Worship Devotional CXXV

Jun 4

Originally posted to the Facebook group on 6/4/2022.

Made To Reflect The Glory Of The One Who Dwells Within Us

Worship Devotional for 6/5/22

~ Pentecost Sunday ~

Acts 1:4-8:

"While He was together with them, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father's promise. 'This,' He said, 'is what you heard from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.'
So when they had come together, they asked Him, 'Lord, are You restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?'
He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'"

Just before Jesus ascended into heaven, He reminded His disciples of God's promise to send the Holy Spirit to be with them, assured them that the Holy Spirit would empower them to be His witness to the ends of the earth, and commanded them to wait in Jerusalem. They waited and prayed until the day of Pentecost had arrived, as described in Acts 2:1-4:

"When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. And tongues, like flames of fire that were divided, appeared to them and rested on each one of them. Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages, as the Spirit gave them ability for speech."

Having received the Holy Spirit, they spoke to the people in Jerusalem, among whom were representatives from every nation. They testified to what God had done and preached the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ, and many were convicted, moved to repentance, and blessed with salvation through faith by the power of the Holy Spirit who was speaking and working through the disciples.

Instead of having Jesus remain on the earth to tell people of salvation and truth, and instead of using a great sign or display in the heavens completely separate from mankind, God chose to use people. He chose and chooses still to fill His people with His Spirit, and then speak and act through them. He puts His love and kindness and compassion and truth on display through the words and deeds of those who have believed in Him so that others might also be justified by the Son and filled with the Spirit. Why, when we are so weak and broken, does God do it this way? How can it be that He has He designed us to participate in His work for His glory rather than merely observe what He is doing from the outside? He has revealed the answer, for it is found in remembering His purpose for us from the very beginning, just as it is written in Genesis 1:26-28:

"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.'
So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female.
God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.'"

We were made to reflect the glory of the Creator to the rest of His creation. This is the purpose for our existence and the reason we are here on this earth! We had all fallen short of the glory of God when we sinned and rebelled against Him, but now that we have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ and justified in God's sight through His death and resurrection, we have been made new! We are no longer condemned to die for our sins, because Christ died in our place. And just as God raised Him from the dead, so also we will be raised to new life in Him. We are being remade in the image of Christ, who is the perfect Son of God and the exact expression of God's nature (Heb. 1:3). He now reigns at the right hand of the Father, and His Spirit now lives inside of us, the children of God, who are here on the earth now to shine by reflecting His light to all the world.

We cannot reflect His image to creation and to the nations by our own strength or abilities. We need God to move in and through us, because it His power alone that is able to change lives and save souls. We are simply called to be vessels, purified and sanctified by the Spirit's working in us, that He may also work through us to extend His glory and His grace to others. He is the light that shines through us. He is the love that flows from within. He is the strength that moves us to obedient action. He is the power within us that changes the atmosphere around us and shakes the forces of darkness that are at work in this present world. The Holy Spirit — the Spirit of the living God — is greater than anything we face or that tries to come against us. Because He is in us, we can go forth with great courage to shine for His glory, and we can rejoice with great joy for the love and hope and peace that we have in Him. May He be praised and honored and adored in our gathering for worship, fellowship, and edification this week and every day of our lives. May we bring more and more glory to God by living fruitful lives in this world by the power of Spirit who is cultivating faith and truth and love within each of us as we follow Him and get to know Him more each day.

Galatians 5:22-25:

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, we must also follow the Spirit."

1 John 4:4:

"You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."

Zechariah 4:6b:

"'Not by strength or by might, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord of Hosts."

Romans 5:1-5:

"Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through Him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

Romans 15:13: