READ: 1 CORINTHIANS 2:12-16; GALATIANS 5:16-26; EPHESIANS 5:1-20

I’ve always had a sweet tooth. On one special occasion, this served as a great qualification for a unique job. My family and I had joined with others in our community for a fun-filled summer day, complete with a barbecue, picnic, games, and a dessert contest. I had been asked to arrive early and help judge the desserts. My mouth watered at the idea!

Over one hundred people were there, and multiple people in each family submitted a dessert to be judged. I ate just a small amount of each sweet treat entered in the competition. But after dozens and dozens of cakes, cookies, and pies, I was too full for the barbecue. I skipped the meal because I’d eaten so many bites of dessert that I couldn’t hold anything else.

That day, fulfilling my role as judge, I filled up on sweets and had no room for more nutritious food. In our spiritual lives, we’re invited to be filled as well—but with something more than sweets. In Ephesians 5:18, Paul writes, “Be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

When we put our trust in Jesus—believing in His life, death, and resurrection—our sins are forgiven, we become God’s children, and He sends His Spirit, who is God, to live in us. Isn’t that amazing? The Holy Spirit indwells all believers, comforting us and helping us understand God’s Word, know His love, follow His leading, and pray according to God’s will.

Not only does God the Holy Spirit dwell inside followers of Jesus, He wants to fill us. Whatever fills us sets the direction for our choices and actions and leaves room for nothing else. When we have a relationship with God in His Son, we can choose to live filled with His Spirit. • Allison Wilson Lee

• If we know Jesus, the Holy Spirit lives in us, or indwells us. Consider taking a moment to thank God for this amazing gift! (If you want to dig deeper, read more about the Holy Spirit in John 14:15-27; 15:26; Romans 5:5; 8:1-39;Ephesians 1:13-14; Philippians 2:13; 2 Timothy 1:7.)

• We are called to pursue God first and foremost. When we do, all our other desires and pursuits find their right place in our hearts and in our lives. What are you tempted to pursue over God?

• When we are yielding to the Spirit, we are empowered to follow God’s good ways, we can confess and turn away from sin, and we see the fruit the Spirit produces in our lives: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). What does a Spirit-filled life look like? (Hint: reread today’s Bible passages.)

…be filled with the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 (NLT)