God's Holy Fire: 'Intimate Friendship'

Friday, February 16, 2024

The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you.
— 2 Corinthians 13:14 MESSAGE

Key Thought

While most translations of this verse say "fellowship of the Holy Spirit," I find the phrase "the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit" to be powerful and exciting. We are brought into close fellowship with God and each other through "the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit." Think about the implications of this concept. Our fellowship with one another and our connections to each other are based on our being drawn together through our shared friendship of the Spirit. As we are drawn into the intimate friendship of the Spirit of God, we find ourselves drawn nearer and closer to each other.

Today's Prayer

Almighty God, I want to be drawn near to you. I thank you for the extravagant grace of my being able even to say such a thing. You are holy and majestic, yet you want me to come close to you. Thank you for inviting me into such an intimate friendship through the Holy Spirit as I commit to being in a close relationship with other believers who yearn to be drawn near to you. In Jesus' name, I thank you for this grace. Amen.

Comments

Archived Facebook Comments

Other Devotionals from Heartlight for Friday, February 16, 2024

Features the apostle Paul's writings turned into daily, powerful prayers.
"Dear Father, all worthy God, I present my body to you, O Lord, as a living sacrifice. May it be holy and pleasing to you. Let this be my spiritual..."
A daily devotional featuring a Bible verse, thought and prayer.
""I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel, ..."So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith.""
A daily passage of Scripture emphasizing praise to our God.
"Glory and honor to God forever and ever. He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen."
The classic twice-daily devotional from Charles H. Spurgeon.
"Common, too common is the sin of forgetting the Holy Spirit. This is folly and ingratitude. He deserves well at our hands, for he is good, supremely....."

Illustration

Illustration of 2 Corinthians 13:14 MESSAGE — The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you.

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.