Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however, you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

Paul dives into a very complete and concise statement of the role of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives as the Ambassadors of Reconciliation and His Messengers of the Good News. I am going to break this up over the next seven weekdays but not repeat the passage except for the phrase under consideration for that day.

He begins with an important test. The Spirit will never lead me to curse the Lord nor will He ever enable someone who is not part of the Body of Christ to acknowledge Him as Lord. It is abhorrent to me to even imagine cursing my Lord, and disgusting to want to use His name in vain. That transformation is uncontestable evidence that I have been transformed by the Spirit. Likewise, to be able to acknowledge Jesus as Lord with conviction is the other side of the coin. I am His, and He is mine.

Today's readings in the Psalms:

Morning: Psalm 142

Mid-day: 119:33-40

Evening: Psalm 67

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