Weekly Devotional from
Pastor Eddie Jenkins
March 26, 2025
"But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate (Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you" (John 16:7).
The Holy Spirit tends to be the forgotten member of the Trinity. Most Christians know He's there, but they are unclear about exactly what He does or how to interact with Him — or if that's even possible. Yet, something was so important about the Holy Spirit that Jesus told His disciples it was to their advantage that He go away — if His departure meant the Spirit came (John 16:7). The Spirit's presence inside them, He said, would be better than even Himself beside them. In fact, they needed the Spirit's presence so much that Jesus told them not to raise a finger toward the Great Commission until that Spirit had arrived.
Forgetting the Holy Spirit affects how we view the Christian life. If we are unaware of the Spirit's presence and power in us, we are more likely to think of God as someone we know about, not someone we really know. In other words, we're likely to see God as more of a doctrine than a person. And that's when we stop expecting to feel God's presence in our lives. We stop expecting to interact with God personally. We stop expecting God to do mighty things in and through us, things we see Him doing through the early Christians in the Book of Acts.
Knowing about God isn't what changes your life. After all, James 2:19 says, "You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe — and shudder!" In other words, you can connect all your doctrinal dots and cross all your theological T's and still be no better than a demon. Knowing about God isn't what's central to Christianity.
Doing things for God isn't what changes your life either. Jesus warned that people will point to various "mighty works" on the Day of Judgment, works they performed in His name. And yet He will tell them to leave His presence, for He never knew them (Matt. 7:21-23).
Despite these clear warnings in Scripture, many of us persist in believing our Christian life can be summed up in what we know about God and what we do for Him. But we deceive ourselves. The Christian life isn't what we know about God and what we do for Him; it's about knowing God and what He does through us.
This is love that goes beyond all knowledge. It's not just about filling our minds with theological truth, but having our whole beings filled with the God whom all our theology is pointing to!
As we continue our Lenten journey this week, let us give more of ourselves over to our wonderful Lord and allow His Spirit to move freely in and through us. It is not only to our advantage, but also for the good of those we come in contact with.
The Easter event draws ever closer, and we should be using these days to encourage our friends, neighbors, family members, and acquaintances to draw near to Christ and allow Him to draw near to them. Let the Holy Spirit minister to others through you and you will never be the same.
We look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we worship together.
HAVE A GREAT WEEK WITH JESUS!
Pastor Eddie Jenkins
