If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” Luke 11:13 WEB
If you have children, you know how much you love them. Beyond that, you know what it means to give good gifts to them and what it means to you when they receive them. You want your children to be happy and you want to love them. We’re good to our kids, as good as we can be. Similarly to how we give good gifts to others, our Father in heaven is better than we are and wants to give us good things.
Do you know what it is like when a child rejects a gift you have given them? Hopefully not, but if you do, you know the emotional disappointment of that moment. Can you imagine how God feels when we reject him? Like a man who gives good gifts to an ungrateful child, it grieves the Lord when we reject him.
The Creator of all things wants a relationship with each of us. He desires to give good gifts to each of us. Most important of all, our heavenly Father gives his Holy Spirit to those who repent from sin and live as his children.
Repent and Be Baptized
When do we receive the Holy Spirit? In Acts 2:38-39 we read, “Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself. WEB”
Who can receive eternal salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit? If you seek salvation and the Spirit, then do what Jesus said in Luke 11:9, “I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you. WEB” When we believe in Christ with all our heart and turn from sin to God’s righteousness, we find salvation. Then, as a child of the heavenly Father, it is his good pleasure to give the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Who does the Lord want to save? We read this in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but he is patient with us, not wishing that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance. WEB” The Lord wants all people to repent from sin and receive his Holy Spirit.
Prayer: “Father God, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Increase my understanding and guide my steps to live according to your will. In Jesus’ name – Amen”
Yesterday’s Devotional: Fellowship
