The Gift

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE GIFT

Acts 2:37-41

37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" 38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call." 40 With many other words, he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

NIV

When they heard about Jesus, the people were cut to the heart. That is the clue of the whole gospel. There is a difference between saying or even believing we are Christians and being cut to the heart. We wonder if it is just that one day when we repented, changed our mind, as the Greek word Metanoeoo means. Once, we did not think of Jesus as Lord and Savior, but when we were cut to the heart, we changed how we thought about him, and all we wanted to do was follow him. Peter told them to repent and be baptized, which is in line with what Jesus did. That would give us the clue that all new believers should be baptized. It is not that baptism saved them from their sins, for Jesus has accomplished the forgiveness of our sins. But baptism is following Jesus. Receiving the Holy Spirit is also following Jesus, as when John the Baptist baptized Jesus, the Spirit descended upon him. We cannot make that a hard-and-fast rule about the Holy Spirit descending upon us at the moment of baptism, as we also know the Spirit came as a mighty rushing wind, and what appeared as fire rested on each of the heads of all those in the upper room. We believe all the disciples were baptized at some time as they walked with Jesus. We know that the apostles, or disciples, baptized people who came to believe in Jesus. It is the way of life for all new believers. However, there is also power that comes upon us when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit. We know from the next verses that the Apostles did many signs and wonders, as they were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. How can we believe that we would not have power if we are baptized or filled with the Spirit? Have we quenched the Spirit and therefore live as a disabled Christian? Just as our salvation is a gift from God, so is the Holy Spirit. Because the Spirit comes from God and dwells within us, we believe we should have an untold amount of power, even with signs and wonders. It is the most wonderful truth in our lives that in the name of Jesus Christ, our sins have been forgiven, and we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

The Throne

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE THRONE

Acts 2:29-36

29 "Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,

"'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand 35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." '   

36 "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

NIV

Peter makes it clear that all men are like David; we die and are buried, or at least our bodies are. Christ, or the Messiah, died on the cross, or at least his earthly body did. Jesus gave up his spirit, leaving his body that he came in the form of a man, hanging there without life to be taken down and buried. Peter also makes it clear that God raised Jesus from the grave, for his body did not see decay, and all the disciples are witnesses to the fact that Jesus is alive and is sitting at the right hand of God. This brings us to the idea that has floated around for centuries. If God has a right hand, then he must be in some form like the man he created. Michelangelo’s painting in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican conveys the idea that God’s finger touched Adam's, giving the man life; therefore, God was portrayed as a physical, older, gray-haired man.  However, we also know that to be seated at the right hand of a king is the place of honor, and Jesus has been given the place of honor with the Father. We know that God is Spirit and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth. There is some question about the form of Jesus as he ascended in his physical form, although he was in a glorified state. What we can be assured of and have complete confidence in is that although we die, we will live. When this body comes to its end, we will leave it behind to ascend into the presence of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. We will be in spirit, just as Jesus was when he left his body on that cross. Yet his body was raised from the dead, just as ours will be, and somehow we will be reunited with it, just as Jesus was. Our bodies will be in that glorified state, just as Jesus was, and we will live in the new city of Jerusalem with Jesus for all eternity. This is the truth that Peter expressed when he called Jesus both Lord and Christ. Jesus has saved us from our sins and freed us from death, giving us life and life abundantly. Peter said that Jesus sits on the throne of David, as it was promised. Once, we might have thought we sat on our own throne, being in charge of our own lives, but we have abdicated, making Jesus our King, our Lord, and now he sits on the throne over our lives. He is high and lifted up on his throne. 

Joy Unspeakable

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

Acts 2:25-28

JOY UNSPEAKABLE

25 David said about him:

"'I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, 27 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.'  

NIV

Although we considered what Peter quoted from David and looked at us as being the holy ones of God, even if Peter was talking about Jesus being the Holy One. There is something else in this Psalm of David that strikes a chord in our hearts. First, the Lord does show us, or makes known to us, the paths of our lives. The problem could be that we are not listening or are unwilling to follow the path he has laid out before us. Do we want to travel our own paths? We know those who refuse to accept Jesus surely travel their own paths down that wide road that leads to hell. However, we have confessed that Jesus is our Lord and Savior and submitted our wills to the will of the Father. That would mean we should not be making our own way in life, but rather watching and listening so we will know the path he has for us. He will make known our path, both the one we walk in the worldly sense and the calling of our walk of faith. This walk of faith would be both in the world and in the church. It is who we are, holy ones who belong to the Lord; our lives do not belong to ourselves. Because of who we are, the second truth appears directly to our hearts. When we walk the path the Lord has laid out for us, he fills us with the joy of his presence. Can there even be any joy if we are not filled with his presence? Do we try to make ourselves happy with the material goods of this world? But stuff can be temporary; we can obtain it, but we can just as easily lose it. The purpose of our lives is not to obtain stuff, but to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and He will make sure we have enough, which is not the reason we seek him first. When we walk with the Lord, listening to his plans and his path for us, and following them, we will be filled with the joy of his presence. This is true joy, which far surpasses happiness. The word that David used in the Psalm means pleasure, that is, we will know the pleasure of his presence. In a small way, it is like the pleasure we experience when we are in the presence of the one we love, our spouse. But being in the presence of our Lord, enjoying His presence in our lives, fills us with a joy that cannot be contained and measured. It is joy unspeakable and full of glory. Although those are the words of a hymn, they are from one of Peter's letters to the church. Joy unspeakable and full of  glory because we are in His presence.  

Holy Ones of God

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

HOLY ONES OF GOD

Acts 2:22-28

22 "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him:

"'I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, 27 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.'  

NIV

Listen to this, listen to me now, I have something very important, it is a matter of life and death. peter made sure he had the people's full attention because he was going to talk about Jesus, whom he knew was the Son of the Living God. Peter had been with Jesus and had seen the miracles, wonders, and signs that God performed through him. Peter also made it clear that it was the express purpose of God for Jesus to be arrested, handed over to the Romans, and crucified. We understand these words of Peter indicate that the people helped put Jesus to death by nailing him to the cross. Yet, we cannot help but think that Jesus was not killed by men, but went to the cross willingly, suffering the physical pain on purpose, and gave himself up for our lives. However, the greatest hope is in the fact that death could not hold Jesus, as God raised him from the dead. Jesus is the Holy One that David wrote about in the Psalm that Peter quoted. Jesus was not abandoned to the grave, and because Jesus was, or is, the first of the resurrection, we too will not be abandoned to the grave. Jesus promised those who follow him that even if we die, we will live. That is another aspect of following Jesus that we do not talk about as often as we should. We spend time considering how we follow Jesus in our daily lives, learning from Him, and trying to live up to the command to love our Lord God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths, and to love others as we love ourselves. We try not to do certain things, lists we think are good to avoid, and try to do the good things, good deeds, serving God, as we try to follow Jesus. But we also follow Jesus to the grave, and follow him in the resurrection. The difference is that this part of following Jesus has nothing to do with our abilities, talents, or choice to follow. Our bodies will simply give up, at some point, without our choice in the matter. Death is because of sin, but through the power of God, we will be resurrected from the grave, for it is impossible for death to hold on to us. Jesus was the Holy One, but we have been told that because we are in Jesus, we are holy and pleasing in the sight of God, so in that sense, we are the holy people or holy ones of God. We should live as his holy ones. 

The Outpouring

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE OUTPOURING

Acts 2:16-21

6 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17” ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’  

NIV

This is the beginning of Peter’s greatest sermon, and he starts with what most Jews, regardless of where they live, would know: a prophet’s words. Joel spoke about the last days, but we know that, when he preached this sermon, it was not the literal last days. However, it could be argued that, after the ascension of Jesus and the sending of the Holy Spirit, the last days have begun, at least compared to all the days since creation. Because we are referred to as young earthers, or because we believe according to biblical timelines, the creation happened about 4,000 years before Jesus came to earth. Now we are about 2,000 years after Jesus walked among us. If we used, and that is, “if” the 6 days of creation and the 7th day of rest as a clue, then we could say that we are now living in the 7th day, which would be the last days. However, in the context of what Peter said, the last days began when the Spirit was poured out on all people. That is another clue we need to take special note of: the Spirit has been poured out, and we are part of all people; therefore, the Spirit has been poured out upon us. This would also mean that we may well prophesy. We know that it is one of the gifts of the Spirit in the group of the speaking gifts, tongues, interpretation, and prophecy. Peter is also speaking about what is referred to as the last days, as in the time of the tribulation spoken of in the Revelation given to John. But the point is that the prophet Joel made it clear that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. That is the point Peter is making very clearly in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost. There is no other way, nothing that will save a person from the impending disaster coming upon the earth that Joel spoke about. We have called upon the name of the Lord. We have called upon Jesus, accepting him as our Lord and Savior. We pray to the Father in the name of Jesus. He has given us the authority to use His name, and the calling to declare his name above all names and that Jesus is the Son of God. It is only through Jesus we are saved, and it can never be Jesus plus anything, but only Jesus. Our salvation is not dependent on anything we could ever do, other than having faith in Jesus, and even our faith is a gift of God. That truth is told to us in the letter Paul wrote to the Romans, when he said that God has given each man a measure of faith. This is another of those clues we need to note. We should never think more highly of ourselves than we should, but in accordance with the measure of faith God has given us. Nothing in and of ourselves can save us, but by the faith God has measured out to us, we can believe in the work of Jesus for our salvation. We could not even have faith if God had not measured it out to us. We praise His Holy Name! We are grateful beyond what we can even measure because Jesus saved us from our sins. Because of the outpouring of the Spirit upon us, we can know Jesus. Thank your Lord for the outpouring. 

The Incredible Change

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE INCREDIBLE CHANGE 

Acts 2:5-16

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs — we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?" 13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine." 14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

NIV

This was the first time anything like this miracle or gift of the Holy Spirit happened as a result of people being baptized with the Holy Spirit. For them to speak in all those different languages was evidence of the baptism of the Spirit. This is not to be confused with what some today believe: speaking in tongues, when they speak words they do not understand. This event in Jerusalem specifies which language the disciples were speaking: 15 languages that people in those regions understood because they were their native tongues. We also see something exceptional happening in Peter's life. Peter has already had numerous exceptional moments during his time with Jesus. He was the one who answered Jesus' question, "Who do you say I am?" with, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Jesus also rebuked him later, telling Satan to get behind him. Peter hauled in the largest catch of fish, following Jesus' direction. Peter walked on the water with Jesus. However, Peter also denied Jesus three times. From this moment on, on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem, Peter, filled with the Spirit, becomes bold and delivers his first and exceptional sermon. This should give us a clue about what should happen in our lives when we are baptized and filled with the Spirit. Granted, we should see a change in ourselves when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We cannot be sure whether those believers who were raised in a Christian home, considering themselves always to have been saved, have ever seen any difference in their lives because of Jesus. However, those of us who came to Jesus as adults know and understand how different our lives are. Yet another change in our lives is when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit. He brings a whole new dimension to our relationship with Jesus and the whole world around us. We can be both gentle and humble as we learn from Jesus, and bold and outspoken in our speaking about Jesus. The Holy Spirit gave Peter that boldness, and He will give us the same boldness if we simply allow Him full access to our inner being. We wonder if we do not see any change within us because of the power of the Holy Spirit, with all his gifts and fruit, that we might be quenching His power. We sing the song, "Come Holy Spirit," that includes the words, "I need you, come Holy Spirit, I pray." Do we mean it? Peter was filled with the Spirit and fire and became on fire for Jesus. Should we not experience this same fire and boldness within us because we have been baptized with the Holy Spirit? Because we are filled with the Spirit, we should experience an incredible change within us. 

The Fire

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE FIRE 2:1-4

Acts 2:1-4

2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

NIV

The controversy over this event has caused division among both denominations and individuals. Unfortunately, the rift stems from misinterpretation or from seeing this event through a preconceived filter. There has also been much discussion that this was a one-time event and that the Spirit no longer fills people and enables them to speak in tongues or other languages. The next verses indicate that all who were filled with the Spirit spoke fifteen different known languages. Of course, the disciples were Galileans and would not have been schooled in all those languages, yet this was all the work of the Holy Spirit. We will also see that the disciples were speaking about praising God. Here is another controversy that we will get to, but for now, let us be contend to know that the Holy Spirit filled those disciples and gave them abilities beyond their human knowledge. Has the Holy Spirit stopped working in that same manner? Did the Holy Spirit come to them but to no one since then? Throughout the rest of the Acts of the Apostles, we see people being baptized in the Spirit and receiving spiritual gifts, even speaking in tongues or other languages. Paul, inspired to write to the Corinthian church, gave them instructions regarding the gifts of the Spirit. It was clear that when the Spirit enabled someone to speak in tongues, it was man talking to God, in other words, praising God, just as the disciples were doing. It is when the Spirit enables the gift of prophecy that God is speaking to man. However, the point is that the Spirit does not change, as God never changes, and he is the triune Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We should also note these disciples were already believers, that is, they knew Jesus was their Lord and Savior, the true Messiah. They witnessed all he did, the cross, His burial, resurrection, and ascension. But they were not filled with the Spirit until He was sent to them by Jesus. We understand the view that when we are saved, we are automatically filled with the Spirit, but that may not be correct. John the Baptist said that he only baptizes with water, but Jesus will baptize with the Spirit and with fire. Because we will see people accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and then be baptized, we can come to no other conclusion than that these are two events. Secondly, why are there Christians today, people who confess they are saved, but refuse to acknowledge being baptized with the Spirit and enabled with spiritual gifts? In fact, we have known some who accuse the gift of tongues, or speaking in another language, as being from the devil. Why is this so confusing? Why do we not just accept the word of God as truth? When the Holy Spirit comes upon us, whether we call it being baptized or not, the Spirit will enable us beyond our human knowledge or skills. Jesus baptizes us with the Holy Spirit and with fire. This means we will have a fire burning within us, praising our Lord. We will live with this burning within us, filled with the Spirit, and we will not be able to remain silent.  If we are worshipping in Spirit and in truth, we would expect our worship to come from the fire within us.