March 22nd

Downpour

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Acts 1:8

Have you ever wondered why God gave you the Holy Spirit to live inside of you? There are a number of reasons, but let me tell you one that I think a lot of people forget. Listen closely; it might just be the most important one.

See, if you read our verse today, you see Jesus' promise regarding the Holy Spirit. You see that He promised that the Holy Spirit would bring the power of God's presence into our lives in the most intimate and personal way imaginable. But He also promised that there was a purpose to that power-that we would be empowered to be His witnesses throughout the whole world.

And we see that beginning to be fulfilled and confirmed even from the very moment that the Holy Spirit is first poured out on people, because as soon as those first disciples received the Holy Spirit, they all started speaking supernaturally in languages from various nations all around the world. All the people who hear them say, What is going on? We hear people speaking in our native languages the wonderful works of God!

Listen, this is not just God showing off; it is meant to show His heart for the whole world getting saved. The reason the Holy Spirit comes is because we can't accomplish the task Jesus has given us in our own strength. But God is showing us here what we can do together with Him. There are no limits to what we can do or where we can go; God can help us no matter what in bringing this world to a saving knowledge of His love.

So as I'm studying this, I'm just reminded that this is why we're here. This is what we're to be about. And then I start praying for my neighbors, If they don't know You, Lord, I pray they'd come to know You. I start praying for countries. I start praying for heads of state and leaders and different parts of the world.

Then I start asking myself questions like this: Am I holding back the Holy Spirit? Who's controlling whom? Am I controlling Him? Or is He controlling me? Who's following whom? Am I still living in the comfort zone of my own environment? Or am I living wherever He sends me?

I hope you know that the Holy Spirit lives in you. I hope even more that you know why He lives in you, and that you then live for His purposes in and through you.

Prayer Holy Spirit,

Thank You for living inside of me! Please lead me and guide me, use me however You desire to reach this world for You and lead people to Jesus!

Amen