The Holy Spirit Gives Us Power

Being able to drive is a big deal.

 

Most teenagers can hardly wait to drive. It means “freedom” and not having to depend on parents for transportation. You have the wherewithal to get to where you want to go.

 

Some of the best stories in my family folklore involve teenage driving. Driving is a big deal! In fact, it might be a rite of passage in our society.

 

We don’t let just anyone drive. Driving is a huge responsibility. One must be credentialed with a license first. Only then does one have the basic skills necessary for driving.

 

Today’s reading is Acts 1:1-8.

 

The resurrected Jesus is giving his apostles instructions before he goes back to heaven. The apostles still don’t understand what is happening. They think Jesus will return to set up an earthly kingdom, a kingdom that restores the military might and lavish grandeur Israel had a thousand years earlier under King David.

 

Rather, the apostles will be charter members of The Kingdom of Heaven, which is more lavish and more powerful than King David could ever imagine.  Membership has responsibilities and that requires certain power, powers the apostles did not yet have.

 

Jesus tells the apostles to do nothing until they receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gave the apostles (and us, too!) the power to carry out their responsibilities.

 

Like the apostles, we are to carry out the mission of the church. We are to spread the good news of Jesus to the ends of the earth, teaching new believers what it means to be Christian. Of course, we are to love all people, and that means to care for them.

 

It is the Holy Spirit that gives us the power to do these things.

 

Driving is a privilege with responsibilities. Our training gave us what we needed to drive.

 

Being a member of Christ’s Body is also a privilege with responsibilities.  The Holy Spirit gives us what we need to carry out our mission.

 

So ….

 

Go out into the world and drive home the fact that Jesus is King!

Come, Holy Spirit

Acts 1:4-5, 8 (NIV)  On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.  For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit...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."

It is interesting to note how Jesus refers the Holy Spirit as a gift from the Father. If we think about it, The Holy Spirit is an amazing gift we each received upon our baptism.  It is the Holy Spirit who convicts, guides, teaches and instills us with wisdom.  Once a person recognizes the Holy Spirit moving in their life it is humbling and yet so exciting.

The Holy Spirit is a big part of the Christian's life.  It took this Christian a long time to realize the power of the Holy Spirit; it also took me years to recognize the Spirit's movement. Now I watch for it every day, asks for it every morning.  Come, Holy Spirit.

I think part of the reason it took me so long to understand that the Holy Spirit was approachable and real goes back to my childhood when we referred to the Spirit as Holy Ghost. I know it is only a word, but that word coupled with my lack of Bible knowledge provided a barrier to understanding and recognition.

The Spirit's role in the Christian's life is on a level playing field as God and Jesus. I find myself praying to the Holy Spirit for wisdom as regularly as I call out to Jesus for forgiveness or surrender my will to God. The Book of Acts is filled with examples of the Holy Spirit's activity in the lives of the new Believers.  Come, Holy Spirit is a prayer to lift up daily.



Acts 1:1-8