In his sermon entitled, "Holy Spirit Empowerment," Pastor Joel invited us, at the start of this new ministry year, to reflect on what it really means to be filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
We invite you to spend the next five days reflecting and praying through this devotional based on that message.
We invite you to spend the next five days reflecting and praying through this devotional based on that message.
Day 1: The Spirit Who Was There From the Beginning
Rest: Take 2 minutes of silence and invite God - Father, Son, and Spirit - to draw near to you in this time.
Read: Genesis 1:1-2; Psalm 139:7-10
Reflect: Before the first word was spoken, before light divided darkness, the Holy Spirit - with the Father and the Son - was already present and active. He did not arrive late to the story of creation. He hovered, ready, over the formless void. This same Spirit — uncreated, eternal, and fully God — is the one who now dwells inside every believer. You did not receive a lesser portion of him. You did not receive a distant echo of his power. The Spirit who shaped the cosmos now shapes your life. Begin this week by sitting quietly with that truth. Let it recalibrate how small you have been thinking about what God can do in and through you this season.
Do you live as though the Spirit inside you is the same one present at creation, or do you treat his presence as an afterthought? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Respond: Set aside five minutes today to simply acknowledge the Holy Spirit's presence before you begin your day's responsibilities. Speak to him directly. Thank him for being present and active in your life.
Return: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Read: Genesis 1:1-2; Psalm 139:7-10
Reflect: Before the first word was spoken, before light divided darkness, the Holy Spirit - with the Father and the Son - was already present and active. He did not arrive late to the story of creation. He hovered, ready, over the formless void. This same Spirit — uncreated, eternal, and fully God — is the one who now dwells inside every believer. You did not receive a lesser portion of him. You did not receive a distant echo of his power. The Spirit who shaped the cosmos now shapes your life. Begin this week by sitting quietly with that truth. Let it recalibrate how small you have been thinking about what God can do in and through you this season.
Do you live as though the Spirit inside you is the same one present at creation, or do you treat his presence as an afterthought? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Respond: Set aside five minutes today to simply acknowledge the Holy Spirit's presence before you begin your day's responsibilities. Speak to him directly. Thank him for being present and active in your life.
Return: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Day 2: The Spirit Who Empowers the Called
Rest: Take 2 minutes of silence and invite God - Father, Son, and Spirit - to draw near to you in this time.
Read: Exodus 31:1-5; Luke 3:21-22
Reflect: Bezalel was a craftsman - an artist, not a prophet. He was not standing before crowds or leading armies. He was carving wood and setting stones. And yet Scripture makes clear that the Holy Spirit empowered him for that exact work. When Jesus stepped out of the waters of baptism, the Spirit descended on him not as a symbol but as genuine empowerment for ministry. Jesus, who had every right to rely on his divine nature, chose instead to live fully dependent on the Spirit. If the Son of God needed that empowerment to do the Father's work, how much more do we? Your calling, however ordinary it appears, is Spirit-empowered territory.
Are there areas of your life or service where you have been relying entirely on your own competence rather than the Spirit's empowerment? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Respond: Identify one task or responsibility you are carrying this week. Before you engage with it today, pause and specifically ask the Holy Spirit to lead and empower you in it; to give you what you need to do it as you need it.
Return: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Read: Exodus 31:1-5; Luke 3:21-22
Reflect: Bezalel was a craftsman - an artist, not a prophet. He was not standing before crowds or leading armies. He was carving wood and setting stones. And yet Scripture makes clear that the Holy Spirit empowered him for that exact work. When Jesus stepped out of the waters of baptism, the Spirit descended on him not as a symbol but as genuine empowerment for ministry. Jesus, who had every right to rely on his divine nature, chose instead to live fully dependent on the Spirit. If the Son of God needed that empowerment to do the Father's work, how much more do we? Your calling, however ordinary it appears, is Spirit-empowered territory.
Are there areas of your life or service where you have been relying entirely on your own competence rather than the Spirit's empowerment? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Respond: Identify one task or responsibility you are carrying this week. Before you engage with it today, pause and specifically ask the Holy Spirit to lead and empower you in it; to give you what you need to do it as you need it.
Return: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Day 3: The Spirit Given for Others
Rest: Take 2 minutes of silence and invite God - Father, Son, and Spirit - to draw near to you in this time.
Read: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 1 Peter 4:10-11
Reflect: The Holy Spirit is not given to make your private life more comfortable. He is given for the common good. Every gift, every anointing, every moment of Spirit-empowered clarity or compassion is ultimately aimed outward. This is one of the most challenging realities of the Christian life, because we are naturally inclined to hoard what feels holy. But spiritual gifts held privately wither. They are designed to flow. Peter describes believers as stewards of God's grace — not owners. A steward manages something on behalf of another. Your gifts belong to the body. The question is not whether you have been given something to offer. The question is whether you are offering it.
What gifts, abilities, or Spirit-empowered capacities have you been holding back from your church community or the people around you? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Respond: Write down one spiritual gift you believe you may have. Then write down one specific way you could use it to serve someone else this week, and follow through on it.
Return: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Read: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 1 Peter 4:10-11
Reflect: The Holy Spirit is not given to make your private life more comfortable. He is given for the common good. Every gift, every anointing, every moment of Spirit-empowered clarity or compassion is ultimately aimed outward. This is one of the most challenging realities of the Christian life, because we are naturally inclined to hoard what feels holy. But spiritual gifts held privately wither. They are designed to flow. Peter describes believers as stewards of God's grace — not owners. A steward manages something on behalf of another. Your gifts belong to the body. The question is not whether you have been given something to offer. The question is whether you are offering it.
What gifts, abilities, or Spirit-empowered capacities have you been holding back from your church community or the people around you? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Respond: Write down one spiritual gift you believe you may have. Then write down one specific way you could use it to serve someone else this week, and follow through on it.
Return: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Day 4: The Spirit Who Builds the Church
Rest: Take 2 minutes of silence and invite God - Father, Son, and Spirit - to draw near to you in this time.
Read: Acts 6:1-7; Ephesians 4:11-16
Reflect: The early church had a "food bank" that was falling apart. The Apostles' response was not to abandon the need but to distribute the responsibility wisely, appointing people full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom to carry it. The result was not just organized distribution — it was revival. A large number of priests, the people least expected to believe, came to faith. When every part of the body does its work, the whole body grows. The church is not a stage for a few gifted individuals. It is a body where every member carries Spirit-given responsibility. Organizational faithfulness and spiritual power are not opposites. In Acts 6, they produced the same fruit.
Where in your church community is there a need that you have noticed but assumed someone else would meet? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Respond: Take one step today toward meeting a need in your church, whether by signing up to serve, reaching out to a ministry leader, or simply showing up somewhere you have been absent.
Return: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Read: Acts 6:1-7; Ephesians 4:11-16
Reflect: The early church had a "food bank" that was falling apart. The Apostles' response was not to abandon the need but to distribute the responsibility wisely, appointing people full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom to carry it. The result was not just organized distribution — it was revival. A large number of priests, the people least expected to believe, came to faith. When every part of the body does its work, the whole body grows. The church is not a stage for a few gifted individuals. It is a body where every member carries Spirit-given responsibility. Organizational faithfulness and spiritual power are not opposites. In Acts 6, they produced the same fruit.
Where in your church community is there a need that you have noticed but assumed someone else would meet? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Respond: Take one step today toward meeting a need in your church, whether by signing up to serve, reaching out to a ministry leader, or simply showing up somewhere you have been absent.
Return: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Day 5: The Spirit Who Sends Us Forward
Rest: Take 2 minutes of silence and invite God - Father, Son, and Spirit - to draw near to you in this time.
Read: John 14:12-17; Acts 1:8
Reflect: Jesus told his disciples that those who believe in him would do even greater things than he had done during his earthly ministry. This is not a statement of arrogance — it is a statement of multiplication. One Spirit-empowered life changed everything in first-century Judea. Millions of Spirit-empowered lives, working together across every nation and generation, carry that same power into every corner of the world. You are not waiting for God to show up. He already has. The Spirit has been poured out. The commission has been given. The gifts have been distributed. What remains is for each of us to walk forward in the power we have already been given, trusting that the same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead is more than sufficient for whatever lies ahead.
What would it look like for you to step into this new season with genuine, active dependence on the Holy Spirit rather than cautious self-reliance? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Respond: Write a one-sentence prayer of surrender for this new season. Place it somewhere you will see it every morning this week as a daily reminder that you are not walking forward alone, but in the power of the Spirit who dwells in you.
Return: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Read: John 14:12-17; Acts 1:8
Reflect: Jesus told his disciples that those who believe in him would do even greater things than he had done during his earthly ministry. This is not a statement of arrogance — it is a statement of multiplication. One Spirit-empowered life changed everything in first-century Judea. Millions of Spirit-empowered lives, working together across every nation and generation, carry that same power into every corner of the world. You are not waiting for God to show up. He already has. The Spirit has been poured out. The commission has been given. The gifts have been distributed. What remains is for each of us to walk forward in the power we have already been given, trusting that the same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead is more than sufficient for whatever lies ahead.
What would it look like for you to step into this new season with genuine, active dependence on the Holy Spirit rather than cautious self-reliance? Pause and talk with the Lord honestly about all of the thoughts and feelings that arise in you as you reflect on this.
Respond: Write a one-sentence prayer of surrender for this new season. Place it somewhere you will see it every morning this week as a daily reminder that you are not walking forward alone, but in the power of the Spirit who dwells in you.
Return: Spend a moment thanking God for this time, invite Him to continue to speak throughout this day, and close by praying the "Our Father".
Posted in Devotionals