Today’s Bible Verse
I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed. I’ll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 (MSG)
Intimacy Produces Power
Last month, I wrote a devotional titled, “Commitment is the Price to Pay for Intimacy.” Today, I will finish off that thought with the second half of that statement which is, “Intimacy Produces Power.” If you would like to re-read the previous devotional or read it for the first time, you can find it at this link here.
When a husband and a wife enter into an intimate relationship with one another, something powerful and miraculous begins. God breathes His life-giving power into the woman’s womb, and the promise of a child begins to be formed. The parents may not fully understand, but they are being changed from the inside out, and the course of their lives will be entirely different from what it was before.
In the same way, when we commit to an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit, our lives will never be the same. As the verse above states, He will take out our old heart—the hardened heart, the heart that was only about what we wanted, and He will give us a new heart—a tender heart, a heart that goes after what God wants. That is what makes it possible for us to do what He wills and commands. When we get around the Holy Spirit in prayer and in the reading of His Word, what He loves becomes what we love; the things He dislikes become what we dislike.
As I wrote in the prior devotional, Jesus’ twelve disciples had a more intimate relationship with Jesus than others did. These were the men who were tasked to carry out Jesus’ mission on this earth. These twelve were unwanted, uneducated, and uninspiring, but they were transformed into UNASHAMED and UNCOMMON men because they relied on the Holy Spirit and His UNLIMITED power! They preached messages that converted the hearts of thousands of people at a time…through the power of the Holy Spirit. One of them went from baptizing someone in water off the side of the road to instantly vanishing before their eyes and being carried off to continue his assignment in another area…by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Multitudes of people experienced supernatural healing, miracles, and deliverance at the hands of the twelve…by the power of the Holy Spirit working through their lives. Their generation and generations still yet to come have been impacted by the power of their ministry which was the result of an intimate relationship with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. That intimate relationship first started because of their commitment to it. (Rick Abordo)
Change My Story
I know people are reading this who want to make a difference in their generation. You want to bring healing the same way Jesus and His disciples did. You want to bring deliverance the same way they did. You want to walk in the same love and power that Jesus and His disciples operated in. Well, before you get the power, you must first go after the intimacy, and before you get the intimacy, you must first commit. Will you recommit your heart to Jesus with me today?
Today’s Declaration
Lord Jesus, I recommit my life to You. Take my old hardened heart that only wanted to do things my way and please give me a new tender heart that will live for You. Holy Spirit, I give You preeminence in my life and commit to getting to know You more and more each day. Mold me, shape me, and form me to the disciple I need to be with the power to impact my generation!
Today’s Bible Reading
- Old Testament: 1 Samuel 17-18; Psalms 102
- New Testament: Mark 12:1-12; 2 Corinthians 7
