Greetings in Christ Jesus

Wednesday May 10, 2017

Epistle: Acts 4: 31-35

Gospel: Luke 24: 36-48

Psalm 68/69

My Friends,

We see the power of the Holy Spirit in today’s Epistle reading from the book of the Acts of the Apostles; “and when they had prayed, the place was moved wherein they were assembled; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spoke the word of God with confidence”. There is a great need of this today, so many are preaching their own words and calling them the word of God. I don’t know what god they are referring to because there is not much from the Holy Spirit in their speech or philosophy. I believe that going to seminary and memorizing a philosophy and verses of scripture to back this philosophy is not being spiritually led, it is being scholastically led. There is a major difference between the two.

In the Gospel today our Lord has risen from the dead and has appeared to His Disciples, He instructs them further in a face to face conversation so that you would think that after following Him for a few years and then getting further understanding from Him after coming back from the dead that they should know all that they need to know, but then He gives them a strange directive; “I send the promise of my Father upon you: but stay you in the city till you be endued with power from on high”.

In other words, I know that I have taught you face to face and you intellectually know many things, you must wait to go out after I am gone until you receive power from on high. The Holy Spirit had not yet descended on them, they had no power, and they had an intellectual understanding but were still lacking in this authority and power. This is true today of many who go about preaching. There is a lot of dancing around on stage and throwing the arms up in the air. A whole lot of “praise God” is said, promises of a better life here in this world today, a feel good emotionally charged preaching and then the plate is passed around.

Do you think that because there is good preaching that tickles the ears that one cannot leave the spirit? What does the scripture say? Apocalypse/Revelation 2: 2 I know your works, and your labor, and your patience, and how you cannot bear them that are evil, and you have tried them, who say they are apostles, and are not, and have found them liars: 3 And you have patience, and have endured for my name, and have not fainted. 4 But I have somewhat against you, because you have left your first love. 5 Be mindful therefore from where you are fallen: and repent, and do the first works. Or else I come to you, and will move your candlestick out of its place, except you repent.

The church in Ephesus left its first love which was the joy in Christ Jesus which we can only have through the Holy Spirit. Legalities creep in, false teachings creep in, the zeal becomes alive for the false understanding and the legal commitment along with the emotional showmanship and the quality of the entertainment. These things are not of the Holy Spirit and the love and zeal of and for Jesus the Christ dies.

Our Psalm begins with the words; 1 Unto the end, for them that shall be changed; for David. 2 Save me, O God: for the waters are come in even unto my soul. 3 I stick fast in the mire of the deep: and there is no sure standing. I am come into the depth of the sea: and a tempest hath overwhelmed me.

Unto the end, for the end of time, for them that shall be changed; those who are converted to the Christ, Jesus, this Psalm is for us. Save me O God are the words that we should be crying out, for we are all stuck in the mire of the deep and there is no sure standing because the waters are come in even unto our souls. These are the sin, the cares and the worries of this materialistic world. We must renew our first love and again begin to walk with the Spirit, seek wisdom, seek the Holy Spirit to direct our footsteps. Do not settle for less.

May the peace of our Lord Jesus the Christ be with you throughout this day and the rest of your life. May the Holy Spirit fill us all to overflowing so that everyone in whose path we cross may receive a blessing from our Lord Jesus the Christ.

Blessings

In Christ.