THE SPIRIT OF HOLINESS

The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart (Psalm 51:17). Here are two important steps toward greater openness to the work of the Holy Spirit in your life: 1. Ask yourself: “Is there any unresolved conflict, unrepented sin, or anything that I must put right in order that God can flood my life with His Holy Spirit?” We must not forget that the Spirit of God is called the HOLY Spirit. Holy symbolizes purity; Spirit symbolizes power. The Holy Spirit is completely holy, searching, convicting, cleansing, yet at the same time immensely powerful to support, strengthen, and sustain. If there is anything in your life that needs to be put right, then talk to God about it now. Remember at this point that you are not just reading a page - you are ridding yourself of a plague! You cannot have the Holy Spirit flowing through your life and hold on to unrepented sin. One or the other must go! 2. Remind yourself that God is more eager to give you His Holy Spirit than you are to receive. Jesus called the giving of the Spirit “the Father’s promise” (Acts 1:4). This is the promise of promises. For God to go back on a promise would be the very reverse of His nature; it is impossible! The character of God is behind this promise. You can bank on it. If you could part the clouds for a moment and look into heaven, you would see in the heart of God such an intense longing and yearning for you to be filled with His Spirit that it would completely overwhelm and overawe you. He aches to give you the fulness of His Spirit - He really does! Prayer: O Father, what You want for my life, I want too - for my will and Your will to coincide. Make me as eager to be filled with Your Holy Spirit as You are to fill me. [Everyday with Jesus Bible with Devotions by Selwyn Hughes, Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 2004].