Friday, September 20, 2013

The Power of the Holy Spirit

There once was a man who for the entirety of his life was unbelieving in the work of God.  In dealing with an addiction to alcohol and a failed marriage he had lost all hope.  But there was one constant in his life: his mother’s prayers.  She prayed for years, even decades, for her son to see the truth of the Gospel message and believe.  One day, in his back yard, God grabbed a hold of his heart and in that moment the Holy Spirit transformed him.  He became a son of God.
 
A young boy at the age of five heard and understood the Gospel message at an afterschool Bible club in a small town.  There was no sudden, intense change in his life.  Only a persistent striving for obedience as he grew older and began to know God more deeply.  When he entered high school, God grabbed his heart in a mighty way and called him into fulltime ministry.  Today he is a preacher, teacher, theologian, and shepherd of a congregation in a small town very similar to the one he lived in when the Holy Spirit transformed him.
 
Our passage this week is Acts 19:1-20 where through Paul the Holy Spirit does amazing things.  Twelve men are won over to Christ, demons show respect for the power of the Holy Spirit and for His vessel, Paul, and those who joined in occult worship rid themselves of their former lives to fully follow Christ.  The work of the Holy Spirit is evident and alive through the ministry of Paul.
 
Can the same be said for us?  As disciples of Christ, how much do we see the work of the Holy Spirit in and through us?  Do we recognize and give credit to the Holy Spirit when He moves?  Are we daily be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit?
 
The two stories above are examples in the way the Holy Spirit grabs ahold of lives and changes people forever.  But one is no less dramatic and powerful than the other.  Any time the Spirit works there is mighty power in play.  And he works in the lives of people every day.  May we prayerfully be prepared for the Spirit to move in our own lives as we read the Word of God in Acts this week.

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