February 04, 2020: SOAP #3715:  Exodus 37-38; Psalm 19; Acts 11

Scripture:  Acts (NIV) 11:12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house.

Observation:   Jesus had been with them in a physical, a seeable and feelable body.  He spoke to them with a hearable voice. The Holy Spirit used neither, yet Peter heard Him speak so clearly that he obeyed His direction.

The early disciples had no Holy Bible, no pocket New Testament, no app on their cellular phone, which they also did not have.  Yet they heard the Spirit speak to them and recognized His “voice.”

Application:    The disciples walked and talked with the Holy Spirit as they did with Jesus.  Since that same Holy Spirit dwells in me, I should expect a similar relationship.  I too can walk and talk with the Holy Spirit!  I need to pay attention to thoughts that come to my mind.  Thoughts that cannot be linked to the progression of my thinking, thoughts that line up with the Bible, thoughts that are persistent and refuse to be ignored—those thought are quite probably the Holy Spirit speaking to me.  As I step out in obeying those thoughts and see the Holy Spirit backing them up, I gain confidence in following through with those thoughts.

If I am wondering if that is really the Holy Spirit speaking to me, I ask myself a question: “If I ignore those thoughts will I later feel that I missed the Lord?”  When the answer is “yes,” I push my doubts and fears aside and move ahead.

Prayer:   Holy Spirit, you are a wonderful Treasure given to me by Jesus.     You are valuable to me.  Work with me to develop the same relationship you shared with the early church.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!