Are those words for me?
by Pastor Steve Liersch
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
I baptise you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come … He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Luke 3:16).
If you have been baptised as an infant, chances are you weren’t aware of what was said when this amazing offer of God’s grace was given to you. Ever since Pentecost, the Holy Spirit’s power has been gifted to those who have had the life-giving waters of baptism applied to them. The miracle of the occasion is such that we will never fully understand what God has just given to another of his children.
Martin Luther in the Small Catechism, Part 1, says:
Baptism is not just water used on its own. It is water used together with God’s word, in the way God has commanded. Our Lord Jesus Christ says: Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19 NIV).
It’s hard to take in the enormity of those words spoken by John the Baptist in his reference to Jesus, the ‘one who is more powerful than I … He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire’. Yes, those words are for us as they refer to the refining fire of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives. Dwell on those words for a moment and let the devotion title question ‘Are those words for me?’ stir your heart. Whoever has been baptised has the most powerful force in the universe living within. Keep exploring what that might mean every day of your life as you ask the Holy Spirit to go to work in you.
What does the fire of the Holy Spirit need to ‘burn off’ from your life through repentance to enable you to grow deeper in your relationship with Jesus?
Come Holy Spirit, come and pour yourself anew into my life so that I may be drawn closer to Jesus. Refine my heart and lead me to repentance. Give me a renewed willingness to work in God’s kingdom. Amen.
- Click here to read previous devotions.
- We are also posting them on LCA Facebook, making it easy for you to share them with family and friends.
- Sign up to receive Daily Devotion in your inbox every morning. If you’re already doing that, please encourage others to sign up. Click here for the link.
