Power of the Holy Spirit

Power of the Holy Spirit

 “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”  Acts 1:8, NKJV

Remember the followers’ fear at the crucifixion? They ran. Scared as cats in a dog pound . . .

But fast-forward forty days . . . Peter is preaching in the very precinct where Christ was arrested. Followers of Christ defy the enemies of Christ . . . As bold after the Resurrection as they were cowardly before it.

Explanation? A resurrected Christ and his Holy Spirit. The courage of these men and women was forged in the fire of the empty tomb.

Present Tense

 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”  Hebrews 13:8 NLT

The present-tense Christ. He never says, “I was.” We do. We do because “we were.” We were younger, faster, prettier. Prone to be people of the past tense, we reminisce. Not God. Unwavering in strength, he need never say, “I was.” Heaven has no rear view mirrors . . .

Can God be more God? No. He does not change. He is the “I am” God. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

We Row

 “He went into the hills to pray.”  Mark 6:46

What does Jesus do while we are in the storm? You’ll love this. He prays for us . . .

So where does that leave us? While Jesus is praying and we are in the storm, what are we to do? Simple. We do what the disciples did. We row . . .

Much of life is spent rowing . . . Getting out of bed. Fixing lunches . . . More struggle than strut.

Uncommon Use

 “He gives grace to the humble.”  James 4:6

Heaven may have a shrine to honor God’s uncommon use of the common.

It’s a place you won’t want to miss. Stroll through and see Rahab’s rope, Paul’s bucket, David’s sling, and Samson’s jawbone. Wrap your hand around the staff that split the sea and smote the rock. Sniff the ointment that soothed Jesus’ skin and lifted his heart . . .

I don’t know if these items will be there. But I am sure of one thing—the people who used them will.

By Max Lucado