Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
May 28, 2023
John 14:15-27
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 I will ask the Father, and he will send another Companion, who will be with you forever. 17 This Companion is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world can’t receive because it neither sees him nor recognizes him. You know him because he lives with you and will be with you. 18 “I won’t leave you as orphans. I will come to you. 19 Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live too. 20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father, you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them loves me. Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” 22 Judas (not Judas Iscariot) asked, “Lord, why are you about to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered, “Whoever loves me will keep my word. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Whoever doesn’t love me doesn’t keep my words. The word that you hear isn’t mine. It is the word of the Father who sent me. 25 “I have spoken these things to you while I am with you. 26 The Companion, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I told you. 27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I give to you not as the world gives. Don’t be troubled or afraid.
Good Morning; We are filled with the Holy Spirit!
When we confess our sins and profess that Jesus is our Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit enters and works within us to transform us into the beings God sees in us. For the disciples, this was a confusing time. They had spent most of the last three years traveling with Jesus. Jesus taught them by his words and actions. They learned to see the world through Jesus’ eyes and heart, and they felt as if they were ready to change the world.
Then, everything changed. Their Lord was arrested, crucified, buried, and then the unimaginable happened, and he was resurrected. All of this in such a short time had to be overwhelming. For a while, they were in that fog that surrounds us as we grieve the loss of a loved one, but then Jesus was with them again. It was different, but they could see and talk to him.
Finally, it was time for Jesus to leave them. They experienced another round of grief. Next, they must have felt fear as Jesus commissioned them to share the Gospel in his name. They must have thought, “You want us to do what?!? You’re the Son of God, but we’re just ordinary people.”
Jesus, the consummate teacher, continued to teach and prepare them for this “new” reality, but he realized that they would need help to remember and continue to learn. 26 The Companion, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I told you.
Jesus says, 27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I give to you not as the world gives. Don’t be troubled or afraid. This message for his disciples is a message for us as well. These words are the preface for today when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples. Accept the Holy Spirit and allow your transformation to begin or to continue. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we, the ordinary children of God, are called to do extraordinary things.
Loving God, We thank you for Your blessings. O God, you are our God. You have planned for our lives so that we may learn your ways. Help us accept your gifts fully. Thank You! In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: I believe in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Embrace your transformation! Pastor Liz
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