The Holy Spirit's Help... One-Minute Devotional

We can never underestimate the work and power of the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.

He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
John 7:38-39

A careful examination of the Scriptures and church history reveals Jesus’ followers not only experienced the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at salvation, but they also received a second encounter of Spirit empowerment as found in Acts 2. The disciples received the Holy Spirit immediately after the resurrection, yet Jesus instructed them to wait for another enduement of His power. John the Baptist referred to this as the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

The original Greek word for baptism is baptizo, which means to baptize, dip, dye, immerse, plunge, submerge, inundate, flood, swamp, soak, douse, drench, and saturate. Ponder each of these words for a moment.

With Holy Spirit baptism comes a release of spiritual power, gifts, and ability, enabling a Christian to do and know things beyond their natural abilities (1 Cor. 12:1-11).

If you are uncertain whether you have received this second marvelous gift of the Holy Spirit, now is the time to take a small step of faith and ask Him for it. It really is that simple. We must take Jesus’ words in Luke 11:11-13 at face value. Just as we received Him into our lives by faith, we also welcome the Holy Spirit’s second experience by faith.

When you are ready, take some uninterrupted time to expectantly ask your Heavenly Father for the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Don’t hurry or rush this time. You may have a physical sensation of peace or joy, or you may not (the sense of His presence may come later). Nevertheless, based upon God’s Word and your faith–even if it is mustard seed tiny–you have received the Holy Spirit’s overflow.

With Spirit baptism, you now have access to the gift of spiritual language or speaking in tongues. This is a Spirit-led prayer language from your spirit directly to God’s throne room that will edify your faith tremendously, just as Paul tells us (1 Cor. 14:4).

How do you maintain Spirit fullness? Make time regularly to sit in the His presence. He is inside you to bring strength, courage, wisdom, and supernatural ability as He draws you closer to The Great Healer, the Lord Jesus.

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Ponder how you were encouraged by today’s thoughts. Do you have a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit? Invite Him to make himself known to you.

Further Bible References: John 20:22, Luke 24:49, Luke 11:11-13_________

To learn more about my story, find Held in His Hands: Encouragement for Your Healing on Amazon!
Also: This study is on the YouVersion App: Cancer: Encouragement for Healing
https://www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/26201

Hearing His Voice in the Storm...

Hearing God’s voice will cut through the tumult we can be experiencing to bring us peace, clarity, and guidance like nothing else can.

Make no mistake about it; God is always speaking Deuteronomy 30:11-14. But how can we be confident that we are hearing His voice in either a rhema word (see prior post) from the Scriptures or a still, small voice or impression we feel upon our hearts that it is genuinely Him talking?

Both Paul and James give us guidance for hearing the Lord in Philippians 4:8 and James 3:15-17.

Ask yourself these questions to help determine if the Lord is giving you a rhema or a personal word for your situation:

• Does the passage or what I am sensing strike a chord in my emotions? Does it resonate deep within me? Does it encourage or warm my heart, or do I sense hope or joy? Because even when Jesus speaks difficult-to-hear words, He infuses them with His love.

• Do I feel confusion and a lack of peace, or does this verse or these words encourage and strengthen me in Him?

• Am I receiving greater clarity about my situation that is giving me peace?

• How does the scripture or what I am thinking line up with what Paul and James wrote about hearing God’s voice?

• Is this passage or what I think might be God’s voice so out of alignment with the rest of the Bible that I am manipulative?

• What do my spiritual mentors and pastors sense about what I am reading or thinking about my situation?

Hearing God’s voice takes practice and faith. The next time a scripture touches your heart, or you sense the Lord speaking directly to you, answer the questions above, then apply what you are hearing and trust it. Our faith grows as we exercise stepping out in faith in His Word and the Holy Spirit’s leading Heb. 5:12-14. The benefit? God’s peace, joy, comfort, and yes, healing overwhelming our lives.
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To learn more about my story, find Held in His Hands: Encouragement for Your Healing on Amazon!
Also: This study is on the YouVersion App: Cancer: Encouragement for Healing
https://www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/26201

Hearing God's Voice - Yes! Really! Quick Devo...

God can speak through anything, but the Bible is the litmus test for what His voice sounds like and what He has to say. Its words are the very life-breath of God, and as we turn to it daily, it will strengthen, encourage, and build our faith (2 Tim. 3:16-17). It can even bring deliverance and healing (Psalm 107:20).

When we partake of the Bible’s riches, we are drawn into the presence of Jesus, the Living Word (John 1:14).  In the original Greek New Testament, the word describing Jesus here and the Bible’s entirety, is logos, meaning a communication, divine instruction, doctrine, a discourse, or speech. When seeking healing and wholeness for any aspect of our lives, we discover that His entire written Word is our rock to stand upon, where we find His promises and learn to navigate life in this fallen and broken world.

Yet, there is another Greek New Testament word that Jesus spoke when facing the devil in the wilderness:

But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’
Luke 4:4

Rhema is the Greek word here, meaning to speak, a statement, or a word uttered by a living voice. A rhema word from God is a now word for a current or coming situation. It is a divine encouragement or weapon from God in our moment of need as Paul the apostle speaks of in the armor of God (Ephesians 6:17).

The Lord’s encounter with the enemy reveals how to employ a Spirit-directed Bible passage to declare God’s dominion, truth, and power over a cancer diagnosis. Knowing God’s Word for ourselves and reading it expectantly to hear His voice for our lives can change everything for us.

It is a very subjective matter in discerning when God is giving you a direct rhema Scripture for your situation. Anyone can pull out a verse from the Bible and make it say what they want to for presumptuous purposes. Nevertheless, the rewards of having Him speak directly to us from His Word for our health, peace, and joy are available to each of us.

Next week, we will dive a little deeper into this subject.
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The Bible is the most exciting book in the world! Take a moment to consider your relationship with it. If reading it is new to you, start with the Gospels that introduce to the Lord Jesus: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Further Bible References:  Luke 4:4, Hebrews 4:12, 2 Timothy 3:14-17, Psalm 107

To learn more about my story, find Held in His Hands: Encouragement for Your Healing on Amazon!
Also: This study is on the YouVersion App: Cancer: Encouragement for Healing
https://www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/26201

Surrender Says It All... One-Minute Devotional

Although our short weekly study in God’s Word deals specifically for someone with cancer, you can still draw strength from God’s Word. Simply replace cancer with what you are currently facing…

With a cancer diagnosis, we will be making decisions regarding our treatment options. Do we lean into medicine and what our oncologist thinks is best? Or do we take a naturopathic route, maybe a hybrid of practices, or do we forgo any outside treatments and take a completely trust the Lord route?

The bottom line is that we must completely trust the Lord no matter what direction for healing we take. Remember, Jesus healed through a variety of methods, and nothing is outside of His touch. Yet discerning His healing path for us involves our complete surrender to His will.

Surrender in Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary* means to yield to the power, control, or possession of another, either by compulsion or involuntarily. It means to give up completely in favor of another; to give oneself over to something.

Honestly, we will be hard-pressed to experience God’s peace, joy, or touch without first surrendering everything about our lives to His control. Ouch. This is not easy for us who want to rule every detail, get our own way, or think we must know the end of a situation beforehand.

But He who holds our breath in His hands and owns all our ways (Dan. 5:23), understands our weaknesses about surrendering to Him (Ps. 103:13-14). The relinquishment of our lives is not a one-and-done happening. It may be a moment-by-moment act of our will. If we have trepidation and unbelief, the Holy Spirit will help us if we simply ask (Rom. 8:26). Still, we must take the first tentative steps toward laying everything at His throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16).

Surrender is an act of faith in God’s love and His Word about Who He is and what He has given you. He loves you beyond reason, and surrender is your agreement with that truth. If that is a very real struggle for you, ask Him why that is the case. Seek pastoral help if needed.

Now, or at your first opportunity, re-surrender your entire life to the One Who created, loved, and saved you. Give Him as much as you can. Let go the weight of your illness into His care. Let Him love you and fill you afresh with Himself and His Word. He will not fail to carry you.

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To learn more about my story, find Held in His Hands: Encouragement for Your Healing on Amazon!
Also: This study is on the YouVersion App: Cancer: Encouragement for Healing
https://www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/26201

Going Through Something Right Now? A One-Minute Devo

Going through something right now? Week #2

Although our short weekly study in God’s Word deals specifically for someone with cancer, you can still draw strength from God’s Word. Simply replace cancer with what you are currently facing…

Cancer can strike fear into the most faithful of us. The fear of the unknown, what might happen, and what to do next can seem overwhelming. Our own frailty and the enemy of our souls, the devil, can work overtime in our thoughts and emotions with a barrage of what-ifs and what will be our outcome?

From God’s Word, we learn that fear is our biggest adversary, even greater than cancer itself (Ps. 64:1). That is why our Father so tenderly and yet firmly in the Bible tells us hundreds of times over not to be afraid. From the Old to the New Testament, He invites us to move past fear, worry, and anxiety. How is this accomplished? The Lord’s antidote to all fear is His love.

John, the apostle, tells us that perfect love casts out all fear, but how do we arrive at trusting the love of the Lord Jesus perfectly in our weakness, frailty, or pain? We begin by pouring over His Word and what He is saying. We take baby steps of faith to dare to believe what He is speaking even if others have failed us because He will not.

Take time to meditate upon God’s Words that speak of His love, care, forgiveness, and ability to heal. Doing this doesn’t mean we are in denial or not listening to our physicians, which is not genuine faith. It does mean that we are making a concentrated effort to keep our soul – our minds, emotions, ability to choose, and personalities – effectively focused upon His love as it revealed through His Word. Think of it as a daily prescription for your heart, life, and health.

Many of us doubt Jesus’ love for us personally. Am I right? I did for years. Even as a minister of the gospel. I needed to accept His complete forgiveness for my sin even as I struggled with debilitating behaviors. God’s platform of forgiveness, grace, and love became the launching pad to emotional and physical healing for me.

If you do nothing else, saturate yourself in the knowledge of God’s love for you from His Word. Next, ask Him for the felt presence and experience of His love through the Holy Spirit. These two requests together will always defeat fear. But this is between you and Jesus. No one can do it for you.

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How were you challenged or encouraged from what you just read?

Further Bible References:  Exodus 15:26, Psalm 103:1-3, Matthew 8:16-17, Mark 1:32-34,

Isaiah 41:10-13, 1 John 4:17-19, Jeremiah 31:3

To learn more about my story, find Held in His Hands: Encouragement for Your Healing on Amazon!
Also: This study is on the YouVersion App: Cancer: Encouragement for Healing
https://www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/26201

Held in His Hands - Encouragement for Your Healing

Hi There!

Over the next several weeks, I will be posting here brief snippets of teaching regarding physical healing. God miraculously healed me of stage 4 incurable cancer — fully documented. I pray this will be a blessing and if you have friends or loved ones in a difficult place physically, emotionally, or in any tough situation, please consider inviting them to subscribe to my weekly posts at sueboldt.com. Let’s begin…

When Challenges Call…

There are just some days when news or situations come unexpectedly, unannounced, or uninvited. We might find ourselves looking at a life now placed on pause, or worse, have been turned entirely upside down. A cancer diagnosis can do that to us. Whether the news was for us or a dear loved one, it can shake us to our core.

And yet, our Heavenly Father holds us ever so tightly in His Almighty Hands.

If we have had the wind knocked out of our soul because of a physician’s pronouncement, the Lord Jesus is in the midst of our questioning, confusion, alarm, and dismay. He is here. Jehovah Rapha, the Lord our Healer. Our God, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever never leaves our side. He is never swayed by our anxiety, pain, unbelief, uncertainty, or the magnitude of a diagnosis. He still heals today.

I know this firsthand.

Just a few years ago, the Lord healed me of stage 4 non-functioning adrenocortical carcinoma, a rare, incurable, and deadly cancer with a less than 5% survival rate to five years from the first diagnosis. I went into my third surgery told that I was winding down. Yet, I came out of the operating room with no cancer found anywhere by the attending surgeons and the verifying pathology department at a major hospital. Nevertheless, the greater miracle was the power of His presence to bring joy, peace, and strength every step of the way.

Today, let’s open God’s Living Word and be loved, comforted, encouraged, and healed, beckoning us to greater surrender and a more significant release of the Holy Spirit’s presence. Let’s hone our ability to hear God’s voice, review some possibilities of what might hinder our healing, and discuss the power of spiritual warfare prayer. Most of all, let’s find ourselves in greater intimacy with the Most High, and like the apostle Paul, learn that His grace is more than enough in any situation, even a cancer diagnosis.

Take time each day – slowly if possible – to let the referenced and accompanying Bible verses speak deeply into your heart by asking:

·        For the Holy Spirit’s felt presence.

·        What phrase or section of the verse(s) stand out to me?

·        What might God be saying to me through this phrase, and how do I apply it to my life?

Let’s begin…

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Carefully consider what spoke to you most from what you just read. Bring it to mind or reread this portion of encouragement again throughout your day.

Further Bible References:  Exodus 15:26, Isaiah 41:10-13, Matthew 8:16-17, Mark 1:32-34, Hebrews 13:8

To learn more about my story, find Held in His Hands: Encouragement for Your Healing on Amazon!

At the Start of This Week... One-Minute Devo

At the start of this week…

If your kids are whining, your workmates are irritating, and the neighbors won't mow their lawn, it is probably a sign your soul is running on empty! It is time to get filled up, saturated, and doused in the Holy Spirit. Get alone with the Lord and His Word, rest in His presence, and get fueled up to greet the week ahead.
Psalm 16:11

If you are feeling burnt out, stressed out, or wiped out – again, it is time to return to the living waters of the Holy Spirit. Are you unsure about His work in you? It is time to spend some time getting to know Who He is. Take a look at the Gospel of John, Chapters 14, 15, and 16. Don’t remain a desert when you can become an oasis.

This is a week of new beginnings, hopes to be realized, and miracles to watch for. Keep your eyes open, your heart tender, and your mind from distraction. This week will be awesome in Jesus because He Who is in you is greater than anything!
1 John 4:4

In His Radiance... A 30-Second Devotional

I am convinced both shame and pride walk hand in hand in our lives, yet here is a beautiful promise from the One Who loves us beyond reason…

They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.
Psalm 34:5

When Adam and Eve made a disastrous choice in the garden, it was marked with pride, but ended in shame. Pride, thinking they knew better than the Father who created and adored them; breathed life into them. Then, shame overwhelmed them for their grave mistake.

Shame. Well, it just makes us feel oh so unworthy. We want to find cover – we want to run, and we want to hide. Next, shame’s sister, pride, comes along and causes us to try to rise above our shame and say, “We can do it! We are better than shame!” Pride tells us we deserve more, causes us to be dissatisfied with our lives, and woos us to work harder to prove we are not shame-full. We are not comfortable in our own skin. 

Only looking to King Jesus for our worth, acceptance, and love will break the cycle of shame and pride. And the promise? Freedom, radiant lives, and wholeness in Him alone. What are we waiting for?

From the 365 Day Devotional: Morning Moments.

Jump In! A 30-Second Devo

Ahhhh. To live in the river of God’s presence. Nevertheless...

There are bills to pay, diapers to change, cars to fix, families to fix, carpets to be vacuumed, laundry piles, laundry mountains, laundry-lava-flows. There are kids to discipline, runny noses to wipe, work deadlines to meet, and work gossip to put up with – work, work, work. You get the idea.

Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.
Ezekiel 47:12

Short and sweet. If we live in the river of His presence – spending time alone with Jesus, hearing His voice through His Word and presence – the stuff of our lives will be different. Including the laundry.

Jesus can make the mundane extraordinary, take the tedious and make it holy ground, restore joy (yes, giddy happiness) when the darkness closes in. And, He can bring His healing touch to any situation. Honestly. It is time to get drenched.

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From the 365 Day Devotional: Morning Moments.

Who We Are -- What We Have Been Given

…praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints…
Ephesians 6:18

Throughout this short study, we are beginning to realize who we really are. We are chosen, accepted, forgiven, a masterpiece, lavishly loved, and called for purpose, to list just a few of our God-given, not-earned, attributes.

We also recognize some of what we have been given in the grand inheritance we have in Christ. Just a few things we have been given are the wealth of the Holy Spirit living in us, life and authority in heavenly places, access to God, newness in life, and His armor.

We conclude with Paul’s instructions that prayer is key to growing in each of these wondrous realities.

Prayer is the means by which we have access to our Father through His lavish love because we have already been accepted and forgiven. We rise in prayer knowing that we are seated with Jesus in heavenly places: that our armor and His authority are in place for us to co-labor with Him to bring heaven to earth now. Prayer is the avenue to grow in more significant healing in our inner man to walk in newness of life and receive clear instruction about how we are to carry our His call upon our lives.

Prayer is where we experience intimacy with the Lord (Psalm 27:4) and His divine touch upon our lives and destinies. Prayer is where we hear His heart and what steps to take next. His Word empowers prayer as He breathes life into our spirits from its pages. And prayer is the battleground to which we come, entirely covered in His armor to break hell’s hold on lives, situations, and nations (Psalm 2:8). 

Prayer doesn’t cause us to be accepted because we already are. Prayer is what has been magnificently given us to enter the Holy of Holies and commune and bring pleasure to the One who loves us so much that He calls us His masterpiece.

We are more than we could ever realize because of Jesus’ work on the cross and resurrection. And we have been given a limitless bounty of gifts to do His work. Let’s access all He has done and given by entering into His presence in prayer.

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This weekly study is from the 14-Day YouVersion Plan: Accepted: Who We Really Are and What He Has Done For Us by Sue Boldt. Adapted from the book: Refresh. Click Here!

Wearing His Armor One-Minute Devotional

Therefore take up the whole armor of God,
that you may be able to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all, to stand.
Ephesians 6:13

How do we complete our call? God has given us His armor to protect us and to advance His purposes.

We won’t understand much about our life circumstances if we don’t seriously recognize that our adversary, the devil, rules the earth until Jesus returns (John 12:31. Eph. 2:1-3). Yet, for this purpose, the Son of God came, that He might destroy the work of the devil (1 John 3:8). Now filled with the Holy Spirit of the living God, we have been given His armor and authority to take back ground from the enemy.

God’s armor provides for us a:

Belt of Truth: Jesus alone is the Truth, and we secure the core of our being with His Word, Who He is, what He has said about us, and what He has given us (John 14:26).

Breastplate of Righteousness: God’s imputed righteousness that covers us is more potent than all the sin and stuff we may still be working through. This piece of armor is essential as the enemy attempts to accuse us of our sin and keep a lid on our authority over Him.

Shoes of Peace: Enable us to stand on the unshakeable platform of the all-encompassing gospel of the Lord Jesus. We extend peace where we go, and we don’t make decisions without God’s peace reassuring us.

Shield of Faith: We arm ourselves preemptively and daily with faith. How is faith built? Two ways. One, by opening God’s Word to see all that is available to us in any situation (Rom. 10:17). And two, by making the minute-by-minute the choice to believe His Word above any other voice, report, or feeling.

Helmet of Salvation: Our thought-life truly is our main battleground, and we must guard it with utmost care, learning to bring every thought captive to the Lordship of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5).

Sword of the Spirit: Our only offensive weapon is the power of God’s Word itself. Just as Lord Jesus demonstrated during His encounter with the devil in the wilderness, God’s Word stands as the final authority over darkness.

Routing the enemy is ongoing work as we draw closer in intimacy with Jesus and are healed from the inside out. Drawing closer to the Lord doesn’t make us the devil’s target. Instead, the enemy learns he has less and less to hang onto in our lives as we surrender daily to the Lord, resist our adversary, and he flees! (James 4:7-8)

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This weekly study is from the 14-Day YouVersion Plan: Accepted: Who We Really Are and What He Has Done For Us by Sue Boldt. Adapted from the book: Refresh. Click Here!

Our New Title... One-Minute Devotional

For you were once darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord.
Walk as children of light
Ephesians 5:8

We have been given a new title in Christ – Children of Light.

God’s Word declares that as Jesus is, so are we in this world (1 John 4:17)! With the Holy Spirit’s effective working in us, we can rise to our new name (Eph. 5:8). The Lord is calling us to walk as Children of Light by being imitators of God, piercing the darkness in the power of Jesus’ name, walking in His love toward all, and as a fragrant sacrifice for Him.

As His light-bearers, we will live differently. We will learn to walk a little more wisely with eyes wide open, knowing that although we are still in the world, we are not of the world (John 15:19). We will learn that what we do matters, and what we allow to influence our lives has significant ramifications for our either living in the Holy Spirit’s power or giving way to distractions. And we will discover that submitting to one another – coming underneath someone to lift them up – will be a hallmark in every one of our relationships.

Walking as Children of Light means submitting entirely to God first, then letting Him lead us in submission to others in our homes, marketplaces, workplaces, schools, and churches. Ouch! That may be a difficult pill for us to swallow who insist on being right, first, best, or for those attempting to fluff their own pillow, build their own nest, or trying to make a name for themselves. And yet, the longer we walk in God’s heartbeat, experiencing His lavish fullness in our lives, we never have to fear that there won’t be enough for us.

To walk as Children of Light in submission is living as one who makes it a race to the bottom to lift up those in our lives. This doesn’t mean we don’t have healthy boundaries or suffer under abuse. As Jesus teaches, healthy submission brings the reward of genuine spiritual authority and the enemy’s vanquishment (Mt. 8:8-10, 20:25-27).

We have a powerful title, and submission and consequent spiritual authority are vital characteristics of God’s Children of Light, as we will see next week.
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This weekly study is from the 14-Day YouVersion Plan: Accepted: Who We Really Are and What He Has Done For Us by Sue Boldt. Adapted from the book: Refresh. Click Here!

You Are New... One-Minute Devotional

…and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:24

We are new in Christ.

Well. Let’s get honest about this. You and me. Are we living in Jesus’ newness of life? (Rom. 6:4). Personally, I went decades feeling that my habits and strongholds were beyond God’s help. What about you?

What is the answer to this dilemma?

Paul tells us to put off our old man – we are to stop doing life from an old place of brokenness. To put off (Greek: apotithemi) means to cast off, put off, and lay down. How do we do this? By having our minds renewed continually. Then, and only then, we can ‘put on’ the new man of Jesus living in us (vs. 22-24). Paul then writes very practical and helpful tips for living in the freedom of new life in Jesus through Chapter 4.

The trouble is, we may see some progress in ourselves from old habits, behaviors, addictions, and thought patterns, but then life happens. Events take place, triggering old areas of hurt and wounding. The struggle to break free from the symptoms of our brokenness – reactions, addictions, pride, shame, etc. – leave us thinking that becoming a completely new person in Christ is unattainable. Yet, these very places of hurt and bondage in our souls are why Lord Jesus came to rescue us (1 John 3:8).

Just as we may have wrestled with the truth that we are accepted, we now must realize that we are new in Christ.

The first step to healing is choosing to believe what God sees and says about us. We stand on the platform of the riches of His grace. We then humbly come, surrender to the Holy Spirit’s work, and take one step in front of the other to put off the hang-ups and hurts that have held us. We begin actively dwelling in Lord Jesus’ felt presence and expectantly receiving God’s life-breath from His Word. With His help, we should seek counseling and powerful Spirit-filled prayer with spiritual leaders or pastors for those areas of bondage.

We are new. As we renew our thoughts to align with our Father’s, His profound cleansing freedom and new life become our reality.

You Are Called... One-Minute Devotional

Each and every one of us is called.

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling…
Ephesians 4:4

However you describe it, you have a calling, purpose, mantle, and destiny. For what? To complete the work of Jesus on the earth. Remember, the Book of Acts starts with all that Jesus both began to do and teach. Acts then recounts His disciples’ exploits to reach the lost, heal the sick and demonized, and build up His church (Acts 1:1). The story isn’t finished – it continues with us.

These ministries – apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers – are gifts of the Son. Man or woman, we find our passion and leaning toward one or a combination of these ministry giftings in our lives. Along with our Father’s gifts (Rom. 12:5-8) and gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:8-10), we discover how God wired us. And we wait on Him for how these gifts play out in our lives. No sideline sitting is allowed.

Make no mistake about it. You, me – we are called.

It doesn’t matter if we wash cars or preach to the multitudes. We are called when we chase little ones around the house or sit in the halls of government. If we have a breath here on planet earth, we are people of purpose and destiny. And in the healing power of the Holy Spirit within us and finding ourselves deeply rooted in Christ’s love, our calling becomes more and more apparent.

With the Holy Spirit’s help, ask yourself – what energizes you?

Apostles have a world view and see the big picture. They are the go-getters and often risk-takers that generally don’t focus on details because their vision goes beyond the norm.

Prophets are those who tend to see things as black or white. They have a keen discernment to see what is current and future and a passion that people know what God’s heart is in the moment.

Evangelists have a yearning for those who are lost and need rescue.

Pastors have a shepherd’s heart. They care for, tend, mend, teach, protect, and lead a flock, which might be their family, friends, workplace, or church.

Teachers are those whose drive is to help people to understand. They love breaking down the complicated things and making them easy to be received, learned, and lived.

You are accepted, you have access, you are loved, and you are called.
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This weekly study is from the 14-Day YouVersion Plan: Accepted: Who We Really Are and What He Has Done For Us by Sue Boldt. Adapted from the book: Refresh. Click Here!

Hook, Line, & Sinker... One-Minute Devotional

…to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge;
that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:19

Who needs some strengthening in their inner man right now?? Paul prays for us and teaches us along the way.

We are accepted. We have access. We are ever so loved. 

Paul prays that we not only have head knowledge about the love of Christ, but he requests that we experience it firsthand. He asks that Jesus’ love would be well rooted and grounded in our lives, remaining steady in any storm.

Paul wants us to comprehend (Greek: katalambano) the depth, width, and height of Jesus’ love. Katalambano not only means to understand His unconditional agape love, but it also describes actively seizing, laying hold of it, and appropriating it to make it our own, to take it into one’s self. We experience His love because we are ardently pursuing it (Rev. 2:4-5).

That doesn’t mean working harder, trying to earn His love. It means taking alone time with the Lord for just being with Him in sweet communion where we ask our Father for the Holy Spirit’s felt presence and work within us (Ps. 27:4). There, He reveals His Son’s love in our heart’s emotions (Rom. 5:5). We will have fresh, daily revelation as we open God’s Word because we see it through His eyes of love instead of mere mental acknowledgment (Mt. 6:6). Then, our Christianity becomes a reality and not just a theory.

When God’s love overwhelms us, we will experience His fullness in our lives. Daily duties, work obligations, and even ministry no longer become chores to wade through because knowing the certainty of God’s love within us changes everything outside of us. Small blessings are magnified, miracles are more abundant, and trials become opportunities to see what He will do.

Take time to ask the Holy Spirit to examine your heart and mind to see where you are in your internal belief system that Jesus loves you. Most of us have struggled with this vital and imperative knowledge in the depths of our being. We can believe Jesus’ love for others, but for ourselves? Maybe, not so much.

He has poured out His love for us. Let’s receive and live in it – hook, line, and sinker.

Anyone Love a Good Mystery? One-Minute Devotional...

…that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery…
Ephesians 3:8-9

In Ephesians, Paul writes about the mystery of the gospel six different times. Colossians 1:26-27 explains this mystery's foundation as, Christ in you, the hope of glory.

The Lord Jesus Christ is living in us.

Who can fathom the wonder of Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23)? On this side of heaven, we will only have a faint realization of this truth, yet it is truth, nonetheless. The Lord Jesus lives in you and me. And not just a drip or a drab of Him; we are filled with all the fulness of God, who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think according to the power – dynamis – that works in us (John 1:16).

From the resources of the Lord's unsearchable riches, we have a mandate. God desires us to bring heaven down to earth and for His love, power, and miracles to invade our daily lives and put the enemy of our souls on the run.

The Lord taught us to pray - Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10). His prayer is not passive. It is boldly proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our every situation and establishing His authority over demonic principalities and powers (v. 10). This is God's intention for each member of His body to accomplish. But how?

The Holy Spirit indwells us now. Nevertheless, there is an aspect where we grow in the power of the Holy Spirit. With the continued healing of our soul – our heart, mind, personality, intellect, and ability to make choices – the more access the Holy Spirit has to readily work through us. When we are stuck in our stuff, we are, well, stuck. When we ardently pursue the Spirit's effective working in our lives, freedom occurs (2. Cor 3:17).

We must start somewhere, even in the middle of our bondages and addictions. Just keeping it real here. That is why we must become confident of our acceptance in Christ and the power of His grace. Paul tells us that we can access His presence with bold confidence. But we must come, and that takes forward motion on our parts.

No one can do our faith-walk for us. Jesus is calling us to make a difference in our needy world in the power of the Holy Spirit. Let's accept His invitation and take the first steps toward more of Him revealed in our lives.
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This weekly study is from the 14-Day YouVersion Plan: Accepted: Who We Really Are and What He Has Done For Us by Sue Boldt. Adapted from the book: Refresh. Click Here!

The Titles He has Given Us! One-Minute Devotional...

…according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.
Ephesians 3:7

What titles we have! We are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household – His family.

Whatever we thought our status was, we have risen several notches, to say the least, as we begin to humbly – not arrogantly – recognize who we are in Him.

As members of His family, Jesus is building us together as a holy temple for God to indwell by His Holy Spirit. Peter talks about this as coming to Him as to a living stone (1 Peter 2:4-5). And what is the mortar that binds us all together? The love of Jesus. He is building us upon the cornerstone of Himself alone.

If we are God’s dwelling place, then you need my stone, and I need your stone. Get my drift?

If one brick is out of place or not functioning, the whole house might come tumbling down. Abba-Daddy has chosen us individually for a unique and essential purpose and position in His temple that only we can fill. You and I can’t try to be somebody else; because someone else’s destiny won’t fit us or the temple. We need to discover His will for our lives and fulfill it as we genuinely surrender to Him (Rom. 12:1-2). 

But there’s the rub. Most of us flounder when asked about our call, purpose, or mission. Or, we have an inkling of what God wants to do through our lives; nevertheless, we lack the confidence to pull it off.

Here, we stand upon God’s lavish grace once again. It isn’t up to us to figure out our life’s trajectory or accomplish it in our own strength. It is the effective working (Greek: energeia) of Christ in us. That phrase translated to mean supernatural energy, efficiency, and working of the Holy Spirit.

And what are we being energized with? The Holy Spirit’s power (Greek: dynamis) dwelling within us – meaning energy, power, might, great force and ability, and strength.

Did you catch that? No matter if we feel weak, less-than, or insignificant, we have God’s promised Holy Spirit available to us to transform our natural lives into something supernatural and our ordinary into His extraordinary.

This weekly study is from the 14-Day YouVersion Plan: Accepted: Who We Really Are and What He Has Done For Us by Sue Boldt. Adapted from the book: Refresh. Click Here!

We Have Access... Two-Minute Devotional!

We are not only accepted by God our Father; we have access to Him.

How the Old Testament dovetails with the New Testament causes our faith in Jesus to be all the richer and more fulfilling. Paul reminds us of all the Old Testament promises that were not available to us before Jesus entered our lives. We were aliens from His family, strangers to His covenants of promise, we had no hope, and we were without God’s presence. However, now, we have access to all these astounding and limitless gifts through the work of the Son, in the power of the Spirit, and by the availability of our Father (Gal. 3:18).

One of these coveted promises we now possess is the peace that passes understanding in Christ alone (Phil. 4:6-7). King Jesus not only gives His peace to us – He is our peace (v.14). Jesus has broken down every wall of separation erected that once kept us from God and from fellowshipping with one another. When we live hidden in Him, tucked under the shadow of His wings, the promised Hebrew peace-shalom-is ours.

Shalom, meaning completeness, wholeness, peace, health, contentment, tranquility, welfare, safety, soundness, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, and harmony.

As has been said, peace isn’t the absence of strife, confusion, or discord; it is the presence of Jesus. We have access to the Prince of Shalom, and He has invited us to come (Rev. 3:20).

Drink in this truth. Sometimes, in our daily grind, we forget. We forget that we have access to God, who created the universe, and all that is seen and unseen. We have His availability on our good days and bad days (Heb. 4:15-16). We can come into His presence when we are fallen, broken, and bent; and when we are happy, successful, and victorious. In either case, Jesus extends an invitation to come and dine with Him. To hear His voice, receive His strength, and be delivered, healed, and transformed into His image.

Yes. Let’s never forget we have access to God because He has already accepted us as His children (John 1:12). Now, let’s receive His invitation to be with Him.

This weekly study is from the 14-Day YouVersion Plan: Accepted: Who We Really Are and What He Has Done For Us by Sue Boldt. Adapted from the book: Refresh. Click Here!

You Are God's Masterpiece... Two-Minute Devotional!

The Lord Jesus created each one of us a masterpiece. Yes.

Masterpiece is the original meaning of the word often translated as workmanship. The Greek word used is poiema, from which comes the English word poem, meaning something created by a master artisan. Poetry is beautiful. As a note from my Bible tells me: 

Before conversion to Jesus, our lives had no rhyme or reason. Conversion brought us balance, symmetry, and order. We are God’s poem, His work of art.*

Where are you in your beliefs about yourself? Do you still get tangled up in thoughts that you are too much or not enough? Do you think you are too young, too old, or your appearance, aptitude, or lack of ability in an area of life disqualifies you? Do you question whether Abba-Daddy made a mistake when it came to creating you? Do insecurity, comparison, and shame still rule your heart to some degree?

Paul writes to put these lies to rest. In Christ, we are qualified (Col. 1:12). As the adage states, He doesn’t call the qualified; He qualifies the called. That is you, and that is me. I know from experience that I had to actively speak to these untruths and break my life-long agreement with them in Jesus’ Name (Mark 16:17).

God has a purpose for each of us, and we are the only ones who can fulfill it. He wants us to know the exhilaration of co-laboring with Him. No matter what your current circumstances are or you think life has passed you by, you have a purpose. You are God’s purpose. You have significance and a God-given destiny because you are His masterpiece – His beautiful, powerful poem in the Holy Spirit. Now, ask Him for your unique assignment, get crackin,’ and delight His heart and yours.

This weekly study is from the 14-Day YouVersion Plan: Accepted: Who We Really Are and What He Has Done For Us by Sue Boldt. Adapted from the book: Refresh. Click Here!

* Jack W. Hayford, Litt.D, Executive Editor, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc. 2002) Word Wealth for Ephesians 2:10.

You are Seated... Two-Minute Devotional

The opening verses of Ephesians 2 seem so dire at first glance. Not only were we once spiritually dead, but we were also vulnerable to every scheme of the enemy, the world, our brokenness, and selfish desires. Further, we realize that we can still walk the world’s course, even as believers, if we don’t guard our hearts and minds against the adversary’s input. For me, this explains why I struggled in my life for so many years, even as a Christian.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:4-6

But God (v.4). But God reached down into the muck and mire of our sin. In His beyond reason love, God isn’t just merciful to us; He is rich in mercy. He doesn’t just extend grace to us; He extends the riches of His grace. It gets even better.

We not only have received salvation, but we are also already seated with Christ in heavenly realms. Our zip code has changed. Although we still live on planet earth, God has transferred us to the Kingdom of the Son of His love (Col. 1:13). This truth may seem incredulous; nevertheless, it is God’s Word. Yet, we often live so far less than all He has given us.

We can see the importance of reading Ephesians and letting it soak into our hearts. We may not yet reside in heaven, but spiritually we already do. Heaven’s authority in Jesus’ name is ours to wield against the enemy’s stratagems and the seductions of this world here and now (Luke 10:17). 

Nevertheless, we can’t attempt to earn or work for this authority. It is our acceptance that the very righteousness of Christ has been imputed to us and clothes as a breastplate (Rom. 4:11, Eph. 6:14), even when we fall so far short. It is by faith in Christ, receiving these truths from God’s Word, and as we live humbly in His outrageous grace that Jesus’ authority becomes ours, and our freedom begins to be realized.

How do we live in heavenly places now? First, by believing its truth, even if it is baby step believing.

Second, by asking our Father for the Holy Spirit to baptize us and overwhelm us with Himself as we surrender everything about ourselves to Him daily (Luke 11:11-13).

Third, by asking for His help in revealing the truth of God’s Word to us and in us. Instead of just reading the Bible, we need Holy Spirit revelation. 

Remember, He wants this for us more than we do!

This weekly study is from the 14-Day YouVersion Plan: Accepted: Who We Really Are and What He Has Done For Us by Sue Boldt. Adapted from the book: Refresh. Click Here!