08/02/23 Daily Devotion – The quiet but powerful work of the Holy Spirit!

“Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed,’ and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” — 1 Corinthians 12:3 (NIV84)

Many reading this devotion can say with certainty that Jesus Christ is their Lord. Millions of people around the world profess a faith in Jesus. That faith is the quiet but powerful work of the Holy Spirit. We did not all come to faith in the same way. Some of us went through very dramatic conversions, while others of us seemed to go through a slow and gradual process toward faith. But regardless of the path we followed, we all share a common source for that faith — the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who works through God’s Word to strike our hearts with its truths. It is the Holy Spirit who converts the rebellious heart. He alone, as Ezekiel says, can take a heart of stone and make it a heart of flesh. God the Holy Spirit reaches into our hearts and souls and makes us “born again.” John, in the first chapter of his gospel, stated that we are, “children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

Our enemy would have us believe that we are the active agent involved in this process. Once we claim control, then Satan can use things like legalism, doubt, uncertainty and human reason as means to destroy faith. Scan through the first five or six chapters of the Book of Acts and see what the Spirit of God has done. On the day of Pentecost, 3,000 people are recorded as having come to faith by the powerful working of the Holy Spirit. Within a week or so, that number grew to 5,000. Soon after that, they could no longer keep track of the number because the Church was growing so fast. Paul was converted on the way to Damascus. An Ethiopian was converted in his chariot on the way back to Africa. A Roman centurion by the name of Cornelius had the Spirit of God descend upon him and his household as Peter spoke to them about Jesus.

As we profess Jesus to be our Lord and Savior today, may we honor and praise the Holy Spirit for re-creating us and making us born again. May our confidence be rooted not in ourselves, but in Him!

Peace!

Pastor Tom

www.firmlyrooted.church

About the author: Tom Donnelly