Tag: Holy Spirit
Sunday rest and reflection–Pentecost!
Greetings in the Wonderful Name of Jesus Christ! Today is Pentecost Sunday and a time to celebrate the precious gift of the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and is the personal gift of the Father who was sent to dwell in followers of Jesus Christ. (Luke 24:49) Jesus told His followers to wait for this promise and that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them. (Acts1:8) This power would be a divine enablement to be witnesses for the Lord. God’s command was for these believers to go into all the world and preach the Gospel message with signs that would follow! (Mark 16:15-20)
On the day of Pentecost, 120 believers were gathered in a room of the temple praying and waiting on the Lord when suddenly the room was filled with the sound of a rushing wind. Visible tongues of fire descended on this company and they all began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1-4) These believers went out into the temple area and caused quite a stir among those Jews gathered from around the world for the Feast of Pentecost. Each one heard them glorifying God in their own language! (Acts 2:8-10) What a miracle! Peter preached that day and many came under conviction through the power of the Holy Spirit! (Acts 2:37) They were told to be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit! (Acts 2:38-41) Three thousand were baptized and added to the church that day!
Today, nearly 2000 years later, God is still empowering believers to be witnesses for Him. He is still pouring out His Spirit on all flesh. He is still sending His Church to be witnesses to the nations. He is still baptizing people in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues! He is still confirming His Word with supernatural signs! God shows no partiality and wants all to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth! (1st Timothy 2:3-4) If you are not filled with the Holy Spirit, why not pray and ask the Jesus to baptize you with power to be His witness? You can become even more effective as a witness with power! God bless you this Pentecost Sunday! May you be filled with power again and again. (Ephesians 5:18-21)
Pastor John
Sunday rest and reflection–Resurrection Sunday!
As we rest today and reflect on the reading of the past week, we can’t help but remember what a special day this is! This day is a day that has forever changed history in a number of ways! First, the calendar went from “BC” to “AD” marking a turning point for all mankind. Secondly, Jesus Christ so loved us and all of mankind made in God’s image, that He willingly gave his life for us. He took our sins in His own body on the cross and became a curse for us in order to remove from us the curse of sin (Galatians 3:13-14) and it’s resulting penalty, death. (Revelation 1:17-18) His last words, “it is finished”, (John 19:30) marked the end of all that was necessary for us to have the gift of the Father, the Holy Spirit. (John 14:25-26) The Holy Spirit marks us with an invisible mark telling the Father that we are now His. (Ephesians 1:13-14)
Christ was buried in a tomb and it was sealed over and guarded by tough Roman soldiers. (Matthew 27:65-66) Early in the morning on the first day of the week, however, the stone was rolled away and the tomb was empty! The women coming to embalm the body heard the glorious and puzzling angelic announcement: “He’s not here; he has risen just as he said. Come see the place where he lay. Go quickly and tell his disciples: He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see him. Now I have told you.” (Matthew 28:6-7) Jesus was alive and showed himself to those who were close to him. Eyewitnesses touched, handled, and examined his resurrected body. Over 500 saw him at one time. (1st Corinthians 15:3-6)
Jesus is alive today! He is seated at God the Father’s right hand. He is waiting for all his enemies to be made a footstool for his feet. (Hebrews 10:12-13) He is waiting for the command of the Father to come back again for those who are His! All who are ready and watching for His return will be taken to be with Him forever! (Matthew 24:42-44) Those who have died in faith will rise first and we who remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we will always be with the Lord! Comfort one another with these words! (1st Thessalonians 4:11-18) Now that will be a “resurrection day” for us all to prepare for! Jesus is alive and coming soon!
He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen, Come, Lord Jesus. Revelation 22:20
“The fatal folly of fermented drink”
Scripture reading for February 4th: Leviticus 8-10
Preacher’s kids are sometimes a mess! (Not mine of course!) In today’s reading the sons of Aaron and nephews of Moses committed a “deadly” sin! They had experienced the miraculous deliverance of the plagues and seen God act in power at the Red Sea when the Egyptian army was drowned. They had witnessed the miraculous events of the journey, eaten the “manna” and heard God’s voice on the mountain. They were dressed, instructed, and anointed for ministry along with their father and other brothers. They were sprinkled with the blood of sacrifice. (Leviticus 8) You would think that they knew enough to take seriously God’s power and presence! But sometimes, those in ministry or close to it, become complacent. Worse yet, they behaved disrespectfully towards God in front of others who were looking to them for spiritual leadership!
Nadab and Abihu had witnessed Moses and Aaron going into the Tent of Meeting and the visible Glory of the Lord appearing to the people. (Leviticus 9:23-24.) Fire came from the Lord and consumed the sacrifice. All the people shouted for joy and fell face down. Evidently, Nadab and Abihu were fascinated with the Tent of Meeting. They decided to go in there themselves and experience God. They took “strange” fire with them and God took their lives right on the spot. Why, you ask? Wasn’t this a sin of “unintentional” ignorance? What was this “strange” fire?
It appears that these boys might have been drunk. In Leviticus 10:8-11, Aaron warns his other sons not to drink wine or any other fermented drink when they went into the Tent of Meeting! Paul the Apostle also gives the same warning to believers: “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery, instead be filled with the Spirit.” (Ephesians 5:18) God is not mocked and holds those with more responsibility accountable for their conduct! We must be wise and respectful in our handling of the “holy things” and when approaching God in worship! We can bring judgment on ourselves! (1st Corinthians 11:27-34) In Corinth, some were sick and others died because of improper conduct during the Lord’s supper!
Alcohol is not for those in the church! Alcohol has caused many to stumble and has destroyed many families and believer’s testimonies. We have the Holy Spirit and He lives in us! We are responsible to God for our witness and behavior before our family, believers and a lost world! Please meditate on these Scriptures today and allow the Lord to lead you in your conduct and worship! Confess and repent quickly! God doesn’t want you to die! (2nd Peter 3:9)