EPHESIANS 1:13

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.

TO PONDER

Where are the places you feel closest to God? For some people it is a church or even a cathedral. For others it is a quiet place. For one of my friends it was a small clearing in a reserve behind their house. In the Gospels, we read of Jesus often going up a mountainside or isolated place to spend time with His Father. Spending time with God is obviously important in developing our relationship with God.

In 1 Corinthians 6:19, Paul reminds us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit who is in us. Our bible reading for today says we have been marked with the Holy Spirit. This indicates that the activities of the Holy Spirit in us are an important part of our growing and maturing as children of our Heavenly Father. But how aware are we of the presence of the Holy Spirit in us? Are we even trying to be alert to the ways He might be guiding us as we go about our daily business? From my experience, it is very common to not spare a single thought about God for the whole day, especially when I am absorbed in whatever task I am working on.

But I know that I repeatedly face situations in life that I respond to in ways that in retrospect show that I was not seeking to honour God but to deal with my own emotions. I would like to be more open to the leading of the Holy Spirit in me in these situations.

Some ways God’s people have experienced the guiding of the Holy Spirit are: giving us a new understanding of a bible verse or section we have been reading; a thought entering our head when we ask God specific questions; clarification of an issue we have been struggling with when someone has been talking to us without them knowing anything about the specific issue; providing a well-received or appropriate answer or word of advice to someone in response to their question when there is no way we would have said that if we thought about it for a while first; a song from the previous Sunday’s worship service going around in our head for days afterwards that provides encouragement that we need; helping us with our prayers when we struggle to know how to pray.

What about yourself? What are some of the ways you have experienced the Holy Spirit active in your life?

PRAYER: Thank you, Holy Spirit for loving us so much that you would come to live in us – even when we are not nice to be with. Thank you for all the ways you are guiding us and helping us to grow as children of our Heavenly Father. And thank you too for helping us to reflect the Father’s love into our communities. Amen

Today's devotion written by Charles Bertelsmeier, LifeWay Epping