January 15 - God’s Spirit Helps Us To Stay On Track In Our Lives
Jesus - “When the Holy Spirit comes, He will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.” (John 16:8)
Devotional Thought: Who or what has caused you to make some of the lifestyle changes that you’ve made since becoming a follower of Jesus? John 16:8 tells us that the Holy Spirit not only brings instruction and direction to our lives, He also brings conviction to our lives. It tells us that when we have the Holy Spirit living inside us, He will convict us of our sinful attitudes, ambitions, actions and relationships.. Now, even before we become a Christian we have a conscience, an inner moral compass that causes us to know right from wrong. But when the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, we will suddenly have a far greater discernment and conviction regarding what is right and wrong for our lives.
There are some things that we used to do with a clear conscience before we became a Christian that we can’t do today without the Holy Spirit convicting us of the wrongfulness of that attitude, ambition or action. For example, many people before they became a Christian used to flirt a lot, curse a lot, get loaded a couple of times a week, or lie quickly to cover their tracks. They wouldn’t think twice about taking advantage of others or even trying to hurt others when they were angry with them. But once Jesus becomes our Savior and the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, He won’t let us do those things and others like them without convicting us of those sins. And if we don’t have conviction about sinful attitudes, ambitions or actions, it’s because we don’t really have God’s Spirit in our lives, or because our rebelliousness has numbed us to His conviction.
Some College guys were trying to smuggle a goat, another team’s mascot, up into their dorm room. Someone stopped them and asked, “What about the smell?” The young men responded, “Well the goat will just have to get used to it.” Obviously those college guys had dirty dorm rooms. Listen, college guys may stand living in a dirty place, but the Holy Spirit of God is not going to allow us to live “dirty lives” without convicting us of our sins, and reminding us that the Lord wants us to live godlier, holier lives.
Prayer Focus: Holy Spirit, show me the right way to live, and convict me when I made wrong or ungodly choices in my life; so that I can honor Jesus and experience Your power in my life. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Follow-Up Activity: Pray Psalm 139:23-24 which says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Then write down whatever comes to your mind, and ask the Lord to forgive you for those offensive attitudes or actions that you still struggle with in your life.
