The LORD God is the Creator of the ends of the earth. He has established laws in nature which govern all the processes of life–planting, growth, cultivation and harvest. These principles give us insight on how to conduct our lives, families, churches, and societies (to continue reading this essay, click on image above).
God’s Triumphant Love, Romans 5:1-5
The triune God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit has worked salvation for his own, not by what we do to perform, but according to God’s gracious provision in Christ. Our salvation establishes us in an unshakeable position of peace and favor with God, providing present security and future hope that transcends temporal circumstances. Because of God’s working, we can persevere when we encounter trials and sufferings. Now believers can embrace trials as divine instruments for character formation, knowing that God sovereignly uses our difficulties to deepen our spiritual maturity and strengthen our hope. The presence of the Holy Spirit within us serves as both the guarantee of God’s love and the power source for experiencing joy and perseverance, even amid life’s most challenging seasons.
Our Focus Today
The Gift of the Holy Spirit, Romans 5:5
God has given to his people the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, who is the pledge of the inheritance to come and who has poured out his love into our hearts.
Invocation
Gracious God and Father, I thank you for the incredible gift of the Holy Spirit, whom you have freely given to dwell within your people as both the evidence of your love and the guarantee of our eternal inheritance. Open my life up to the leading of the Holy Spirit, showing me how the third person of the Trinity has taken up residence in our hearts to make the love of Christ real and personal to us. Amen.
Gloria Patri
Glory be to the Father,
And to the Son and to the Holy Spirit:
As it was in the beginning,
Is now, and ever shall be,
World without end. Amen, amen.
Chronological Scripture Readings for Today
These Scriptures allow us to read through the entire Bible in one year in chronological order.
Saturday: 2 Kings 20.1-19; Isa. 38-39; 2 Chron. 32.24-31
Psalms and Proverb for Today
These Scriptures allow us to read through the Psalms and Proverbs each month.
Saturday: Psalm 21, 51, 81, 111, 141 and Proverbs 21
The Gift of the Holy Spirit, Romans 5:5
God has given to his people the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, who is the pledge of the inheritance to come and who has poured out his love into our hearts.
Reflection
The gift of the Holy Spirit represents God’s supreme investment in every believer’s spiritual life, providing both present comfort and future assurance through his indwelling presence in the church community. As the pledge of our inheritance, the Holy Spirit serves as God’s guarantee that what he has promised he will certainly fulfill, making our hope in eternal glory not a fanciful dream but confident expectation of God fulfilling his promise. The Spirit’s work of pouring God’s love into our hearts means that we have access to a supernatural source of assurance, comfort, and strength to sustain us in our walk as Christians. We must learn to recognize the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives and to surrender to his workings, even in the face of external challenges or internal struggles.
Engaging God’s Word Today
In what ways are you currently experiencing the Holy Spirit’s presence as evidence of God’s love in your life? How might a deeper understanding of the Spirit as God’s pledge of our eternal inheritance change our perspective on current uncertainties or future fears?
Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, The Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.
We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Begotten Son of God,
Begotten of the Father before all ages,
God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God,
Begotten not created, of the same essence as the Father,
through Whom all things were made.
Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary and became human.
Who for us too, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried.
The third day He rose again according to the Scriptures, ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and His kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and life-giver,
Who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
Who together with the Father and Son is worshiped and glorified.
Who spoke by the prophets.
We believe in one holy, catholic, and apostolic church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sin,
and we look for the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the age to come. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever. Amen.
Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him all creatures here below;
Praise Him above ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Benediction
O triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thank you for the salvation you have won for those who believe in Christ. You have given to us the Holy Spirit as your own precious gift, and poured out the Father’s love into our hearts. May we come to live each day conscious of his divine presence within us, drawing strength from his leading and ministry and comfort from his witness to us as God’s beloved children. Help us affirm day by day that the Spirit of God is dwelling within us, making us the temple of God and the recipients of your boundless love. Amen.
Scripture Memory for this season
2 Corinthians 9:6-8 (ESV):
6 “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”
Scripture Engagement
As disciples of Jesus, the Churches of Christ the King strongly seek to engage the Scriptures to discover the centrality of Christ and his Kingdom in the prophetic and apostolic writings. You will find a rich treasure of resources on engaging Scripture at the Center for Scripture Engagement of Taylor University.
Book Reading and Reflection
“We do not change by snapping our fingers and deciding to be someone entirely new. We change bit by bit, day by day, habit by habit. We are continually undergoing microevolutions of the self. Each habit is like a suggestion: “Hey, maybe this is who I am.” If you finish a book, then perhaps you are the type of person who likes reading. If you go to the gym, then perhaps you are the type of person who likes exercise. If you practice playing the guitar, perhaps you are the type of person who likes music. Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity. This is one reason why meaningful change does not require radical change. Small habits can make a meaningful difference by providing evidence of a new identity. And if a change is meaningful, it actually is big. That’s the paradox of making small improvements.
Putting this all together, you can see that habits are the path to changing your identity. The most practical way to change who you are is to change what you do. Each time you write a page, you are a writer. Each time you practice the violin, you are a musician. Each time you start a workout, you are an athlete. Each time you encourage your employees, you are a leader. Each habit not only gets results but also teaches you something far more important: to trust yourself. You start to believe you can actually accomplish these things. When the votes mount up and the evidence begins to change, the story you tell yourself begins to change as well.”
~ Clear, James, Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones. Penguin Random House UK, 2018. Electronic Edition.
Seedling Focus for the Season: Whoever Sows Generously Will Reap Generously
Description: Generosity is like sowing seeds that will one day yield a great harvest, 2 Cor. 9:6-8.
On Eagles Wings Prayer Focus: A Long Time Comin‘
God’s Triumphant Love, Romans 5:1-5.
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