Daily Devotion from River of Life

Luke 24:49-53 'I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.'  When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them.  While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.  Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.  And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God. Why didn't Jesus send out the disciples to preach the gospel immediately after He resurrected from death?  Because He saw that Peter was still the Peter in acting in flesh and John was still the ill-tempered John, and rest of the disciples were simply cowards.  During the second time Jesus revealed Himself to the disciples, the Bible recorded that because the disciples were so afraid of the Jews that they had to close all the doors at the place where they met.  Although they knew Jesus had resurrected, the knowledge could not deliver them from their fear, and what they needed was a change to their strength inside.  Therefore, after Jesus resurrected, He did not immediately send the disciples out, but He wanted them to wait for the Holy Spirit to come. The mistake many Christians are making is that while we recognize the Holy Spirit lives within us, we ignore the presence of the Holy Spirit in our daily life.  We continuously live by our own strength to live a victorious life, so no wonder we constantly feel powerless.  We feel powerless because the power does not reside within us and doesn't belong to us.  It's just like an electric-powered train that doesn't have power inside itself, but rather it gets the power from the wire that is connected to the source of power.  In the same manner, we need to recognize that the power to live and to serve is from the Holy Spirit, and therefore we need to have close relationship with the Holy Spirit. The Book of Acts is filled with voice as well as footprints of the Holy Spirit.  It was the Holy Spirit that made the failed Peter - who denied the Lord three times - get up to serve again; it was the Holy Spirit that urged Peter to go to the house of Roman centurion Cornelius and thus spread the gospel to the gentile world; it was the Holy Spirit that made Paul repent and turn back to the Lord on the way to Damascus, and it was the Holy Spirit that forbad Peter to preach the gospel in Minor Asia but rather led him to Europe.  From beginning to the end, Book of Acts is filled with the work of the Holy Spirit, and that's why some said that the Book of Acts should be called the Book of the Holy Spirit's Acts because the Holy Spirit was the real source of power behind the momentum for growth of the early church.  Similarly, Holy Spirit is the only source of power for the believers today, and therefore we need to ask the Lord to help us to live for Him everyday by depending on the Holy Spirit who lives within us! Pray with Pastor Tong Lord, I thank you because not only you have resurrected from death, you have also sent the Holy Spirit to live within us and become the source of power in our daily life.  Please help us to depend on you in our daily life.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen! Support Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Expansion Project See what's happening on our social sites

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