Daily Devotions

As we move beyond the celebration of Pentecost we will start to explore what the Bible has to say about the blessings we receive as followers of Jesus Christ. So first let’s touch base with the word blessing as translated in the Hebrew of the Old Testament and the Greek found in the New.

In the Old Testament berāḵáh is the noun, meaning “blessing" and often involves invoking God's favour and protection upon someone or something. Eulogia, in New Testament Greek could refer to the act of blessing or the state of being blessed, while eulogeō means "to bless" or "to speak well of”.

The New Testament church saw themselves as the recipients of God’s blessing. In Philippians 4:19 we read, “"But my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus”. If we’re feeling we can be quick to share that we feel blessed. But what does that mean? God gives us so many blessings, from food and finances to friends and family. These Bible verses over the coming weeks about blessings will help us explore the ways God has blessed us.”

One morning R.C. Chapman, a devout Christian, was asked how he was feeling. "I'm burdened this morning!" was his reply. But his happy countenance contradicted his words. So the questioner exclaimed in surprise, "Are you really burdened, Mr. Chapman?" "Yes, but it's a wonderful burden--it's an overabundance of blessings for which I cannot find enough time or words to express my gratitude!" Seeing the puzzled look on the face of his friend, Chapman added with a smile, "I am referring to Psalm 68:19, which fully describes my condition. In that verse the Father in heaven reminds us that He 'daily loads us with benefits.’”

Thank you, Lord, for the blessings you have bestowed on my life. You have provided me with more than I could ever have imagined. You have surrounded me with people who always look out for me. You have given me family and friends who bless me every day with kind words and actions. Amen

Daily Devotions

We finally come to the last part of our 14th century hymn:

for none can guess its grace
till we become the place
in which the Holy Spirit makes his dwelling.

Paul, writing to Timothy explained it this way, “So keep at your work, this faith and love rooted in Christ, exactly as I set it out for you. It’s as sound as the day you first heard it from me. Guard this precious thing placed in your custody by the Holy Spirit who works in us.” 1 Timothy 2:13-14

Here’s a definition of the filling of the Spirit. It’s what happens when the Holy Spirit has the controlling interest in our lives. Just contrast the difference between wine and the Spirit. Drunken and Spirit-filled people have one thing in common. They are both controlled people. Their lives and their behaviour are radically changed by that which fills them.

If a someone is filled with anger, 

then anger controls their life.
If a someone is filled with greed, 

then greed dominates their life.
If a someone is filled with love, 

then love influences all they do.

When the Holy Spirit fills us, the Spirit will have the controlling interest in our lives. There is “control by consent.”

But let us stop and make a critical distinction. Being filled with the Holy Spirit doesn’t mean we have more of the Spirit, it means the Spirit has more of us. It doesn’t happen all at once any more than you get drunk all at once. Being filled with the Spirit happens as we continually choose to live under the Spirits influence.

Come, Spirit of Truth, fill our hearts.                   

May that which was of stone 

be now transformed into life.

Come, Spirit of Life, change our hearts.

May we who receive your light 

dwell together in Your love.

Come, Spirit of Love, soften our hearts.

Bestow your compassion 

on those who suffer in mind, spirit, and body.

Come, Spirit of Hope, heal our hearts.

Make us bold to bring light to the dark places,

warmth to the cold places, 

and love to the empty places.

Come, Spirit of Faith, strengthen our hearts.

Spirit of the Living God, fill our hearts, 

minds, and souls to overflowing.

Come, Spirit of God, move in our hearts. 

Our God—we, your people,

celebrate the mystery 

of your never-ending love.

Amen.  

Daily Devotions

 

And so the yearning strong

with which the soul will long
shall far surpass the power of human telling;

These thoughts no doubt come from the words Jesus spoke and we can read in John 16:12-15 “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t handle them now. But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He won’t draw attention to himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have done and said. He will honour me; he will take from me and deliver it to you. Everything the Father has is also mine. That is why I’ve said, ‘He takes from me and delivers to you.’

D L Moody was to have a campaign in England. An elderly pastor protested to his colleagues, "Why do we need this 'Mr. Moody'? He's uneducated, inexperienced, etc. Who does he think he is anyway? Does he think he has a monopoly on the Holy Spirit?" A younger, wiser pastor rose and responded, "No, but the Holy Spirit has a monopoly on Mr. Moody."

On another occasion, Speaking to a large audience, D.L. Moody held up a glass and asked, "How can I get the air out of this glass?" One man shouted, "Suck it out with a pump!" Moody replied, "That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass." After numerous other 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 a sin here and there," but by being filled with the Holy Spirit. 

The late Rev’d “David Watson, one of the great church leaders of the late 20th century famously said: “All Word and no Spirit, we dry up; all Spirit and no Word, we blow up; both Word and Spirit, we grow up”

Spirit…

Wind…

Breath…

fill our lungs and lives with your energising presence;

refresh our stale minds;

and stir our slowly-beating hearts;

so that we may humbly and courageously

be your breathing, gusting, good presence in the world.

Amen

Daily Devotions

Our verse for today says,

true lowliness of heart
which takes the humbler part,
and for its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.

Jesus in John 16:8-11 says, “The Spirit will come and show the people of this world the truth about sin and God's justice and the judgment. The Spirit will show them that they are wrong about sin, because they didn't have faith in me. They are wrong about God's justice, because I am going to the Father, and you won't see me again. And they are wrong about the judgment, because God has already judged the ruler of this world.”

In the Greco-Roman world, public reproof and exposure of wrongdoing were common practices, often used to maintain social order and moral standards. In the Jewish tradition, reproof was seen as a necessary part of community life, aimed at restoring individuals to righteousness. The New Testament reflects this cultural understanding, emphasising the role of the Holy Spirit in convicting the world of sin.

We have seen how the Spirit is our Comforter and Advocate, and yet here the Spirit is also one who convicts of sin—which might initially seem counterintuitive to the truths we have learned about the Spirit so far. The word Jesus uses for “convict” in Greek means to cross-examine, to question someone in order to show the holes in their story. 

Jesus is saying that our Advocate and Defender has become a prosecutor. It is like a parent, restraining a young child with a stern voice and firm hand to keep them from running into a busy street. It’s because the Father loves you, it’s because Jesus cares for you, it’s because the Holy Spirit wants you to live that God comes and pokes holes in your defence, in order to help you see your great need for the Lord.

Spirit, what will you tell us? Before the mountains, stars, springs, and seas, before the foundations of the earth, you were there, God as three as one in the eternity of the now. Spirit, thank you for this gift of knowing the truth of the Father (who gave us his Son), Son (who gave us himself), and Holy Spirit (who lives in our hearts as our constant companion now) You will guide us to the truth. Amen

 

Daily Devotions

Let holy charity
my outward vesture be,
and lowliness become my inner clothing;

So our pentecost hymn unfolds.

Charity is one of the three theological virtues. The others are faith and hope. Charity is also one of the elements found within the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Ancient Hebrew wisdom describes four levels of charity. The lowest level of charity, to be avoided if at all possible, is to give a poor person a gift with his full knowledge that you are the donor. The next level is to give an anonymous gift to meet an immediate need.  The penultimate level is to provide work that the needy one knows you provided. The highest level is to provide a job for one in need without his knowledge that you provided it.

This highest level is surely the one referred to in today’s hymn snippet.

John MacArthur in his book ‘Getting Knocked Down? Humble Walk’ writes, “The cost of true greatness is humble, selfless, sacrificial service. The Christian who desires to be great and first in the kingdom is the one who is willing to serve in the hard place, the demanding place, the place where he is not appreciated and may even be persecuted. Knowing that time is short and eternity is long, he is willing to spend and be spent. He is willing to work for excellence without becoming proud, to withstand criticism without becoming bitter, to be misjudged without becoming defensive, to withstand suffering without succumbing to self-pity.”

This is the essence of what Jesus spoke about when he said, “The person who is greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever honours himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be honoured.” Matthew 23:11-12

The Holy Spirit, a key aspect of Christian faith, is often associated with humility, as a humble heart is seen as a receptive environment for the Spirit's presence and guidance. Humility involves recognising one's limitations and being open to learning and serving others, mirroring the example of Jesus. 

Holy Spirit, May holy charity my outward vesture be, and lowliness become my inner clothing. Amen

Daily Devotions

Today we reach the words in our hymn that says,

and let your glorious light
shine ever on my sight,
and make my pathway clear, by your illuming.

In biblical theology, the Holy Spirit's "illumination" refers to the Spirit's work of enlightening believers, helping them understand and apply God's Word, leading to a deeper understanding of truth and a transformed life. 

Paul speaks of this reality in 1 Corinthians 2:13–14: “This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.” Thus, for us today, the Holy Spirit enables us to understand, live out, and apply God’s Word in our lives.

A preacher recalls walking to church one winter evening to preach on the words, "He will glorify me" (John 16:14). Seeing the building floodlit as he turned a corner, he realising that this was exactly the illustration his message needed. 

When floodlighting is well done, the floodlights are placed so that you do not see them; in fact, you are not supposed to see where the light is coming from; what you are meant to see is just the building on which the floodlights are trained. 

The intended effect is to make it visible when otherwise it would not be seen for the darkness, and to maximise its dignity by throwing all its details into relief so that you can see it properly. This perfectly illustrated the Spirit's new covenant role. The Spirit  is, so to speak, the hidden floodlight shining on the Saviour.

Lord, I pray that you would open my heart and mind to receive the things of your Spirit. Help me to understand and discern your wisdom and truth, even when it may seem foolish to the natural man. Grant me the spiritual discernment to know your will and follow your ways. Thank you for your grace and guidance in my life. Amen." 

Daily Devotions

The second verse of our Pentecost hymn continues..

There let it freely burn
till earthly passions turn
to dust and ashes in its heat consuming;

The symbolic use of flame as an attribute of the Holy Spirit is plain to see in the teaching of the New Testament. In the Bible, the Holy Spirit is often symbolised as fire, representing God's presence, power, and transformative work, as seen in events like the burning bush and the tongues of fire at Pentecost. 

Right at the commencement of Jesus earthly ministry we read of John the Baptist declaring,“I baptise you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Matthew 3:11

Fred Buchner points out that Fire has no shape or substance. You can't taste it or smell it or hear it. You can't touch it except at great risk. You can't weigh it or measure it or examine it with instruments. You can never grasp it in its fullness because it never stands still. Yet there is no mistaking its extraordinary power.

In todays portion of our hymn, the kind of fire expressed is one that has a purifying and cleansing qualities.

A group of women who were studying the book of Malachi and read "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." Intrigued by this verse one of the group contacted a silver smith curious to understand the process of refining silver. She watched the silver smith hold a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire, where the flames were the hottest, so as to burn away all the impurities.

           

She then asked the silver smith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy ....when I see my own image in it.”

Holy Spirit, like a consuming Holy Fire within me, continue to refine me no matter how much I may complain! Let that fire burn up all the dross and transform me into the image you desire to see in me. As you promised Jacob, “I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you”, so I believe that you “who began a good work in me will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” – until the day in which You can see Your reflection in me! Amen