Go and act
I heard this saying today afresh. I know I have heard it before, but this time it struck a chord in my heart…
“The Books of Acts would not have been written if the Apostles did not go and act”.
Imagine if after Pentecost came and the Holy Spirit was poured out on the believers, that they decided to just stay home. Imagine how different our world would be?
We would not have a Book of Acts as an example and a teaching. We would not have heard about the amazing miracles. We would not have heard about the growth of the early church.
This simple saying emphasised to me afresh the importance of going and acting. Of taking the truth of the Gospel message out in to the world and sharing it with others.
When we go and act people are saved. When we go and act miracles happen and lives are changed. When we go and act eternal destinies are changed.
Prayer
Dear God, please help me to go and act. Your Word says the harvest fields are ripe. Send me to the people who need You today. Amen.
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Inviting Jesus in
As I was doing my morning devotions today I was thinking about the phrase “Inviting Jesus in”. As I dwelt on this I realised how important it is to invite Jesus in to the various areas of our lives.
1. Our life – this is the first and most important area. We need to invite Jesus in to our lives. He needs to be let in as our Lord and Saviour. This is when true life happens and He lives with us.
2. Our relationships – relationships can be hard at times with all the stresses of life. We need to invite Jesus in to them all. Our marriage, with our children, our friends, our workmates – He needs to be in them all.
3. Our work – inviting Jesus into our workplace to help us do well and serve Him. Whatever job role we have we ultimately do it for the Lord. Colossians 3:23 tells us who we really serve as we work. We are all gifted by God and we need His help to serve.
4. Our finances – many of us struggle with our finances. Inviting Jesus in to this area helps us to understand that He loves and cares for us and He is our provider. One of the names God is known by is Jehovah-Jireh which means “The Lord will provide”.
5. Our health – a lot of people I talk to have health issues that they battle with, myself included. Our battles can be very debilitating. Inviting Jesus into our health issues allows Him to provide comfort, strength and healing. Another name God is known as is Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord who heals.
6. Our future – there are times in our lives where we can really worry about the future and what will happen to our families or ourselves. One thing God has been reminding me of lately is He holds our future. We may not know the future, but we can be confident God holds our future. Each of us are in the palm of His mighty hands.
Today I would encourage you to invite Jesus in to the different areas of your life. If you have never done this before, you can prayer this prayer below.
Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus, I invite you to come into my life. I want You to be my Lord and Saviour. Please come in and cleanse me from my sin. Help me to follow You with all of my heart. Lord, I also invite you into all of my relationships, my work, my finances and my health. Come in and help me in all these areas. Bring healing, provision and peace to them all. I ask in Jesus’ name, Amen
Miracles happen today
I love watching this channel as miracles happen regularly. People are set free to live again.
The power at Jesus’ arrest
I have been listening to the Gospels on the way to and from work. As I listened to John 18 and the parallel passage from Luke 22, I saw some examples of Jesus’ power when He was arrested.
1. The power when He declared
When they came to arrest Jesus they asked which one Jesus was. Jesus said, “I am He” (John 18:5-6). Verse 6 tells us that at His words those around Him fell backwards to the ground. The power of His declaration knocked them over.
2. The power in His healing of the servant
The next display of His power is in the healing of the servants ear. Peter tried to stop the soldiers arresting Jesus by striking the servant with a sword and cutting off His ear. Jesus rebuked Peter and healed the man’s ear in front of everyone there (Luke 22:51).
3. The power of His love
The final display is the incredible love of Jesus. Moments before His arrest He was praying and drops of blood sweated from His forehead (Luke 22:41-44). He knew what was coming and His love kept Him on task – from arrest, to trial, to crucifixion.
Jesus displayed great power at His arrest and immediately afterwards. By His words of declaration, by His healing of the servant and by His great love for you and I – we see His great power.
Don’t limit Jesus
Revival and healings
During A.A. Allen’s healing revival in Birmingham, Alabama, a mother from Knoxville brought her son for prayer. David was almost three years old and had been called “the most underdeveloped boy ever born in Tennessee.” He was paralyzed on his right side, blind in one eye, deaf, and mute. He couldn’t even crawl because his limbs were like twisted sticks and his feet were deformed. All total, he had twenty-six major diseases or defects in his body. His mother had been told by one doctor “only God can help your boy now.”
David’s mother took that statement literally. When she heard that Allen would be holding meetings in Birmingham, she knew she had to get there. As a single mother in 1959 with a special-needs child, this was no small task. Although it cost her all she had, she drove the 250 miles alone with her boy to get him to the revival. The Great Physician did not disappoint.
What happened at that meeting in Birmingham is called the “greatest miracle of A.A. Allen’s ministry.” As Allen held the boy in his arms and wept over him, suddenly two bright blue pupils appeared where once there was only the milky-grey of blindness. The boy’s limbs began to morph like putty into the correct shape. His tongue, which had hung out of his mouth limply before, snapped inside his mouth, and he began to call out his first words “Mama! Mama!” And when he caught sight of her, he took his first steps to go embrace his mother. He was completely healed!
However, the Lord did not end there. God wasn’t going to leave anything unfinished. The tent was full of people with significant needs. Spontaneously, with no one praying for them, every person in a wheelchair stood up altogether, totally healed. Every person in a stretcher got up the same way. People began running to the front so they could throw their hearing aids on the altar. Then came the glasses. Then came the walking sticks for the blind. Every single person was healed as the glory of God rested under that tent that night.
(From Holy Spirit TV)