Weekly Devotional
Joy Series: The Lord Gave by Example (Volume I Devotional #014)
“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
Acts 1.8
The words spoken by our Lord, “It is finished,”1 have been on my mind all week. These words have more and more meaning for me as I am blessed to live one day closer to seeing my Jesus.
Here we are, my beloved readers, the Sunday before the celebrated day of the birth of Christ. As we move through the next few days before Christmas Day, lets always remember, He was born to be the Lamb.2
He was born to die in our place.3 It is unimaginable to think, God the Son, stepped out of eternity and chose to place upon Himself mortality.4 Truly, our Lord Jesus Christ is the example of giving more than any other. In all of it, the Apostle Paul has written of the Lord as having said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”5
As I grow older in Christ, I become more reflective upon our Master’s mindset to accomplish the work the Father had sent Him to complete. I am reminded of how focused and determined He was the last few days before His crucifixion.6 He was not at all looking forward to future pains He was about to endure, but was instead focused entirely upon the Father’s will for His life.7 It was determined well before time began the plan of our salvation.8
When I ponder all of this of my Lord: the purpose of His birth, His willingness to limit Himself, so as, to be able to sympathize with our weaknesses and struggles,9 and His sole most desire to do the will of God the Father,10 I am struck by the genuine concern He has for me and all His children. Hours before His arrest, He assured them during their time when all seemed about to be lost, that it was all to their advantage.11 It was to all of our advantage that He had gone away for a time to bring to us the greatest gift of all, the sealing of our salvation to Him12—the gift of the Holy Ghost. In His High Priestly Prayer to the Father He states, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word.”13 I know with no doubt in my heart He had me on His mind at that precise moment. Our Jesus is God in the flesh, and in His divine prayer to the Father, it possessed all of the qualities of God behind its words and thoughts. In His omniscience, and in His position of High Priest,14 He knew all of the sheep that were predestined to be conformed into the likeness of Himself. Consequently, His thoughts and prayers at that moment were focused on each individual believer, one by one, that would and will ever exist until His Return.
This is such a joyful time in the world, such a wonderful gift we have—the gift of the Holy Ghost for all those who believe in Christ. The Holy Ghost comforts us in our weaknesses and opens our hearts to the unimaginable possibilities of God’s power. By Him we know in our hearts that God’s love is true and real, and He guides us into all things true. We are never alone when all others forsake, and He is a faithful and loving husband to His bride. He leads by example in our hearts and conscience and speaks when no one else cares to say anything. He assures our hearts that we are His, and if this was still not enough, He makes intercession for us in times of our weaknesses, and when we do not know what we should pray, He prays on our behalf. What a wonderful gift! The greatest words ever declared by our Lord, “It is finished,” opened us up to being vessels pure to house the Person and Work of the Holy Ghost in our lives. Thank you, Jesus!
Prayer: Father in Heaven, thank You for Your plan of salvation. Thank You, Father, for making it available to all who simply believe in the mission of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Father, we trust Your wisdom and grace in our lives, and pray, Father, for Your Son, Jesus Christ, to be glorified in all that we do in the Church. We pray, Father, for our enemies and ask, Father, to use Your Holy Ghost to touch their hearts and minds to the love and of the joy of the season of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank You and praise You, forever and ever. Amen.
This week’s memory verse from the Weekly Devotional is Romans 8.14:
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
John 19.30c, NKJV.
Read: John 1.29.
Read: I John 2.2; II Corinthians 5.21
Read: Philippians 2.5-8
Acts 20.35, NKJV.
Read: Matthew 16.21
Read: Luke 22.41-44
Read: Romans 8.29
Read: Hebrews 4.15; Isiah 53.3-9; Luke 22.28; Hebrews 7.26.
Read: John 4.34
Read: John 16.7
Read: Ephesians 4.30b
John 17.20, NKJV.
Read: Hebrews 4.14-16.
Excellent Word Pastor Ron!