God's Holy Fire: 'They Do Not Have the Spirit!'

Friday, March 29, 2024

Your Support Matters!

Your donations are vital to help us keep the light shining.

 Donate Now
[The apostles] told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires. These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you. They follow their natural instincts because they do not have God's Spirit in them.
— Jude 18-19 NLT

Key Thought

Having the Holy Spirit dwelling within us is the litmus test of whether we belong to Christ or not (Romans 8:9; Act 19:1-7). Without the Spirit of God within us — enabling us to overcome our sinful nature (Romans 8:12-13), transforming us to be like Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18), and producing the fruit of the Spirit in us (Galatians 5:22-23) — we live by our "natural instincts." This way of life is also called living by the flesh or living by our sinful nature (Romans 8:5-8) and is full of corruption, division, and hostility toward God, toward goodness, and toward God's people. Avoiding these things is why conversion to Christ and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit are so important. Living by our "natural instincts" means living in rebellion to God (Ephesians 2:1-3). No one can live for Christ without the Spirit of God. The Spirit empowers us with supernatural instincts from God to live for Christ!

Today's Prayer

Glorious and gracious God, thank you for sending your Son to die for my sins and then sending your Spirit to live within me to help me live to honor you. In Jesus' name, I offer you my thanks, my praise, and my heart. Amen.

Comments

Archived Facebook Comments

Other Devotionals from Heartlight for Friday, March 29, 2024

Morning & Evening
The classic twice-daily devotional from Charles H. Spurgeon.
Morning Thought: Hebrews 5:8
"We are told that the Captain of our salvation was made perfect through suffering, therefore we who are sinful, and who are far from being perfect,..."
Passion for Praise
A daily passage of Scripture emphasizing praise to our God.
'You Have Seen My Troubles' (Ps. 31:7-8)
"I will be glad and rejoice in your unfailing love, for you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish of my soul. You have not handed me..."
Today's Verse
A daily devotional featuring a Bible verse, thought and prayer.
John 3:28-29
"[John the Baptist said when asked if he was the Christ, the Messiah:] "I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him. The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The..."
Praying with Paul
Features the apostle Paul's writings turned into daily, powerful prayers.
'The Holy Parade' (1 Co. 4:8-13)
"Dear Father, king of the ages, Would that your people were already filled! Would that they were already rich! Would that they were already kings and...."

Illustration

Illustration of Jude 18-19 NLT — They follow their natural instincts because they do not have God's Spirit in them.

About This Devotional

God's Holy Fire is a daily devotional about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The Thoughts and Prayer for God's Holy Fire are written by Phil Ware.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations marked MESSAGE are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

More God's Holy Fire

Translations