Acts 2 - 9.3.24

SCRIPTURE:  Acts 2:1-4  "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.  They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."

OBSERVATION:  This is one of the most significant days in ALL of history!  The Holy Spirit came 50 days after Jesus rose from the dead,  and10 days after He ascended back up to the Father. 

Before Jesus went to the cross, He comforted His disciples as He gave them a promise.  He told them to ask the Father to send ANOTHER Helper, that Helper was to be no other than THE HOLY SPIRIT!  Jesus told His disciples that the Holy Spirit, Who first appeared on page 1 of the Bible would not only come in power, but that He would be like Him, and would be their new teacher.  "These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you.  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."

THERE WAS A SOUND!  The very first sound of God was when Adam and Eve heard God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, They had sinned against Him, and their guilty feelings made them want to hide from Him.  The Lord CALLED to them. 

THERE WAS TONGUES OF FIRE!  These were Spirit-empowered words!  The disciples were praying in tongues, but the people were hearing words in their own language.  They were all speaking Spirit-empowered words as they told about the wonderful works of God.

"And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out My Spirit, and they shall prophesy.  And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.  And it shall come to pass that EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved".  

Just as Jesus promised, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit would empower the disciples!

APPLICATION:  "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."  (Acts 2:37-41). We are filled with the Holy Spirit when we are born-again.  Water baptism doesn't save us, but it is an outward expression of a person surrendering their will to the Lord."  This is where a believer makes a public confession of their faith. "As believers in Christ we're to be filled with the Spirit, or "under the influence" of God's Spirit.  God will not mislead us as we obediently follow Him.  But when other things outside of Christ fill us, these "things" can lead us down paths that don't honor and glorify Him."  (Billy Graham). 

Being baptized in the Holy Spirit:  The baptism of the Holy Spirit was predicted by John the Baptist and by Jesus before He ascended to heaven.  "For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."  This promise was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost,  For the first time, people were permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and the Church had begun. 

"And these signs will accompany those who believe; in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues;"  (Mark 16:17).

" For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge, according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the One Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between the spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.  All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, Who apportions to each one individually as He wills".  (1 Corinthians 12:8-11).

"And God has appointed in the Church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, administrating, and various kinds of tongues".  (1 Corinthians 12:28).

PRAYER:  Thank You God for saving me, and for sending the Holy Spirit to comfort, teach, and empower me.  Thank You for filling me with Your wisdom and boldness so that I am able to be a witness of Your great love.  Your continual infilling, which I pray for often, is what compels me to want to follow after You, and it helps me to be courageous as I step out in faith and trust You to do supernatural miracles as I pray and point people to Jesus.      

- Robin Orefice

Psalm 38 - 9.2.24

Scripture

‭‭

Psalms‬ ‭38‬:‭18‬ ‭NLT

“But I confess my sins; I am deeply sorry for what I have done.”

Observation

In this psalm David is expressing his utter misery because of the guilt of his sin. David feels because of his sin, God’s hand is moving against him. He uses imagery of illness, weakened bones, overwhelming burdens, rotting flesh, fever, and loss of strength and relationships due to his sins. Bu,t David doesn’t lose hope. He confesses his sins to God. He shows true remorse and repentance. That is why David continues to fight on. He knows God is a forgiving and loving God, so David waits patiently for God to rescue him.

Application

Worldly Sorrow vs. Godly Sorrow

Worldly Sorrow is basically saying sorry, but still going ahead and continuing with that bad behavior. It’s more of a “sorry for being caught” attitude. But Godly Sorrow leads to conversion and a true change of heart. It is that Godly Sorrow that David shows here in this passage that God desires from each of us.

“The kind of sorrow God wants makes people decide to change their lives. This leads them to salvation, and we cannot be sorry for that. But the kind of sorrow the world has will bring death.” -2 Corinthians‬ ‭7‬:‭10‬ ‭ERV‬‬

David knew he messed up. The guilt of his sins were weighing him down and God’s hand that once blessed him, is now punishing him. David knew what he had to do. He had to turn to God, confess his sins, ask God for His forgiveness, and then turn away from those sins. And once David did that, it was like a HEAVY weight was lifted from his shoulders. David’s sorrow turned into hope. 😊 He knew God’s grace, mercy, and love endures forever. ❤️

“The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” -‭‭Psalms‬ ‭103‬:‭8‬-‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” -1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

So what are we waiting for?! Confess our sins to God today. Turn away from our sins and seek His ways instead. Then, we will experience that heavy burden of shame and guilt lifted from our shoulders. We can live our lives with joy and hope, KNOWING that our sins are forgiven because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross. ❤️

Prayer

Father God, thank You for your kindness, goodness, mercy, and grace. Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, who willingly died for my sins. Thank You for being so patient with me, a sinner. I ask and pray that You please forgive me of my sins. Give me that Godly Sorrow in my heart, which leads to repentance. May Your Holy Spirit reveal to me any areas of my life where I may have unconfessed sins so that I may seek Your forgiveness and repent from them too. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. 🙏🏽

-Moses Gaddi

Matthew 28 - 8.30.24

SCRIPTURE:

"The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, Who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.' Now I have told you." Matthew 28:5-7

OBSERVATION:

This story starts off with Mary Magdalene and the other Mary going to look at the tomb where Jesus' body had been laid. A violent earthquake took place because an angel of the Lord came down from heaven. This angel of the Lord speaks as God, identifies Himself with God, and exercises the responsibilities of God. In several other appearances, those who saw the angel of the Lord feared for their lives because they had 'seen the Lord'. The angel's appearance was like lighting and His clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of Him that they shook and became like dead men. It is clear that the angel of the Lord is a theophany, an appearance of God in physical form. (GotQuestions.org).

Jesus declared Himself to be existent "before Abraham", so it is logical that He would be active and manifest in the world. Whatever the case, whether the angel of the Lord was pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus or an appearance of God, it is highly likely that the phrase 'the angel of the Lord" usually identifies a physical appearance of God.

Just as Jesus promised, He rose from the dead! His bodily resurrection shows us that the living Christ is ruler of God's eternal kingdom. And just as Jesus body was resurrected, with that same power our dead bodies will come back to life to be with God forever!

APPLICATION:

Thank You God for revealing Yourself to me. Thank you for the ones you sent to share the gospel with me. I can remember the joy that filled my heart the day I heard the Good News, and that my sins were forgiven! Help me to be a good witness of Your love so that as I partner with you, many more will come to know You.

PRAYER:

I pray for boldness and confidence to share the gospel with those You put in my path. Jesus, You have risen from the dead, and I can attest to that because You are now living in my heart! You alone have the power to save the lost! Because of that, I pray that I will be willing, ready, and available to share the Good News about Your great love.

- Robin Orefice