Holy Spirit

After several days of visiting [in Caesarea], a prophet from Judea by the name of Agabus came down to see [Paul and his traveling companions and hosts]. He went right up to Paul, took Paul's belt, and, in a dramatic gesture, tied himself up, hands and feet. He said, "This is what the Holy Spirit says: The Jews in Jerusalem are going to tie up the man who owns this belt just like this and hand him over to godless unbelievers."

—Acts 21:10-11 MESSAGE

Key Thought...

 

[Paul and his traveling companions] looked up the local disciples [in Tyre] and stayed with them seven days. Their message to Paul, from insight given by the Spirit, was "Don't go to Jerusalem."

—Acts 21:4 MESSAGE

Key Thought


Okay, I admit this is confusing. Paul is convicted that he must go to Jerusalem. At the same time, he knows hardship awaits him. Now this warning from the Spirit: "Don't go to Jerusalem!" I don't know any way to understand this...

 

[Paul, to the Ephesian elders at Miletus:] "Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood."

—Acts 20:28 NIV

Key Thought


Paul reminds the Ephesian elders of three heavenly truths about leaders:

1. Leaders are to watch, feed, protect and care for (or shepherd) the people of God.
2. The Holy Spirit is involved in putting leaders into their...

 

[Paul, to the Ephesian elders at Miletus:] "But there is another urgency before me now. I feel compelled to go to Jerusalem. I'm completely in the dark about what will happen when I get there. I do know that it won't be any picnic, for the Holy Spirit has let me know repeatedly and clearly that there are hard times and imprisonment ahead."

—Acts 20:22-23 MESSAGE

Key Thought


Paul faces an incredibly difficult dilemma: The Holy Spirit is drawing him to Jerusalem and...

 

When Paul placed his hands on [the people he had just baptized], the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

—Acts 19:6 NIV

Key Thought


The Holy Spirit is a vital part of our conversion and a crucial part of our daily walk with God and our transformation into the character and compassion of Christ. Paul's teaching and the work of the Holy Spirit in today's verse make clear that God has now fully included this group of people — disciples...

 

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."

—Acts 19:1-2 NIV

Key Thought


The Holy Spirit is a crucial part of our conversion and of our Christian lives. Jesus pours the Spirit out upon us to give us new birth into a new life (Titus 3:5-6; Titus 3:3-7)...

 

[Paul and his companions on the second missionary journey] went to Phrygia, and then on through the region of Galatia. Their plan was to turn west into Asia province, but the Holy Spirit blocked that route. So they went to Mysia and tried to go north to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn't let them go there either.

—Acts 16:6-7 MESSAGE

Key Thought


I am not sure how "the Holy Spirit blocked that route" or how "the Spirit of Jesus wouldn't let them...

 

[The apostles and elders in Jerusalem writing to Gentile Christians:] "For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements ..."

—Acts 15:28 NLT

Key Thought


Acts 15 is a remarkable reminder of the power of the Holy Spirit to work within a group of people seeking to honor God. Today's verse is from the conclusion of the gathering of apostles, elders, and believers in Jerusalem where they were seeking to address...

 

[Peter, addressing the apostles and elders at the Council in Jerusalem:] "God knows people's hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us."

—Acts 15:8 NLT

Key Thought


These words come from Peter's defense for taking the good news of Jesus to Gentiles — Cornelius and his household (Acts 10:1-48). From the moment that the Holy Spirit came upon Cornelius and the other believers in his household, Peter and his...

 

And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

—Acts 13:52 NIV

Key Thought


The Holy Spirit's presence in God's people is accompanied by joy! Jesus was full of joy because of the Spirit (Luke 10:21), and the same is also true of his disciples (Romans 14:17; Galatians 5:22). What I find interesting about today's passage is that all the external reasons for the disciples of Jesus to rejoice were absent. Paul and Barnabas were persecuted and run out of the...