Verse of the Day and Devotional 12/9/2021

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December 9, 2021

Scripture

Devotion

What does it mean to have zeal? It means to have a fervent and eager desire for something. It means to be intense, enthusiastic, and passionate about something. Zeal is something that the Apostle Paul said we should never be lacking. As Christians, we should always be zealous. We should never be apathetic and indifferent.

Zeal, however, is not always a good thing. It can come from wrong motives and it can be misdirected. Before Paul was converted, he was full of zeal, but it was fleshly, sinful zeal. It was the kind of zeal that caused him to persecute the church (Philippians 3:6). He thought he was being zealous for God, but his zeal was not based on a proper knowledge of God (Romans 10:2).

In our verse for today, Paul equates zeal with spiritual fervor. The zeal he has in mind is not the fleshly zeal of his earlier days, but the zeal born of the Holy Spirit. This kind of zeal is a fervent and eager desire for the things of the Lord, not for the things of the flesh. Christians have been baptized with the Holy Spirit and they can expect to be filled with zeal and passion for the things God has called them to accomplish in life.

However, just as the Holy Spirit can be quenched (1 Thessalonians 5:19), our zeal can be quenched. The cares and concerns of life and the opposition of the enemy can get to us and undermine our zeal. That’s why Paul feels the need to encourage the Roman church to never lack in zeal. Although our zeal is born of the Spirit, we have some control over it. We can decide to let the zeal we have been given flow freely in our lives, despite the zeal-quenchers.

The zeal we have been given is meant to help us serve the Lord. Since the Lord is Lord over every area of life, we can expect the zeal of the Spirit to help us in every area of life. We can expect to be zealous friends, parents, educators, business people, etc. We can expect to be zealous in our roles in the church and in the spread of the Gospel.

Today, let us fire up our zeal for the Lord and the things of the Lord in every area of our lives.

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