“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)
It was on Pentecost, the promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit with power came, and then everything changed! The apostles were given boldness to communicate the gospel. The staying power, however, was not because the people heard the gospel preached in their own language and dialect, or that they witnessed the supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit’s presence, but rather the Holy Spirit’s power of convicting and converting that led people to repentance and putting their faith in Jesus. The words of God pierced their hearts and lives were changed. Only the Holy Spirit can bring transformation in people’s lives; the power to change and become all that God wants us to be. Today, the Holy Spirit continues to work in and through us. He wants us to be His witnesses to the world. God says the feet of those who bring good news are beautiful. What a privilege it is to share God’s good news of redemption, salvation, and peace to others. We know that it is God’s heart that no one perishes. Thus, we have been entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation and the Apostle Paul defended the mission outreach of the church. Violence, deceit, greed, injustice, self-destructive behaviors continue to be ever so rampant in today’s society. But, the true problem behind the ills of society is intentional rebellion against our God. The worship of physical idols abounds as our veneration of movie stars, professional athletes, high-achieving co-workers, or through our idolization of professions, possessions, or people. “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13). We can be God’s instruments in delivering individuals from eternal destruction and bring them to the saving knowledge of our Lord even as we seek to understand the heart of God. Jesus gave His life to save us. He sacrificed Himself to pay for our sins and set us free from judgment and death. This sacrifice is so overwhelming that we owe it to everyone to make sure they hear of God’s redeeming love. Regardless of our salvation experience, the truth remains: “For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves” (Col. 1:13). Because we have been redeemed, we should “love to tell others the story of Jesus and His love” near and far. My dear brothers and sisters, can we, like Peter, boldly say to our Lord, “You are the Messiah” (Mk 8:29b), “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God?” (Mt 16:16) If so, God is also calling you to take part in making this truth known. When He calls, will you say, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isa 6:8). Comments are closed.
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