You have been in the dressing chamber a while now and it’s time. It’s time you allow the Holy Spirit to escort you into the Presence of God.  Let’s first get familiar with your Guide, the Holy Spirit, by knowing who He is and how He works. Then relax as your worship and praise lift you into His Throne Room!

January 14

Day 13

Focus: Living in the Spirit – Allowing the Spirit to Operate in You

This devotion will present practical insights on who the Holy Spirit is and how He operates in the everyday aspect of our lives. My question is, do you recognize Him?

Scriptures: Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Promise of the Spirit to Us

Joel 2:28-29

²⁸ “It shall come about after this
That I shall pour out My Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream dreams,
Your young men will see visions.
²⁹ “Even on the male and female servants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

The Promise of the Spirit in Us

Acts 2:38-39

³⁸ And Peter said to them, “Repent [change your old way of thinking, turn from your sinful ways, accept and follow Jesus as the Messiah] and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ because of the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

³⁹ For the promise [of the Holy Spirit] is for you and your children and for all who are far away [including the Gentiles], as many as the Lord our God calls to Himself.”

The Holy Spirit is the,

Seal (Layaway Ticket) for Redemption

Ephesians 1:13

¹³ In Him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the good news of your salvation, and [as a result] believed in Him, were stamped with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit [the One promised by Christ] as owned and protected [by God].

¹⁴ The Spirit is the guarantee [the first installment, the pledge, a foretaste] of our inheritance until the redemption of God’s own [purchased] possession [His believers], to the praise of His glory.

Comforter

John 14:16-17

¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another ^[a]Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever—

 ¹⁷ the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive [and take to its heart] because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He (the Holy Spirit) remains with you continually and will be in you.

Guide to Righteous Living

Romans 8: 8-11

⁸ and those who are in the flesh [living a life that caters to sinful appetites and impulses] cannot please God.

⁹ However, you are not [living] in the flesh [controlled by the sinful nature] but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God lives in you [directing and guiding you]. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him [and is not a child of God]. 

¹⁰If Christ lives in you, though your [natural] body is dead because of sin, your spirit is alive because of righteousness [which He provides]. 

¹¹ And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.

The Spirit of God rested on Old Testament judges, kings and prophets while God has placed the Holy Spirit in us. We are the temple (1 Corinthians 6: 19-20) of the Holy Spirit. He does not rest on us; He is in us. We are his house! Think about that a minute.

Living in the Spirit

There is a distinctive difference between your thoughts that move you to action and the Holy Spirit that moves you to action. To distinguish between the two, you must be familiar with how the Holy Spirit operates.  Yes, He, not It.

In certain religious communities the Holy Spirit has become the most ignored personage of the Godhead. Most can relate to God as Father and Creator and to Jesus as the Son of God and Savior. However, there are some who don’t know what to do with and how to relate to the Holy Spirit. Some have virtually placed an expiration date on Him or at the very least retired Him.

How He Works

The Holy Spirit works through people. I will tell you how he works by giving you actual examples of how He has moved in my life. I realize I am not the poster child for how the Holy Spirit moves but I speak from my vantage point simply because I was there, I experienced it. It is important that you know Him and become sensitive to His moving in your life.

In Intercession

At times I have felt an urgent need to pray. I may be at the sink washing dishes and I feel a pressing need so urgent I cannot finish what I am doing. I need to stop and find a quiet place to pray. Sometimes I know who I am praying for while other times I do not. This is where the Holy Spirit comes in and intercedes for us (Romans 8:26).

In Giving

He will prompt you to do things you wouldn’t ordinarily do. One time in church I felt compelled to give a certain lady some money. I wasn’t to give the money directly to her, I was to place it in her pocketbook discreetly. The opportune time for that would be during offering when everyone was walking about. Being as inconspicuous as possible I placed the money in her pocketbook. I don’t know why I was prompted to do that and she never publicly acknowledge she received money but those things were not important. It was important that I heard and obeyed. How did I know it was the Holy Spirit? Because I’m not wired to go around putting hard-earned money in a stranger’s pocketbook without some explanation of need from the receiver!

In Witnessing

If I am obedient to the Spirit the ‘pressing’ inside will subside. If I don’t comply, the weight of not submitting lasts for many days accompanied with regret. For example, many years ago the phone rang and it was a lady calling from California. While she was apologizing for dialing the wrong number, I felt that ‘pressing’ to speak to her about Christ.  As fast as the thought came, I allowed my nervousness to take over and reasoned it away.  The lady hung up. As soon as she hung up, such a deep dread came over me. This happened over 30 years ago and I still remember that feeling to this day. This was during the time there were no caller IDs so I couldn’t call her back. It was a hard lesson. I prayed for the lady afterward but I knew that fell short of what I was supposed to do.

Operating in Gifts

The Holy Spirit on occasion may have you operate in a gift (Ephesians 4:7-14) that is not your principle gift. And for that time will give you the grace to flow in the ministering of that gift. For example, teaching is my principal gift, singing is not!  On occasion my brother asks me to sing on a prayer call. God for that moment gives me the grace to inspire others in song that would have wanted to run for the door under normal circumstances! So, the Holy Spirit will bless you outside of your principal gift as circumstances make it necessary.

In Intervention

On another occasion, I was doing a bit of shopping in Walmart. I turned into a main aisle with my cart and I could see and hear two men in their thirties standing in each other’s faces, fists balled up and speaking loudly. I and other shoppers nearby stopped in our tracks.

There was a lady and a small child, about 2 years old, were with one of the men. Before I knew anything, I pushed my cart to aside, marched right over and placed myself in between the two men. I asked them to stop. As I think back, my tone was that of a mother talking to her sons. The only thing I remembered I said was they shouldn’t do this and this was no way to settle things.

 Still breathing fire, they backed down and went their separate ways. I went back to my cart and thought, “What did I just do? Oh my God.”  I continued shopping and ran into them again. They had begun to get it started again. I gave them a look; you mothers know what look I’m talking about. Both turned in opposite directions and left.  I chuckle to this day because I KNOW under normal circumstances, I would not have put myself between these two men.  It was nothing short of God. He knows why.  Was God sending a message to these men by my actions or was He sending a message to an onlooker? I don’t know and it’s not for me to know. I am just glad to it was God otherwise the outcome could have been a lot different.

In Conclusion

I ‘ve given you some personal examples of how the Holy Spirit works in me. I am not presumptuous enough to believe He works with everyone the same way. However, I do believe that if you are open to knowing Him you will began to “hear” Him.

Worship Song: King of Glory 

Petition:

Holy Spirit I pray that all reading will desire to know You so that You become an integral part of their lives. You are who Jesus sent to take care of us until the day we are ushered into Glory. I pray we do not grieve you with our actions but we become clay in your Hands. In that we are lights to the world and they will see Christ in us.

Thanksgiving:

Thank you, Holy Spirit, for taking such interest in the affairs of humankind! We cannot make it without You!

Praise Song: More Than Anything    

Meditation/Journal:

Think on the examples of the Holy Spirit in operation knowing God can’t be confined to a formula or pattern. He’s too big.  We can’t confine Him between the pages of a book or an experience.

Write your thoughts.

End Day 13:  Shofar

 

 

January 15

Day 14

Focus: Among Us, Part 2

Scripture: Psalm 3:3

³ But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head

The Most Beautiful Sound

One of the most beautiful and moving sounds I’ve come to know is to hear my mother’s voice coming from her bedroom singing songs of praise and thanksgiving. Her song, muffled by the walls, makes me want to go in and join her but the spirit she exerts with just hearing her through the walls seems more than enough to delight my soul. “Give it to me  “she sings, “Give it to me Lord, Oh Lord give it to me.”

 Some words I can’t make out through the cracked hoarseness that morning brings to her voice but I can feel her reprise in earnest. It’s assuring to know my mother, now 90 years old and alone since the loss of her husband, does not wake alone. She wakes in song and earnest prayer. Another day given, a new day dawns and she rises to give Him thanks. Not knowing what the day holds, what she may encounter or even what she may physically feel like today. But through her song she puts her hand in the Master’s and says to him ‘Come’.

This is the song my mother was singing:

Give me love Lord, give me love

Love, love, love Lord, give me love

Give me love Lord, in my soul

Give me love Lord that overflows.

Give me peace Lord, give me peace

Peace, peace, peace Lord, give me peace

Give me peace Lord, in my soul

Give me peace Lord that’s in control.

And she continued singing inserting joy and healing.

This is one of many songs my mother created in her heart to serenade God. They come out of a place of love for Him, a place of warmth, a place of longing for Him. I only know that as I am a small part of this shower of His presence, some drops can’t help but to fall on me.

Note: My mother is the featured image on this post. She was 90 years old when the  picture was taken. She is currently 91 and still  loving God!

If God Can Use a Donkey, He Can Use a Dog

Malcolm was watching his children, 6-year-old Van and 8-year-old DeeDee.  It was the dead of winter so lying on the couch in a warm toasty house Malcolm drifted off to sleep. Getting bored of indoor play, the two siblings decided to go sleighing. They grabbed their sleigh and they walked down the cul-de-sac to the hill adjacent to the community brook. Their dog, Max was excited to get outside as well.

Standing at the top of the hill, it was Van’s turn first. So, he hopped on the sleigh and went whizzing down the hill. As he approached the bottom he couldn’t stop the sleigh and went flying into the brook. DeeDee took off sliding down the hill to get Van out of the water. She got as close as she could and reached out attempting to grab Van’s coat. Then, she fell in! The water was freezing! Both fruitlessly flailed their arms trying to make their way out of the frigid water. Max, seeing their distress made his way to Van where Van grabbed hold of his collar. Max pulled him out. At that point Max took off running home.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Malcolm woke up to someone banging on the door. He got up off the couch and went to the door a bit aggravated. Opening the main door, he saw Max hurling himself against the screen door. He then looked beyond Max and saw Van inching his way toward the house soaked and terrified. He yelled to Van to go in the house and with no shoes, a tee shirt and pants took off toward the brook.  Upon arriving he saw DeeDee in the water and quickly got her out.

Both children suffered frostbite but they enjoyed their warm beds that night. ~ Lois M., Windsor, CT

Worship Song: I Could Sing of Your Love Forever 

Petition:

Lord we pray that you continue to weave yourself into our everyday lives. We may not see You Lord but we know you work in the lives of our children and children’s children. Let us not attribute your interventions to “luck” or “coincidence”. We will not give your praise to another!

Thanksgiving:

Let the glory of the Lord rise among us! We thank your for saving us again and again!. Thank you for the song You’ve placed in our hearts!

Praise Song: Let it Rise 

Meditation/Journal:

Think back. How has God showed up  in your life? Write Him a ‘Thank You’ note.

End Day 14:  Shofar

 

January 16

Day 15

Focus: In His Presence

I took a poll of friends that know what it is to be in the presence of God and asked then to share what it feels like. Here is what they said.

When I enter the presence of God,

It feels like no one else is in the world except God and me. It is the ultimate. ~ PW

I am void of all reality. I don’t think about problems, I am beyond that.~ BC

It becomes no more about me, it’s all Him. I feel the glory of God. My soul is exposed and I am humbled. It’s indescribable, so much so I am brought to tears.~ E S.

I feel a warmth, tears will often flow. The love of God seems to surround me. I am consumed in His awesomeness that I lose track of time and when I ‘come down’ I am exhausted but lighter in my heart and mind. I now can face anything! ~ MR

Scriptures:

Psalm 16:11

¹¹You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 95:2

²Let us come before His presence with a song of thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with songs.

Psalm 100:2

² Serve the Lord with gladness and delight;
Come before His presence with joyful singing.

Acts 3:19

¹⁹Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

Entering His Presence

Now it’s time to enter the presence of God if you haven’t already. All you need is a want-to and an open heart and mind. Oh yeah, patience. The patience is for getting out of your own way.

Ensure your surroundings are quiet and you’ll have no interruptions. You enter His presence with heartfelt worship and praise. Think about the things He has done for you. Open your mind and your heart and reach out to Him. You want to be where He is. Go there, He is calling you. Let your spirit soar in His Presence. He’s waiting with arms outstretched. Close your eyes and think on Him.

For your time of worship, I have included a medley of songs that speak to the presence of God. Envelope yourself in the words and thoughts of God’s goodness. Allow the Holy Spirit to escort you into the Throne Room.

More Precious than Silver 

 In the Presence of Jehovah

Jesus is Holy Instrumental

Journal:

Did you get there? I pray you did. If not, all is not lost. Don’t give up. Once you get there the first time, it’s easier every time after because you’ll know how to set the atmosphere.

Journal your experience…if you can.

 

End Day 15:  Shofar