.”
Key Words: And the Spirit of God moved upon the
face of the waters.

You do not have to go far into the Word of God to find the
Holy Spirit in action. Now you do find a difference in how the
Holy Spirit operates under the old covenant as compared to
the new covenant. In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit
would come and minister and then leave; in the New
Testament He came to permanently stay until the Second
Coming of Christ.
Wilbur Chapman in his book, Present-Day Parables,
explains it this way.
“You have only to turn over the pages of the Old
Testament to see him in his mighty power. I have a friend
who says you have in the dove an emblem of the spirit, and
whenever you find a dove in the Old Testament, you have
some picture of the third person of the trinity. And he said,
when Noah opened the window of the ark and sent out the
dove, it flew out over the water, and found no resting-place,
and returned again to the ark; then he let it fly again, and the
little dove flies here and there and finds an olive-leaf, and
comes back and rests upon the hand of Noah. (The olive in
the Old Testament and in the New, is the emblem of peace.)
Then the third time the dove flew forth, and came back no
more forever. Just so the spirit of God came. He came to
teach Moses, and Isaiah, and Abraham in the Old Testament
time. He came when Christ was crucified. He plucked, as it
were, the olive-branch of peace from the cross, and bears it
back to God to say peace has been made in the death of the
Son. But when Pentecost – the fullness of time – was come,
he came, and he has not gone back since that day. He is in the
world today, finding his resting-place in the hearts of the
believers; and so I don’t speak of him as one far away, but as
one near at hand, and right here among us.”
And I would add in us (Romans 8:9).

What to do:
✞If the Holy Spirit has no place in your heart, I would
challenge you to be saved today.
✞Just as the Holy Spirit lives within each believer,
each believer should live in the Spirit, desiring and
living for the spiritual rather than the worldly.

********************

What Are You Fighting About?

January 30

 Bible Reading: Romans 14:13-23

 Key Verse: Verse 17– “For the kingdom of God is not
meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and
joy in the Holy Ghost.”
Key Words: righteousness, and peace, and joy in
the Holy Ghost

In Romans 14, the people are arguing over whether

believers should be eating meat that has been offered to idols.
So Paul steps in and tells them to lighten up, the Kingdom of
God is not about meat and drink, it’s about righteousness,
peace, and joy that only comes from the Holy Ghost.
So often believers bicker and fight over things which
only reveal that we are not allowing the Holy Spirit of God to
work in our lives.
Each of us should seek to allow the Holy Spirit to
control every aspect of our life.
A group of pastors were discussing the possibility of
having D. L. Moody serve as an evangelist in a city-wide
evangelistic campaign. One minister was reluctant to have
Moody speak. “Does he have a monopoly on the Holy Spirit?”
The question was followed by a hushed silence.
Finally another man spoke up and said, “No, Moody does not
have a monopoly on the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit does
have a monopoly on D. L. Moody.”
May that be said of all of us.

What to do:
✞Let the Holy Spirit have a monopoly on your
life.

********************

A Clear Conscience
January 31

 Bible Reading: Romans 9:1-9

 Key Verse: Verse 1 - ”I say the truth in Christ, I lie
not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the
Holy Ghost,”
Key Words: my conscience also bearing me
witness in the Holy Ghost

J. Vernon McGee translates this verse as follows: “I

speak the truth in Christ; I do not lie, my conscience in the
Holy Ghost bearing witness with me.”
Now let me give you my translation, “I speak the truth
in Christ. My conscience will not allow me to lie because of
the Holy Ghost working in me.”
No matter how you word it, when you have the Holy
Spirit working in your conscience you won’t lie and if you do,
the Holy Spirit will let you know it.
Since 1811 Uncle Sam has been receiving anonymous
sums of money as self-imposed fines for a variety of reasons,
such as for taking Army blankets for souvenirs or for
deliberately failing to put enough postage on a letter. One
widow, checking her late husband’s books, discovered he had
cheated the government, so she promptly mailed a check for
$50 to the Treasury. All these monies have been placed in an
account named the Federal Conscience Fund which now totals
over three million dollars.
~ Leslie B. Flynn

What to do:
✞Let the Holy Spirit be your Guide with what you say
and do.

Notes:

Notes:
I deeply appreciate the
help of
 Mary Parsons

Glenda Myrick

And my lovely wife, Linda

Without God using these

people to help, this
devotional would not
have been possible.
Dr. Mike Rouse
 is a ministry of

5568 Chalkville Mountain Road

Birmingham, AL. 35235
(205) 854-2741
www.mountainviewbaptist.org