God's Holy Fire: 'Rejoice!'

Mary responded, "Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!"

— Luke 1:46-47 NLT

Key Thought

Praise emanates from our spirits — that innermost part of us. Honest, heartfelt adoration and respect for God come from deep within our spirits. And as followers of Jesus, the Holy Spirit joins with our spirits and leads us to worship in ways not possible without the Holy Spirit (John 4:23-24; Ephesians 5:15-21). Just as Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit (Luke 10:21), we also are filled with joy through the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:52; Romans 14:17). So our hearts join with Mary in praise of God who sent his Son into the world so we can be saved.

Today's Prayer

O Father, my soul rejoices in your grace and adores you for your sacrificial love. Fill me with your Holy Spirit, so that together with my spirit, I can worship you and bring praise to your glorious name. Through Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Note:
For several days, we will see the link between joy and the Holy Spirit. Jesus, of course, is our great example of this link, but we need to understand what "joy" means for us. In common usage, joy sometimes means happiness or pleasure. Christian joy can include happiness and pleasure, but it is so much more. In the New Testament sense, joy means the deep and abiding peace and comfort that we have regardless of our circumstances — peace and comfort that are ours because we are in God's family.

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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.