Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – July 29, 2017
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Acts 2:37
The Holy Spirit cuts to the heart, and with laser beam precision He probes and penetrates and prescribes truth. He is not satisfied with a surface relationship but is motivated to move beyond insensitive chatter to the sensitive conscience. He is interested in claiming your conscience for Christ. When your heart is convinced, you are convinced. Your heart is the seat of your emotions, and it is here the hounds of hell seek to have their way. However, the Holy Spirit is ahead of the enemy. He is quick to deliver truth with clarity and conviction. One can choose to accept His promptings or ignore them to their regret. When your heart is strangely warmed, listen, for the Lord is speaking.
No one else deserves your devotion or affection but Christ. When you give your heart mixed signals you obstruct obedience. A divided heart will not stand under the scrutiny of the Spirit of God; so keep your heart for Christ and Christ alone. Cut free any other competitors for Christ’s affection. Money, homes, success, children, work, travel, and hobbies are all means to an end: glorifying God. The heart is heaven’s home, not hell’s playground.
“And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Romans 5:5).
Therefore, do not hesitate to expose your heart to eternal purposes. Lay your heart before the Lord, and ask Him to mold it with His Almighty agenda. Listen and apply truth to your heart. Invite the Holy Spirit’s awakening of your slumbering soul, for He is God’s change agent. Once the Holy Spirit has sliced into your soul, He expects change. Heartfelt conviction that does not lead to change hardens the heart. Emotional awareness is only an appetizer that precedes the entrée of willful obedience.
Action accompanies a heart cut by Christ. There is a humility that cries out, “What am I to do?” A hungry heart responds with an appetite for the Almighty. Everything else pales in importance when compared to obeying God. A heart engaged by the Holy Spirit longs to love the Lord by obeying the Lord. There is a direct correlation between obedience and a heart cut by the Spirit; self-seduces a disobedient heart.
The Holy Spirit is committed to conforming you to the image of Christ. The fruit of His work transforms you into a faithful spouse, engaged parent, loyal friend, wise mentor, loving leader, and caring colleague. His inner conviction leads to repentance of sin, faith in Christ, and community with believers. This is His mode of operation. If you do not recognize and respond to the Holy Spirit’s persistent promptings, He may go away. He does not dwell where He is not wanted. Never numb your conscience to Him. Rather, seek Him out. Christ left you His Spirit for the specific purposes of convicting, comforting, and counseling. Pray for His power to permeate your feelings, thinking, and behavior. He cuts to the heart because He cares.
Jesus said, “But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:7-8).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I open my heart to the Holy Spirit to convict me of my sin and to lead me into Your will for my life, in Jesus’ name, amen.Application
What is the Holy Spirit saying to my heart that I need to trust and obey?Related Reading
Isaiah 35:4; Nehemiah 2:12; Proverbs 28:14; Acts 15:8; Romans 2:29 Today’s reading is taken from Boyd’s most popular book: Seeking Daily the Heart of God, a 365 day devotional.Post/Tweet today
A heart led by the Holy Spirit longs to love the Lord by obeying the Lord. #wisdomhunters #cuttotheheartWorship Resource
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The Holy Spirit does not ‘go away’ – He is faithful when we are faithless, His eye is upon us when we are looking the other way, His affection is patient and continually watches over our welfare, even when we are foolish. Nothing works based here. He changes our hearts, we don’t. He does not go away!
Dear SA Harrison,
Thank you for calling this to our attention. I appreciate your comments and asked the author about his statements and dug a little deeper into the Word myself to get some clarity on the Holy Spirit when He “goes away”.
You are right when you said “The Holy Spirit does not “go away”. What Boyd was referring to was that the Holy Spirit’s influence and power goes away when we grieve His Spirit.
“And do not grieve the Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30
David reminds us that the Holy Spirit’s influence can go away when we turn from God: “Do not cast me away from You and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” (Psalm 51:11)
And in Judges we see how the power of the Holy Spirit was with Samson in his mighty strength. “Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon me in power.” (Judges 14:19) but then the power left him in Judges 16:20 “Then she called, ‘Samson, the Philistines are upon you!’ He woke up from his sleep and thought ‘I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.’ But he did not know that the Lord had left him.”
Again, you are right in the fact that the Holy Spirit never leaves us but when He is grieved, His power and influence may go away.
However the Good news is (No, the GREAT news is…)God is a God of second chances and when we repent and ask for forgiveness are sins are forgiven! (Acts 8:22).
We are so thankful for you and look forward to hearing from you again. We hope you will continue to be blessed by the daily devotionals and we give all the glory to our Heavenly Father!
Blessings,
Gwynne
“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth.” He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is to come.” John 16:12-13