Holy Spirit

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people!"

—Acts 4:8 NIV

Key Thought​

Not only did Jesus pour out the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:32-33), but the Spirit continued to inspire Peter and others to speak the message of God's grace and truth to the people. We must not underestimate the incredible truth that this simple verse proclaims. Just as God spoke through the prophets in ages gone by, he spoke through Peter and the...

 

And Peter said to [the crowd on Pentecost], "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. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."

—Acts 2:38-39 ESV

Key Thought​

A promised gift of the new movement of God prophesied in Scripture is the Holy Spirit. We often focus on the forgiveness...

 

[Peter, on Pentecost, quoting God's promise from Joel 2:] "In [the last] days, I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants — men and women alike — and they will prophesy."

—Acts 2:18 NLT

Key Thought​

Luke emphasizes in Acts that the coming of the Holy Spirit wasn't to just a select few leaders for a limited time, as was usually the case in the Old Testament. (Also see yesterday's Thought and Acts 2:17.) After the Holy Spirit came and began the "last days"...

 

[Peter, on Pentecost, quoting from Joel 2:] "In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams."

—Acts 2:17 NIV

Key Thought​

So much handwringing goes on to determine when the "last days" will occur. However, the prophecy of Joel 2 begins to be fulfilled in Acts 2. Therefore, the events happening then are the beginning of the "last days"...

 

When the Feast of Pentecost came, [the apostles] were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force — no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them.

—Acts 2:1-4 MESSAGE

Key Thought​

The image of "tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on...

 

[Not long after Jesus' ascension,] Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, "Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus."

—Acts 1:15-16 NIV

Key Thought​

The crucifixion of Jesus was not an accident. The passion of Christ was part of God's plan from the beginning (1 Peter 1:18-20). The Law...

 

Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, ...

—Luke 10:21 NLT

Key Thought​

All too frequently, we pursue the wrong things hoping that they will make us happy. Real joy, however, comes from the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. When we look at the life of Jesus and at the lives of his early followers, we see that the presence of the Holy Spirit brought them joy. The Spirit's presence can do the same for us. This joy from the Spirit comes from many things...

 

[Jesus, in the synagogue, reading from Isaiah:] "The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the LORD's favor has come."

—Luke 4:18-19 NLT

Key Thought​

Luke makes clear that Jesus was conceived in Mary's womb through the Holy Spirit, anointed by the Holy Spirit at his baptism, and...

 

[The LORD said:] "I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days."

—Joel 2:28-29 NIV

Key Thought​

Throughout the Old Testament, God's Spirit would come upon special leaders or agents of God's will to do his work. Most of the time, the Spirit's presence would be temporary to help with a pressing...

 

When you send your Spirit, [all creatures] are created, and you renew the face of the ground.

—Psalm 104:30 NIV

Key Thought​

Psalm 104 praises God as creator and sustainer of the earth. One of the dimensions of his providential care has to do with the work of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit that was hovering above the primordial formless creation (Genesis 1:1-2) waiting for the Father's word to complete the work of creation is even now the Father's partner in bringing...