Day 83 – Holy Spirit (Acts)

The Holy Spirit didn’t just show up one day after Jesus was gone.  There are lots of examples of the Spirit coming and working in the lives of God’s people in the Old Testament, but He seemed reserved for special tasks in hand-chosen people.  After Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, the Holy Spirit was available to all people (Jews and Gentiles) after salvation.  Peter preached, “Repent and be baptized everyone 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)

If we have Jesus, why do we need the Holy Spirit?  The Holy Spirit serves many purposes in our lives.  He reminds us of Jesus’ commands (1:2), empowers us to be witnesses (1:8, 4:8), gives us boldness to share the good news (5:29-31), comforts us (9:31), provides guidance about our actions and decisions (10:20, 11:12, 15:28, 16:6, 19:21), sends us to do God’s projects (13:2-3), helps us to recognize sin (13:9-10), and prepares us for difficult life circumstances (20:22-23).  My question was silly, wasn’t it?  Even with Jesus and the Holy Spirit, I still manage to sin every day.

As you know, I fear the hospital, blood, IVs, needles etc., so I was surprised when a friend asked me if I would be willing to do a “ministry” visit (this was a few years ago before Edward booked us regular accommodations there).  My mouth said, “Yes!” before my head even had a chance to form my real answer, “No, way!  Are you kidding me?!?!”  Before I could try to retract my “Yes”, the Holy Spirit played the scene for me.  I saw myself standing alongside the hospital bed sharing basic Bible verses and the path to salvation.  In the scene, the patient accepted Christ, and I prayed with him.  Then a peace swept over me, and I was no longer afraid to go.  Indeed, the visit happened just as I’d seen it.  The patient died two months later, never having left the hospital.  Edward and I count knowing him as our blessing rather than his.

Unfortunately, there are many, many more times when I squelched the Holy Spirit prompting instead of seizing an opportunity.  Fear of rejection, embarrassment, and lack of confidence are the culprits that persuade me to stay in my comfort zone.  The liar (Satan) that we talked about two days ago loves to use these devices against me…quite successfully, I might add.  Maybe you know him, too.

Today’s prayer:

Lord, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit!  Help me to be sensitive to His guidance for me and responsive to His convictions of me.  I pray for protection from Satan’s lies and influence.  I ask that such protection be extended to my friends and family who are also under attack.  Amen

Add a comment August 12, 2010