SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/1/2018
9:52 AM
My Worship Time Focus: The Filling of the Spirit
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Acts 9:17b
Message of the
verse: “and be filled with the Holy
Spirit.’”
We have talked about Saul sitting in this home, not
eating or drinking for three days, praying and also blind. Ananias comes to him and tells him in verse
17a “"Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by
which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight,” and then
at the end of this verse we have our lesson for today “and be filled with the
Holy Spirit.” This message that Ananias
gave to Saul about receiving his sight was actually less important than being
filled with the Holy Spirit. As I think
about this I think about Fanny Crosby who was born on March 24, 1820 and died
Feb. 12, 1915. There was a problem with
her eyes as a doctor put something in them that caused her to be blind for the
rest of her life. She stated that this
was the best thing that had ever happened to her. She wrote many poems and many Christian songs
that people still sing today. I have to
say with certainty that Fanny Crosby was filled with the Holy Spirit as one can
see it in her songs and poems, and yet she was blind, so when we state that
when Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit being more important than receiving
his sight we can say that with assurance.
One of the Spirits works is found in John 16:7-9, “7 "But
I tell you the truth, it
is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper
will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8 “And He, when He
comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; 9
concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me.” The Spirit was certainly working in the heart
of Saul convicting him of sin.
John MacArthur writes “It is significant that unlike the
Jews (Acts 2:1-4), the Samaritans (Acts 8:14-17), and soon the Gentiles (Acts
19:44-45), Saul had received the Spirit and his commissioning to service with
no apostles present. Saul was a Jew, so
there was no need to repeat the initial coming of the Spirit that occurred at
Pentecost. Also, he was an apostle in
his own right and did not derive his authority from the other apostles (Gal.
1:1; cf. 1 Cor. 9:1; 2 Cor. 11:5; 12:11; Gal. 1:15-17), nor was he subject to
their authority. Like them, he was
chosen personally by the Lord Jesus Christ and received the Spirit for his
commissioning and power directly from Him.”
MacArthur goes on “The Spirit transformed Saul in two
fundamental ways, First, He took Saul’s natural strengths and refined
them. Saul was a gifted natural leader,
with strong willpower. He was a man of
strong convictions, a self-starter, bold, a master at using his time and
talents, a motivated individual, and a profoundly gifted thinker and speaker.
“The Holy Spirit also eliminated undesirable characteristics
and replaced them with desirable ones.
He replaced Saul’s cruel hatred with love; his restless, aggressive
spirit with peace; his rough, hard-nosed treatment of people with gentleness;
his pride with humility.
“Only the Spirit of God can so thoroughly sanctify a
life. Saul later expressed that truth to
the Corinthians: “But we all, with
unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being
transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the
Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18).”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: I find this
section very informative in that I had not thought about Saul being filled with
the Holy Spirit at the point of salvation, something that happens to all
believers now, but during this period of the early church when a new group of
people were born-again it had to be delayed until an Apostle came to them.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I pray and trust that the Holy Spirit is
working in the hearts and lives of all those who are on my prayer list for
salvation, convicting them of sin and their need for the Savior.
Memory verses: Psalm 143:10 “10 Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever
is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever
is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if
anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “In the OT, what did the terms
shekel, mina, and talent signify?”
Answer in our next SD.
1/1/2018 10:26 AM
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