December 5: 1 Corinthians 12 1-3

Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 12 3
Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

Devotion:
Sometimes it is hard to believe in certain things in life; many times we require physical proof before we believe, or something which will give us a certainty beyond doubt. But how much proof do you have to have in a juicy bit of gossip before you believe it and start to spread it far and wide? I fear we have a very low threshold for the need for proof in the case of a juicy gossip story!

But one thing we need to have a firm belief in is the Holy Spirit because it is what gives us the truth and removes the doubt in our lives when it comes to the gospel story. Somehow, we are more willing to give in to certain things in our lives than in the Holy Spirit even though the Holy Spirit will guide us with feedback as we need it! The greatest thing is that our belief in many things are strengthened by the Holy Spirit simply because we do get feedback from him.

Here the people of Corinth are encouraged to listen to the Holy Spirit to hear the clear truth and not to be led away by other gossip. We are going to be told by many people who do not believe in God that Jesus was just a prophet or didn’t really exist… but the more you get to know the Holy Spirit, the more you too will be convinced of the existence and deity of Jesus Christ. Our history does have so much proof that Jesus was born and lived over 2000 years ago, and yet many choose to try and put His life in the realms of fiction or fairy tales; they obviously do not yet know the Holy Spirit!

Once we ask Jesus into our life and ask Him to forgive us of our sins, we are opening ourselves to the promise He gave us that He would send a comforter and guide to dwell with and in us: that is the Holy Spirit. Jesus came to live amongst us as a mere human but without the limits we see as humans because of His knowledge of God the Father and the Holy Spirit. He depended on God answering His prayers and lived knowing the Holy Spirit would be there at all times. If we can look at His life and strive to be just a little like Him, we too can listen to the Holy Spirit for our daily guidance.

Points to Ponder:
Do you like hearing encouragement and guidance?

Do you listen to the Holy Spirit?