Good morning friends! It is a bit on the cool side this morning - low 50s - but a beautiful day ahead - sunny and 72 - inside should be sunny as well - as we have the sunshine of the Holy Spirit abiding in our hearts. Have a splendid day today in His presence! Excerpts from Psalm 16 - Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust. O my soul, you have said to the Lord, “You are my Lord, my goodness is nothing apart from You.” As for the saints who are on the earth, “They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.” O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good inheritance. Lord, we thank you for your goodness - our goodness is as filthy rags in your sight. We thank you for your faithfulness, even when we are not faithful. We thank you for your mercy, as we deserve death. We thank you for your great love, for we are not easily loved. You shower us with your grace, which we do not deserve. We bow before you in amazement at how much you love us, and that you have sent Jesus to die for our sins - we kneel at the foot of the cross in wonder and awe - we worship you. Thank you for ever loving us. We want to respond to your love by getting to know you better, and spending time with you this day. We love you, and see our great need of you. We want to love you more, trust you more, obey you more. Our hearts delight to make you happy. Let the words of our mouth and the meditation of our heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. AMEN! Acts 2: 5-13 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.” We read that there were dwelling in Jerusalem devout men from every nation under heaven. What was going on? Why were so many devout men coming together? It was the celebration of the wheat harvest in spring, and was often called, the Feast of Harvest or the Feast of Weeks. It was 50 days from the Feast of the Firstfruits - the beginning of the barley harvest. It was counted from the day after the Sabbath of the Passover. It was the day also celebrated the giving of the law to Moses, and the birth of Israel as a nation. On the day of Pentecost in the New Testament, God wrote the laws on their hearts and in their minds, and made His abode in their hearts. It was the birth of the new Israel - those who believed in the death and resurrection of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Jewish people came from all over the current world for this feast, and spoke all these different languages from where they were living. It was a huge celebration - the shops were closed - school was out. It was a time of great celebration and rejoicing for what God had done, and thanks for the firstfruits of the harvest of wheat. So all these people were gathered together in Jerusalem to have this wonderful celebration. They all began to hear the gospel preached to them in their own languages, as the Holy Spirit spoke over the mouths of the 120 in tongues. They were all amazed at what was happening, that these uneducated Galileans were speaking in all these foreign languages, and preaching Jesus crucified, buried and resurrected. They did not know what to make of this phenomenon. Some even mocked them, and thought they were all drunk so early in the morning, filled with new wine. But they were not filled with new wine, they were filled mightily by the Holy Spirit. This is what Jesus had told them about. Jesus had said that John had baptized them in water, but that He would baptize them with the Holy Ghost and fire. This is exactly what happened, and they were all changed and transformed. The Holy Spirit got a hold of every single one of them, and now they spoke with boldness for Jesus. The law was now written on their hearts, and the Holy Spirit made his abode in their hearts. We all need to be immersed in the Holy Spirit, just like these 120 were. We cannot live this Christian life in our own flesh, by trying to do the right thing, by our own wills. We will fail miserably, and become a stench to God. But when He fills us to overflowing with His Holy Spirit, we are transformed - we are changed - now we want only Jesus, and for Him to rule and reign, be king, of our hearts and lives. We give up control to Him, and He fills us with Himself, so out of us flows rivers of living water. The Holy Spirit makes Jesus so real to us. We treasure His presence, and cannot live outside His presence. We feel like a fish out of water. He creates a greater hunger and thirst to know Jesus better. We become witnesses for Him, and cannot help but share the great love of God with those around us. Let us ask to be filled anew each day with the precious Holy Spirit - He will abundantly answer - He will come an make His abode or home in our hearts. Walk with the King today, and be a blessing! I leave you with the hymn, Spirit of God Descend Upon My Heart. Spirit of God, descend upon my heart; wean it from earth; through all its pulses move; stoop to my weakness, mighty as thou art, and make me love thee as I ought to love. I ask no dream, no prophet ecstasies, no sudden rending of the veil of clay, no angel visitant, no opening skies; but take the dimness of my soul away. Has thou not bid me love thee, God and King? All, all thine own, soul, heart and strength and mind. I see thy cross; there teach my heart to cling. O let me seek thee, and O let me find. Teach me to feel that thou art always nigh; teach me the struggles of the soul to bear. To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh, teach me the patience of unanswered prayer. Teach me to love thee as thine angels love, one holy passion filling all my frame; the kindling of the heaven-descended Dove, my heart an altar, and thy love the flame.
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 10:27:10 +0000
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