Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.” [Acts 2:38-39 (NLT)]
From the toy we found in the cereal box as kids to the televisions and cruises once offered by a car dealership north of here, everyone loves a bonus gift! When we were newly-weds, my husband and I collected glassware the gas station offered as a bonus for a fill-up. Those green glasses graced our table for many years as did the stainless-steel flatware we purchased with the S&H green stamps we’d gotten as a bonus from the grocery! I always wait until my favorite cosmetic brand offers a free bonus gift with a minimum purchase before restocking my moisturizer and DSW just offered a bonus tote bag with a minimum purchase. Restaurants like Outback Steakhouse frequently offer a $10 bonus card with the purchase of a $50 gift card. Even banks offer bonuses and Citibank recently offered up to $1,500 to customers opening a new checking account (to get that much, however, you had to maintain a $200,000 balance)!
I know of a bonus gift that is far better than glassware, a tote, or $1,500. No minimum purchase is required and we don’t have to spend money, go the mall, or change banks to get it. Although many bonus offers are exclusive for special customers, like those who’ve signed up for emails or spent a certain amount of money, this bonus offer is available to any who desire it. Unlike those restaurant bonus gift cards, there’s no expiration date on the benefits and there’s no fine print as there is for Citibank’s offer.
Since day one, mankind’s history hasn’t been good. It’s ranged from disobedience to deception, murder to theft, rebellion to jealousy, pride to cruelty, anger to revenge, and idolatry to avarice. Jesus was fully God but He also was fully human. Having encountered temptation, He knew the allure of sin and how tough it is to live in this fallen world. He had firsthand knowledge of disappointment, opposition, pain, loss, and betrayal and knew the dangers, pitfalls, and suffering of human life. Knowing how flawed we all are, Jesus didn’t want to leave us alone without a helper and so He gave us a bonus gift—the Holy Spirit.
The cereal toys of childhood were lost, the gas station glasses broke, S&H green stamps are no longer offered, and the kids took the stainless to college. Although the bonus lipstick and mascara are gone and the restaurant bonus gift cards are no longer valid, the life-changing Holy Spirit is forever! Like most bonus offers, however, Jesus’ offer comes at a cost but He is the One who paid the purchase price when he suffered and died on the cross.
We’ll often see an asterisk by the offered bonus and, if we bother to read the fine print, we’ll find there is a limited supply of gifts available. The Holy Spirit, however, is unlimited—there’s enough of Him to go around. Moreover, while most bonus offers have an expiration date, Jesus’ offer doesn’t. Instead, we are the ones with the expiration date which means we have a limited but unknown time in which we can claim His offer! The Holy Spirit is one bonus offer none of us should miss. Will you take Him up on it?
Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy.
Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy.
Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy.
Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy.
Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy. Amen.
[Augustine of Hippo]
My husband loves to watch the chefs on Food Network but watching food being prepared on television doesn’t fill his empty stomach any more than just seeing his bottle will quiet a hungry baby. I could show you photos of the tulips and daffodils in Holland’s Keukenhof Gardens but that wouldn’t give you the experience of walking among hundreds of thousands of blooming flowers and smelling their fragrant aroma. You could tell me all about your children and even show me their pictures and, while I’d know about them and even recognize them, I wouldn’t know them until we met face to face and spent time together. Before I had my first child, I attended birthing classes and read all about labor and childbirth but nothing I learned came anywhere near to approximating the actual event! It’s been thrilling watching the Olympic athletes compete in the bobsled and monobob events, but watching from my sofa doesn’t come close to actually riding a sled down an icy track at more than 80-mph, dropping 384 feet in less than a mile while negotiating 16 turns, and feeling forces five times the pull of gravity on one’s body! Second-hand information is fine as far as it goes, but it never equals the genuine experience.
Every Thursday, my next-door neighbor has a standing two-hour appointment at the beach with a friend who lives about an hour north of here. Although marked on her calendar like a Bible study, committee meeting, doctor’s appointment, or book club, there’s nothing purposeful or especially important about their meeting. As she explained, the two simply meet to “catch up.” Unlike my neighbor, I’m more of a “let’s get down to business” than “let’s chat” type and, when I call or meet with someone, there’s usually a specific purpose for the contact. A few days ago, however, an old friend from our home town called for no reason other than to “catch up.” Neither of us had any important news; we just shared a little of what is going on in our lives. While the conversation accomplished nothing (and took me from my work), it was a much-appreciated blessing.
Created in 1947 by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the Doomsday Clock’s purpose is to show the world how close it is to destroying itself with technology. Midnight on the clock indicates world-wide catastrophe and the end of the world as we know it. When it was reset for 2022 last week, the good news is that it’s no closer to midnight than last year. The bad news is that we remain at doom’s doorstep with only 100 seconds until midnight!
A friend asked if I thought a popular evangelist was a “false teacher.” Like many popular preachers, the man’s message is appealing: love, joy, praise, prosperity and plenty of positive thinking. His words are as pleasant as a mockingbird’s song but, upon closer inspection, he seems to be as dangerous as Paul’s “vicious wolves.” Parts of his message are unsupported by Biblical truth while other essential truths are missing. Jesus certainly didn’t win a popularity contest in the 1st century and I’m a bit suspicious of those preachers who seem more concerned with entertainment, popularity, wealth, and fame than gospel truth.
God directed Moses to build Him a miqdâsh, a sanctuary or sacred place. That there are 50 chapters of Scripture devoted to its construction tells us that it was of great importance to the Israelites. At first, this sanctuary was the holy tent known as the Tabernacle and, once completed, Scripture tells us the glory of the Lord filled it. In Solomon’s day, God’s sanctuary became the Temple in Jerusalem where it became the center of worship. Jewish law even demanded that every man had to make a pilgrimage to the Temple three times a year.
Devotions of the Heart 