Sealed by the Holy Spirit

No devotionals Thursday and Friday, August 04 & 05.  Will resume Monday, August 08.

Chuckle: “If it weren't for electricity we'd all be watching television by candlelight.” -- George Gobel

Quote: "By the Spirit, we are made partakers of the divine nature and have communion with the threefold, holy Lord." --Charles Spurgeon

"He (God) anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come" (2 Corinthians 1:21b-22 NIV). "Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession -- to the praise of his glory" (Ephesians 1:13b-14 NIV).

Cattle ranchers in West Texas have traditionally rounded up all their year-old calves each spring for branding. The calf is held down, the branding iron is heated red hot, and the brand is burned into its flank. The brand is the rancher's mark of ownership. God has also placed his mark of ownership on us by sealing us with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God's mark of ownership, authority, and security over us. No one can remove us from his ownership.

When we trust Jesus Christ as Savior, God puts His mark of the Holy Spirit on our lives. This is God's guarantee that we belong to Him and our assurance that He will do what He has promised -- give us eternal life with Him. The Holy Spirit is like God's signature on a contract He has made with His children. There is no better statement about that contract than John 3:16: "For God so loved the world (you and me) that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes (trusts and has faith) in him will not perish but have eternal life." That is God's promise which is guaranteed and sealed by the Holy Spirit. The presence of the Holy Spirit within us demonstrates that our faith is genuine and that we belong to God through faith in Christ. His Spirit transforms us and makes us acceptable to God as His children.

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is God's presence with us here on earth until we experience His personal presence throughout eternity in a place the Bible calls heaven. Nothing can ever separate us from the love of God. "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:8:38-39 NIV).

In the trucking industry, it's common to place a seal on a load which cannot be broken until the truck reaches its destination. Similarly, the Spirit's seal cannot be broken until the Christian reaches heaven. He is our guarantee that we will reach God's final destination for us.

Love, Jerry & Dotse