Bible League: Living His Word 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. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."Pentecost Sunday is the last day of the Easter season in the Christian liturgical calendar. "Pentecost" is the Greek word for "fifty." Pentecost Sunday is always the Sunday that is 50 days after Easter Sunday (inclusive of Easter Sunday). It celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit on a group of about 120 followers of Jesus that had gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem (Acts 1:15). Included in the group were the Apostles, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Jesus' brothers. The event signaled the beginning of the church age and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in all who believe. In the 40 days after Jesus was raised from the dead He appeared to His followers on a number of occasions. Our verses for today record some of what He said on what was probably the last of those occasions. It is significant that He told them not to leave Jerusalem until they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:8 tells us that Jesus also told them ". . . you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Jesus did not want them to do anything or go anywhere until they had received the power of the Holy Spirit. He knew that if they tried to be His witnesses before they received the Holy Spirit they would only be operating from out of their own power and would not be successful as a result. What was true for the 120 followers of Jesus is also true for us today. We should wait for the Holy Spirit. We cannot be effective witnesses of the new way of life we have in Christ in every area of life apart from the leading and power of the Holy Spirit. Waiting for the Spirit is not always an easy thing to do. We are often tempted to figure things out on our own and tempted to move in the power of our own strength. The fruitfulness and reward that come from waiting, however, make it worth the while. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingDeuteronomy 33, 34 Deuteronomy 33 -- Moses Blesses the Twelve Tribes NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Deuteronomy 34 -- The Death of Moses on Mount Nebo NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Luke 1:24-56 Luke 1 -- Introduction; John's and Jesus' Birth Foretold; Mary's Song; Zachariah's Prophecy NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Praise the LORD, all you nations.Praise him, all you people of the earth. For he loves us with unfailing love; the LORD's faithfulness endures forever. Insight Have you ever said, “I can't think of anything God has done for me. How can I praise him?” This psalm gives two reasons for praising God: his great love toward us, and his faithfulness that endures forever. Challenge If he did nothing else for us, he would still be worthy of our highest praise. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Ruth 2:14 And she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.Whenever we are privileged to eat of the bread which Jesus gives, we are, like Ruth, satisfied with the full and sweet repast. When Jesus is the host, no guest goes empty from the table. Our head is satisfied with the precious truth which Christ reveals; our heart is content with Jesus, as the altogether lovely object of affection; our hope is satisfied, for whom have we in heaven but Jesus? and our desire is satiated, for what can we wish for more than "to know Christ and to be found in him?" Jesus fills our conscience till it is at perfect peace; our judgment with persuasion of the certainty of his teachings; our memory with recollections of what he has done, and our imagination with the prospects of what he is yet to do. As Ruth was "sufficed, and left," so is it with us. We have had deep draughts; we have thought that we could take in all of Christ; but when we have done our best we have had to leave a vast remainder. We have sat at the table of the Lord's love, and said, "Nothing but the infinite can ever satisfy me; I am such a great sinner that I must have infinite merit to wash my sin away;" but we have had our sin removed, and found that there was merit to spare; we have had our hunger relieved at the feast of sacred love, and found that there was a redundance of spiritual meat remaining. There are certain sweet things in the Word of God which we have not enjoyed yet, and which we are obliged to leave for awhile; for we are like the disciples to whom Jesus said, "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." Yes, there are graces to which we have not attained; places of fellowship nearer to Christ which we have not reached; and heights of communion which our feet have not climbed. At every banquet of love there are many baskets of fragments left. Let us magnify the liberality of our glorious Boaz. Daily Light on the Daily Path Psalm 119:28 My soul weeps because of grief; Strengthen me according to Your word.Psalm 119:49 Remember the word to Your servant, In which You have made me hope. Isaiah 38:14 "Like a swallow, like a crane, so I twitter; I moan like a dove; My eyes look wistfully to the heights; O Lord, I am oppressed, be my security. Luke 21:33 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. Joshua 23:14 "Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the LORD your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed. Daniel 10:1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the message was true and one of great conflict, but he understood the message and had an understanding of the vision. Haggai 2:4 'But now take courage, Zerubbabel,' declares the LORD, 'take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,' declares the LORD, 'and work; for I am with you,' declares the LORD of hosts. Zechariah 4:6 Then he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts. Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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