Christmas At The Movies - Week 4 - Day 2
OPENING PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, “Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.” Psalm 145:2, (NIV). Let your word usher in the power of the Holy Spirit in my life today.
"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”
REFLECT:
In this passage, Jesus tells his disciples that he must soon return to his heavenly Father, but that he will not leave them alone – he will send a “comforter” to them in his place. The Holy Spirit is that comforter and friend. It is through the Holy Spirit’s indwelling in us that we receive Jesus into our hearts, “And with that he (Jesus) breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.” John 20:22, (NIV). The disciples had become incredibly close to Jesus, but they and Jesus’ followers could not experience the full power of God unless Jesus returned to the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit came in his place. “I tell you the truth: it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:” John 16:7-8, (NIV).
When we think of losing someone very close to us, as the disciples did, we can feel very alone, forsaken, forgotten, and even hurt. We are very much in need of someone to encourage us and lift us up during the dark and bleak times of our life. The Holy Spirit is that person who can reassure us when we do feel alone. Webster’s dictionary describes comforter as this, “someone who helps you to feel less worried, upset, frightened, etc.” So not only did Jesus warn us that we would face trouble as being his disciples, but he provided a “comforter” to us to help us through all those difficult times we will face.
APPLY:
As believers, we are filled with the Holy Spirit, who is our “comforter.” I Corinthians 3:16, (NIV), says “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?’ Since we are filled with the Holy Spirit, shouldn’t we encourage those hurting people who are all around us? Christmas time is one of the greatest times of the year…yet, it can be one of the loneliest times for many people who have lost loved ones or suffered hurts during the past year. Let’s enjoy our time with family and friends this Christmas, but let’s also take time to minister to those less fortunate. Let’s be intentional about giving more than we have all year! The opportunities to love others is the greatest form of giving we can take part in this holiday season! Jesus commands us in John 13:34-35, (NIV) – “A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
CLOSING PRAYER:
Dear Jesus, remind us to be salt & light in a dark and hurting world, being your disciples to everyone we meet – “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8, (NIV), Amen.