| Day 1 of 3 ~ Written for Five Oaks Church Daily Life Devotional Pray | Lord, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Give us eyes to recognize the roles of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Wait, You’re Leaving? What could possibly be better than walking, talking and learning from Jesus himself? Imagine being in Jesus’s inner circle, bearing witness for a few years to miraculous healings, risings, teachings and more. Then one day he tells you it is for your good that he goes away. I might lean toward Peter’s response at the transfiguration and tell Jesus, “It’s really good for you to be right here. I’ll get my husband to build us a shelter because I really, really don’t want you to leave.” But Jesus was clear with his disciples about his leaving, and before he left, he commanded them to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the power of the Holy Spirit, the promised gift of the Father, and so they returned to Jerusalem. |
| Read | Acts 1:1-5; Matthew 17:1-8 John 15:26-27 & 16:1-15 Isaiah 11:1-3 |
| Reflect | What does the Holy Spirit do? So much. The Holy Spirit advocates, helps, guides, comforts, teaches, intercedes, reveals truth and wisdom. He gives counsel, conviction, grace, power, testimony, understanding and knowledge of the Lord, to name some of what he does. Because Jesus did indeed leave (at least for now) and sent his Holy Spirit, the actual Spirit of the Lord can rest upon, and in, each one of us. Not just for those who walked along the path with him, those who could invite him to dinner, reach out and touch his robe, or sit on the grass and eat fish with him. Jesus left and sent the Holy Spirit to all of us, everywhere, all the time. Consider reading, and even writing out, several verses about the Holy Spirit, and then identify and reflect on what the Holy Spirit is doing in each one. To simplify this, you could classify them as Resting Upon/In, Guiding/Helping or Power. |