Tag: Holy Ghost

July 13, 2026

July 13th, 2026

Monday – Gospels and Acts

Reading – Acts 4

Highlight Verse:

“Annas the high priest was there, along with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other relatives of the high priest. They brought in the two disciples and demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?””
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Are those names familiar?

This was the same group that Jesus was brought before. (John 18)

The last time Peter was here, he denied Jesus three times.

If you read the whole chapter, you know that Peter reacted differently this time. Even though he and John were the ones in the hot seat this time and he must have suspected that his life was on the line, there was no trace of the fear that once stopped Peter cold.

What happened?

Two things.

In John 21, Jesus restored his relationship with Peter after breakfast on the beach. When Peter reaffirmed his love for Jesus, Jesus challenged him with a leadership role (“feed my sheep”).

Then, in Acts 2, Peter and the rest of the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit.

I know there are differing views on the way the Holy Spirit works today but one thing that cannot be denied is the Holy Spirit supplies boldness when it is needed to deliver the good news of Jesus.

Peter experienced that boldness here.

If you let Him, the same Holy Spirit can give you power to spread the good news too.

Have you experienced the power of the Holy Spirit working through you?
In what way would you want to experience that power today?
June 29, 2026

June 29th, 2026

Monday – Gospels and Acts

Reading – Acts 2

Highlight Verses:

“Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!””
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭2‬:‭9‬-‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There is so much I could say about this chapter.

As one who believes that the Holy Spirit is still alive and active today, I could go on about Pentecostal theology.

But two other things stood out in this chapter to me today.

I’ve always believed God’s timing has been perfect.

To have Jesus arrive at a time when Rome had united much of the world was brilliant.

As seen by the wide variety of cultures present that day, pathways for the spreading of the Gospel were present like never before.

It was the exact point in history that the Gospel could spread the widest. Any earlier and those cultures would not have come together to that extent. Any later and the breakdown of the Roman Empire would have inhibited the spread. If He had come today, 100 generations of people would have missed out on the Gospel.

The second thing I noticed was the message that came through the gift of tongues.

They spoke of the wonderful things God had done.

They weren’t prophecies warning people to repent.

They weren’t legalistic lectures on following the law.

They were words of praise for God.

Messages of warning have their place.

But the fact that God chose praise to spread the Gospel by highlighting the goodness of God and all that He does should give us a clue in how to best spread the Gospel.

The most effective method I have seen for spreading the Good News is people telling people the awesome things that God has done for them.

What do you tell people about what God has done for you?
Have you thought through how to tell your story to those who are curious about how God has changed you?
Monday – Gospels

January 26th, 2026

Reading – Luke 4

Highlight Verses:

“Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭4‬:‭9‬-‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Did you know that the devil knows the Bible?

He knows it very well; well enough to twist it to his own purposes.

Frankly, he knows it better than I do.

If that’s true, how do we protect ourselves from his twisted lies?

One thing you may have noticed at the beginning of the chapter was that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit.

If you trust Jesus for your life, you have the Holy Spirit. I believe that it is important to continue to invite the Holy Spirit to work in you and through you including through the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

With the gift of discernment, you will be able to tell when Scripture is being applied correctly and when it is being twisted.

Still, there are times when even the Spirit filled, well studied believer can be fooled into believing an inappropriate twist of Scripture.

To guard against that, especially when I study for these posts, I turn to other seasoned believers.

The most convenient sources I’ve found for that are in online commentaries. My favorite is Enduring Word dot com, but there are several others and it is good to check multiple sources. There are many printed Bible commentaries available as well.

There have been multiple times when those commentaries have helped make the meanings of some passages more clear to me. A time or two, they have corrected my inaccurate understandings.

How do you check your understanding of Scripture?
What twists of Scripture have you believed in the past and since had to correct that belief?
October 21, 2024

October 21st, 2024

Monday – Gospels and Acts

Reading – Acts 19

Highlight Verse:

““Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them. “No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.””
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭19‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I’ve been to many different kinds of churches.

Some ignore the Holy Spirit altogether.

Some spend every moment teaching about the Holy Spirit and trying to practice the gifts of the Spirit.

In my experience, the Holy Spirit is key to drawing people to Jesus.

People have to make their own decisions, but the Holy Spirit can work in them and through others around them to draw people to the place where they can make that decision.

To ignore the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit is foolish.

So is ignoring the rest of life in Christ to chase the miraculous.

The people of Ephesus had believed in the Gospel but had not experienced the Holy Spirit.

When they received the Holy Spirit, the ministry there took off like crazy.

Have you asked the Holy Spirit to come into your life?
Are you willing to let the Holy Spirit move in miraculous ways in your life?

Tag: Holy Ghost

July 13, 2026

The last time Peter was here, he denied Jesus three times.

Then, in Acts 2, Peter and the rest of the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit.

If you let Him, the same Holy Spirit can give you power to spread the good news too.

June 29, 2026

I’ve always believed God’s timing has been perfect.

The second thing I noticed was the message that came through the gift of tongues.

Monday – Gospels

Did you know that the devil knows the Bible?

With the gift of discernment, you will be able to tell when Scripture is being applied correctly and when it is being twisted.

To guard against that, especially when I study for these posts, I turn to other seasoned believers.

October 21, 2024

In my experience, the Holy Spirit is key to drawing people to Jesus.

To ignore the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit is foolish.

So is ignoring the rest of life in Christ to chase the miraculous.