1711 How You Change

BIG Life Devotional | Daily Devotional for Women

The moment you choose to believe in Jesus as your savior, you receive the gift of God’s Holy Spirit within you. So many of God’s girls are walking around today, totally unaware of the power inside of them. It’s already been given to us, now we need to use it!

Salvation comes with receiving the Holy Spirit. It’s not a question of if you have RECEIVED his Spirit, if you believe in Jesus, then you have. Paul wrote in Galatians 3:2, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you BELIEVED the message you heard about Christ.” No one receives the Holy Spirit based on what they do. This isn’t about cleaning your life up first, then receiving this gift. This isn’t about checking enough boxes so you are qualified. The only thing you have to do is believe in Jesus, and the gift of God’s Holy Spirit is given to you. There is no religious formula here, only a relationship with Jesus.

However, understand there is a difference between receiving and being filled. The process of being FILLED by his spirit is ongoing in the life of a Christian. In our relationship with Jesus, we are continually being poured into by the Holy Spirit, filled and refilled, strengthened and guided, given new promptings and revelations. It’s not a big one time event where you receive some sort of medal and walk away. No, it’s a process of being constantly filled with God’s life changing power.

We read about the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts, chapter 1 and 2. Jesus has already been crucified on the cross, and now he has been resurrected and he’s returned to his disciples to give them the gift the Father has promised. The gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:8, Jesus says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

How would these simple men who had failed Jesus on their journey possibly go to the ends of the earth to tell others his story? How could they travel that far? How could they possibly have that kind of impact?

What they didn’t understand is the power of God’s spirit would bring people from far and wide to one place for the day of Pentecost. The disciples wouldn’t have to go to them in their land, God had brought them all right to Jerusalem. That’s the power of God’s spirit. He moves people. He positions us and others to be precisely where he wants us to be, as only he can do. Don’t miss the miracle in the time and the place!

You’re here, this is your time. And you have a place. This is no mistake. God’s Holy Spirit has been at work to bring you to where you are for a time such as this!

Now, with all these people gathered together, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Asia, Egypt, Libya, Cyrene, Crete, Africa, Europe, Iran, and many others are named, God fills the believers with a power they had never witnessed before.

Acts 2: 2-4, “Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by believers. They were completely amazed. ‘How can this be?’ they exclaimed. ‘These people are all from Galilee, and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages about the wonderful things God has done.”

These were just ordinary people from Galilee, which is important. Galileans were known to be uncultured and poorly spoken. There’s no possible way they could know the languages of every nation. Yet, that’s precisely what was happening. THIS IS THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Now, don’t get caught up in the controversy of speaking in tongues versus not speaking in tongues. This has been a dividing factor for entirely too many Christians for too long.

Here’s what God is showing us … if his Spirit can enable common, ordinary, uncultured people to speak in real languages they have even heard before, what else can his Spirit enable his people to do?

As a believer, you have received the Holy Spirit. Now, his Holy Spirit wants to FILL you. Flow through you. Flood you. Pour into you and pour from you. Change you. Empower you.

What could this power within you do? There’s nothing his Spirit cannot do. You have the alive and true gift of his presence always with you in the power of his Holy Spirit.

This is the Spirit we read of in Genesis 1. The opening words of your Bible say, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.”

The Spirit of God created the earth. Now, this is the power you have received. It’s in YOU! Do more than just receive it, let it continually fill you.

Galatians 5: 16-23 tell us what happens in our lives when we are filled with the power of God’s Holy Spirit. Again, this is a continual process, not a box to be checked.

“Let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”

This is the power of the Holy Spirit filling your life. It changes you. It changes your heart. It changes your mind. It changes how you live. And that my friends, is only God’s power at work!

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