James 4:10

Devotional Thoughts

By Carter Conlon

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter preached, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38). In other words, “Put off your old way of living and all your own attempts to be holy in your own strength. Put off the façade of being a Christian, and put on Christ. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, for the promise is for you!”

According to the Scriptures, three thousand souls were added to the Church that day — three thousand religious people who had been doing the best they could to be godly in their own strength; three thousand who were perhaps tired of learning about God and His former power; three thousand who noticed that there were people who actually possessed the power of God!

So what must you and I do in order to get this power of God today? After all, we will surely need it in order to confront the days ahead of us.

First, we must return to the full purpose that God intended for our lives on this earth: to be living witnesses of who He is, which requires humility, for we will be mocked and ridiculed. Yet, regardless of what the world may think, there must be a resolve in our heart that says, “I don’t care what it will cost. I want this new life, this strength to go with God, and I will not settle for being lukewarm.”

This is a choice you and I must make. Remember, the promise of the Holy Spirit is to you, to your children, to the young, the old, the educated, the uneducated, the strong, the weak. Do you really want it — and the lifestyle that accompanies it?

If you are willing, I encourage you to go before the Lord in humility and ask him to fulfill his great promise to you. He will surely be faithful to his Word. And then as his Church, we will return to the power of God in these last days!