Tag: Holy Spirit

Morning Reading: Acts 11.1-18 NLT – privilege of repenting

Reading: Acts 11:1-18 NLT

Soon the news reached the apostles and other believers in Judea that the Gentiles had received the word of God.

But when Peter arrived back in Jerusalem, the Jewish believers criticized him. “You entered the home of Gentiles and even ate with them!” they said.

Then Peter told them exactly what had happened. “I was in the town of Joppa,” he said, “and while I was praying, I went into a trance and saw a vision. Something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners from the sky. And it came right down to me. When I looked inside the sheet, I saw all sorts of tame and wild animals, reptiles, and birds. And I heard a voice say, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.’

“‘No, Lord,’ I replied. ‘I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure or unclean. ’

“But the voice from heaven spoke again: ‘Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.’ This happened three times before the sheet and all it contained was pulled back up to heaven.

“Just then three men who had been sent from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were staying. The Holy Spirit told me to go with them and not to worry that they were Gentiles. These six brothers here accompanied me, and we soon entered the home of the man who had sent for us. He told us how an angel had appeared to him in his home and had told him, ‘Send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. He will tell you how you and everyone in your household can be saved!’

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“As I began to speak,” Peter continued, “the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as he fell on us at the beginning. Then I thought of the Lord’s words when he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’  And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?”

When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father – You have repeated this story of Cornelius’ conversion and baptism three times for emphasis – everyone, regardless of their background, has been given the privilege of repenting and receiving eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. No people, tribe or nation is left out… no matter what I might think of them. Lord Jesus – You died for my sins and the sins of the world. Give me a passion for the lost… wherever I might find them. Holy Spirit – Show your power… demonstrate the authenticity of those who believe and repent… so that together we might rejoice with the angels in heaven over every soul that receives eternal life. I ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Spiritual Song: “Hosanna” – Hillsong United
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Morning Reading: Acts 10.9-23 NLT – made clean by God

Reading: Acts 10:9-23 NLT

The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon, and he was hungry.

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But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds.

Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.”

“No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean. ”

But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was suddenly pulled up to heaven. Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean?

Just then the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house. Standing outside the gate, they asked if a man named Simon Peter was staying there.

Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Three men have come looking for you. Get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitation. Don’t worry, for I have sent them.”

So Peter went down and said, “I’m the man you are looking for. Why have you come?”

They said, “We were sent by Cornelius, a Roman officer. He is a devout and God-fearing man, well respected by all the Jews. A holy angel instructed him to summon you to his house so that he can hear your message.”

So Peter invited the men to stay for the night. The next day he went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa.

Prayer:Lord Jesus – Forgive my tendency to rely on religious rules and traditions rather than a living relationship with you. Holy Spirit – Break into my slumber with visions of freedom and deliverance. Heavenly Father – May your Kingdom come in me and through me. Amen.

Spiritual Song: “I Am Free” – Newsboys
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13th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Galatians 5.1, 13-18 NLT – free to serve

Reading: Galatians 5:1, 13-18 NLT

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So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.

For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.

But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

Prayer: Holy Spirit – Reign in me… win the war between my sinful nature and my new nature given to me by Christ Jesus. Make my good intentions a reality… and bring forth your good fruit in me – love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness and self control – that I might honor you in all things. Amen.

Spiritual Song: “Break every chain” – Jesus Culture
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Morning Reading: Acts 9.26-31 NLT – believers grow in numbers

Reading: Acts 9:26-31 NLT

When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer!

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Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus.

So Saul stayed with the apostles and went all around Jerusalem with them, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. He debated with some Greek-speaking Jews, but they tried to murder him.

When the believers heard about this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus, his hometown.

The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it became stronger as the believers lived in the fear of the Lord. And with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers.

Prayer: Holy Spirit – Encourage believers in Jesus Christ all around the world. Heavenly Father – Drive out our fears with an overwhelming sense of your perfect love for us. Lord Jesus – Give us your heart… a heart of service and sacrifice. In all things, may we honor you. Amen.

Spiritual Song: “This Is Our God” – Hillsong
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Morning Reading: Acts 8.26-40 NLT – Spirit led

Reading: Acts 8:26-40 NLT

As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.”

So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.

The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.” Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah.

Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.

The passage of Scripture he had been reading was this:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter. And as a lamb is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. He was humiliated and received no justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”

The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?”

So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.

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As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?”

[Some manuscripts add: Philip said, “You can, if you believe with all your heart.” And he answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”]

He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing.

Meanwhile, Philip found himself farther north at the town of Azotus. He preached the Good News there and in every town along the way until he came to Caesarea.

Prayer: Heavenly Father – You send your emissaries to every tribe and nation… some go willingly, some go in spite of themselves. But wherever you send me, enable me to see it as another opportunity to share the Good News about Jesus. Holy Spirit – Open my eyes to see the opportunities that you have prepared for me. And give me the courage to seize the moment… and allow you to speak through me. Lord Jesus – May many confess you as Savior and Lord… and be baptized into your family. Amen.

Gospel Hymn: “We have heard the joyful sound” – Priscilla J. Owens
Adaptation by Colin Webster, Cornerstone Church, UK
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