When I was born again, receiving Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, there was a refreshing difference inside of me. It wasn’t until many years later that I came to understand that the inner change taking place was a result of being sealed with the Holy Spirit - my guide to holy living. That was a game changer.
Because I knew my salvation wasn’t a result of anything I had done by human effort, that it was because of Christ’s finished work on the Cross, my heart was receptive to the gift of God’s Holy Spirit - a person of the Trinity. The moment I received Christ, the Holy Spirit began and continues to perform a great work in and through me as part of my new life.
Over time, my hunger for God’s Word and thirst for his righteousness have become intense. I pray for wisdom, discernment and understanding in the things of God and the Holy Spirit gives me knowledge and insight as I dig deeper. The more I seek after God, the more his Holy Spirit fuels my pursuit.
Unfortunately, the hearts and hunger of many believers have turned away from believing the transformative power of God’s Holy Spirit in their lives. We are seeing an increase of church divisions as a result of the argument over who leads the agenda of Christ’s people. This argument further states that man made innovations, programs and processes have far superior outcomes in a fast paced world that demands immediate fixes.
Today’s Scripture is explicit in outlining what can be expected from pursuing the things of man - destruction. Meaning that sin can infiltrate the places within and of God’s people that weren’t meant to be tampered with. As soon as we dismiss or snuff out the magnificent power of the Holy Spirit who brought about our salvation, we as believers, as John MacArthur aptly states, “turn to human effort to achieve spiritual goals.” This won’t work, as evidenced by the breakdown of many churches and individuals who have abandoned the validity of God’s Holy Spirit.
We need to think long and hard as to what means we are using to bring about leading, clarity and wisdom. Is it by adopting conventional means or adhering to the divine? Today’s verses are clear and we need to take heed to their warning or risk further calamity to the inner workings of Christ’s church. No peace, discernment or unity will be found outside the seeking and following of the Holy Spirit.
Heavenly Father, thank you for making things both critical and obvious in your Holy Word. I pray for a revival of your church, that hearts would hunger, once again, for your Holy Spirit to saturate us with a fresh chase for his leading in every area of our lives. Keep me faithful in my pursuit of your Holy Spirit, Lord. Oh Holy Spirit, come. Amen.
Throughout This Day: Take some time to reflect on situations when you turned to your own methods to get things done instead of seeking the Holy Spirit for direction. What was the result?
Photo Credit: Polina Kovaleva