Day 6 of 7:

Reflecting the Purity of the Holy Spirit

Years ago I was the dinner guest of the president of a well-respected theological seminary. As we conversed, he confided that the number-one problem he faced with the students at his school was pornography. He then told me they had become aware of the problem because the students used the computers in the library that were tucked back behind the stacks of books. In an area they believed to be private, they were indulging their sinful habit, not realizing that what they viewed was traceable.

I’m still stunned by the seminary president’s revelation. But I’ve seen the bitter fruit borne in the lives of pastors, some of whom have multiple academic degrees, some of whom lead megachurches, some of whom may speak in tongues or exhibit other manifestations of the Spirit, and some of whom are gifted orators, yet secretly struggle with sexual immorality or addiction.

What has happened to purity within the lives of those who call themselves by God’s name? Is the lack of purity an indication that the Holy Spirit is withdrawing Himself? Because make no mistake about it, the Holy Spirit is indeed pure. He is holy.

I believe the church today is in desperate need of revival. Not a tent meeting or a series of services to save the lost, but a spiritual awakening that will compel God’s people to repent of our sin, return to the cross, and recommit ourselves to living lives that reflect His purity. 

One of the responsibilities of the Holy Spirit is to make us holy as He is holy. Our responsibility is to cooperate with Him if we truly want to experience and reflect His purity. Choice by choice by choice. When He says something needs to go, get rid of it. Now. When He says a relationship needs to be severed, sever it. When He says we need to offer forgiveness to that person, offer forgiveness to that person. When He says to ask someone else for forgiveness, ask that person for forgiveness. If He says to break that habit, break that habit. Now. Don’t procrastinate. Don’t rationalize. Don’t excuse or defend yourself. Do what He says, when He says it. 

What sin do you need to confess and turn away from—in action or reaction, thought or word, attitude or habit—because it is tarnishing the reflection of the Holy Spirit’s purity in you? 

1 Timothy 4:12 King James Version

¹² Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Colossians 3:12 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/col.3.12.KJV

Day 5 of 7:

Living by the Precepts of the Holy Spirit

While I can’t remember the specific year that I confessed my sin, claimed Jesus as my Savior, and invited Him to live in my heart, I do remember, following that decision, I began to have a strong desire to read my Bible. That began a lifelong love affair with God’s Word.

Every day without fail, my mother led our family in devotions. She would gather everyone who was in the house into the kitchen, where she would read a portion of Scripture, then pray. The consistency of my mother’s effort, as well as her obvious love for God’s Word and belief in its relevancy for all of us as we began our day, made a deep impact.

When my father was home, he led family devotions, usually in the evening. He also would read a portion of Scripture, but he would then stop, ask questions, make comments, and lead us in a discussion of what he had read.

By her example my mother taught me to love and read my Bible every day—preferably in the morning. My father, by his example, taught me to think about what I was reading. Those two life lessons are perhaps the most valuable ones my parents handed down to me.

My first “real” Bible was a navy leather-bound King James Version, Scofield edition. Mother and Daddy gave it to me at my baptism. It is a treasure that I still have safely on my bookshelf. In the flyleaf, my mother wrote these words: To Anne—(who on this January 13, 1957 publicly took her stand for Christ, her Savior), we give this Book, your one sure guide in an unsure world. Read it, study it, love it, live it. In it you will find a verse for every occasion. Hide them in your heart.

Although my mother’s words were written over sixty years ago, their wisdom transcends generations, cultures, world events, time, and age. I have done my best to truly take her encouragement to heart and live it out.

My love of reading, studying, applying, and obeying my Bible has led me to the deep conviction that it is more than just great literature. There is something supernatural about it. What makes it so unique? The Holy Spirit. Only the Spirit could make Scripture “God-breathed,” alive, and truly life-changing—throughout all generations.

In what way have you experienced the Bible as God’s living Word?

2 Timothy 3:16 King James Version

¹⁶ All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Day 18: For some reason it just clicked that this message today is part of a song I grew up singing as a kid but never realized it was from the Bible until just now. I’ll share the song below the Bible verse.

Song of Solomon 2:4 King James Version

⁴ He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.

Day 4 of 7:

Embracing the Purpose of the Holy Spirit

I remember, early in our marriage, lying in bed gazing out the window late at night with my husband quietly sleeping beside me. I looked up at the star-studded sky and felt a longing for something more. It was a yearning that was not completely satisfied by the birth of our first child or the Sunday night Bible study we offered in our home for university athletes or the Thursday morning Bible study I shared with several other young women my age. Actually, the routine of responsibility—making the bed, fixing breakfast, washing the dishes, going to work, doing the laundry, fixing supper, washing the dishes, crawling in bed, going to sleep, then repeating the entire litany of responsibility the next day—just intensified my yearning.

Looking back, I know that the yearning in the deep well of my being was a yearning for a life of significance, for a cause to live for that was bigger than myself. It was a yearning for purpose.

Have you, too, sensed a restless emptiness deep within? We all do at times. One reason is that we are created in the image of God, with a capacity to know Him in a personal, permanent relationship, for the purpose of bringing Him glory. Until that purpose is fulfilled, we will be empty, deeply dissatisfied, and unfulfilled as we continually try to fill the void with substitutes.

But what about those of us who have established a personal, permanent relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ? Why are some of us also restless and dissatisfied, yearning for something greater? The only viable answer seems to be the Holy Spirit, who begins to work in us a desire to live for a purpose greater than ourselves.

In some ways, our lives are like a symphony. And the Holy Spirit is the conductor. He is the one who brings forth the beautiful music of a life that glorifies God. Like the conductor pointing his baton, the Holy Spirit quickens us, guides us, ignites us, shapes us, and equips us until our lives resound with the glory of the Lord. This is the yearning we each have deep within us, the desire to glorify God with our lives.

When have you felt most purposeful in your life? Why do you think that was?

2 Corinthians 3:18 King James Version

¹⁸ But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Day 17: All you need to is the first two words and you know the song. So today’s message is:

Amazing Grace how sweet the sound.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers%2029&version=KJV

God bless you and your loved ones.

Day 16: Today’s message: I may not have this whole verse memorized but I do have the important part of it. With men it is impossible with God all things are possible. It does not have to be perfectly memorized let alone know the reference of the verse as long as you keep it within your heart.

Matthew 19:26 King James Version

²⁶ But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Day 15: I missed sharing yesterday’s message. This is a Bible verse I have memorized. For when I do not think I can go on I repeat this scripture over and over again. Whatever the circumstances where I cannot do it on my own I repeat it. Next thing I know I have made it through it.

Philippians 4:13 King James Version

¹³ I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Day 3 of 7:

Relying on the Power of the Holy Spirit

Danny Lotz and I were married on September 2, 1966, in the same mountain chapel where my parents had been married twenty-three years earlier. My wedding was all that I had dreamed. But within twenty-four hours of the ceremony, my commitment to Danny was challenged in a way that is humorous today but was miserable then.

The morning after the wedding, we were scheduled to catch a plane out of Atlanta that would take us to San Diego, where we would spend the remainder of our honeymoon. After a quick breakfast, we got into Danny’s baby-blue Oldsmobile Starfire convertible and headed south on Interstate 85 toward Atlanta.

An hour or so into the drive, I noticed the gas gauge was hovering near empty. Within minutes, we felt the car jerk, heard the engine cough, and then everything went silent as Danny guided the gliding car to the shoulder of the highway. We had run out of gas! 

By the time Danny returned from a distant gas station to fill the tank, I was nauseated from the smell of the swamp beside the road, soaking wet from having been locked in a car in the sweltering heat, and if someone had offered me an annulment, I would have taken it on the spot!

On that first day of marriage, I learned a simple but valuable life lesson: no one can run on empty. You and I can’t run on empty in a car or in a marriage or in life. Which is why God has given us His Holy Spirit. He is the “fuel”—the power—that enables us to live the Christian life.

Although you have said your vows of commitment to the Lord Jesus and entered into a personal relationship with Him, do you find yourself running on empty? With a fake smile on your lips and the “proper” words on your tongue, are you just trying to make it one more week…one more day…one more hour…one more step? Is your mind gripped by the thought I can’t do this. I’m just not cut out to live the Christian life?

Don’t be discouraged. There is hope! The One who is within you will enable you to live out the vows you have made. 

In what ways are you “running on empty” right now? Ask God to fill you with His presence, even in the midst of difficult circumstances.

Acts 1:8 King James Version

⁸ But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.