will you receive the spirit?
"The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit." —Acts 13:52, our transl.
Jesus promised that we who believe in Him can do even greater things than He did (Jn 14:12). We have such power because whatever we ask in Jesus' name will be given us (Jn 14:14). We can pray in Jesus' name, that is, we can know and want His will because of the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:16-17). The Holy Spirit will convict us of worldly ways (Jn 16:8), give us the mind of Christ (see 1 Cor 2:16), and help us to pray in our weakness (Rm 8:26). Then we will do greater works than Jesus did. We will change the world for Jesus not by our might or power but by the Holy Spirit (Zec 4:6).
Three weeks from tomorrow will be Pentecost. We have been preparing for this for over seventy days. The Lord wants to give us the greatest Pentecost of our lives and to renew the face of the earth (Ps 104:30). Will we be receptive to such a radical, life-changing outpouring of the Holy Spirit? Will we let the Lord make us much more receptive in the next three weeks? Will we receive power from on high (Lk 24:49) to pray in Jesus' name and to do greater works than Jesus did?
Prayer: Father, let it be done to me according to Your word (Lk 1:38).
Promise: "The Gentiles were delighted when they heard this and responded to the word of the Lord with praise. All who were destined for life everlasting believed in it. Thus the word of the Lord was carried throughout that area." —Acts 13:48-49
Praise: Randall, a young teenager, prepared to commit suicide, but the gun was mysteriously knocked out of his hand several times. A few weeks later, he was invited to a Life in the Spirit seminar. He received the Holy Spirit so powerfully that he didn't lower his upraised arms for a half-hour.
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, November 9, 1996
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, November 15, 1996