The Well
The Well |
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Connecting Hope to the Hurting | |
Friday
August 1, 2008
Dear Theophilus:
In my first book I told you about everything Jesus began to do and teach
until the day he ascended to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further
instructions from the Holy Spirit. During the forty days after his crucifixion,
he appeared to the apostles from time to time and proved to them in many ways
that he was actually alive. On these occasions he talked to them about the
Kingdom of God.
In one of these meetings as he was eating a meal with them,
he told them, "Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends
you what he promised. Remember, I have told you about this before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be
baptized with the Holy Spirit."
Acts 1:1-5
If I were to write a book about faithful people of the Bible, Dr. Luke would be included. Now, I have no clue who "Theophilus" was (if any of you know – please tell me), but I do know that Dr. Luke knew him and knew that he was interested in knowing all about Jesus and the happenings surrounding Him. I'm glad, because otherwise it is a possibility that we would not have the book of Acts. I almost broke out into a sweat when I felt God telling me to write from this book, but from past experiences I knew that it was better to please God than man! So, get ready for – Acts!
Okay, let's try again to put our feet in the shoes (or sandals) of the disciples. Not only did they know Jesus up close and personal before He died, they walked with Him for brief periods of time after His resurrection. So, I think by this point in time they were truly willing to listen to Him and obey His instructions. I sure am glad they did!
When we were helping at a small Church of God back in 2002, my Pastor has asked me to speak to the youth and/or preach a sermon (whoa all you Baptists, I didn't do that)! However, I did listen to him and spoke to our youth one night. I was amazed, as was the Pastor and the young man who had been working with the youth – they listened, we connected, seeds were planted, and I felt that my Father was pleased!
So, Jesus told these faithful few that although John had baptized folks with water, there was a new baptism on the way…they were going to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Man, a new thought just entered my mind…no wonder we have a hard time believing that there is a baptism of the Holy Spirit – we have been taught that being baptized has to mean being immersed into water. How can we be immersed into the Holy Spirit? Well, maybe it's time to change the way we think about some things…Hello!
Back to the point…if we are going to receive all that our Father has for us we are going to have to be obedient to His instructions. We must lay aside even the best laid plans of man and go forth with what God tells us to do, and sometimes that looks abnormal.
Father, I thank You for Dr. Luke and his obedience to write a simple letter to someone named Theophilus. Lord, I know of people right now, people reading this devotional, that want to be obedient to You, but because of past wounds they are unable to take even one baby step forward. I ask You to touch them with the power of Your Holy Spirit and help them trust and obey You! Help them to be willing to be willing.
