36"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."
37When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
38Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call."
40With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." 41Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
And this was Peter's first sermon.
What I am left pondering is that we are suppose to have access to the same power... the power of the Holy Spirit!
2 comments:
thanks for your reflection, helen. the first work of the Holy Spirit is the conviction of sin, described in the passage as being "cut to the heart". if that has truly happened to us and we have been made regenerate, then we have full access to that same power we read about here. we may grieve that it is not quite so visible or dramatic as in the day of pentecost, but if we look at the way we used to be BEFORE conversion and compare it to now--well, no one can deny that a mysterious and powerful work of the Holy Spirit has taken place. that's my testimony when i think about my own life. what could possibly make me change my mind about anything when i couldn't even change it myself?
i think conversion is comparable to God creating the heavens and the earth with the utterance of a single word. it is maybe even a greater miracle.
Helen,you're right. The Holy Spirit has been poured out even on us! I'm excited to see the way the Holy Spirit will move among us as we read and ponder on the book of Acts. I pray that our hearts will be like good soil that we may bear much fruit through the Holy Spirit.
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