Sorry I haven’t posted yet this week. Clearly, I’ve been running a little behind but hopefully, you guys are staying on track in your reading. This week, we move into the book of Acts, where we will camp out in our church-wide bible reading for the next three weeks. For those who are just joining us on this journey, my posts are not intended to be in-depth studies on the passage but some devotional thoughts that I gained in my own personal reading. With that introduction, let’s get started in Acts 1.
Acts 1:8 – But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you… The disciples had a job to do, but they were specifically told to wait in Jerusalem until the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told them they would be empowered to be his witnesses by the Spirit, first in Jerusalem and then working outward, ultimately extending to the end of the earth. As I thought about Jesus’ instructions here, I realized that many times, we may know what to do, we may desire to do it, and we may even thing we are able to do it, but if we try to accomplish the task in our own strength without seeking and depending upon the Holy Spirit, our work will not be blessed by God and ultimately we will fail. We need to develop a greater dependence on the Lord. We shouldn’t be afraid of the Holy Spirit and we certainly don’t want to quench or resist him. May God cause each of us to rely upon him for strength in living and ministering.