Experiencing the Holy Spirit
This devotional will be different as it seemed good to me to ask about our experiences with the Holy Spirit to remind us of times He was working in and through us and we weren’t aware of it.
Ever been awakened in the middle of the night compelled to fervent prayer for someone? One friend shared that God awakened her in the dark of night urging her to pray for a granddaughter who was going astray; it was urgent and passionate. Another told of being awakened to pray for missionaries to find out later that something dangerous was happening at that exact moment and God protected them. That is the Holy Spirit.
A friend grieving the loss of her husband who stepped out of ministering to women, began to feel God’s call to serve Him again. She asked God to bring those opportunities to her as she would not seek them on her own. A lady she did not know approached her in Costco, this woman also grieving. A conversation started and she is still lovingly speaking Truth to her several years later. That is the Holy Spirit.
Once I was scheduled to be one of the speakers at a women's retreat. As I reviewed my presentation, I had a strong impression that I was to use a different verse in one section. I resisted and told the Lord that I was ready with that one. The impression grew stronger so I changed it, having no idea why. The speaker before me used that previous verse as one of her main points. Oh, the Holy Spirit again!
Another friend loves to hand write encouraging notes to people and she says when the words just flow onto the page, she knows it is the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit works in our transformation and may use things that provoke us to get our attention. It may instead be an invitation to seek wisdom from the Holy Spirit, to be quiet with Him and listen.
When you read scripture and are particularly struck by a phrase, or truth, or revelation, that too is the Holy Spirit.
This is just a small sampling, but what is our part in this?
Make space for Him.
Pay attention (ask the Lord’s help to not miss opportunities or moments like these.)
Wait, expect, anticipate.
Reflection: Today, do some remembering and sharing of how the Holy Spirit has worked in your life. It will bring joy and glory to God.
Francie Overstreet
The Greatest Gift Ever
I woke up one Christmas morning to find a stocking at the foot of my bed. Inside was the cutest puppy I’d ever seen, squirming to get free. It was a great gift that brought wonderful memories to my childhood. Maybe you’ve received a really great gift at one time or another. Sometimes gifts are challenging to purchase—if you don’t know the person all that well, don’t know what they want, or what they need. Other times you come across the perfect gift for someone special you know very well and it’s a great feeling.
John 14 teaches about a very special gift. We get to slowly unwrap Jesus’ greatest gift to his disciples in our study of John and it’s got our name on it too! A gift he knew we would need, far beyond what we deserve.
The night before Jesus faced the cross he told his beloved over and over again, “I am leaving you.” For three years, they’d given up everything to follow him, and now was Jesus abandoning them?
So, in this context, Jesus said, I know you’re sad but I know something you don’t know. The best is yet to come! I have the greatest gift ever wrapped up for you Peter my passionate friend, and John, you’re gonna love it! James and Matthew—it’s just what you need. For all of you, this gift is better than you can imagine.
Do you know that feeling?….you found it, the perfect thing for someone you love, and you can’t wait to give it to them. Oh, was Jesus ever right when he said, it’s more blessed to give than to receive!
In verses 15-16 Jesus says: “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor (or in other translations: Advocate, Comforter or my personal favorite…..Helper) to be WITH you FOREVER.”
Verse 26 tells us, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you ALL things and will remind you of EVERY thing I have said to you.
What? I hope that stuns you!! I have God—the very Spirit of God, all of the knowledge and wisdom of God with me, to help me, to advocate for me, to comfort and counsel me, to teach and remind me….FOREVER.”
In verse 17 Jesus gives this incredible gift a name—The Spirit of Truth—because the Holy Spirit is a who and not a what. He says the world cannot accept him (speaking of the Spirit) because it neither sees him or knows him, but you KNOW him, for he lives with you and will be IN you. The Spirit of Truth is not a thing to get, but a person to know and have fellowship with forever.
Fast forward a few weeks. He left the mission of God to a ragtag group of Jewish peasants, facing impossible odds. In one generation they changed the course of history. Oppressed, lacking any advantage, these were “unschooled ordinary men.” (Acts 4:13) Yet they changed the world forever, because of the Holy Spirit—the best gift ever.
Donielle Winter
Hospitable Hearts
Series: Prepare Him Room | Text: John 14:15-31
Speaker: Pastors Ryan Paulson and Esteban Tapia
December 10, 2023: On Sunday, Pastors Ryan Paulson and Esteban Tapia continued our latest teaching series for the Advent Season, Prepare Him Room (season four of our messages from the Gospel of John). The next message in this series is entitled Hospitable Hearts. We hope this sermon series blesses you as we move through the Advent/Christmas season.
The Prepared Way
In my adult life, I have moved many times and each time, we left a home. The homes we occupied were filled with our treasures, memories, and love. One thing became more and more clear with each move… we had to go so that someone else could occupy and fill that space. Though most of the time we were excited about the move, other times we left in sadness with only trust in the Lord that He had good things still ahead in the future.
The trust that Jesus had in His Father was perfect when He left heaven and came to be with us—our Emmanuel. He left the perfect fellowship of the Trinity to make room for us, His treasure, who needed rescue from the hands of a thief who only comes to “steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10) because of the impact of chosen rebellion… sin.
Sin inhabits the homes of our hearts and God, as the original owner, sent His son to reclaim what belonged to Him. C.S. Lewis is quoted as saying, “There is no neutral ground in the universe.” Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, each person has the dignity of choice to follow the Lordship of the one and only true God. Jesus made the way so that each person had the opportunity to choose who occupied the home of their heart.
If you are a follower of Jesus having accepted His Lordship, I remind you that each day we are still faced with a choice to choose life or death, blessings or curses as we offer our lives as a witness to others by the way we live and love.
But maybe you are reading this and still question the validity of Jesus as Lord and Savior. I urge you to take a look at the Scriptures we have been studying together in the book of John and consider—or reconsider— Jesus. Look at Him as a man and dare to consider Him as God who loved and “demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”(Romans 5:8). To do this, He had to leave the perfection of heaven.
Where you choose to live is your choice, but you must offer the occupancy over to someone else. I pray today, with you and for you, that Jesus makes a home in your heart so that your permanent residency can be found with Him.
Jessica Klootwyk
Group & Women’s Discipleship Director
Hostage, Come Home.
John 14:1-14
Each morning I wake up, read Scripture and pray, and then I read the news for a few minutes. Over the last few weeks, the story that I’ve been most interested in is the release of Israeli captives by Hamas. If you’ve been following the developments, you’ve probably been praying and asking the Lord to be merciful to these people. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be in captivity for over two months - wondering if you’re ever going to make it home. The amount of work that has gone into freeing the captives is astounding. Governments and militaries are involved and it’s all to make sure those people make it safely home.
Jesus agrees that making it home is of the utmost importance. When his disciples were troubled, he promised that “he was going to prepare a home for them.” The natural question the disciples asked was, “How are we going to make it to this home?” It was the same question I’m confident those hostages were asking. How are we going to make it? What power is going to release us and protect us? Who is going to ensure our safe passage? Jesus answers the disciples by promising them that he would bring them home. He boldly declared that he is “the way, the truth, and the life.”
Now, if you are the disciples, you might rightly ask, “What gives you the power to ensure our safe arrival? Philip spoke up and voiced that concern. He said,
8 “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” (John 14:8)
Philip is struggling to believe that Jesus has the power to do what he just promised. He wants to see the Father - that’s the only way he believed they could make it home. Jesus responded,
9 “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (John 14:9)
The reason that the disciples can have confidence they will make it home is because Jesus and his Father are unified. The astounding truth Jesus is sharing with them is that all of the power of heaven is leveraged to get them home.
The same is true for those who are in Christ. Jesus promises our safe arrival too. All of the power of heaven is leveraged to get us home. Truly, nothing can separate us from God’s love. Our arrival is secured by divine power. When it comes to reaching our eternal home, we will never experience being held hostage, unable to make it. We have already been redeemed, freed from captivity, and purchased back from the Evil One and the grave. The exchange has already been made - the perfect Son of God gave his life for us and assured us that we will make it safely.
Today, take some time and thank Jesus for his rescue and promise that you will make it home safe and sound.
Pastor Ryan Paulson
The Way to Get Home
“I am the way ….” John 14:6a
Home is where all places, sounds, colors, and smells are familiar. Home is where we are known, embraced, and loved. But most importantly, home is where our loved ones are. When God created Adam and Eve, he provided them with a very special home. Unfortunately, as a consequence of their sin, they got displaced from their home and became homeless (Gen. 3:23). Since then, humanity has been longing to get back home, but something is blocking the path. The obstacles of sin and death keep us from going home.
When Jesus came into the world, He dealt with the powers of sin and death by defeating them on the cross, providing for those who believe in Him access to His Father’s house, and welcoming them as family. In Jesus, God has provided humanity with the only way to get to the home where we truly belong for all eternity.
In the meantime, those of us who have believed in Jesus as Christ are supposed to live in His way. Jesus modeled His way for us by living the values of our heavenly home, here on earth. In other words, Jesus is not only the way for humanity to get into the Father’s house, but He is also His family’s example to follow. Jesus is the way!
In the end, no one knows the specifics of our eternal home with Jesus. Maybe some of the places, sounds, colors, and smells of our heavenly house won’t be familiar to us. But there are some things that we know. In our eternal home, we will be known, we will be embraced, and we will be loved. But what will make the Father’s house our home, will be the presence of the One we love, Jesus.
Pastor Esteban Tapia
There's No Place Like Home
Series: Prepare Him Room | Text: John 14:1-14
Speaker: Pastors Ryan Paulson and Esteban Tapia
December 3, 2023: On Sunday, Pastors Ryan Paulson and Esteban Tapia began our new series for the Advent Season, Prepare Him Room (season four of our messages from the Gospel of John). The first message in this series is entitled There's No Place Like Home. We hope this next sermon series will be a blessing to you as we begin the Christmas season.