This 5-day devotional draws directly from Josh Howerton's sermon “BEST OF: WORSHIP WITH US LIVE + HEAR A POWERFUL WORD - 2026-07-19” so you can keep engaging with the message all week. Read, reflect, and share it with your small group or friends.
You Were Made for More Than Belief Alone
Monday — Understanding the Truth
Have you ever felt like something was missing in your faith — like you believed all the right things but something deeper was still out of reach?
Today's Scripture "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." — Acts 2:38
Reflection There's a pattern in the New Testament that shows up again and again, and once you see it, you can't unsee it. It goes like this: believe, be baptized, be filled with the Spirit. Not just one of those things. All three.
Following Jesus was never meant to be a purely internal, private affair. From the very beginning, God designed the life of faith to move outward — into the water of baptism, and deeper still into the power of his Spirit. These aren't optional upgrades for the especially devoted. They're the normal life Jesus invites every one of his followers into.
Even Jesus himself followed this pattern. He was baptized in the Jordan River, and as he came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit descended on him. Everything Jesus did after that moment — every sermon, every healing, every act of grace — flowed from that empowering. If he needed it, so do we.
You were never meant to live the Christian life on your own strength. God has something more for you — not because you've earned it, but because he loves to give good gifts to his children.
Today's Step Take a moment to sit with this question: Of these three — believing, going public with your faith, and being filled with the Spirit — which one feels most unfinished in your own life right now?
A Closing Thought God isn't holding out on you. He's inviting you in — all the way in.
Going Public Takes Real Courage
Tuesday — When It's Hard
Most of us are pretty comfortable believing in Jesus privately. It's the going-public part that gets complicated.
Today's Scripture "Jesus replied, 'Let it be so now; it is proper for us to fulfill all righteousness.'" — Matthew 3:15
Reflection When Jesus stepped into John's baptism line, John tried to stop him. He knew who Jesus was — and it felt backwards, even embarrassing, for the Messiah to be standing in a line with sinners. But Jesus wasn't embarrassed. He said it was the right thing to do, and he did it anyway.
Most of us feel the pull in the opposite direction. We believe, but we hesitate to make it visible. Maybe we worry about what people will think — a coworker, a skeptical family member, someone we're trying to impress. Maybe we were baptized as a baby and the idea of doing it again feels awkward or like a criticism of our upbringing. Maybe we've just been putting it off, waiting for the moment to feel more perfect.
Here's the honest truth: that moment rarely arrives on its own. Courage usually comes after the step, not before it.
There's also something worth naming about the Holy Spirit. For many of us, the idea of asking God for more — for a fresh filling, for a deeper encounter with his presence — feels presumptuous, or strange, or like territory we're not sure we're allowed to enter. But God isn't waiting for you to be qualified. He's waiting for you to ask.
Today's Step What's one thing that's kept you from taking a step of faith you know God has been nudging you toward? Name it honestly — to yourself, or to God in a simple prayer.
A Closing Thought You don't have to have it all figured out. You just have to be willing to take one step forward.
Three Things You Can Actually Do This Week
Wednesday — Putting It Into Practice
Faith that stays entirely in your head has a hard time changing your life. But small, concrete steps have a way of opening up something much bigger.
Today's Scripture "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit." — Ephesians 5:18
Reflection Paul wrote this to people who were already Christians — people who already had the Holy Spirit living in them. And yet he told them to keep being filled. The tense in the original language is continuous: keep on being filled, again and again, as an ongoing way of life.
That means this isn't a one-time transaction. It's more like breathing — something you return to every day.
So what does that actually look like? Here are three honest, doable things to try this week.
First, if you've trusted Jesus but never been baptized, let this be the week you stop waiting. It doesn't have to be complicated — just take the next step and tell someone.
Second, pray a simple, open-handed prayer: God, if there's anything you have for me that I haven't received yet, I want it. Fill me with your Spirit. That's it. No special formula. Just sincerity.
Third, create a few minutes of quiet — in the car, before bed, over coffee — and ask the Spirit to speak. You might be surprised what you hear when you actually listen.
None of these steps require you to have everything figured out. They just require a little willingness.
Today's Step Choose one of these three steps and take it today — not next week, today. Write it down if it helps make it feel real.
A Closing Thought God responds to an open hand. You don't have to pry his gifts loose — just ask, and keep asking.
What Changes When the Spirit Shows Up
Thursday — What This Looks Like in Real Life
It's one thing to talk about being filled with the Spirit in theory. It's another to watch it actually change someone's life.
Today's Scripture "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." — Acts 1:8
Reflection Imagine someone who has been a Christian for years — faithful, sincere, trying hard — but quietly frustrated. They keep running into the same patterns, the same struggles, the same sense that something isn't quite connecting between what they believe and how they actually live.
Then one day, they stop performing and start asking. Not a polished prayer — just an honest, desperate one. God, if there's more, I want it. All of it. Don't let me miss anything you have for me.
And something shifts. Not all at once, not with fireworks. But over days and weeks, there's a freedom where there used to be a wall. There's a gentleness in conversations that used to turn into arguments. There's a quiet confidence that wasn't there before — not in themselves, but in the One walking with them.
This is what Acts 1:8 is pointing to. The Spirit doesn't just make you feel better. He makes you different — more free, more loving, more able to be a witness to the people right in front of you. Your family. Your coworkers. The people in your everyday life who are watching to see if this Jesus thing is real.
The power isn't for show. It's for living — and for loving people well.
Today's Step Think of one relationship in your life where you need something more than your own effort. Invite the Spirit into that specific situation today.
A Closing Thought The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you. That's not a small thing — it changes everything.
Don't Leave Any Gifts Unopened
Friday — Carrying It Forward
The week is almost over, but what you've been sitting with doesn't have to stay in this week.
Today's Scripture "If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" — Luke 11:13
Reflection There's a simple image that's worth carrying with you into the weekend: imagine walking into Christmas morning and leaving gifts unopened because you didn't think they were really meant for you.
That's what it looks like when we believe in Jesus but never ask for the fullness of what he's promised. The gift is real. It has your name on it. It's just sitting there.
This week, you've seen that God's design for every follower of Jesus includes three things — believing, going public through baptism, and being continually filled with his Spirit. Not as a checklist to complete, but as an ongoing life of openness and dependence on him.
You don't have to manufacture a dramatic experience. You don't have to speak a certain way or feel a certain thing. You just have to keep asking — honestly, persistently, with an open heart. Father, I want everything you have for me. Don't let me settle for less.
Take that posture into your weekend. Into your family, your work, your quiet moments. Let it become a habit — not just a one-week thought, but a way of living that keeps returning to the source.
The Spirit of the living God is not stingy. He is generous, and he is near.
Today's Step As you head into the weekend, pray this simple prayer: God, I don't want to miss anything you have for me. Fill me with your Spirit — today and every day.
A Closing Thought You were made to know Christ, to live free, and to carry that freedom into the world around you. The Spirit in you makes all of that possible.