JCSM's Weekly Devotions (click here to listen!)

"The Acts of the Holy Spirit"

Ezekiel 36:26, 27  "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them."

Acts 2:1-4  "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.  Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

Acts 3:2-8  "And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms.  And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, 'Look at us.'  So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.  Then Peter said, 'Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.'  And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.  So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God."

Acts 5:14-16  "And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them.  Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed."

Insight: The book of Acts outlines the acts of the Holy Spirit and not simply the acts of the apostles.  After the resurrection and ascension, the Holy Spirit was poured out and entered the hearts of believers to stay, helping them do miraculous things and live holy lives.

Prayer: "Dear Lord, bless us and make us like You.  Thank you for your Holy Spirit and how You have poured Him into us.  Help us to understand this awesome gift.  Thank you for being faithful and true.  There is no other like You.  Forgive our sins.  Let us purify ourselves and have more faith in You.  Increase our love for You and for others, Lord.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

On February 5th, 1631, Minister Roger Williams (1603-1683) and his wife arrived in Boston. He established religious freedom as the law in Rhode Island, the colony he founded. Rhode Island soon became a safe haven for Anabaptists, Quakers and others whose beliefs otherwise were denied public expression.

The freedom of religion that America enjoys today was greatly encouraged by Roger Williams. He also learned the language of local Indians and won their trust as he shared the gospel in their own tongue.

This excerpt was taken from Donald DeYoung's book called, "365 Fascinating Facts From the World of Discovery."

(This explanation came from "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained", by Dr. Jason Gastrich.  This book is on CD and gives over 4,000 answers to alleged Bible errors, regarding the entire Bible at http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.org.  There is also a 300 question workbook that accompanies the CD-ROM.)

God has ways to strip away your pride.

We could never earn or repay God's grace.

God can help us do things that we were taught were impossible.

Jesus bled for our sins and He was bruised for our iniquities.

Jesus' first act after rising from the dead was folding His burial clothes.

The only qualification you must have to approach God is genuine faith.

The story of Easter has no ending.

If you like to read wise quotes, you can either visit our Quotations Archive or get a copy of Dr. Gastrich's book called, "10,000 Wise Quotes and Spiritual Sayings"!  It's the largest collection of Bible-based quotations in the world.