Sip Saturday
Week #18 Hebrews 2:4
**Sip Saturday is written by our Saturday morning contributor, - A beautifully gifted Christian author who seeks to honor the Trinity in her writing. She hopes that her words will encourage women to draw closer to God, whether that is through her fantasy series or her weekly devotionals.
Cornerstone Scripture:
"while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will."
-Hebrews 2:4 ESV
A pile of wrapping paper littered the floor. Ribbons. Glitter. Ripped images of Santa, Christmas Trees, Nativity Scenes, and scrawled words of "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Holidays" intermingled among the paper. Exclamations among my cousins of excitement as they opened their gifts was met with happiness all around. As for myself and my brother, we were happy about our sole gift: cellphones.
Growing up, my parents had never been what I would consider "rich." We certainly had more than some of our peers, with a nice, four bedroom and two bath home in a peaceful neighborhood. We had the ability to play on soccer teams and in clubs. We had plenty of books and took at least two vacations a year. Yet, when it came to gifts, we often had to choose selectively what we would receive. My cousins, on the other hand, received almost everything on their Wish List because my other family were a little more well off than us. Yet, we weren't jealous. Instead, we learned to be grateful for the things we were able to receive, acknowledging that any gift was better than nothing.
I think the gifts of the Holy Spirit are like that. Some people are given multiple gifts. Others are only given one. But whatever gifts a person can receive, they should be treasured. Whether it is wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracle working, prophecy, spiritual discernment, speaking in tongues or interpreting those tongues, these gifts are precious (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). Wherever you are on the spiritual gifts spectrum, you have to admit that God worked great miracles.
This is exactly what the author of Hebrews is pointing to—that God himself verified Jesus' identity through the amazing work of the Holy Spirit. Whether it was the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus like a dove (Matthew 3:16; Mark 1:10) or the Holy Spirit equipping him to drive out demons (Matthew 12:28), Jesus' divine nature was evident to all who met him. Why else would the Sanhedrin seek to kill him? (Matthew 26:59; Mark 14:55) They knew he claimed to be Messiah and the Son of God.
Yet, Jesus did not leave his believers as orphans. He gave them the gifts of the Holy Spirit and spent time with them on Earth (John 14; Acts 1-2). Today, he works actively through believers to bring all people to Himself. This amazing gift isn't something we should take for granted. Instead, we should be grateful for his constant presence and guiding Spirit in our lives.
Let's pray.
Dear Lord, thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to be our guide and not leaving us as orphans. Cultivate a spirit of gratefulness in our lives. Amen.