(With Wugmumps underfoot, I am focusing on them instead of work; thus, this week’s devotionals are “recycled” from several years ago.) When my middle daughter was learning to talk, she spoke so quickly her words ran together and I wasn’t always able to discern her meaning. Sometimes she gave up…
The human body has many parts and each part has a specific purpose. If a person loses an eye or a hand, he discovers how important each part is. The physical body will still function if a part is missing, but not without challenges. In the same way, the Body…
If you read 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, you’ll find a list of some spiritual gifts: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, performing miracles, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, speaking in tongues, or interpreting various tongues. Many gifts, but One who distributes the gifts: the Holy Spirit. He doesn’t gift us for personal gain. We…
HYMN DAY! Copyrighted in 1966 by Peter Scholtes, “They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love” should be familiar if you’re a child of the seventies. The tune is haunting; the words are powerful truth coupled with challenge. We are one in the Spirit, We are one in the Lord,…
The gifts bestowed by the Spirit aren’t meant to be hoarded! I love the word “manifestation.” Literally, it means an outward demonstration of what is hidden—what’s on our inside will show in our actions and attitudes. The reason the Holy Spirit gifts us is for the common good. If we…
Have you ever stopped to consider that you have been gifted by the Holy Spirit to serve the community of believers? It’s true. A “gift” is basically a bestowal of blessing for the purpose of sharing. “Ministry,” then, is the service that grows out of the gift. There’s a lot…
Once we’ve accepted Christ and received the indwelling Holy Spirit, we are no longer controlled by sin. We are led by the Spirit into a life that reflects the Son. If we follow His leading, we develop a deep love toward others, a heart of rejoicing that we are His,…
Oh, the law. The list of rules so long and difficult no one could ever keep them all. The law was necessary—it told people they couldn’t save themselves and made them long for a Savior. What we could not do, Jesus Christ did! He lived the perfect life. Then He…
HYMN DAY! “Breathe on Me, Breath of God,” by Edwin Hatch is a lovely prayer. Until I am wholly in His will, may His Spirit breathe on me. Breathe on me, Breath of God, Fill me with life anew, That I may love what Thou dost love, And do what…
When we’re saved, we experience a new birth in Christ. Our “old self” with its tendencies toward sin is gone, and the tendencies of our “new self” are aimed toward pleasing the One who saved us. However, for as long as we live, we’re trapped in human bodies in a…
