Tag: Guided By Grace

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THEY RECEIVED THE HOLY SPIRIT / ACTS 8:17

START YOUR DAY RIGHT DEVOTION

(KJV) Acts 8:17
Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

THEY RECEIVED THE HOLY SPIRIT / ACTS 8:17

Through the laying on of hands (Acts 6:6), the Samaritans received the Holy Spirit in the same sense as the baptism in the Spirit that occurred at Pentecost (Acts 1:8; Acts 2:4).

  1. The Samaritans’ “two-stage” experience – first believing, and then being filled with the Spirit – shows that the “two-stage” experience of Christ’s followers at Pentecost was not abnormal. The experiences of both Paul in Acts 9:5-17 and the Ephesian disciples in Acts 19:1-6 were the same as the Samaritans. They accepted Christ as Savior and Lord (the Forgiver of their sins and Leader of their lives) and afterwards were filled with (baptized in) the Spirit. There is no set time between saving faith and baptism in the Spirit; it does not need to be long, as was shown with the Christians at Caesarea (Acts 10).

Baptism in the Holy Spirit does not save us. The necessary steps for salvation are repenting (admitting and turning from our own sinful way and toward God in faith) and yielding one’s life to Christ. But just as baptism in water is an outward testimony of what has taken place inwardly through salvation (Romans 6:4), so baptism in the Spirit provides outward evidence of the Spirit’s powerful presence flowing through a believer’s life. God’s Spirit already lives within and directs Christians’ lives from the point of salvation (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19). Yet, baptism in the Spirit is vital for experiencing God’s full power and purpose for their lives. In a sense, salvation puts the Holy Spirit into people, and being “filled with the Spirit” helps bring the Spirit out through them in powerful ways (Acts 2:37-39; 4:31).

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Some of our Post That Might Interest You, All Out of the Current Book / Chapter

  1. HAD NOT YET COME UPON ANY OF THEM / ACTS 8:15-16
  2. THEY WERE ALL FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT / ACTS 4:31
  3. FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT / ACTS 2:4
  4. THEY WERE BAPTIZED / ACTS 19:15
  5. THIS CORRUPT GENERATION / ACTS 2:40
  6. REPENT AND BE BAPTIZED / ACTS 2:38
  7. FOR YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN AND FOR ALL / ACTS 2:39
  8. WORSHIPING … AND FASTING / ACTS 13:2
  9. KEPT BY THE HOLY SPIRIT FROM PREACHING / ACTS 16:6
  10. GUIDED BY GRACE HOME
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Blessings,
Margarita & Stace
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HAD NOT YET COME UPON ANY OF THEM / ACTS 8:15-16

START YOU DAY RIGHT DAILY DEVOTION

(KJV) Acts 8:15-16
Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

HAD NOT YET COME UPON ANY OF THEM / ACTS 8:15-16

They had not yet experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in the same way Christ’s followers did on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4). The Spirit had not yet “come upon” them, and they had not yet received the gift of the Spirit as God the Father had promised (Acts 1:4) and as Christ had foretold when He said, “You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5). Evidently, they had not shown the expected spiritual signs or expressions that typically went along with the baptism in the Spirit (Acts 8:5-24).

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Some of our Post That Might Interest You, All Out of the Current Book / Chapter

  1. THEY WERE ALL FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT / ACTS 4:31
  2. FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT / ACTS 2:4
  3. THEY WERE BAPTIZED / ACTS 19:15
  4. THIS CORRUPT GENERATION / ACTS 2:40
  5. REPENT AND BE BAPTIZED / ACTS 2:38
  6. FOR YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN AND FOR ALL / ACTS 2:39
  7. WORSHIPING … AND FASTING / ACTS 13:2
  8. KEPT BY THE HOLY SPIRIT FROM PREACHING / ACTS 16:6
  9. GUIDED BY GRACE HOME

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Blessings,
Margarita & Stace
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JULY 4th PRAYER

WISING YOU A WARM AND HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Make this 4th of July memorable by counting your blessings and truly appreciating our FREEDOM.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

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  1. GUIDED BY GRACE HOME
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THEY WERE ALL FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT / ACTS 4:31

Start Your Day Right Daily Devotion

(KJV) Acts 4:31

And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

THEY WERE ALL FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT / ACTS 4:31

Several important truths stand out here.

  1. The phrase “baptized with [or in] the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5) describes how the Holy Spirit sets Christ’s followers apart and infuses them with God’s power to boldly and effectively spread the message of Jesus Christ. The terms “filled,” “clothed” and “empowered” describe the Spirit equipping believers for ministry and service (Acts 2:4; Acts 4:8, 31; 9:17; 13:19, 52). The “filling” may be repeated or refreshed.
  2. These two concepts of “baptized” and “filled” also fit together to form a picture of this experience in a Christian’s life. The word “baptize” actually means to immerse, or to dip into; but since the Spirit works within a person, baptism in the Spirit becomes an overflow of the Spirit. For example, a person who receives spiritual salvation is like a container that was once empty being filled with fresh water. He or she is no longer empty but has the Holy Spirit living inside (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19). Then, the baptism in the Holy Spirit is like pouring more clean water into the container until it overflows from within (John 7:38-39). A person who is baptized in the Spirit becomes saturated and immersed (“baptized”) with God’s presence to the point where it spills out of his or her life and is so evident that it impacts others.
  3. The terms “pouring out the Spirit” (Acts 2:17-18; 10:45), “receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38; 8:15) and “coming of the Spirit on” (Acts 8:16; 10:44; 11:15; 19:6) are different expressions for the occasion when Christians are ‘filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4; Acts 4:31; 9:17).
  4. All the believers, including those who had been previously filled (Acts 2:4), are freshly filled to meet the continuing opposition of the Jews (Acts 4:29). Though a person receives the baptism in the Holy Spirit only once, fresh fillings with the Holy Spirit are part of God’s purpose and provision for all who have received the baptism in the Spirit (Acts 4:8; 13:52). We should desire and expect those fillings.
  5. The Spirit here visits and impacts a whole congregation. To fulfill God’s will and mission for the church, not only must individuals be filled with the Spirit (Acts 5:8; 9:17; 13:9), but entire congregations (Acts 2:4; Acts 4:31; 13:53) should experience repeated displays of power from the Holy Spirit when special needs and challenges arise.

When God graciously provided the entire congregation with a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit, the church experienced great boldness and power to speak for Christ, great desire to love and serve one another and great favor from God on all the people.

SPOKE THE WORD OF GOD BOLDLY / ACTS 4:31

The inner power of the Holy Spirit and the reality of God’s presence freed the believers from fear and inspired them with great courage to speak out for Him. Two of the overall purposes of the baptism in the Holy Spirit are to provide a deeper experience of personal worship toward God and empower their public witness to other people (Acts 1:8; Romans 8:26-27; 1 Corinthians 14:2-4).

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Some of our Post That Might Interest You, All Out of the Current Book / Chapter

  1. FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT / ACTS 2:4
  2. THEY WERE BAPTIZED / ACTS 19:15
  3. THIS CORRUPT GENERATION / ACTS 2:40
  4. REPENT AND BE BAPTIZED / ACTS 2:38
  5. FOR YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN AND FOR ALL / ACTS 2:39
  6. WORSHIPING … AND FASTING / ACTS 13:2
  7. KEPT BY THE HOLY SPIRIT FROM PREACHING / ACTS 16:6
  8. GUIDED BY GRACE HOME
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Blessings,
Margarita & Stace
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FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT / ACTS 2:4

START YOUR DAY RIGHT DAILY DEVOTION

(KJV) Acts 2:4

And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT / ACTS 2:4

What is the significance, or meaning, of the first “outpouring” of the Holy Spirit (when God generously sent His Spirit to fill, empower and work through His followers) at Pentecost?

  1. It meant the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s promise is Joel 2:28-29 to pour out His Spirit on all His people in the end times (Acts 1:4-5; Matthew 3:11; Luke 24:49; John 1:33).
  2. Since that period in church history marked the beginning of the last days (Acts 2:17; Hebrews 1:2; 1 Peter 1:20), everyone was now confronted with the decision to turn from their own sinful, rebellious ways and surrender their lives to Christ by faith (Acts 2:17; 3:19; Matthew 3:2; Luke 13:3).
  3. The disciples were “clothed with power form on high” (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8), making them able to communicate with boldness and authority the message and truth of Christ. They became people the Spirit could use to convince others of their lost spiritual condition, their accountability to God and their need for a right relationship with Him that is only possible through faith in Christ (Acts 1:8; 4:13, 33; 6:8; Romans 15:19; John 16:8).
  4. The Holy Spirit revealed His nature and character as one who deeply desires and strives for the spiritual salvation of people of every nation. Those who received the baptism in the Holy Spirit were filled with the same strong desire for the salvation of the human race (Acts 2:38-40; 4:12, 33; Romans 9:1-3; 10:1). In this way, Pentecost is the beginning of world missions (Acts 2:6-11, 39; 1:8) – the effort to take Christ’s message to people of every nation and culture.
  5. The disciples became ministers of the Spirit. They preached about how Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead to provide forgiveness and new life to all who accept Him by faith. They also influenced those who accepted Christ to receive the “gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2: 38-39), whom they had received at Pentecost. Leading others into the baptism in the Holy Spirit was vital to the work of spreading Christ’s message and developing strong churches throughout the New Testament, and it still is today (Acts 8:17; 9:17-18; 10:44-46; 19:6).

Through this baptism in the Spirit, Christians became heirs, or successors, to His earthly ministry. They continued to do and to teach, in the power of the Holy Spirit, the same things that Jesus “began to do and to teach” (Acts 1:1; John 14:12).

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Some of our Post That Might Interest You, All Out of the Current Book / Chapter

  1. THEY WERE BAPTIZED / ACTS 19:15
  2. THIS CORRUPT GENERATION / ACTS 2:40
  3. REPENT AND BE BAPTIZED / ACTS 2:38
  4. FOR YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN AND FOR ALL / ACTS 2:39
  5. WORSHIPING … AND FASTING / ACTS 13:2
  6. KEPT BY THE HOLY SPIRIT FROM PREACHING / ACTS 16:6
  7. GUIDED BY GRACE HOME
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Blessings,
Margarita & Stace
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JESUS, FULL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT / LUKE 4:1-2

START YOUR DAY RIGHT DAILY DEVOTION

(KJV) Luke 4:1-2

And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

JESUS, FULL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT / LUKE 4:1

Jesus was empowered and led by the Spirit when He encountered Satan’s temptation.

TEMPTED BY THE DEVIL

One aspect of Jesus’ temptation revolved around what kind of Messiah, or Savior, He would be and how He would use His anointing (His authority and empowerment) from God. (Many Jews would reject Him because He did not fulfill their expectations of a political “Savior” who would step forward with military might and free them from Roman rule.).

  1. Satan tempted Jesus to use his power to serve his own self-interest (Luke 4:3-4) to gain glory and power over the nations instead of accepting the humility and suffering that was ahead for him (Luke 4:5-8). This was an opportunity for him to satisfy the people’s expectation for a charismatic Messiah (Luke 4:9-11).
  2. Satan still tempts Christian leaders to use their spiritual authority, position, and ability for their own self-interest, to establish their own reputation and power and to please people rather than God. Those who selfishly compromise with Satan have actually surrendered to his control.

Jesus turned away every one of Satan’s temptations by properly referring to God’s Word (“It is written”). If this was the effective strategy for Jesus, we certainly must know and rely on His Word as revealed to us in the Bible.

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Some of our Post That Might Interest You, All Out of the Current Book / Chapter

  1. HOLY SPIRIT DESCENDED ON HIM / LUKE 3:22
  2. THE WISE … LITTLE CHILDREN / LUKE 10:21
  3. DO NOT REJOICE / LUKE 10:20
  4. SNAKES AND SCORPINS / LUKE 10:19
  5. GUIDED BY GRACE HOME
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Blessings,
Margarita and Stace
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HOLY SPIRIT DESCENDED ON HIM / LUKE 3:22

Start Your Day Right Daily Devotion

(KJV) Luke 3:21-22

Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,

22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

HOLY SPIRIT DESCENDED ON HIM / LUKE 3:21-22

Jesus who from the beginning had been conceived by and filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35), is now personally commissioned and empowered by the Spirit for His ministry. (Matthew 3:17).

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Some of our Post That Might Interest You, All Out of the Current Book / Chapter

  1. THE WISE … LITTLE CHILDREN / LUKE 10:21
  2. DO NOT REJOICE / LUKE 10:20
  3. SNAKES AND SCORPINS / LUKE 10:19
  4. GUIDED BY GRACE HOME
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THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE / JOHN 8:32

Start Your Day Right Devotion

(KJV) John 8:32

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE / JOHN 8:32

This is not speaking of philosophical truth (the idea of truth) or freedom from ignorance. In the context of human knowledge, many things are true. Yet there is only one truth that will set people free from sin, destruction, and Satan’s power. That truth is Jesus Himself and the revelation of truth in His Word. We can know that truth personally. Jesus is described as being “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). “Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). He is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). His message is the word of truth (Colossians 1:5; 2 Thessalonians 2:13). Here are some important observations about truth:

  1. The highest, life-saving truth is found only in God’s Word – the living Word (Christ, John 1:1, 14) and the written Word – which reveals the message of forgiveness and new life through faith in Jesus Christ.
  2. God’s Word, especially the New Testament revelation of Christ and the teaching of His apostles (those He personally commissioned to establish His original message and establish the church), presents the truth that frees people from sin, the corrupt world, and demonic powers (Ephesians 2:20).
  3. Further revelation of “truth” is not needed to complete or enhance the gospel of Christ.
  4. The truth that saves and frees people spiritually is revealed only from God “by His Spirit” (1Corinthians 2:10) and does not originate from any person or from human wisdom (1Corinthians 2:12-13).

Romans 1:25 speaks of those who “exchanged the truth of God for a lie” (Greek to pseudie, “the lie”) of Satan. At the end of time, for those who refuse “to love the truth and so be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:10), God will send “a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness” (John 2:11-12). Thankfully, we can escape this deception and judgment by accepting and basing our lives on the truth sets us free; the lie brings us into spiritual slavery. The truth restores; the lie destroys. We are called to love Jesus and His Word so that we can know the truth that sets us free.

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BAPTISM THAT NOW SAVES YOU ALSO / 1 PETER 3:20-22

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(KJV) 1 Peter 3:20-22

 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

BAPTISM THAT NOW SAVES YOU ALSO / 1 PETER 3:20-22

Water baptism itself will not bring spiritual salvation (Acts 2:38), but it is a clear instruction given in connection with forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:36-38; 3:19; Acts 2:38). We are actually saved by what water baptism symbolizes – Christ’s death, burial and resurrection and our identification with Christ in these experiences (Romans 6:4). But, at times, the symbol and the reality are so closely linked in Scripture that the symbol of baptism is sometimes used to refer to the reality of salvation (Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; Galatians 3:27). Baptism is part of salvation in the sense that it is an outward sign and public testimony of our repentance (turning from sin and toward God; Matthew 3:2). It is our public confession and pledge that we belong to Christ and have identified with His death in that we have now died to sin’s control and influence (Romans 6:11). We also identify with Him in His resurrection because He has given us a new life (Romans 6:3-5; Galatians 3:27; Colossians 2:12; Acts 2:38-39). Notice the comparison of water baptism to the flood of Noah’s time (1 Peter 4:2). Just as Noah’s obedience to God’s instructions was evidence of His saving faith even before the flood, so being baptized in water is a testimony to our faith in Christ that brought salvation before we were baptized. Acts 22:16.

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Some of our Post That Might Interest You, All Out of the Current Book / Chapter

  1. GUIDED BY GRACE HOME
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Blessings,
Margarita & Stace
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THEY WERE BAPTIZED / ACTS 19:5

Start Your Day Right Devotion

(KJV) Acts 19:5

When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

THEY WERE BAPTIZED / ACTS 19:5

Water baptism into “the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 19:7) testifies that these twelve disciples in Ephesus had saving faith in Christ and had experienced a new birth spiritually (John 3:3-60). Their baptism is water was simply an outward testimony to their inward spiritual cleansing (Romans 6:4) and a means of publicly identifying with Jesus.

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Some of our Post That Might Interest You, All Out of the Current Book / Chapter

  1. THIS CORRUPT GENERATION / ACTS 2:40
  2. REPENT AND BE BAPTIZED / ACTS 2:38
  3. FOR YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN AND FOR ALL / ACTS 2:39
  4. WORSHIPING … AND FASTING / ACTS 13:2
  5. KEPT BY THE HOLY SPIRIT FROM PREACHING / ACTS 16:6
  6. GUIDED BY GRACE HOME
Thank you for taking the time to read my article.
Blessings,
Margarita & Stace
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