June 06, 2022
Yesterday was Pentecost, and if you were not able to join us there is a link at the end of this devotion so you can share in a beautiful time of worship with so much insight on Pentecost and our Helper, the Holy Spirit.
In the Book of Acts, chapter two, we learn that on Pentecost Sunday, after Jesus ascended into heaven, His believers gathered together, and at once there was a loud sound from heaven (like a mighty windstorm) that filled the house. Flames (or tongues of fire) rested on each of the believers, as they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them the ability. (v. 1-4)
Friends, that same Holy Spirit is available to you and me today. I realize that the believers in Acts had a very physical experience, and they were all together at once when they received the Holy Spirit. But Jesus wants the same for us. Remember, He physically changed each of our lives when we came to Him through salvation, and as we grow in our commit to our relationship with Him, He graciously allows His Holy Spirit to grow and become more powerful within us. It is by the wisdom of the Spirit that you and I are guided in the ways of God, rather than by the ways of this world.
In today’s passage, the Apostle Paul provides us with a message of the Spirit’s wisdom. As he ministers to the church (believers) in Corinth, please remember he is also ministering to you and me, and don’t forget who Paul (Saul) was before he met Jesus. His life was completely renewed by the powerful work of the Spirit as he allowed it to forever change him and as he was willingly to continuously let its wisdom grow within him. Paul explains to the believers (and to us) how the Spirit matures within us, and it happens as we grow closer and closer to Jesus and as we become more and more disconnected from this world. We see today how God uses Paul to help other believers at different stages on their faith walk. He wants to do the same with you and me. But we must remember to allow the Spirit of Christ to operate in and through us so that the wisdom of God is revealed to others, and not our own human response because in our flesh (which is of this world) we have no power.
1 Corinthians 2:1-11 NLT
Paul’s Message of Wisdom
1 When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. 2 For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. 4 And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 5 I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.
6 Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. 7 No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. 8 But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. 9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
for those who love him.”
10 But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. 11 No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.
Prayer: Jesus, thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Help us to be more receptive to allow it to operate in and through our lives. Quiet the ways of this world within our souls and guide our souls to become one with the Spirit. Please impart Your wisdom to us as we guide others to Your loving arms. We ask this in Your Holy and precious Name, Jesus. Amen.
Click Here for Pentecost Sunday Worship: https://youtu.be/eE673WjNywA