Daily Devotion with Pastor Tong Liu: Today's Passage

Acts 2:5-13

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked... Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine.

"They have had too much wine" were the comments of many Jews. In reality, this was the work of the Holy Spirit. Today, there are many who are like the Jews back then. These people play down the work of the Holy Spirit, and even criticize the work of the Holy Spirit. The fact is that everyone has a different way of experiencing God and God's spirit leads each person differently. The greatest crisis facing the church today is that we are dogmatic about how each person should experience God. This causes disagreements among the different Christian denominations. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians Chapter 12, there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. God did not give us different gifts so that we could form various divisions. He wanted us to work together to build up the body of Christ.

On the other hand, from this comment made by the Jews, we know one of the signs of being filled by the Holy Spirit is similar to having much wine. Many people manifest uncontrollable expressions when they first are filled by the Holy Spirit. This is actually very normal. We do not have to suppress it or be afraid of it. People tend to overreact when they see something they have never seen before. Remember the time when Jesus walked on water? When the disciples saw Him from afar, they were terrified and thought it was a ghost! Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. It is I." Pray that the Lord will help us recognize the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and allow Him to accomplish whatever He wants through our earthy bodies. Of course, if our manifestation is disruptive to the gathering, we need to exercise restraint and be quiet when we need to. The Holy Spirit is a gentleman. On one hand, He draws us closer to the Lord Jesus, and on the other, He wants the Lord's peace and guidance to be in our lives. Pray that the Lord will help us not to be afraid, but to welcome the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Pray with Pastor Tong

Dear Holy Spirit, we welcome you to move in our lives. Lord, we pray that you will grant us an open heart to receive your work. Let us be like a river that flows continuously, bringing joy, freedom, truth and liberty to the world. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!