“On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ” (Acts 1:4-5)
This week, we’re walking through a few verses about Christ’s last 40 days before he left the planet.
Notice first: More evidence that Jesus was really, physically alive: He ate! Ghosts don’t eat. Real, living men eat. Jesus came back from the dead to breathing, eating life.
Notice next: He told the disciples to wait for a gift, the Holy Spirit. He didn’t want them jumping into any kind of ministry until the Holy Spirit came to give them real power. In other words, he didn’t want them to serve him with the best they had to offer; he wanted them to live for him with the best power God had to offer.
He wants the same from us.
Think: If someone asked you to explain it, why would you say that Jesus called the Holy Spirit a gift from the Father? What makes the Holy Spirit a gift?
Pray: Ask God to help you to serve him with God’s power through the Holy Spirit, not with your own strength.
Do: Read how Paul describes God’s gift of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 1:21-22.