'Holy Spirit' Tagged Posts (Page 9)
Daily Devotions
Mark 1:4-8 “I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” vs. 8 There seems to have been some controversy in the early church about water and spirit baptism. Water baptism was of course linked with John the Baptist, but Jesus didn’t baptize anyone with water–though according to John’s Gospel, his disciples did baptize. Jesus simply interacted with hurting people, laid hands on some, and invited others to become his followers. He didn’t have…
Daily Devotions
Acts 19:4-7 “When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied—” vs. 6 According to Luke, when John the Baptist’s disciples submitted to baptism Paul laid hands on them–and there were spectacular manifestations of the Spirit, much like what had happened in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. It was not unusual in the early congregations for such things to take place–speaking in tongues or “glossolalia” was considered…
Daily Devotions
Acts 19:1-2 “He said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?’ They replied, ‘No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.’” vs. 2 Evidently disciples of John the Baptizer had spread far beyond the boundaries of Judea and Galilee–Paul ran into a few during his first trip to Ephesus, more than a thousand miles away from the Jordan valley. They hadn’t even heard about Jesus and were puzzled when Paul asked…
Daily Devotions
Mark 1: 5-8 “I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” vs. 8 Both Jesus and John were significant figures in Roman occupied Judea. Both had a powerful message and each of them gathered a sizable following of disciples. But they were different too, and Mark accents that difference in his account of Jesus’ life. John’s baptism was for his followers a sign of repentance, a declaration that they were changing their lives…
Daily Devotions
John 8:34-36 “Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin…So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.’” vss. 34, 36 Martin Luther was deeply aware of his own sin! Every day he battled to get the upper hand and be free of this hideous slavery. He used every tool that the Church provided, praying regularly, daily confessing his sins, and even abusing his body with penitential acts.…
Daily Devotions
Matthew 21:23-27 … “When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?’” vs. 23 The question of authority was important for the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. Authority was what legitimized a person’s words and actions, it was what ordered the hierarchy and established a chain of command. In their eyes if…
Daily Devotions: July 23, 2020
July 23, 2020 Romans 8:26-32… “Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” vs. 26 There are times when prayer seems easy. We know exactly what is on our minds and find no difficulty in laying out our petitions of joy and thanksgiving, while also letting God know what we’d like to have happen. But on other occasions…
Daily Devotions: March 23, 2020
March 23, 2020 Ezekiel 37:1-14 … “I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.” v. 10 As folks around the world have battened down the hatches in response to the COVID-19 virus that has so changed our lives, we’ve been hyper-vigilant in looking for symptoms of the disease. Some seem similar to those of colds or the flu, and may not even catch our attention.…
Daily Devotions: September 4, 2019
September 4, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 1:4-6 … “The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.” vs. 4 The imagery used by the Psalmist calls to mind the hilltop threshing floors used by farmers to separate the wheat from the chaff at harvest time. As they tossed the separated grain into the air, the chaff would be blown away by the wind while the heavier wheat would fall back to the earth. The…
Daily Devotions: September 4, 2019
September 4, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 1:4-6 … “The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.” vs. 4 The imagery used by the Psalmist calls to mind the hilltop threshing floors used by farmers to separate the wheat from the chaff at harvest time. As they tossed the separated grain into the air, the chaff would be blown away by the wind while the heavier wheat would fall back to the earth. The…
Daily Devotions: August 22, 2019
August 22, 2019 For full passage click: Hebrews 12:18-21 … “You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest…” vs. 18 The writer of the book of Hebrews, writing to people who were familiar with Scripture, found inspiration in the faith of the ancestors, but also pointed to the limitations of their stories. Here he compares the experience of the Israelites at Mt. Sinai with the new covenant mediated…
Daily Devotions: July 28, 2019
July 28, 2019 For full passage click: Luke 11:4-13 …“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” vs. 13 According to Luke, Jesus says some important things about answered prayer to his disciples. Evidently they had the same questions as many of us. As soon as we start talking about prayer the conversation often shifts to the…