“The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” (John 6:63 NLT)

 

When you became a Christian, you did not do so by your own act of will. Yes, you believed. But it was the Holy Spirit who convicted you. The Holy Spirit showed you your need for Jesus. And the Holy Spirit ultimately converted you.

That’s why Jesus said, “The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63 nlt). And it’s why He said, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life” (John 3:5–6 NLT).

Because the work of the Holy Spirit is so vital, the devil targets it in his attacks against us. More specifically, he tries to make us question the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. He tries to make us doubt what we know to be true. He tries to make us ask, “Was I really converted?”

Unfortunately for us, the devil’s timing is usually impeccable. He prowls around after we’ve made a regrettable decision or given in to a troublesome temptation. He’ll try to make us feel like frauds, “pretend Christians.” He’ll raise doubts in our minds about whether the Holy Spirit really worked in our lives.

He also tries to make our Christian faith feel like a burden or an obligation, or tries to make us believe that we’ve outgrown our faith—that it’s something that belongs in our past. Anything to distance us from the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

We need to recognize the devil’s strategies and the lies behind them. The apostle Paul wrote, “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38–39 NLT).

The Holy Spirit personally gives us the assurance that Christ has come into our lives. Paul also wrote, “For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we really are God’s children” (Romans 8:16 TLB).

That is the wonderful inner conviction and witness of the Holy Spirit. You just know that you belong to Christ. It’s hard to explain to someone who hasn’t experienced it. But it’s as real as the breath you’re drawing right now. I have that conviction in my heart. Do you? Has the Holy Spirit given you the inner conviction that, yes, you are a child of God?

 

Reflection question: How did the Holy Spirit convert you? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

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