Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14
Spiritual growth is exhilarating. How can we grow spiritually, become more holy and more dedicated to God's will? Only by the power of God's Spirit!
Jesus teaches us to pray for the Holy Spirit. "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7:11). The Spirit works through His Word. Daily we need to mediate on that Word so God's thoughts and truths can control our thinking and govern our actions.
By God's grace, as we open our lives to the influence of the triune God, we grow spiritually. We pray more for others, forgive more easily, and have more peace within. We are less money-minded, less worrisome, and are more grateful. We are less jealous, less critical, and more understanding. We are less often depressed and more cheerful. We will never be all that we ought to be, but we can make progress. Each of us can say with conviction, "By the power of Christ's Spirit working through the Gospel, I can and will be better than I now am."
PRAYER: Spirit of the living God, thank You for giving us faith in our crucified, risen Savior. Help us to strive for holiness; in Jesus' name. Amen.
(Devotions from "The Abundant Life" copyright 1998, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time e-mailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)
Today's Bible Readings: 2 Kings 24-25 Acts 16:1-21
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