This Changes Everything: Praise & Worship - Day 5

Reading: Acts 1:8 — Jesus promises his followers that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them and that they will be his witnesses in their city, their region, and to the ends of the earth.

Devotional:

The disciples were not filled with the Holy Spirit so they could stay in the upper room. They were filled so they could pour out of it. The sermon makes this point with clarity and urgency: too often we reduce Pentecost to the experience we had, rather than embracing it as the assignment to tell the truth about Jesus to a world that does not know him. The same Peter who denied knowing Jesus before a servant girl was, weeks later, standing in the streets of Jerusalem boldly declaring the resurrection. That is not a personality change. That is a Pentecostal change. God is not primarily after your ability. He is after your availability. When you make yourself available, the Holy Spirit provides everything else that is needed.

Personal Reflection: Who in your life — a coworker, a neighbor, a family member — needs to hear what God has done for you? What is one conversation you have been avoiding that the Holy Spirit may be calling you toward?

Practical Application: Before you go to sleep tonight, ask the Holy Spirit to give you one divine appointment this week — one moment where you can be a witness. Then go into your week with your eyes open, expecting him to create that opportunity and trusting him to give you the words when it arrives.

The same Holy Spirit who hovered over creation, raised Jesus from the dead, and fell like fire in the upper room lives inside of you. This changes everything.