"Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest, And make our hearts Your place of rest; Come with Your grace and heav'nly aid, And fill the hearts which You have made.
"Your light to ev'ry thought impart, And shed Your love in ev'ry heart; The weakness of our mortal state With deathless might invigorate."
In the Nicene Creed we confess that the Holy Spirit is "the Lord and giver of life." Apart from God's saving work, we are dead in our sins, unable to save ourselves and unable to trust in God to save us. We can do nothing to move ourselves toward faith until, in Baptism, the Spirit breathes new life into us, as God once breathed the breath of life into the still form of Adam so recently shaped from the dust of the earth. According to promise, our stony, unrepentant hearts are replaced with new hearts of faith, hearts moved by the Spirit to trust God and His Word. God said, "I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." Only hearts newly created by the Spirit can confess faith in Jesus, as the apostle Paul explains, "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except in the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:3b).
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He told His disciples to wait "for the promise of the Father" (Acts 1:4b). The promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit, was poured out on Jesus' followers on Pentecost. It would be the Spirit's work to turn hearts and minds to trust in the Savior. The Holy Spirit would convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Only through the Spirit's enlightening work can we see the truth of our sinful condition and repent of our sins. Only by the Spirit can we see our need to be clothed in Jesus' righteousness and believe in the coming day of judgment. Jesus also said that "the Spirit of truth ... will guide you into all the truth ... He will glorify Me, for He will take what is Mine and declare it to you." (John 16:13-14). The Helper came "light to ev'ry thought impart" and, in the bright light of God's Word, we see Jesus.
The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives continues. The apostle Paul writes, "If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you" (Romans 8:11). When Jesus returns on the Last Day, our bodies will be raised in glory and clothed in immortality, our mortal flesh made alive, invigorated by the Spirit "with deathless might" to live forever in the love of our Lord and Savior.
WE PRAY: Spirit of God, guide me according to the Word and lead me to love and serve others in Jesus' Name. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler. It is based on the hymn "Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest," which is number 498 in the Lutheran Service Book.
Reflection Questions:
1. Do you have a favorite Creed that you use in your prayers or devotions?
2. How does the Holy Spirit take what belongs to Jesus and make it known to us?
3. Why is it necessary as Judgment Day approaches to be clothed in Jesus' righteousness?
Today's Bible Readings: Psalms 101, 103, 108 John 15
To Download Devotion MP3 to your computer, right click here and select "Save Link As" or "Save Target As" or "Download Linked File As"