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"MondaythruFriday" Devotional Series
MondaythruFriday
Greg Laurie
MondaythruFriday
Greg Laurie
Monday Our Helper But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. If you ever have had a time when you were discouraged or unsure of what to do and a verse of Scripture suddenly came to mind—a verse you didn't remember memorizing—that came from the Holy Spirit. It might have been a passage you heard in a sermon a month ago or 10 years ago, but there it was, vividly on display in your mind. That was the Holy Spirit, who brought to your remembrance what you needed to know. The Holy Spirit helps us in our study, knowledge, and memorization of Scripture. Jesus said, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you" (John 14:26). Maybe there have been times when someone asks you a question and your mind goes blank. But all of a sudden, some thoughts came to mind, and you started sharing them. They were so good, you wanted to take notes on yourself. You thought, This is good stuff. Where did this come from? It came from the Holy Spirit. He brought it to your remembrance. This does not excuse you from the discipline of Bible study. You still have to read it, study it, and memorize it. But having done that, the Bible promises that the Holy Spirit will bring these things to your remembrance. The Bible tells us that "eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God" (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). What does God want to show you today?
—John 14:26
Tuesday
Power for a Purpose
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
—Acts 1:8
When Alfred Nobel discovered an explosive element that was stronger than anything the world had known at the time, he asked a friend and Greek scholar for a word that conveyed the meaning of explosive power. The Greek word was dunamis, and Nobel named his invention "dynamite."
Dunamis is the same word that Jesus used when He told His disciples, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). In other words, "You shall receive explosive, dynamite power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you."
Think about how this power transformed the first-century believers. Prior to Pentecost, Simon Peter couldn't stand up for his faith when strangers asked him if he was a follower of Jesus. After the power of the Holy Spirit was poured out on Pentecost, Peter stood up and boldly preached the gospel, resulting in 3,000 people being saved.
After Saul of Tarsus became a believer on the Damascus Road, God led Ananias to go and pray for him. He was then filled with the Holy Spirit, and from that moment on, he went out and proclaimed Christ in the synagogues.
This power is for a purpose. It is not power to be crazy or power to do weird things. It is power to be a witness . . . power to have the courage to tell someone about Jesus Christ . . . power to tell people about what Jesus has done for you.
Do you have this power in your life? Do you feel like something is lacking in your spiritual walk? Then you, my friend, are a candidate for the empowering of the Holy Spirit.
Wednesday
The Tug of Heaven "We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace." Ever since childhood, I have always been a fan of Disney, even more so when Walt Disney was the creative genius behind the entire Disney empire. Like many of my generation, I was raised watching The Mickey Mouse Club and The Wonderful World of Disney. And I remember when Walt Disney unrolled a set of architectural plans across his desk and said to his television audience, "I want to tell you about something we are building now called Disneyland." It was like the Promised Land to me. I could hardly wait to get there. And sure enough, every year I insisted that my mom take me to Disneyland for my birthday. I remember making a vow as we approached the park with the Matterhorn in view, that I would go to Disneyland every single day when I became an adult. (I haven't done that.) I was drawn to Disneyland because it held so much promise. Disney was a dreamer who, deep inside, longed for something. He imagined a better world. You might even say that he was trying to create a heaven on earth. And Disney was that way for the same reason you are the way you are: you have been prewired to want something more in life. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that we have been born with eternity in our hearts. That is unique to humankind, to men and women uniquely made in the image of God. We are on a quest because we long for something more. As Christians, we realize that our citizenship is in heaven and that our life on earth quickly passes. And as we know more about what is in our future, we begin to see this world for what it is. We know there is a heaven, because we can feel its tug.
—1 Chronicles 29:15
Thursday
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. When I lose my cell phone, I will get another phone and dial my number in an attempt to find it, hoping it is not on mute. Then when I hear it ringing somewhere, I will go on a search to find it. It is a single-minded, active, and diligent investigation. That is what the apostle Paul was speaking of when he wrote, "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" (Colossians 3:2). That is how we should be looking at heaven. Another way to translate this verse is, "Think heaven." In the original language, the verb is in the present tense, which could be translated, "Keep seeking heaven." So to put it all together, the apostle Paul was saying, "Constantly keep seeking and thinking about heaven." So how can we be thinking about heaven? What is our point of reference? The problem is that we have a caricatured version of heaven in mind. We are not going to sit around on fluffy, white clouds, spending eternity in boredom. The Bible has a lot to specifically say about heaven. That is why, when people write books about their alleged experiences of dying and going to heaven and returning to earth, it takes me to the pages of Scripture. It is not true if it contradicts Scripture. I know that I need a better source, a more authoritative source on heaven. I turn to Scripture so that I can know how to think when I think about heaven. Even though our feet must be on earth, our minds should be in heaven. Yet many of us will go through a day, even a week, without a single thought of heaven. As Warren Wiersbe said, "For the Christian, heaven isn't a simply a destination; it's a motivation."
—Colossians 3:2
Friday
But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. The Bible has much to say about what heaven is like. First, heaven is an actual place. Jesus told His disciples, "I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2). Heaven is a real place for real people, and when we get there, it will be amazing and fantastic. The Bible uses a number of words to describe heaven, including "Paradise." Jesus said to the thief on the cross who came to his senses, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43). The Paradise Jesus was speaking of, literally translated, is a word that would have been used in the first century to describe the garden of a king. It is hard for us to imagine how luxurious and splendid this would appear to someone living in this time. If you were a relatively impoverished person and were given the privilege of going into the walled garden of a king, you would be overwhelmed by the fragrance and beauty of it all. So "paradise" was a point of reference for people. Although limited, it gives us a sense of how heaven will overwhelm our senses. The apostle Paul died, went to heaven, and came back to earth. In describing his experience, he said he was "caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter" (2 Corinthians 12:4). Heaven will be better than anything we could imagine, and Scripture gives us descriptions and hints of what it will be like. So what does it mean for us today? If we are heavenly minded, then it will affect the way we are living on earth. And if it doesn't affect the way we are living on earth, then how heavenly minded could we really be?
—Hebrews 11:16
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