Daily Devotionals for Women - Today's Encouraging Word from Scripture

INITIATING COMBUSTION

For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war. 2 Chron. 16:9

The Holy Spirit goes where he’s wanted. He’s absent from where He’s not wanted. Jesus couldn’t do miracles in Capernaum because He was not welcomed and the people were full of unbelief. It wasn’t that He no longer possessed the power to perform supernatural acts; the people weren’t willing to receive the Healer. In how many churches has the Spirit stopped working because the desire for Him has ceased? The United States, for the past 200 years, has been a birthplace of so many missionary ventures. How things have changed. Now, we need the missionaries.

Not so in China. It is said that there are more Christians than Communist party members.
Not so in Iran. Christianity is thriving and Muslims are awaking after encountering the risen Christ in the night. In the first light of dawn, they are on their knees calling him ‘Lord’. This is without churches and small groups for the most part yet some people are ready to receive Him.
Not so in Germany. For the 1st time in centuries, there are churches with 800 members.
Not so in Brazil. By 2020, it is believed that half of all Brazilians will be believers. There are reports of Christian gatherings in the streets.
Not so in North Korea. Bibles are being smuggled in from China and for those fortunate enough to have a radio, Christian broadcasts can be heard across the border from South Korea. Missionaries from China are risking their lives to cross into North Korea at night to teach the scriptures. They have reported that the number of Christians is exponential and only growing.

What preceded the work of the Holy Spirit in your life? I suspect it was your awareness of your own spiritual needs and then a prayer that expressed your desire for His presence. Is this not what happened at Pentecost? Those upon whom the Spirit of God descended had been praying and waiting for what Jesus said would happen. He had promised that the Spirit of God would come to them. He had assured them that He was not going to leave them as orphans after His death. It’s no wonder they were looking up, anticipating, praying for the presence of Jesus to come in a form they’d never experienced.

Fervent prayer and a breathless anticipation of His movement in my heart is the environment where the Holy Spirit feels welcome. Whether church, country, ministry, or an individual, I must remember that the He goes where He’s wanted. The fuel of the Spirit will be absent if I am nonchalant about whether or not He’s active and also nonchalant about my own sin. But how the fire of His Spirit will burn and glow through the one who desires Him most of all and at any cost.

Show me if anything is preventing You from being larger in my life. Purify my heart so that You have a place to live and work. Amen

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