Good Gifts

-

  

Scripture: Luke 11:11-13 (NIV)

11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Devotion:

            Today, we continue to look at Jesus’ instructions on prayer from Luke chapter eleven. In this passage Jesus compares earthly fathers with our Heavenly Father. By stating that earthly fathers who are evil, compared to God who alone is truly good, give good gifts to our children. How much more will our Heavenly Father give good gifts to His people when they ask him.

            The gift that Jesus states is the gift that the Father will give us is the Holy Spirit. There is no gift as good as this one. Yet, it is this Holy Spirit that is so often lacking in our lives. We try to live our lives without even considering that we need this gift to truly know and do our Father’s will. Because individual believers are living their lives without the Spirit’s power, so goes the church. The Christian church in our post-Christian society is often powerless to stand up to the evil that our culture presents us with. We lack the spiritual backbone to persevere when the going gets difficult.

            Jesus is stating that we can be assured that we are intended to be strong in the power of the Holy Spirit, and that the Father will freely give this gift to all who ask for it. Why is it that when we are in a bad place, one where we have to make tough decisions, we so seldom resort to asking that God would fill us with the Holy Spirit? I believe the number one reason we fail to recognize our own need for God’s provision of the Spirit is our own pride. We like to do it ourselves. Rugged individualism is a great problem for the church in our culture. We hate being dependent on anyone including God. Yet we must certainly know that we can do nothing without Him. (John 15:1-17)

            Our pride often blinds us. We refuse to see what God’s solution to our problems are. In the flesh, we try to force the solution that seems best to us. We need to ask God to show us how we in humble dependence on Him can live in a way that is pleasing to Him. Let us go now to the throne of grace in humility to seek God’s filling with the Holy Spirit.

Prayer:

            Lord, we magnify your name. You are truly a good God who wants the best for your people. Forgive us for our feeble attempts to live without seeking your power to meet the challenges we each must face. Thank you for being merciful toward us in our near constant rebellion against your laws and commands. Grant us the gift of the Holy Spirit today, so that we can live in your power and bring glory to your name. Amen. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcoming the Unwelcome

-
  Scripture: Luke 7:36-38 (NIV) 36  When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37  A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38  As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them. Devotion:             First of all, some warnings to my readers. This post will exceed the 500 words I try to limit my posts. Second, this post will contain content people may find offensive or otherwise unfit for print. Please understand that my purpose is neither to offend nor upset but to provoke thought and, hopefully, respectful dialog.             We will use Luke chapter seven as an aid to interpreting the events that occurred last Thursday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. On that da
Read more

Father Forgive Them

-
  Scripture: Luke 23:33-34 (ESV) 33  And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34  And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Devotion:             The situation Jesus finds himself in here in today’s scripture is difficult for us to even imagine. A sham trial, no credible accusations of any kind, let alone any deserving of death, and yet here he is. A brilliant Rabbi, a teacher of the people who never led even one person astray from God’s will. This Holy One of God soon to be food for vultures.             This man who had done nothing wrong had no one in all the crowds who would speak up in his defense lest they be next to face the cross. An innocent man hung between two scoundrels. No voice from heaven declaring that this was the man that they were killing was actually the true Son of God. (See Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5, John 12:28) No the heaven
Read more

Transgenderism letter

-
  This is a copy of my letter to my senators, representative, and President Biden. January 15, 2024 Dear President Biden, Senators T. Duckworth, R. Durbin, and Representative D. LaHood             I am writing to you because I am concerned about the situation affecting our children and grandchildren, namely transitioning them from one gender to another. This nation must adjust course concerning these “interventions” because they are dangerous, irreversible, and life-changing. Our country should not be permitting these procedures on minor children under any circumstances. We must also make sure that adults who seek this care are given informed consent as to the risks versus benefits of sex reassignment treatments.             There are many drawbacks to gender-affirming care for minors. Besides the loss of any ability to give or receive sexual pleasure and sterility these treatments cause, there are social and psychological effects that we have no way of identifying because these
Read more