Welcome!
Today: Intimacy that takes away fear and shame
Passage: Acts 1-2
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. 5 For John baptized with[a] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1, NIV84)–emphasis added
When the Holy Spirit came upon the 120 on the day of Pentecost, they did not just stay there “enjoying” the spirit or the gifts. Instead, they started going out with the power they relieved and started influencing/changing the world
They were neither afraid nor ashamed of their Lord Jesus Christ
The reason why they were not afraid or ashamed of Jesus was that they knew Jesus well. Apostle Paul says why he was not ashamed of the gospel either:
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,[a] for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes (Rom 1, NKJV)
Paul was not ashamed of Jesus because he knew Jesus well
When you become intimate with a person, you are no longer ashamed of that person/relationship; instead, you will be proud of that relationship. You don’t care what others say….
The closer we get to Jesus, the more we will become like Him; our walk/talk everything will change, even without our knowledge. Peter was so much influenced by Jesus and other disciples that he was identified as a man with Jesus, by the way he talked! (Mat. 26: 69-74)
To know whether we spend more time with Jesus or not, just ask our friends what they feel. If we spend time with Jesus, they will know
The world around us may be doing things different; we don’t need to do it that way
On the day of Pentecost, when thousands were gathered in the city to celebrate the Jewish festival of Pentecost, a group of 120 were praying in a room. In the previous years, most of these celebrated the festival. But now, they had a transformation. Instead of them joining the crowd, the crowd joined them!
We cannot get the things of God without a cost. A school/college student who wants to enjoy everything out there, cannot score high grades/marks. Those who are focused on success need to sacrifice accordingly
What is our spiritual goal? We sometimes ask children what they want to become. Have we ever asked ourselves the same question, on a spiritual level?
God is not against our advancement in job or finance, provided we are not using the wrong means to get there and we are not worshiping them. But we don’t have to ignore/sacrifice our spirituality for that
It is important we set our priorities right. God needs us, as we need God
Have a blessed day!
BG
Prayer: Father God, thank you for the gift- the gift of giving yourself to us through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Help us to know you more, day after day, so that others will come to know you, through us. In Jesus’ name. Amen
“God gave us His best so that we can be the best”