THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2019
[The disciples prayed:] “Now, Lord consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
After they prayed, the paced they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
(Acts 4:29-31)
This passage falls within any eventful Chapter 4 of Acts. Chapter 2 features the birth of the Church, brought about through the visible and powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In Chapter 3, we read about Peter and John’s ministry at the Temple, where they healed a lame man in the Name of Jesus.
Their faithfulness triggered a strong rejection from the Sanhedrin’s leaders. While the leadership wished to punish Peter and John, they recognized that a miraculous power had indeed come. In Acts 4:13,14, we read about the conflict within the leadership: “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.”
Even today, the world cannot refute the powerful testimony of a changed life. For every believer, we have some testimony of God’s tremendous intervention on our behalf, both at the time of repentance and coming to faith or through the course of our Christian walk. We will do well to share that great news with others, which will prompt some reaction and offer opportunities to go deeper with spiritual conversations.
We must also remember that the power for this transformative ministry came from the Holy Spirit. He continues to intervene today, filling us and strengthening us to bear fruit and to shine forth the light of Christ. In our day, we often worry about what others might think. Throughout history, and starting here, we encounter real spiritual conflict between the Kingdom of Christ and other kingdoms. Standing with the Kingdom of Christ brings eternal benefits and draws us closer into relationship with God and other believers.
How would you like to see the Spirit’s power poured out in your life? In our area? How could you trust God for greater boldness in your witness?
Lord God, thank You for pouring out Your Holy Spirit on the early disciples and bringing about the transformation of many hearts and minds. We thank You for the faithful testimony of the Church throughout many eras and many countries. Your Kingdom has outlasted many empires, rulers, and world systems. Your Kingdom is the desire of our hearts, and we wish to become better ambassadors of this Kingdom in our day. Bring about wholeness and holiness in our lives so that we may better reflect Your character in our world. We seek the boldness given by the Holy Spirit so that we may not shrink back from standing for You in our day. In Jesus’s mighty Name, amen.
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