BIBLE PASSAGE:
Peter replied, “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)
MEDITATION:
As many of you know, since 2013 I have been distributing
devotionals that I believe the Lord has created. As of today,
He has sent me over 2000 devotionals and they are stored in
my Blog (utvolwoody.wordpress.com) for reference.
Note:
I am adding 2-3 per week as He provides.
Recently, the Lord has convicted me that all of us need to hear
about, and incorporate His gift of the Holy Spirit into our lives.
After listening to some commentaries on the Holy Spirit, God has
channeled through others, He has given me several devotionals to
encourage us all to “connect” with the Holy Spirit.
I will be distributing these devotionals over the next couple of weeks.
Hopefully you will enjoy them and they will have a positive impact
on your life. With the Holy Spirit in charge, we can have an incredible
hope for tomorrow and a new purpose for living that makes sense and
has an eternal promise.
When we are saved, the Holy Spirit is made available to us. It is
up to us to decide what we will do with His presence. Will we
invite Him to fill us completely? If not, then we are in danger
of something else filling us.
(for instance, some people are described as ‘filled with anger’)
When we are filled with the Spirit, things happen! We see the results
in scripture and we an experience changes in our own lives. Here are
some examples from God’s Word:
God told Moses that He filled Bezalel with the Spirit and he would
have the ability to make artistic designs and other crafts.
and I have filled him with the Spirit of God,
with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge
and with all kinds of skills— (Exodus 31:3)
Moses tells the people that God filled Bezalel with the Spirit.
and he has filled him with the Spirit of God,
with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge
and with all kinds of skills—(Exodus 35:31)
The people obeyed the Lord.
Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit
of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on
him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what
the Lord had commanded Moses. (Deuteronomy 34:9)
Haman was filled with rage and not the Spirit.
Haman went out that day happy and in high spirits.
But when he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate and
observed that he neither rose nor showed fear in his
presence, he was filled with rage against Mordecai.
(Esther 5:9)
Micah became bold enough to tell Jacob of his transgression.
But as for me, I am filled with power,
with the Spirit of the Lord, and with
justice and might, to declare to Jacob
his transgression, to Israel his sin.
(Micah 3:8)
God had a purpose for John the Baptist (and John fulfilled
that purpose).
for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.
He is never to take wine or other fermented
drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit
even before he is born. (Luke 1:15)
Mary became the earthly mother of Jesus.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth
was filled with the Holy Spirit. (Luke 1:41)
Zechariah prophesied.
His father Zechariah was filled with
the Holy Spirit and prophesied: (Luke 1:67)
People spoke in other tongues.
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in other tongues as the
Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:4)
Peter spoke out boldly against the rulers and elders for
mistreating and jailing Peter and John. He also praised
the Lord for the miracle He performed through them.
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit,
said to them: “Rulers and elders of the
people! (Acts 4:8)
People spoke boldly about God.
After they prayed, the place where they
were meeting was shaken. And they were
all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke
the word of God boldly. (Acts 4:31)
Paul regained his sight and was filled with the Spirit for a purpose.
Then Ananias went to the house and entered it.
Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother
Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you
on the road as you were coming here—has
sent me so that you may see again and be
filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 9:17)
Paul spoke boldly and confidently against the sorcerer, Elymas.
Then Saul, who was also called Paul,
filled with the Holy Spirit, looked
straight at Elymas and said, (Acts 13:9)
The disciples discovered a new joy.
And the disciples were filled with joy
and with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 13:52)
We are encouraged to allow the Spirit to fill us completely.
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads
to debauchery. Instead, be filled with
the Spirit, (Ephesians 5:18)
When we are filled with the Spirit, evidence of our being
filled spills over in the fruit of the Spirit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control. Against such things
there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus
have crucified the flesh with its passions and
desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep
in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited,
provoking and envying each other. (Galatians 5:22-26)
ACTION:
Realize that the Holy Spirit is available to you if you are
a follower of Jesus. Make a decision today of what you
will do with God’s free gift to you. Submit your leadership
to the Holy Spirit and allow His presence to change your
life now and forever.
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, I pray that through Your devotionals,
You will motivate and inspire me to invite the Holy Spirit
into my life and allow Him to assume the leadership of my
thoughts and actions. I look forward to Your messages to
everyone, but especially to me. My desire is to become
‘connected’ or ‘more connected’ to You and Your kingdom
so that one day I will be able to sit at Your table in Heaven.”
BLOG: utvolwoody.wordpress.com
Would you like to read more about the Holy Spirit? If so,
then go to my Blog (listed above) and type Holy Spirit in
the Search field. I have a 25-part series of devotionals
dedicated to the Holy Spirit:
LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT
BREAD FOR BELIEVERS 
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