Daily Devotional: Friday, March 19
Speaker: Ben Sigman
Theme: The Holy Spirit
Weekend Music links on iTunes: Not to Us by Chris Tomlin; No Not Oneby Christy Nockels; Love Came Downby Ben Cantelon; Til I See Youby Hillsong.
Read: Acts 1:8, Acts 2: 1-7
Side Note:As we finish up our week of devotionals on the Holy Spirit, a great way to encounter and be filled anew with the Spirit is through worship---and tonight is the Timberlake Worship Night at 7pm!!! During these times of dedicated worship, God seems to pour out His Spirit in an extra special way. If you can be there I know you'll love it!
Think: Have you ever felt pressure to perform well at something you weren't feeling very confident about? Remember being 16 and taking the driver test? Remember final exams and public speaking class? What about starting a new job or bringing home your first baby? There's an element of insecurity that we all feel when we are asked to do something that we don't have a lot of experience doing.
Jesus was eating dinner with His disciples one evening before He ascended into heaven. He was giving them important instructions on the next step of their spiritual journey. They were tasked with taking the Good News of Christ to the world. If you are like me, taking Jesus to a friend is sometimes an intimidating task, let alone the world. Jesus told them, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth," (Acts 1:8).
The Holy Spirit gives us power to be Christ's witnesses. Sometimes this is by telling others about Him, and sometimes this is just living out our lives among people who need Christ- most the time, it is a combination of both. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would empower us to be a light and a witness to the world around us. Any intimidation or fear we have is our own flesh worrying what others may think, or obsessing on some negative outcome. Let God take care of the outcome, and just accept the task set before you. You play a very important role in being Christ's representatives on earth- setting things right, showing love and justice, acting with grace and not revenge, pointing people to Jesus.
When the disciples were baptized with the Holy Spirit, they were empowered to do supernatural things- things that they couldn't do on their own accord. Peter didn't exactly have a gift of oratory persuasiveness- remember he couldn't persuade a servant girl that he wasn't Jesus' follower. But as you read on in Acts 2, you'll find that he drew a crowd of thousands and saw 3,000 put their faith in Jesus and be saved.
We can experience the supernatural moving of the Holy Spirit in our lives too. We can wait on His direction, and accept the power of the Holy Spirit to be Christ's witnesses to the world around us.
Do: Write down how you think the Lord wants you to be a witness in the world. How can you be a light in the darkness and point people toward Jesus? Ask God to reveal specific names of people that need to meet Christ in a powerful way.
Pray: Jesus, I want other people to experience the life change that I have experienced. I want to be able to share my faith in You in a meaningful way with the people you have put in my sphere of influence. Holy Spirit, empower me with strength, understanding and opportunity to be a light in the darkness. Amen.
The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church. |
