"Come, holy Fire, comfort true, grant us the will Your work to do And in Your service to abide; let trials turn us not aside. Lord, by Your pow'r prepare each heart, and to our weakness strength impart That bravely here we may contend, through life and death to You, our Lord, ascend. Alleluia, alleluia!"
Discipleship can be difficult. Think of all that we are called to do as we follow Jesus. We are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. The Savior commanded us to love one another just as He loves us, with self-sacrificing love. With some people we might find that easy to do, but with others not so much. Jesus said, "Any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:33b). That statement makes us take a serious look at our worldly possessions. We are to deny ourselves, take up the cross as He took up His cross for us, and follow Him, faithful unto death.
We know that the Lord gave Himself for us. We want to do all of these things for Him, yet we experience what Jesus spoke of in Gethsemane, that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. After another challenging statement, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments," Jesus continued with this comforting promise, "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth" (John 14:15-17a). After pointing out that even sinners know how to give good gifts to their children, Jesus said, "How much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" (Luke 11:13b). Following Jesus is not always easy, but we do not do so alone. We have help!
The Holy Spirit lives within us as we walk in Jesus' challenging footsteps. The Spirit is with us as He teaches us, bringing to mind the comfort and promises of God's Word. In our sometimes bold and at other times feeble efforts as witnesses for Jesus, the Spirit is at work, convicting the world of sin and righteousness and judgment. The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth as He glorifies Jesus. In our hymn we pray that the Spirit would make us willing to do His work and that He would not let trials turn us away from Jesus. The Spirit will give us strength us in our weakness even as we endure trouble, fear, and temptation, and He will keep us faithful unto death. We pray that the Spirit, "holy Fire," will fan into living flame the lamp of our faith.
WE PRAY: Holy Spirit, holy Fire, keep me faithful through life and death. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler. It is based on the hymn, "Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord," which is number 497 in the Lutheran Service Book.
Reflection Questions:
1. How does the Lord lift you up in your discipleship when trials come on strong?
2. Do you go to God and pray for the good gifts He gives to His children?
3. How can we support others who are experiencing difficulty in living as God's people?
Today's Bible Readings: 2 Samuel 21-22 Psalms 18 John 6:22-40
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