Goodbook messages
arrive every Tuesday and Friday with a Scripture reading and ideas for how to
apply the reading in our lives. We are reading through the book of Acts. For
additional Scripture reading, you can follow the Advanced Track.5 On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
Application:
This is the conclusion of a scene that started with Paul asking the Ephesians if they received the Holy Spirit. They had not. They were baptized in the name of Jesus and the Holy Spirit came on them. There was a noticeable difference in these believers when God's Spirit came on them. They were moved to speak the Good News of God in their own languages and other languages.
Dramatic stories like this might cause believers today to wonder if they have God's Spirit. If we do not experience any immediate changes or feel any fantastic moving, we might doubt that we have the Spirit. We might question whether or not we have God's Spirit.
If you have believed in Jesus and been baptized in his name, then rest assured. You have God's Spirit. One of the amazing promises of God is that when we believe and are baptized, God's Holy Spirit comes on us. The Spirit of the Living God comes to live in us. So you don't need to wonder whether or not you have the Spirit. In fact, that is not the most important question.
A much more significant question is: Does the Holy Spirit have me? Am I fully surrendered to the movement of God's Spirit in my life? Does the Spirit have my mouth? Am I open to speaking about God to others in my own language and possibly others? Does the Spirit have my hands? Am I willing to use my hands in a way that glorifies God and builds God's kingdom? Does the Spirit have my feet? Am I willing to go wherever God's Spirit leads? Does the Spirit have my mind? Are my thoughts focused on God? Does the Spirit have my time? Is my schedule open to the agenda and priorities of God? Does the Spirit have my resources (more accurately: God's resources I am blessed to share in)? Am I willing to bring ten percent of my income to God's house as God asks and share above and beyond that for God's purposes? So … Does the Spirit have you? All of you? The more we surrender our lives to the Spirit, the more the Spirit can move in and through us with divine power.
1) Ask God to reveal any area of your life that you have not surrendered
2) Let the Spirit have that area - to lead and to use and to move with divine power
3) Share your stories of what the Spirit does
Share your comments and application ideas…
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