Spirit Baptised: Devotion 1

[There will be 5 devotions that will be shared on every Monday in March. The purpose of these devotions is to help us reflect on the baptism and the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of follower of Christ. At the start of each reading, take time to invite the Holy Spirit to be part of your devotion. Ask Him to open your eyes and ears to the words that He had inspired the writers to write. Come with an open heart to receive the words, thoughts, feelings, images that he will impress on you. Allow him to immerse your thoughts and transform your mind. You do not need to rush through all the questions at one sitting. You have a week to complete it.] 

In John 1:32-34, we read that it was revealed to John that the ministry of Jesus is to baptise with the Holy Spirit.  While Jesus walked this earth with his disciples, he did not baptise anyone.  In Acts 1:4-8, we see that Jesus promised the gift of the Holy Spirit and instructed his disciples to wait until they received that gift. 

At that time, the disciples were followers of Jesus, who to the world was a criminal that was crucified. The future seemed uncertain. They had trouble comprehending the purpose of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and they reasoned that it meant that the Kingdom of Israel would be restored. But even then, given their circumstances they wondered when that was going to happen. Jesus lifted their eyes from their immediate concerns to a task that would have eternal consequence. They were not going to be engaged in earthly political battles but their fight was for the hearts, minds and souls of all the people of the world. Just as he had shown himself to be the son of God, they were tasked to be his witnesses to testify to this truth.  

Q1a: How do you think these disciples would have gone on to carry out their task as witnesses if they did not receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit?  What do you think would have been recorded in the Book of Acts of their exploits? 

Q1b: How do you think the Holy Spirit empowers us to live our lives as witnesses for Christ?  Is much of our lives powered by ourselves or the Holy Spirit? 

Read the remainder of Acts 2.   

Q2: How was Peter transformed after he was filled with the Holy Spirit?  Peter was an uneducated fisherman and he also denied knowing Jesus.  What do you think his life would have been like, if he was not baptised with the Holy Spirit? 

Q3a: In Acts 2:42-47, we read about the lives of the enlarged community of believers.  In what way did the Holy Spirit bring unity to the body of believers?  

Q3b: In what way, can the Holy Spirit bring unity to the community of believers that you belong to?