Because we have sinned against God, the Holy Spirit calls us to consider the Plan of Salvation. This daily devotional reviews how the Holy Spirit prompts us to conviction and work for God.
Devotions in the Self-Discipline Review series
All year, we’ve been looking at self-discipline. We looked at it as the operational plan for self-control because it talked about improvement.
We are reviewing everything and hopefully putting all of the building blocks together. What I am doing is going through all of the devotions for the year and pulling out the nuggets.
I am formatting this as a glossary page. If I already have one, I will combine them later.
We all have sin in our lives. That sin is made known to us by the Holy Spirit. God has provided the Holy Spirit to convict us and guide us to grow in grace and knowledge.
Who Is the Holy Spirit?
- The Holy Spirit is a Person in the trinity. Because we believed, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit (How Do We Let the Holy Spirit Lead?).
- God chose a part of Himself to come to earth to live, die, and rise again to fix all the broken things. He sends another part of Himself to be with us 24/7 — that is the Holy Spirit (How Do We Let the Holy Spirit Lead?).
- We get guidance from the Holy Spirit through impulses. Those nudges are His responses to us (Peace Gained through Prayer).
- The Holy Spirit tells it to us like it is. He doesn’t whitewash things to give us a false sense of comfort (How Can We Find Comfort in Troubling Times?).
- The Holy Spirit is described as the Spirit of Truth as He will guide us into all truth (Why Do We Doubt that God Adopts Us?; The Spirit of Truth).
- The Holy Spirit is a comforting Presence that is always with us — as long as we are faithful, loving, and obedient (How Can We Find Comfort in Troubling Times?).
- We are given the Holy Spirit in different forms. It was God’s way of providing what we need (Are Spiritual Gifts Different?).
- The Spirit bears witness to our spirit (The Witnesses of the Spirits).
- The Holy Spirit is more than just our conscience (What Does Our Conscience Have to Do with the Spirit World?).
- We may think the Holy Spirit is at the end of the line in the Trinity, but He has a very important job. He is a witness. He tells us about God and Jesus. Just because the Holy Spirit is listed last doesn’t mean that He is the weakest One of the Trinity. The opposite is the case. The Holy Spirit is Jesus’ equal (The Witnesses of the Spirits; Who Is the Holy Spirit).
- Some the attributes we listed for Jesus are good to describe the Holy Spirit. The Spirit has to give through impulses the same level as Jesus did face-to-face (Who Is the Holy Spirit).
- Growing up, I thought the Holy Spirit was a New Testament thing. Nope, it was Old Testament, too. It was prophesied in the Old and presented in the New (The Holy Spirit within Us).
- The Holy Spirit dwells in us as we are God’s possession (The Holy Spirit within Us).
- God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit got together and talked about how they were going to create mankind. Mankind was created originally in God’s image (The First Family).
Being Convicted by the Holy Spirit
- We are called by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit uses God’s word and God’s people to convict a non-believer (Comprehending the Plan of Salvation).
- The Holy Spirit usually doesn’t work alone when converting a soul (How Does Dedication Help Consistency?).
- God calls us through the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Some of us wholeheartedly accept His gift. Some wrestle with the gift and what is expected of us. Others just flat out reject it (Comprehending the Plan of Salvation).
- We gain salvation by the Holy Spirit taking us to the Father using the Son as the way. He does this by interpreting the scriptures for us (How Do We Let the Holy Spirit Lead?).
- After Jesus accomplished the Plan of Salvation, God needed a part of Himself to reside in us. When we make the conscious choice to submit to Him, He has the Holy Spirit regenerate us (One God and the Trinity; The Depth and Height of Christ’s Love).
- The disciples would need a substitute since Jesus wasn’t going to be there. Enter the Holy Spirit (Who Is the Holy Spirit).
- We get freedom when we ask Jesus to be our Savior and Redeemer. But we have to put Him on the throne of our hearts. The Holy Spirit guides us to do that (How Do We Let the Holy Spirit Lead?).
- There is only one sin God won’t forgive. That is when we grieve the Holy Spirit. We do that by not ABCDing (Sins Against God).
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
- The Holy Spirit dwells within us so that He can instruct us in what we need to know. He will also keep us focused on Jesus’ return, where we will be set free (The Promises of Jesus’ Return).
- Jesus was not only the Teacher, but He was also the subject matter. We are taught and assisted by the Holy Spirit (Learning about Jesus from the Holy Spirit).
- We learn about Jesus and establish a relationship. But this isn’t something we can learn on our own. We can only come to God when He sends the Holy Spirit to call us (Learning to be a New Creation).
- When we believe in Jesus, we are pardoned. God forgives us of our sins. The kicker is that all of this takes place in God’s mind. Only the Holy Spirit can give testimony to this pardon (The Witnesses of the Spirits).
- We have to ABCD before the Holy Spirit comforts us. God will only comfort His children (How Can We Find Comfort in Troubling Times?).
- Luckily, God gives us access to the Spirit upon conversion (What Does It Mean to Walk in the Spirit?).
- We don’t know how the Holy Spirit is convicting someone else. We only know how He is convicting us (Being Content Because our Hearts Are Right).
See Also
The Holy Spirit’s Work
- We are to change our character through the influences of God’s Holy Spirit (Peace Starts with Getting Right with God).
- I don’t think it is normal to love God’s laws and commandments — at least not all of them. The Holy Spirit has to help us (God’s Law Creates Peace).
- We submit our wills to God, Who then uses the promptings of the Holy Spirit to open our consciences for instruction and change (How Is Sober Mindedness a Balanced Life?).
- As disciples, we are to be willing to be taught by the promptings of the Holy Spirit. It is through His guidance that we become mature disciples (Are Disciples to be Docile?)
- We all need to take a minute so we can slow down. If we continually go ninety to nothing, we generally block out the soft promptings of the Holy Spirit (Being Content Because our Hearts Are Right).
- We need to make sure we have the right attitude when prompted by the Holy Spirit (How Does God Call His Messengers?).
- As we grow in our relationships with God, we should be more sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s promptings. We should be able to distinguish between good and evil (What Does Sanctification Have to Do with Purity?).
- How do we honor God? We follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit and complete the tasks assigned to us (What Is Honor to a Disciple of Christ?).
- We take what is written in His Word and what He tells us through the Holy Spirit’s promptings — and do it (The Correlation between Fear of the Lord, Wisdom, and Obedience).
- The Holy Spirit teaches us how to use the abilities given to us and prompts us when it is time to use them (Are Spiritual Gifts Different?).
- God uses the Holy Spirit to impart His wisdom to us (What is the Spirit of Wisdom?).
- Only God is going to be able to teach us His Will. The Holy Spirit will teach us what God has instructed Him to say. His promptings influence us to seek God and learn more of Him (The Correlation between Fear of the Lord, Wisdom, and Obedience).
- God gives us direction through the Holy Spirit regarding His Will, which gives us hope. We can really know and experience God’s love because God promised that the Holy Spirit would dwelling within us (God’s Love as the Foundation of Hope).
- Being a new creation allows the Holy Spirit to take up residence. One problem is, He has a lot of remodeling to do. We are still in our physical bodies, so we are still in our sinful bodies. That is where regeneration continues (The Holy Spirit within Us).
- The Holy Spirit can personalize our learning. He can spend the time with us that we need to learn (Learning about Jesus from the Holy Spirit).
- The whole purpose of our learning is so that we progress on the Sanctification Road and become more like Jesus. We follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit as He teaches us about Jesus. Then, we will get our well-done-good-and-faithful-servant (Mt. 25: 21) at the appropriate times (Learning to be a New Creation).
- The only way this transformation works is if the Holy Spirit shows us what needs to be changed, gives us the desire for the change, and helps us accomplish the achievement of purity (Applying the Spiritual World to Everyday Life).
- Sanctification, done by the work of the Holy Spirit’s promptings, separates us from our old lives and builds a new life in Christ. (How Are Disciples Pure in Heart?).
- There is a big gap, however, of where we are and where God expects us to be when we are perfect. The Holy Spirit is there to guide us toward perfection (How Do We Let the Holy Spirit Lead?).
- We must pray that the Holy Spirit move within our efforts to use them to fulfill God’s plan (Good versus Evil).
- To help us overcome our doubts and feelings of unworthiness, God has put the witness of His Holy Spirit within us (Why Do We Doubt that God Adopts Us?).
- The Holy Spirit is much more than just a comforter or an advocate (Who Is the Holy Spirit).
- When I see the Holy Spirit called the Helper, I usually think that is such a broad, general term. But then I think, good. Life is so complex; we need a broad Helper (Who Is the Holy Spirit).
- The Spirit works individually with us — specifically with whatever issues we are dealing with at the time (Who Is the Holy Spirit).
- One of the things the Holy Spirit will help us with is increasing our knowledge. This is a normal step in the sanctification process (Who Is the Holy Spirit).
- The Holy Spirit is instructed to teach us about God and His Will for our lives. His Will is that we submit to Him and change our lives so that we imitate Him (Who Is the Holy Spirit).
- There are things that the Holy Spirit needs to teach us that aren’t in the Bible. We are just given a glimpse into the character of God in His Word. We need to get specific instructions through the Spirit (Who Is the Holy Spirit).
- It is important we remember and that the Holy Spirit helps us to remember. Once we get in the middle of a trial, we need to fall back on those instructions so we remain faithful to God (Who Is the Holy Spirit).
- The Holy Spirit may be quiet because He is giving us the room to exercise our free will. We have to consciously choose to make God our Sovereign Lord (Who Is the Holy Spirit).
- In some instances, the Holy Spirit might give us an ah-ha moment. Or an example may come to mind (Who Is the Holy Spirit?).
- The Holy Spirit is going to interpret Scriptures so that we can understand what God is telling us (Who Is the Holy Spirit).
- What the Holy Spirit teaches us also gives us peace. Our sins are forgiven. God will never leave us. Jesus is preparing for His return to take us home (Who Is the Holy Spirit?).
- We don’t have to feel like we are alone — because we aren’t. We have the Holy Spirit to guide us (The Correlation between Fear of the Lord, Wisdom, and Obedience).
- We talk to God through prayer, and He talks back through the Holy Spirit (What Is Prayer?).
- We continue praying to seek God. This is how we grow our relationship with Him. He doesn’t totally reveal Himself in the Bible. Instead, He reveals Himself to us as we follow the Holy Spirit’s promptings (What Is Prayer?).
- Sometimes, I think we may have the tendency to look at the Holy Spirit as a second-class citizen of the Trinity. He isn’t (Who Is the Holy Spirit).
- The Spirit was not only working on the disciples, but He was also working on those who would hear them. He was preparing their hearts to listen to the message (The Gift of the Spirit).
- One of the greatest gifts God gave us was the Holy Spirit. He is to be a Guide. Oh, yes. We need help following God’s laws and commandments (The Holy Spirit within Us).
- It is the work of the Holy Spirit to help us be obedient (The Holy Spirit within Us).
- We take care of the Spirit with prayer. Isn’t that what we do with relationships – communicate? (The Holy Spirit within Us).
We Need the Holy Spirit
• We can only accomplish the ministry to which God has called us by being anointed by the Holy Spirit. We can’t do that ourselves (Spiritual Freedom).
• God through His Holy Spirit will have to bring about any changes in us that come from the victories we experience (Truth in Freedom).
Rewards
• Three specific rewards we inherit that are mentioned are the Holy Spirit (Jn. 3: 5-6), eternal life (Ti. 3: 7), and the kingdom (Jas. 2: 5) (How Are Disciples Humble?).
• God’s notion is that purity comes from the heart. It is more who we are — our character — than what we do. It is where Jesus and the Holy Spirit live within us (How Are Disciples Pure in Heart?).
Father. We hear the Holy Spirit prompting us to grow closer to You. Lord, that is our hope and prayer. Amen.
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