Day Three · Spirit-Giver
Pause
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
Matthew 3:11
Breathe in the silence for a few minutes.
Calm your body.
Quiet your mind.
Still your soul.
The Spirit of God is here.
Ask Him to open the eyes of your heart.
Ponder
Prefer to listen? Take a quiet moment and press play below.
It was a pilgrimage to Jerusalem
every Jewish family made yearly--
a seven-day celebration of
God’s faithful provision.
For centuries they’d come
to share in joy-filled gratitude.
As the party drew to a close,
Jesus stepped forward--
with something to say.
“On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds,
“Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!
Anyone who believes in me may come and drink!
For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”
(When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit,
who would be given to everyone believing in him.
But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)"
— John 7:37-39
“Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!
Anyone who believes in me may come and drink!
For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”
(When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit,
who would be given to everyone believing in him.
But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)"
— John 7:37-39
This is no quiet invitation--
this is a cry to the thirsty…
Come to Me!
Drink!
Read the passage again, watching for
a word,
a phrase,
or an image
that lingers.
Envision the scene.
What do you hear in Jesus’ voice?
What might people around Him think?
Notice the strength in His invitation.
Turn your word, phrase or image over in your mind,
hold it in your heart.
Pray
Jesus compared His Spirit—not to gentle streams,
but rivers,
pulsing, powerful,
flowing from our inmost being—
a life that satisfies
and a fire that refines.
Jesus,
What an extraordinary gift--
Your very Spirit in me,
rushing rivers of living water.
Forgive my moments of dull praise,
or bland acquiescence to your invitation.
I am thirsty.
Drench my dryness.
Until joy unsearchable flows
from my inmost being.
Kindle within me
a holy fire--
the only fitting response to the gift
for which You gave Your life.
Amen.
Practicing Worship
Jesus baptizes us in His Spirit--
a holy immersion,
awakening, refining,
and revealing Him to our souls.
The Spirit is within you,
a living presence.
He comes to make Jesus known--
the wonder of His ways,
the brilliance of His beauty,
the awe in His attributes.
A gift like no other.
Worship Jesus, Spirit-Giver.
When you are ready,