The Spirit of Life

In reading Acts 2 in combination with a Martyn Lloyd-Jones devotional, I was struck today by my overwhelming debt and need of the Holy Spirit. Without exaggeration, everything in my spiritual life and my walk with Christ is dependent upon and was given by God through the Spirit. Here is a short, non-exhaustive list:

- a recognition of my sin and need for a Savior
- the willingness and ability to turn from my sin and to Jesus
- a certainty that God hears and answers my prayers
- the confidence that all of God's promises are "Yes" in Jesus
- a complete assurance that nothing can separate me from the love of God in Christ
- a full realization that because of Jesus I am not condemned but loved, adopted and redeemed
- the knowledge that whatever I've been given by God, I've been given to share
- a growing sense that the same Spirit that walked with Jesus is walking with me
- the conviction that any use of the grace gifts without the Spirit is an empty exercise

I could go on, but the ache of my heart is first to say to God, and to the Spirit in particular, I am sorry for relegating you to second class status, for trying to do things on my own that were never meant to be done on my own and for slipping into a mind set that you are some kind of force. You are in fact the third person of the Trinity and deserve the respect, worship and glory of God.

My second ache is to ask myself, and any who may read this post, what am I doing in operating on my own strength? There is no point, no purpose and no lasting effect in anything I do on my own. It is botched from the start, since it has my glory as its goal, plus it is limited in its scope because it has my vision as its guide and once it is done it is incomplete since it has my power as its source.

So today and, I pray, every day, I'm seeking to think and speak, act and react, in the power of the Holy Spirit, third person of the Trinity, for the glory of God.

To God Alone Be The Glory