Dear Ones,
Hope you have a blessed day! Al and I have an appointment this morning and later I plan to do food prep etc. It is so beautiful to see the hostages who are being united with family again and can’t help tears of joy for them.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
The third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, is often neglected and we don’t hear a lot of sermons on His work or His place in our lives. But before Jesus left this earth, He was very intentional to teach His disciples about the work of the Holy Spirit. When He was no longer with them as in the past, He knew how important it would be for them to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit who would live within them.
I like what Professor Stephen Seamands has to say about the Holy Spirit’s place in our lives. Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as Paraclete which means Comforter, Advocate, Counselor, Helper. He said the Holy Spirit would be with us and glorify Him. He is the personal presence of Jesus in all those who know Him. That means although Jesus is in Heaven now, He is also present with us through the Holy Spirit. He lives in us, and more and more we become like Jesus, as His character is being formed in us.

But it also leaves us with the responsibility to carry on the ministry of Jesus by sharing Him with others through preaching teaching, healing, serving, using the gifts He has given us, etc. Paul tells us in I Cor. 14:1 to “Pursue love and earnestly desire the gifts of the Spirit.” We are to study the gifts and use the gifts He gives us, not put them on the shelf and forget about them. You can find key gifts in Rom. 12:6-8, I Cor. 12:8-10 and 28-31, and Eph. 4:7-12. The gifts are meant to build up and strengthen the Body of Christ and bring healing.

It is important to pray for the anointing of the Holy Spirit so we can minister to others in power and authority to heal. That means we first surrender ourselves to Him, let Him fill us afresh and obey as we let the Spirit lead us.  We recognize we are not in control but the Holy Spirit is, and our Father wants us to experience in a deep way the person, power and presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Challenge for today: Surrender yourself to the Lord and ask for a fresh anointing of His Holy Spirit, and be surprised at what He will do.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy