6.11.2026 - Scott Elgersma

Thursday June 11, 2026

The Holy Spirit Brings Power

Titus 2:11-12

As you enter your time with God today, take a moment to quiet your mind. Breathe this prayer: “Come, Lord Jesus, come. Fill me with your Spirit. Open my heart that you might share your words of life with me.”

We read today from Titus 2:11-12. Read the passage now or at the end of this devotion. What does this passage teach us about the Holy Spirit giving us the power of God?

Years ago, I was hearing from a missionary about his work in an urban context bringing the Gospel to the projects of a large city. He and his wife had been called by God to live an apartment complex that was inhabited by many families stuck in poverty. Although many of the people were trying to survive by taking low-income jobs to supplement their welfare support, many others were going other routes to earn money. Drugs, prostitution, theft, and other illegal activities marked their neighborhood and shaped the ministry of this couple.

This missionary talked about how hard life was for those who were seeking to get ahead through honest work and integrity. Families would save money only to have someone break in and steal it. A car would be purchased to get to work and get stolen. Sadly, he remarked how easy it was to descend into sin and the temptations of the community. “Within two minutes of leaving my front door, I could participate in any sin you could think of. Drugs, booze, women, men, anything. A person could ‘escape’ the challenges of life in sin as easy as they could tie their shoes.”

He also described how some individuals targeted him in the community and tried to derail his work by luring him into different filth. One woman offered herself to him every day for 6 months. One dealer left some of his product in his mailbox with a note. ‘This is the real way to heaven!’. He was threatened and cajoled to do anything but continue to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

“But God gave me a gift early on that gave me strength when the temptations came. The first month that we started, our neighbors had a little girl, about 8 years old that started to come over to our apartment. She would sit on the stairs by our front door and watch us. We would talk to her sometimes, but a lot of times she would just listen. One time, she said to my wife, “There is something different you two. You aren’t mad. You’re not mean. You don’t yell at all. You even smile a lot. Why are you so different?””

“That has stuck with me every day. She saw the Holy Spirit in us and a few days later, she committed her life to Christ. In a year, her whole family became believers. She could see the Spirit in us, and it changed her life. Why would I want to mess up that power by doing something foolish and sinful that everyone would see just as clearly?”

The Spirit equipped this missionary to stand against ungodliness for the glory of God.

“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.”

Paul is reminding Titus of the power that is open to believers through Jesus Christ. We notice that the power of the Spirit that Paul speaks of is two-fold.

First, the Spirit equips of to confront and reject sin in our lives. The power of the Spirit gives us discernment to notice those things that take us away from Jesus and repent of them to pursue his righteousness. We know that power when our conscience is pricked when we’re in a moment of temptation. When the image comes before us, the offer is made, the invitation is extended and the whisper of sin comes, we hear the warning of the Spirit. “You know what this is. You know where this goes. This does not lead you where you really want to go. Turn the other way!”

Second, the power of the Spirit empowers us to live differently than the world. We know this power when we choose kindness instead of anger. We see the power when we not only attend church but participate in the work of the kingdom. We know the Spirit’s power of transformation when we are led to love others including those that are hard to love. We experience the power of the Spirit when our lives look less like the world around us, and more like Jesus. 

The power of the Spirit transformed the work of this missionary in a place that desperately needs Jesus. Although each of our mission fields looks different than an urban apartment complex, our spaces have the same desperation for Christ.

May the Spirit equip us with the power to show those around us just how different and blessed it is to know a life of following Jesus.

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn his smile towards you and give you his peace.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

I love you all. Blessings.

Feel free to share this devotion with others.

To contact the author, please email: elgersma@therivercrc.com