June 19
The Spirit's Blessings
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. - Acts 2:4
The blessings of today would be rich if all of us were filled with the Holy Spirit. It would be impossible to overestimate the consequences of this sacred filling of the soul. Life, comfort, light, purity, power, peace, and many other precious blessings are inseparable from the Spirit's gracious presence.
- As sacred oil, He anoints the head of the believer, setting him apart to the priesthood of saints and giving him grace to execute his office properly.
- As the only truly purifying water He cleanses us from the power of sin and sets us apart to holiness, enabling us to desire and then to do what pleases the Lord.
- As the light, He revealed Himself to us in our darkness, and now He reveals the Lord Jesus to us and in us and guides us in the way of righteousness. Enlightened by His pure celestial ray, we are no longer in darkness but light in the Lord.
- As fire, He purges us from dross and sets our consecrated nature ablaze. He is the sacrificial flame by which we are enabled to offer our whole souls as a living sacrifice unto God.
- As heavenly dew, He removes our barrenness and fertilizes our lives. How we long for Him to come upon us from above at this early hour! Such morning dew would be a sweet beginning to the day.
- As the dove, with wings of peaceful love He broods over His Church and over the souls of believers, and as a Comforter He dispels the cares and doubts that spoil the peace of His beloved. He descends upon the chosen as He did upon Christ at His baptism and bears witness to their sonship by working in them a filial spirit by which they cry, "Abba, Father."
- As the wind, He brings the breath of life to men; blowing where He wills, He performs the quickening operations by which the spiritual creation is animated and sustained.
Family Bible reading plan
verse 1 Deuteronomy 24
verse 2 Psalms 114, 115
Name above All Names
By Alistair Begg & Sinclair Ferguson
Jesus Christ has been given the name above all names, the highest seat of honor, the right to reign and rule. Yet the busyness of our lives and the diversions of this world often distract us from knowing the most important person we could ever know. Perhaps we need some help to see Jesus afresh.
In this thoughtful study and worshipful reflection, two influential pastors draw on decades of pastoral experience in order to guide us through the whole sweep of Scripture and examine seven key qualities of Jesus’s identity and ministry:
- Jesus as the True Prophet
- Jesus as the Great High Priest
- Jesus as the Conquering King
- Jesus as the Seed of the Woman
- Jesus as the Son of Man
- Jesus as the Suffering Servant
- Jesus as the Lamb on the Throne
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From Morning & Evening revised and edited by Alistair Begg copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org.