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“Come, holy Fire, comfort true, Grant us the will Your work to do And in Your service to abide; Let trials turn us not aside. Lord, by Your pow’r prepare each heart, And to our weakness strength impart That bravely here we may contend, Through life and death to You, our Lord, ascend. Alleluia, alleluia!”
Shortly before His death, Jesus told His disciples that He was going to return to the Father. Then He added the startling remark that it was to their advantage that He was going away. What did the disciples think when they heard that? How could it possibly be anyone’s advantage to have Jesus go away? Jesus said that He would send “the Helper” to them. Their Helper and Comforter would be the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God who was present at creation (see Genesis 1:2). The Spirit spoke through the prophets and apostles, breathing out the words of Holy Scripture (see 2 Samuel 23:2; 2 Timothy 3:16). Jesus was conceived by the Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary (see Luke 1:35). The creating, life-giving, Word-breathing Spirit of God was poured out on the disciples on Pentecost.
The Spirit came to guide the disciples into the truth, bringing to memory all that Jesus had taught them and telling them what was still to come. Sent out as witnesses, the disciples proclaimed the good news about their crucified and risen Lord. They announced repentance and forgiveness in Jesus’ Name. As they spoke God’s Word to the world, the Spirit was working, convincing and convicting those who heard that Word about the truth of sin, righteousness, and judgment. At work in the preaching of the Word, the Holy Spirit glorified Jesus as more and more people came to trust in the Lord for salvation.
As eyewitnesses of Jesus’ resurrection, the disciples were persecuted for their testimony about the Lord. They were arrested and ordered to stop teaching about Jesus. After being released from prison, the disciples brought their experience before the Lord in prayer. They did not pray for an end to persecution or for the destruction of their opponents. They asked that the Lord would make them bold witnesses for Jesus. They prayed the Lord would support their testimony with miraculous signs done in Jesus’ Name. In our hymn, we too ask the Spirit, “holy Fire,” to burn within us and make us willing servants of Christ. We pray that our weakness would be turned to strength and that trials and persecution would not turn us away from glorifying Jesus. We ask to stand firm in faith through life and death until we stand in Jesus’ eternal presence. The help of the Holy Spirit is ours for the asking: “Come, holy Fire!”
WE PRAY: Come, Holy Spirit, and make me a willing witness for my Savior. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler. It is based on the hymn, “Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord,” which is number 497 in the Lutheran Service Book.
Reflection Questions:
- Saying goodbye to family after a visit is hard. How difficult do you think it was for the disciples to hear that Jesus would be going away?
- What are some of the activities of the Holy Spirit?
- Do you take comfort in knowing the Holy Spirit is with you no matter where you are?
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