Releasing Power

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS  OF THE APOSTLES

RELEASING POWER

Acts 1:1-5

1:1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 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. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." 

NIV

He is alive, and if any should ever doubt, they only have to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth to them. The proof that Jesus was resurrected in bodily form is in the record that Luke puts forth. Jesus appeared to many over a period of forty days. That is just the facts, but the wonder of His resurrection gives us assurance we too will be resurrected in bodily form on that last day. We are also confident that we will not remain with our lifeless bodies, for we know that we are not just a body, but a spirit who lives within this physical form, and when it is laid to rest, we will have left it to join our Lord in some spiritual sense. However, that is not the end, because Jesus left his body behind, yet came back to it through the power of God, to have his body resurrected in a new glorified condition. We will see that record will reflect this truth when he appears or seemingly walks through a locked door to speak with his disciples in that upper room. Jesus is alive and we will also be alive, even though this body  dies. Yet, the story is not just about a resurrection, although that is a wonderful truth to keep deep within our hearts and minds, the story of also about being baptized with the Holy Spirit. We will see how this happened for the disciples in the next chapter of the record Luke wrote, but at this point we must believe there is a baptism we need to undergo other then the one with water. This was an event in time that happened to the disciples, a moment when fire came from heaven and the Spirit descended  upon them, taking up residence within them, gifting them with power. There is no question that if we want to have eternal life we must accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. The Lord makes that clear through the Apostle Paul in the letter to the Romans. If we confess with our mouths ”Jesus is Lord”  and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved. But that is not the end of the story in the life of a believer. We are saved, we will have eternal life, but during the days of this life, we need the power of God in our lives. This is when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit, another moment in time, just as the moment we were baptized with water. Jesus promised, and he always fulfilled his promise that he would baptize us with the Holy Spirit. We know there is evidence of this baptism because the Spirit witnesses to our spirit and manifests his gifts and fruit in our lives. The question we must all ask ourselves is if we see those evidences within ourselves. There could be two reason we do not see those evidences. One is we have never been baptized with the Holy Spirit. Secondly, we have been baptized, but we have decided to quench the Spirit, not yielding to Him. Having been saved and baptized with the Holy Spirit, let’s release His power.