<html><head></head><body><div><div><div><div><div><div><br></div>Acts 2;14-21<div><br></div><div><b>14. &nbsp;But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.</b></div><div><b>15. &nbsp;For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day;</b></div><div><b>16. &nbsp;but this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:</b></div><div><b>17. ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;</b></div><div><b>18. &nbsp;yea, and on my men servants and my maid&nbsp;servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.</b></div><div><b>19. &nbsp;And I will show wonders in the heavens and signs on the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;</b></div><div><b>20. &nbsp;the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and manifest day.</b></div><div><b>21. &nbsp;And it shall be that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’&nbsp;</b>(Joel 2;28-32a)</div><div><br></div><div>The unbelieving world has great&nbsp;difficulty understanding the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Believers,&nbsp;(even when it is foretold in ancient prophesy).&nbsp;<span>&nbsp;Believers who live&nbsp;</span><span>in the Spirit of God behave in ways that are ridiculous</span><span> to the carnal minded.&nbsp;</span><span>&nbsp;Even other&nbsp;Believers who have the Holy Spirit, but are&nbsp;still&nbsp;walking&nbsp;by their flesh, are disturbed by those who walk by the Spirit.</span><span>&nbsp;</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Believers who walk by the Spirit manifest a degree of selfless devotion and sacrificial love which makes those walking by the flesh uncomfortable. &nbsp;They see in Spirit walking Believers, a&nbsp;level of self-control, self-discipline, and prioritization which seems unattainable to the carnal minded.&nbsp;</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Who were these Believers who remained together&nbsp;in Jerusalem for fifty days praying and waiting for the promise of the Holy Spirit? &nbsp;&nbsp;Simply put, they were people who had left their former lives behind. &nbsp;They were available to serve the Lord and his will full time and entirely. &nbsp;They were no different or better than any other Believer, except, they believed the Word and Promise of God concerning his plans for them.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>They were available. &nbsp;Their old lives were past. &nbsp;They were new, prepared to serve, not resentfully, but joyfully. &nbsp;Their spirits were in alignment with the will of the Father. &nbsp;They had presented themselves as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God. &nbsp;They were his instruments through which the Breath of Life was blowing.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>The Church today struggles to capture this understanding of walking by the Spirit. &nbsp;She is still for the most part very carnal minded. &nbsp;They believe in Jesus, yet their flesh resists giving first place to the will of the Father in their hearts. &nbsp;They have other priorities. &nbsp;God and his will&nbsp;often must take second place to their own plans and desires.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>The Church could be so much more fruitful. &nbsp;In her present carnal state of mind, she is still in great danger, for to sow to the flesh is to reap death.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Please refer back to the Verse of the Day from 4/6 and reread the&nbsp;CS Lewis’ concerning giving up on our old selves.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Prayer: &nbsp;Merciful Father, grant us increase of faith to believe your in-dwelling presence by the Holy Spirit given us in Baptism can empower us to do much more than we can ever imagine. &nbsp;Increase our courage to deny ourselves entirely,&nbsp;dear Father, for the new life you have for us in Christ. &nbsp;In Jesus we pray, Amen.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Love,</span></div><div><span>Dad/Baba/Eric</span></div><div><span>Grandpa Pickle Pastor</span></div><div><span>“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed,’soak’ in the living Word.”</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b><br></b><br><br><a href="https://overview.mail.yahoo.com/?.src=iOS" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>


Acts 2;14-21
14.  But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.15.  For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day;16.  but this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:17. ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;18.  yea, and on my men servants and my maid servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.19.  And I will show wonders in the heavens and signs on the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;20.  the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and manifest day.21.  And it shall be that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ (Joel 2;28-32a)
The unbelieving world has great difficulty understanding the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Believers, (even when it is foretold in ancient prophesy).  Believers who live in the Spirit of God behave in ways that are ridiculous to the carnal minded.  Even other Believers who have the Holy Spirit, but are still walking by their flesh, are disturbed by those who walk by the Spirit. 
Believers who walk by the Spirit manifest a degree of selfless devotion and sacrificial love which makes those walking by the flesh uncomfortable.  They see in Spirit walking Believers, a level of self-control, self-discipline, and prioritization which seems unattainable to the carnal minded. 
Who were these Believers who remained together in Jerusalem for fifty days praying and waiting for the promise of the Holy Spirit?   Simply put, they were people who had left their former lives behind.  They were available to serve the Lord and his will full time and entirely.  They were no different or better than any other Believer, except, they believed the Word and Promise of God concerning his plans for them.
They were available.  Their old lives were past.  They were new, prepared to serve, not resentfully, but joyfully.  Their spirits were in alignment with the will of the Father.  They had presented themselves as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God.  They were his instruments through which the Breath of Life was blowing.
The Church today struggles to capture this understanding of walking by the Spirit.  She is still for the most part very carnal minded.  They believe in Jesus, yet their flesh resists giving first place to the will of the Father in their hearts.  They have other priorities.  God and his will often must take second place to their own plans and desires.
The Church could be so much more fruitful.  In her present carnal state of mind, she is still in great danger, for to sow to the flesh is to reap death.
Please refer back to the Verse of the Day from 4/6 and reread the CS Lewis’ concerning giving up on our old selves.
Prayer:  Merciful Father, grant us increase of faith to believe your in-dwelling presence by the Holy Spirit given us in Baptism can empower us to do much more than we can ever imagine.  Increase our courage to deny ourselves entirely, dear Father, for the new life you have for us in Christ.  In Jesus we pray, Amen.
Love,Dad/Baba/EricGrandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed,’soak’ in the living Word.”









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