John 16:13
Theme - The Spirit of God has been sent by the Father to live in every believer for the revealing of truth.
What are some advantages of having someone tell you the truth? The man who finds truth lights a torch for his friends. Truth is immortal. The Holy Spirit lives within each believer to reveal the truths of God. No longer forced to live in darkness, the Spirit instructs us in matters too deep for human minds to comprehend. He is not merely an influence or a power. He clarifies, illuminates, and gives understanding to the Spiritually minded. Some may try to manipulate the Spirit through ceremonies, gifts, or clever tricks, but He is not fooled.
He is the leader who directs us to do the Father’s will. His aim is to bring the maximum glory to God by helping the accomplishment of His will. He seeks to expand His kingdom and righteousness through all peoples. The Spirit guides us into all truth. Truth may seem to lead you away from the opinions of men, but it will lead you in the footprints of Jesus. Nothing can be ultimately accomplished without the Spirit’s guidance. "Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good." (Rom. 12:9)
Question - What are the ways that we can be assured that the Spirit is speaking to us rather than another spirit?
Prayer - Lord, help us to gain discernment into all truth through Your Spirit.
Jan 2nd I Cor. 12:7-11
Theme - The infinite advantages of knowing the characteristics of the Spirit.
What are some advantages of knowing someone intimately? Intimate acquaintance with a person gives you the capacity to trust that individual deeply. No one who ever lived was as trustworthy as Jesus. His life was filled with meaning through serving others. The Spirit enables us to know and trust Jesus in ways that help us serve others.
The Spirit gives us the capacities to know and trust others. You can count on the Spirit’s leading. In the same way, believers who know the Spirit of God will have motivation to accomplish the Father’s will. They are continually tuned into His frequencies. Believers should not grow discouraged. They can move forward with the assurance of His ability to reveal the answers to complex problems. They can gain supernatural knowledge that affords them benefits in making wise decisions.
Terrible disasters are prevented by those who are in constant touch with the Spirit’s voice. Equipped with His almighty power, believers can go anywhere, to anyone, at anytime, with the full authority of Jesus’ name. Through His deep love, believers can love their enemies in times of persecution. The Spirit of God is one person who we cannot afford not to know intimately. The Holy Spirit speaks through your life even when you are not speaking. "I sought the Lord and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears." (Psa. 34:4)
Question - What are the disadvantages of failing to know the Spirit?
Prayer - Lord, help us to learn more of you through your word and obedience.
Jan 3rd I Cor.2:6-10
Theme - The Spirit reveals supernatural wisdom that supersedes all else.
What are the reasons men continually seek wisdom from spirits? Prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance all come from the Spirit of God. Every person innately knows that he needs supernatural wisdom for help. Success is impossible without supernatural deliverance. The Holy Spirit is the sole dispenser of Godly wisdom and power. He assures us of victory over our circumstances. In some cases this wisdom is complimentary with the truth discovered by men, but in many instances it runs contrary to earthly wisdom. God’s wisdom is only revealed through the Spirit.
His wisdom cannot be understood by unspiritual or carnal men. Many great men in history met with tragic consequences because they did not use the Spirit’s wisdom. Our world is filled with horrible examples of those who are suffering because of a lack of the use of Spiritual wisdom. His Spirit can able to help us comprehend the depth of the riches of God’s wisdom. Why not spend an extra five minutes daily asking God for spiritual wisdom in all your decisions and conversations.
The Spirit’s wisdom gives health, beauty, and supreme riches to the spiritually mature. The spiritual man is like glass; he admits the light of heaven and reflects its brilliance. "Every good endowment and every complete gift must come from above." (Jm 1:17)
Question - What are the ways that the Spirit reveals His wisdom to us?
Prayer - Lord, help us to live continually under the control of your Spirit’s wisdom.
Jan 4th Rom 8:26,27
Theme - The Spirit helps us in all our weakness.
Why is it true that when we are weak then we are strong in Christ? Humility like darkness, tends to reveal more of the Spirit’s light. The Spirit of God has a way of taking our individual weaknesses and making us strong through these points of vulnerability.
When we are willing to admit our need to depend on the Spirit, He works overtime in interceding on our behalf to the almighty Father. As hope for something better sustains us in times of trials, so the Spirit helps us see the light at the end of every tunnel. The Spirit is the Master translator of our thoughts, desires, and needs into language that the Father completely understands.
The Spirit is not dependent on our vocabulary, our diction, or our theological understanding to present our heart felt needs before the throne of grace. Do not think you have made spiritual progress until you have grown in humility. God walks with the humble. The Spirit can only instruct the humble.
He gives understanding to the meek. He shows deep insights to the teachable. But, He hides His grace from the proud and self-sufficient. Whatever your weakness, ask the Father for strength. His Spirit can turn our frailness into empowerment. "His power is made perfect in our weakness." (2 Cor. 12:9)
Question - What are the problems of using human strength to overcome our weaknesses?
Prayer - Lord, help me not to feel ashamed my weaknesses, but let me see them as opportunities for You to show yourself strong on my behalf.
Jan 5th John 14:25-27
Theme - The Spirit is our personal Master Teacher.
What are the characteristics of a master teacher? No truth is taught until it is clearly perceived and embodied in a teacher. No truth is fully grasped until the teacher has understood its mental, social, cultural, and spiritual dimensions. A teacher cannot be said to have mastered a subject until he can balance its theories with its practices. A truly effective teacher embodies the qualities of patience, wisdom, experience, and superb communicative skills. When one can learn from the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit it means that one is not dependent on humans.
Nor can one be deceived by human teachers. The Spirit’s teaching can make the truth of the scriptures apply directly to all areas of our emotions, mind, and behavior. No situation is beyond the Spirit’s contextualizing abilities. We no longer have to feel it necessary to abuse our rivals since the Holy Spirit’s teaching is often sufficient to teach all things.
All the Spirit asks is a willingness to do His will as a pre-requisite for learning. Many young Christians are surpassing their former teachers today because of their close mentoring relationship with the Holy Spirit of God. Judicious teachers know when to act and when to speak the truth in love. Teachers of truth teach and embody the fullness of its beauty and riches. "I am with you always. (Matt. 28:20)
Question - Why are some people afraid of being taught by the Spirit?
Prayer - Lord, open my eyes, ears, and heart to learn anything you want to teach me through your Spirit’s teaching.
Jan 6th I John 4:2
Theme - The Spirit’s illuminating ministry identifies false teaching and the errors of men.
Why do many people fall prey to the beguiling tricks of clever men? Without the Spirit’s truth we are imprisoned by our lack of understanding. There are many enemies of the truth. Many people refuse to be open to the Spirit’s instruction. Could it be that they have never learned how to allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate truth to them?
The Spirit’s illuminating ministry can divinely impart truth to us. He exposes falsehood simultaneously. By shedding light on confusing issues, the Spirit enlightens us in all dimensions of life. The Spirit always bears witness to truth in Jesus Christ. Confidence comes to everyone who makes a habit of having one’s mind clarified by the Spirit. He gives light to the simple.
He guides the humble in His way. Parents do not have to feel that their children are left without leadership while filled with the illuminating Spirit. By showing all how to abide in Christ, the illumination of the Spirit turns darkness into light. Only the Spirit can illuminate and interpret without adding, distorting, or diluting truth. Without the Spirit life is a twilight with nothing but darkness ahead.
With the Spirit it is like the dawn of the morning with the light and warmth of the full day ahead. "Therefore, putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor." (Eph. 4:25)
Question - What are the advantages of the Spirit’s illuminating ministry?
Prayer - Lord, help us to seek the illumination of your Spirit through prayerful trust.
Jan 7th Prov. 3:5,6
Theme - Common problems people have in how the Spirit guides.
Why are some people confused about the way that the Spirit guides believers? The Spirit’s truth is not hid in the intricacies of culture. Instead, truth is revealed through the Spirit’s illuminating of the principles of scripture. Truth is our shield and our defense from error. Some wrongly equate the majority opinion with the guidance of the Spirit.
Many times, Paul went against the majority opinion of the believers in fulfilling the will of God. Notice his rejection of the counsel to avoid going to Jerusalem. (Acts 21,22)
Remember that even when you are in the minority, if the Spirit of God is leading you, do not be dissuaded. Secondarily, do not rely exclusively on culturally normal ways of deciding. Often, the Spirit of God will work through the culturally conditioned ways of deciding. However, there will be instances when the Spirit is leading you to go against what seems practical, normal, and logical to your colleagues.
The Spirit’s guidance may not make sense at the time, but His ways are always perfect. His ways always yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness. History warns us that it is the usual fate of many people to drift toward cultural wisdom until men fall into the pit of heresy.
Question - What are some solutions to the problems that people have about the way that the Spirit leads?
Prayer - Lord, help us to learn discernment in following your guidance rather than human ideals.
Jan 8th Acts 16:6-10
Theme - God uses a variety of methods to guide us through His Spirit.
What are the ways that the Spirit guides into all truth? Someone once said, "Truth is stranger than fiction." Millions are confused by contradictory sources of truth. Solomon said, "If you accept my words and store up my commands within you tuning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding. If you look for it as silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of Lord and find the knowledge of God." (Prov. 2:1-4)
A person must be willing to seek for truth with all his heart before he can expect to find it. First, His Spirit guides us through His word. The Bible is useful for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. He equips us for all good works. Without the insights of the Spirit, we are limited in our understanding and applications of truth. Secondarily, the Spirit guides through circumstances. Remember, the Spirit closed doors for Paul in Asia, but then gave him a vision to come to Macedonia. Third, the Spirit may guide us through the counsel of Godly Christians.
In Acts 6 the whole multitude chose seven disciples and in Acts 13, the Spirit convinced the Antiochan Church to send Paul and Barnabas out as the first missionaries. Fourthly, the Spirit speaks to us through prayer. Col. 3:15 says, "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts." When you are led by the Spirit, He will flood your mind with peace beyond human comprehension.
Question - What are best ways to be led by the Spirit of God?
Prayer - Lord, help us to stay in touch with all the channels of your communications.
Jan 9th Eph. 3:20,21
Theme - The Spirit empowers our prayers, speech, and actions.
What are the ways that the Holy Spirit infuses authority in our lives? Everyone desires authority, but few are willing to pay the price for earning it. The Spirit has a mysterious way of filling us with the power found in the one in whom all power and authority comes from - Jesus Christ.
Through the Spirit, we are given supernatural aid in plugging into a limitless supply of power. His power is unlike human resources that are eventually exhausted. The Spirit enables us to represent God in our speech, conduct, love, faith, purity, and relationships. Soon people will begin to ask, "What makes you so much more confident than before?" All of this is a fulfillment of Christ’s promise in Acts 1:8 where He said,
"And you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth." Before you do anything today, pray confidently for the empowering of His Spirit. His authority is for the advancement of His kingdom and righteousness among people.
There are five great enemies against God’s authority: ambition, greed, envy, anger, and pride. If these are banished from our hearts, we would enjoy more of God’s authority through us. "For from Him and to Him and through Him are all things." (Romans 11:31)
Question - What are the reasons that many Christians’ lives lack power?
Prayer - Lord, help us to live empowered lives through a life backed by Spirit filled prayer.
Jan 10th Acts 19:2-10
Theme - Discounting the Spirit’s ministry will have serious consequences.
Why do some people profess to be church members who do not have a working knowledge of the Holy Spirit? Isaiah wrote. "You will keep Him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you." (Isa. 26:3) Many people tend to get distracted with their own concerns.
When people lose concentration on spiritual matters, they succumb to the worries, pleasures, and desires of their humanity. These are people like the elders in Ephesus. They lacked instruction, intimacy, and experience with the Holy Spirit’s ministries. Although, many have heard about the Spirit, they are yet to personalize His teaching to their lives and ministries. If you are one who knows about the Holy Spirit only in general terms, you are missing out on many blessings. You must know the truth emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and experientially, before it can set you free. Furthermore, you are seriously omitting your responsibilities of living in the fullness of the Spirit.
Do not discount the Spirit. He can be your greatest ally. Or, the Spirit can oppose any form of unrighteousness. No success was ever gained by ignoring the Spirit. No peace was ever won from human agreement to fate. That which allows us victory over shame, fear, and guilt comes through the Spirit. To discount the Spirit in the slightest is to invite misery.
Question - Why do so many believers talk freely about Christ the Son and God the Father yet know so little about the Holy Spirit?
Prayer - Lord, help us to not diminish the Spirit’s place in our lives and ministries.
Jan 11th Rev. 2:7
Theme - Do not try to imprison the Spirit in your traditions.
Why are some people never able to agree about the ministry of the Spirit? Some people think that they inherit the Spirit by virtue of their forefathers. You can earn, inherit, or merit the Spirit’s grace. It is given freely through faith in Christ. Many churches have restricted the teaching to their members about the Spirit to their denominational traditions.
Could it be that these are people who are listening more to their church’ doctrinal statement than the Spirit Himself? By using the Spirit only as an endorser of their own theology these people are guilty of trying to imprison God into human traditions. Trying to domesticate the Spirit through ecclesiastical traditions one can be guilty of nearsightedness. Just because a certain person sticks to the rules of a particular church does not mean that he has pleased the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit can never be bound to any church, person, or human theological system. He is greater than all. His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts than our thoughts. There is nothing that improves a person like a fresh openness to the Spirit’s leading. The Spirit may choose to lead through tradition, but He mainly leads through His word.
When someone else insists that the Spirit of God is speaking to him, remember the words of Jesus, "He who is not against me is for Me." Do not judge others simply because they do not conform to your traditions.
Question - What are the ways that people and church have tried to imprison the Spirit with their traditions?
Prayer - Lord, help us to give the Spirit complete freedom to speak, teach, and act however You choose.
Jan 12th I Cor. 2;11-16
Theme - Nothing of truth from the scriptures can be revealed without the disclosing ministry of the Spirit.
Why do many people feel frustrated in their attempts to understand the Bible’s messages? Trying to find truth without the Spirit is like trying to grow maize without soil. One needs the nourishing elements for the seeds of truth to come to fruition. Our obedience acts as the light and water for the seeds of truth to grow.
The Spirit enables our trusting and obeying to act as a fertilizer to promote spiritual growth. God has chosen not to reveal more to anyone who is not willing to obey what they already know. The more we obey God the more He reveals through the Spirit. Only through the Spirit are we privileged to understand the wisdom, knowledge, and insights from God’s word. Ten Ph.D degrees will not help a person to know the truth from scripture without complete dependence and obedience to the Spirit.
We do not have to make deals with God, simply obey Him to know Him and His word better. Do not expect to God to give you more insights unless you are using what He has already given you. If you want wisdom and power, meet the Spirit on His terms, not on yours. Do not be content to be cleansed by the Spirit, be filled with His truth. "He will guide you into all truth." (John 16:13)
Question - What are the reasons some people remain uninformed about truth?
Prayer - Lord, help me to obey you fully to taught fully by your Spirit.
Jan 13th John 3:5-8
Theme - Only the Spirit’s life giving breath gives the spiritually dead life.
Why is it true that many living are spiritually dead? Without the Spirit everything in life becomes relative. The Spirit gives life while the flesh profits nothing, Paul writes. Through the Old and New Testament the Spirit is characterized as a life giving breath from God. The Spirit is the only one who can give eternal life.
Although no man can understand exactly how He works, we can see His effects are powerful, immortal, and true. Through the mighty wind of God, the Spirit can make the weak into strong, the poor into rich, and the shamed into the justified. His Sovereign majesty cannot be usurped by any man, government, or circumstance. Let us look to the life giving Spirit for our energies, resources, and complete renewals. Do not think that you can motivate without the Spirit’s inspiration. If someone you know is unsure of their spiritual life, introduce Him to the life giving Spirit of Christ.
Many are being deceived who at one time thought they were being led by the Spirit. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But, if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. "It is God who is at work in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure." (Phil 2:14)
Question - What are the ways that the Spirit transforms the spiritually dead?
Prayer - Lord, help us to be enlivened by the breath of Your Spirit.
Jan 14th Isa. 40:6-8
Theme - The Spirit in the O.T. came with mighty force upon person from without .
Why do many people confuse the roles of the Holy Spirit in the Old and New Testament? The Old Testament writers saw the Spirit as an invading force coming from outside man’s experience. No wonder David writes, "Do not take your Holy Spirit from me." (Psa. 51)
Men dwelt with the fear that as soon as the Spirit of God left them they were made vulnerable to the forces of their enemies. They sensed that the Spirit of God only dwelt in the land of Israel. They saw God as a territorial limited Spirit. They allowed themselves to be influenced by pagan perspectives. In Judges 3:9,10 while the Spirit came upon Othniel, he could go to war and triumph. However, when Samson sinned, the Spirit left him and he became powerless.
In the New Testament the Spirit takes up residence in the heart of every believer, permanently. However, when we sin the Spirit is quenched and we temporarily lose our fellowship with Him. Let us not fear losing the presence of the Spirit, but let us not always presume He is filling us. The Spirit first imparts love, next he inspires hope, and then gives liberty through truth. These are some commodities that are sorely lacking in our fellowships today. You are known by your fruits.
Through benign neglect, many believers bring on their own heartaches.
Question - What are some differences between the Spirit’s ministry in the Old and New Testament.
Prayer - Lord, help us not presume that our fellowship with you is perfect and so jeopardize our safety.
Jan 15th Acts 8:26-40
Theme - Do not underestimate the ways that the Spirit of God can work through circumstances, people, and tragedies.
Why are some people doubtful that the Spirit of God is working through other churches besides their own? If some Christians knew as little about their jobs as they do about the Spirit, they would have to be retrained every morning. There is a natural suspicion about anyone who worships God differently from what we consider normal. Occasionally God can teach us great things through the way the Spirit works through other fellowships.
Let us not forget that God removed a man like Philip from a prosperous evangelistic campaign in Samaria and transferred him to a desert ministry. God’s priorities are sometimes different from ours. God chose to use Philip to reach one Ethiopian Eunuch to begin a church growth movement in Africa. Philip did not seem to mind a bit. Immediately, he continued to preach the gospel. When the Lord allows disappointments to come into your life, do not despair.
Instead welcome the new opportunities as new channels of blessings. When God closes one door, He opens another. God’s plans and timing will always prove to be the wisest. The more we study the Spirit, the more we understand our fleshly ignorance. The first step to maturity is to appreciate our human limitations and the Spirit’s lack of such.
Question - What are the problems in narrowing our expectations to our own familiar circumstances and cultures?
Prayer - Lord, help me to look for your working where, when and how you give me opportunities.
Jan 16th I Sam. 15:24-26
Theme - Insufficient repentance leads to a low power supply.
Why are many Christians trying to operate with a low power supply? As a little learning is dangerous, so are those trying to operate under minimum power. As low voltage can do damage to your electrical appliances, so can low spiritual power harm your reputation. When Saul half-heartedly repented, Samuel refused to associate with him.
Saul’s self-justification prevented Him from worshipping the Lord with a whole heart, a clean heart, and a pure mind. Saul wanted to remain king at all costs. He became drunk with the idea of power, position, and authority. Saul was less concerned about worshipping God than avoiding a break of relationships with such an influential prophet as Samuel. Be sure that you are much more concerned about obeying God than staying in good relations with your people. Do not trust in men, more than you trust in God.
Without the power of God, you may be subject to all kinds of burnouts, blackouts, and emptiness. Minimum power may get you on the road, but it will not take you to your destination. The only known cure for low power is a spiritual recharge from the Spirit. "If God be for us, who can be against us." (Rom. 8:31)
Question - What are the manifestations of insufficient repentance to the Spirit of God?
Prayer - Lord, help us to come to you with a clean heart or realize our prayers will not be heard.
Jan 17th Gen 41:37-40
Theme - Do not make the mistake of separating the word of God from the Spirit of God.
Why are some so excited about the ministry of the Spirit, yet bored by the teaching of the word? Knowledge does have its limits, but so does ignorance. Some people insist that knowledge has its limits so they resort to emotional impressions. The Spirit normally speaks through the scripture. However, there are times when He uses dreams, visions, and spiritual people to communicate truth.
It is a common mistake to denounce what one does not understand. Why are others open to messages from the scriptures, but suspicious about anyone who has heard God speak to Him through a dream? Could it be that both groups are failing to realize the importance of the synergistic ministry of the word of God through the Spirit’s speaking? The Spirit’s illuminating ministry is primarily done through the Scriptures. However, the Spirit also reveals truth through other channels.
Occasionally, the Spirit of God spoke to Joseph through Pharaoh’s dreams. He also can speak to us through circumstances. Abraham received news from God through a vision (Gen.15:1) as did Jacob, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Balaam was spoken to by his donkey. Never discount any way that the Spirit of God can communicate to people. God’s channels of communication are unlimited in their scope, purpose, and power. A person does not always get paid for what he knows, but he always gets paid for what he fails to learn.
Question - What are the ways that we can balance God’s communications to us through His word and through the Spirit’s other means.
Prayer - Lord, open our eyes that we may hear, see, and understand truth from every channel of your communications.
