Changed Men

I have been reading in the book of Acts for my daily devotions. Though I have read the book many times, this time some stood out to me.

This is the book where we find Jesus ascending to heaven and the Holy Spirit being poured out on the believers. This all happens in the first 2 chapters. But what caught my attention was what happened after the outpouring of the Spirit.

Not to long ago these were ordinary men that didn’t quite grasp what Jesus was trying to teach them. These were men that coward in the face of trials and at the thought of persecution. But we see a different group of people after Acts chapter 2. We see Peter, who once coward back at the question of knowing Jesus, now he is standing boldly in front of people proclaiming Jesus.

Wow, what a difference the Holy Spirit makes in our lives. He gives us the power and boldness to stand up in the face of persecution and trials. What would our lives be like if we allowed the Holy Spirit to invade our lives like the disciples did in the book of Acts? How exciting would our walk with Christ be?

I would love to hear how you have allowed the Holy Spirit to guide you through a trial.

Be blessed as you journey with Christ.

Filed under: My Journal, Uncategorized , being bold, Bible, devotions, Disciples, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Persecution, Relevant Church Charlotte, Religion

Breakfast with Jesus

I had an epiphany this morning. It came to me as I groaned and crawled out of bed to get ready to go to work. You see I am not a morning person. I never have been. I am not like all of you bubbly morning people that jump right out of bed before the alarm goes off and go about your day. In fact, I am the complete opposite. I really enjoy my sleep and enjoy all that I can get. So I usually hit the snooze button 5-6 times before I get up. This morning was different. I did not hit the snooze several times, but I also did not jump out of bed (I was really warm and it was really cold in the room). Anyway, I believe that the Holy Spirit was speaking to me and asked me this question; “why don’t you spend the first part of you day with me”? Good question. I really did not have a valid reason other than I don’t like mornings.

Over the last several weeks I have witnessed my wife set the alarm for 30 minutes earlier than her already crack of dawn time and she takes this time to enjoy fellowship with God. She has her cup of coffee and spends some time in the word to start her day. As I thought on this the thought came to me that I am always ready to go if I have a meeting or somewhere to be no matter the time. Why am I neglecting time with God?

So here is the epiphany. Why not have daily breakfasts with God? This would be something that I would have to get up to do and be ready. This would have to be at some coffee shop or restaurant just to make it real for me.

So for all of you not-so-morning people, this may give you some motivation to set an appointment with God. I think that my day will thank me for it as well as yours.

Filed under: My Journal , Breakfast, devotions, God, time with God