hope conference: ACTS
My very first hope conference! :)Devotion day 1No believer can bring a sinner to the place of faith and decision. Only the Spirit Himself can (John 6:44, 16:6-11). It is however, every believer’s privilege to be able to help a sinner to the place of faith through the enablement of the Spirit.
No matter where we live or how ordinary we think we are, it is the Spirit who empowers us to be the kind of witnesses Christ called us to be. The Holy Spirit is still working. Partner with Him so that you can be the witness Christ called you to be today!
Devotion Day 2The miracle of the holy spirit
The ability to break out in tongues after we are baptised in the Holy Spirit is God’s assurance of His living power in us.
Holy Spirit baptism may seem like a private encounter to each believer but in fact, its impact goes far beyond the individual. To those who are outside the church, the power of the Holy Spirit is obvious. In the Book of Acts, many were drawn to the message of Christ because they witnessed the manifestations of the Spirit’s power through the believers.
Peter used to be just an uneducated fisherman. After he was baptised by the Holy Spirit, he shared the message of Christ to the crowd. That very day, the church grew from 120 to over 3,000 people. This was not because of his eloquence but because the Holy Spirit empowered him to witness effectively for Christ.
Continue to know the Holy Spirit, partner with the Holy Spirit, and live out the power of the Holy Spirit. His living power is the perfect evidence to the authenticity of the message of Christ!
Acts 2:37-38When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptised, 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.
Devotion Day 3
Boldness in the spirit
Although Peter and John were unschooled ordinary men, they were obviously very different from those who had religious authority. They could not only perform miracles but also speak with the fullness of the Spirit (Acts 4:8). Feeling threatened, those with religious authorities seized Peter and John and kept them in jail, questioned them and warned them not to continue speaking or teaching in the name of Jesus. The opposition was real, but convicted by the truth they had experienced, both of them continued to speak with boldness from the Holy Spirit and with confidence in His message (Acts 4:8-11, 19-20).
though im facing persecuation, but that does not mean i can't serve and share the gospel.
My life is a testimony to others!
we may feel like unlikely candidates to make any significant impact for Him because our roles are ordinary and performances not outstanding.
Just like us, Peter and John were ordinary, yet they were able to speak boldly and confidently about the message of Christ with the empowerment of the Holy
Spirit! This boldness and confidence comes from God; it is not something we can work up within ourselves.1 Corinthians 1:26–27Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
Devotion Day 5The spirit leading|
Philip was not one of the original twelve Apostles; in fact, he was simply one of those who had been scattered from the church due to the great persecution. He did not set out planning to be a pioneer. Rather, he became a pioneer wherever he went because he had the Holy Spirit in Him.Philip obeyed the Spirit’s leading and witnessed as the Spirit led him and eventually he turned out to be the pioneer of the Samaritans as well as of the Gentiles.
Many times, we may feel that being a pioneer requires a special calling, knowledge or experience. God showed us through Philip that a pioneer is simply someone who is willing to be led by the Spirit to witness for Jesus anywhere and to anyone. Today, we have the Holy Spirit living in us who is leading us. When we are willing to take a step of faith to obey Him as He leads us, we will become a pioneer for Jesus everywhere we go.
Devotion Day 6Trusting in God's guidanceWe can all identify with feelings of fear and uncertainty especially when getting out of our comfort zones. This was what Ananias, a disciple of Jesus residing in Damascus, probably felt when Jesus called him to go and meet Saul.
Saul was reputed for being a fierce persecutor of the disciples of Jesus. When the believers fled from Jerusalem, he went the extra mile to ensure that those who had fled were sought out and taken as prisoners back to Jerusalem. It was an unthinkable mission for Ananias to approach Saul because he could have been a dangerous man.
As Jesus assured Ananias of how he was going to be used as a vessel to lead Saul, who was also called Paul, to His plans and what Paul would be accomplishing for His name sake, Ananias obeyed. He trusted and obeyed the instructions of the Lord and found Paul exactly at the place where Jesus told him. After Ananias prayed for the restoration of Paul’s sight, he also baptised him as Jesus commanded. Ananias might not have thought much about his obedience; however it was his obedience which God worked through to reach out to Paul.
The encounter Paul had with Jesus totally transformed him! After believing in Jesus and being baptised in the Holy Spirit, Paul started to preach in the synagogues about Jesus being the Son of God. He also grew more and more powerful as he continued to testify for Jesus. For God to unfold His plans in Paul’s life, He used Ananias.
All of us might be familiar with the very prominent Bible character, Paul but many of us may not remember Ananias, the humble vessel. He responded by trusting and obeying God despite of his initial fear and distrust (in approaching) of Paul.
Like Ananias, at times we may feel inadequate to approach the people God leads us to. Perhaps, it is the fear of rejection that crippled us. However, God is encouraging us through the example of Ananias to be willing and take the step to trust His guidance and obey Him. He can use us to transform someone’s life in ways we may never have thought of or imagined.
No matter where we live or how ordinary we think we are, it is the Spirit who empowers us to be the kind of witnesses Christ called us to be. The Holy Spirit is still working. Partner with Him so that you can be the witness Christ called you to be today!
Devotion Day 2The miracle of the holy spirit
The ability to break out in tongues after we are baptised in the Holy Spirit is God’s assurance of His living power in us.
Holy Spirit baptism may seem like a private encounter to each believer but in fact, its impact goes far beyond the individual. To those who are outside the church, the power of the Holy Spirit is obvious. In the Book of Acts, many were drawn to the message of Christ because they witnessed the manifestations of the Spirit’s power through the believers.
Peter used to be just an uneducated fisherman. After he was baptised by the Holy Spirit, he shared the message of Christ to the crowd. That very day, the church grew from 120 to over 3,000 people. This was not because of his eloquence but because the Holy Spirit empowered him to witness effectively for Christ.
Continue to know the Holy Spirit, partner with the Holy Spirit, and live out the power of the Holy Spirit. His living power is the perfect evidence to the authenticity of the message of Christ!
Acts 2:37-38When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptised, 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.
Devotion Day 3
Boldness in the spirit
Although Peter and John were unschooled ordinary men, they were obviously very different from those who had religious authority. They could not only perform miracles but also speak with the fullness of the Spirit (Acts 4:8). Feeling threatened, those with religious authorities seized Peter and John and kept them in jail, questioned them and warned them not to continue speaking or teaching in the name of Jesus. The opposition was real, but convicted by the truth they had experienced, both of them continued to speak with boldness from the Holy Spirit and with confidence in His message (Acts 4:8-11, 19-20).
though im facing persecuation, but that does not mean i can't serve and share the gospel.
My life is a testimony to others!
we may feel like unlikely candidates to make any significant impact for Him because our roles are ordinary and performances not outstanding.
Just like us, Peter and John were ordinary, yet they were able to speak boldly and confidently about the message of Christ with the empowerment of the Holy
Spirit! This boldness and confidence comes from God; it is not something we can work up within ourselves.1 Corinthians 1:26–27Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
Devotion Day 5The spirit leading|
Philip was not one of the original twelve Apostles; in fact, he was simply one of those who had been scattered from the church due to the great persecution. He did not set out planning to be a pioneer. Rather, he became a pioneer wherever he went because he had the Holy Spirit in Him.Philip obeyed the Spirit’s leading and witnessed as the Spirit led him and eventually he turned out to be the pioneer of the Samaritans as well as of the Gentiles.
Many times, we may feel that being a pioneer requires a special calling, knowledge or experience. God showed us through Philip that a pioneer is simply someone who is willing to be led by the Spirit to witness for Jesus anywhere and to anyone. Today, we have the Holy Spirit living in us who is leading us. When we are willing to take a step of faith to obey Him as He leads us, we will become a pioneer for Jesus everywhere we go.
Devotion Day 6Trusting in God's guidanceWe can all identify with feelings of fear and uncertainty especially when getting out of our comfort zones. This was what Ananias, a disciple of Jesus residing in Damascus, probably felt when Jesus called him to go and meet Saul.
Saul was reputed for being a fierce persecutor of the disciples of Jesus. When the believers fled from Jerusalem, he went the extra mile to ensure that those who had fled were sought out and taken as prisoners back to Jerusalem. It was an unthinkable mission for Ananias to approach Saul because he could have been a dangerous man.
As Jesus assured Ananias of how he was going to be used as a vessel to lead Saul, who was also called Paul, to His plans and what Paul would be accomplishing for His name sake, Ananias obeyed. He trusted and obeyed the instructions of the Lord and found Paul exactly at the place where Jesus told him. After Ananias prayed for the restoration of Paul’s sight, he also baptised him as Jesus commanded. Ananias might not have thought much about his obedience; however it was his obedience which God worked through to reach out to Paul.
The encounter Paul had with Jesus totally transformed him! After believing in Jesus and being baptised in the Holy Spirit, Paul started to preach in the synagogues about Jesus being the Son of God. He also grew more and more powerful as he continued to testify for Jesus. For God to unfold His plans in Paul’s life, He used Ananias.
All of us might be familiar with the very prominent Bible character, Paul but many of us may not remember Ananias, the humble vessel. He responded by trusting and obeying God despite of his initial fear and distrust (in approaching) of Paul.
Like Ananias, at times we may feel inadequate to approach the people God leads us to. Perhaps, it is the fear of rejection that crippled us. However, God is encouraging us through the example of Ananias to be willing and take the step to trust His guidance and obey Him. He can use us to transform someone’s life in ways we may never have thought of or imagined.
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