God's Holy Fire: 'New Birth and New Life'

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.

Key Thought

While some remember that Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2), not everyone remembers that when we came to Christ, we were reborn by the washing away of our sins and were also given the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38-39). Today's verses remind us that when we came to Christ, God "generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior." Jesus is our Savior not only because he saved us from our sins, but also because he poured out the Spirit upon us to empower us to overcome our present struggles with sin. No wonder we can be confident in grace and righteousness and eternal life!

Today's Prayer

Generous and gracious Father, I praise you for the gift of your Son Jesus who died for my sins and was raised for my justification. I praise you for the generous outpouring of your Spirit to cleanse me and indwell me and conform me to your will. For these precious gifts, I praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.

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Illustration

Illustration of Titus 3:4-7 NLT —  Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.

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About This Devotional

God's Holy Fire is a daily devotional about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The Thoughts and Prayer for God's Holy Fire are written by Phil Ware.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations marked MESSAGE are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.