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A House Built on the Holy Spirit
Simply talking about a desire for healthy church culture doesn’t bring change. It’s easy to dissect other leaders and criticize religious institutions, but without actively pursuing the healing that comes with hard conversations, counseling, and confessing our own sins, we will stay stuck.
Jesus told the disciples, “When the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you” (John 14:26).
The Holy Spirit Jesus promised the disciples is the same Holy Spirit he promises us today as we seek healing for the Church. When we say yes to being a disciple and picking up our cross to follow him, the Holy Spirit fills us, becoming our:
• Comforter
• Counselor
• Helper
• Intercessor
• Advocate
• Strengthener
• Standby
As we work to bring the Church back to God’s blueprint, we must remember that our original God-given purpose is to be Spirit-filled and Spirit-led. If my purpose makes me competitive, combative, hard to lead, and divisive, I am not truly being led by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit-filled life prefers others, serves others, and seeks the voice of God above all other voices in our lives.
While we often focus on the gifts that come from the filling of the Holy Spirit as Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 12:7-10 and Ephesians 4:11, we are also given the fruits of the Holy Spirit. These fruits are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
Those we live and work among daily are watching our lives and looking for this fruit. They are looking for love. They are wondering if we have joy in hard seasons of loss and disappointment and, if so, where we get it. They can’t understand how we can have peace that passes all understanding in the chaos of the world. Where does this kindness and goodness come from? When everyone else seems hardened, how have we remained gentle and meek and pure hearted?
This world doesn’t care how many gifts of the Spirit we have if the fruit we bear is rotten. God wants to fill us up with the fruits of the Holy Spirit so that our lives, and our churches, reflect his glory.
Reflection Prayer: “Holy Spirit, come into my life, into your Church, fill us until we are overflowing with your power and love.”
About this Plan
In recent years, many of us have been tempted to walk away from the Church—particularly in light of spiritual abuse, cultural deconstruction, and political divisions. Yet when we build our faith, our ministry, our churches on Christ, even the most violent storms won’t be able to knock them down. This week’s devotional explores what it means to invite Jesus back into his home and start the rebuilding process.
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