EXPAND TO READ: ACTS 8 (HCSB)
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verses 18-20): Although I have never tried to “buy” the Holy Spirit or salvation, I have tried to gain God’s favor and blessings through my acts, but not with a sincere heart as I was mostly out for myself in the moment. I am not proud of these times as I was quite lost in my faith and life in general. I ask for Your forgiveness in this, Father. Forgive me for thinking anything from You can be bought by me. Everything for me has already been bought and paid for by Jesus Christ and I need to remember that in my faith while living this life. Nothing I do, say, or give can buy anymore for me as everything for me has already been bought and paid for. Please continue to remind me of this, Father, so that when things do not happen as I’d expect them to happen, I look back at You with a grateful and sincere heart always.
PROMISE (verse 36-37): The promise made here is such an amazing one that is often preached, but I do not feel that most are sincere in their acceptance of this promise. I know I was quite hesitant at first and the words I spoke in relation to this promise were likely not the most sincere, to be honest. The promise here is that if we believe in Jesus with all of our heart, that we may be baptized in His name and receive the Holy Spirit within us. Help me to truly embrace this promise fully in my life, my mind, and especially my heart, Father. I do believe that Jesus is my Lord and Savior and I do accept Him fully into my life for eternity. I ask that You help me to be better at representing this acceptance and Your Kingdom to those around me so that they too may know Him, but also so that they will know how much You truly mean to me.
ATTITUDE (verse 23a): I too have lived a life poisoned by bitterness that I am not proud of. Bitter towards my upbringing of my dad not being there and of my sister physically abusing me quite often. Bitter towards my mom not being there for me because she always had to work lengthy hours to support us as a single parent. Bitter towards the man who molested me as a very young child. Bitter towards myself for the many sins, failures, and mistakes I’ve made in my life. Bitter towards the pain, misery, and sorrow inflicted on me from others. Even bitter towards some of the relationships I’ve had, even in my current marriage, and the pain and sorrow inflicted upon me by them and upon them by me. All of this bitterness I had pent up inside of me for so long without truly releasing it in a healthy, Godly way. I thank You for the Real Men 300, because they have shown me through Your guidance and wisdom how to truly be a man, a Godly man; how to truly share my emotions in a healthy and Godly way; how to truly release all of this bitterness I’ve been holding onto for SOOOOO long in my life; even how to identify bitterness I didn’t realize I had on top of the bitterness I knew about. Since I am still a work-in-progress, I simply ask that You continue to shower me with Your presence around me, in me, and through others, Father, so that I may continue to work towards becoming a better man for You, for Your kingdom, for my wife, for my family, for my friends, for the church, for the Real Men 300, and for all of those I encounter on a daily basis. Thank You for always showing me the way and being there for me, Father, especially when I’ve struggled and even refused at times to listen to You.
COMMAND (verse 31a): I have read this verse before, but for some reason (likely because of my own rebellious nature) I did not see it in this way previously. I see this verse as a command to us. The man says to Philip, “How can I unless someone guides me?” I finally see this as a command from You because You are telling us that we cannot live out our faith or even our life alone. Once I began surrounding myself with Godly men, all of my past hurts, struggles, and pain began to slowly fade away as I grew more in my relationship with You. Once I began surrounding myself with Godly men, I began to truly understand, embrace, and take to heart what Your word is really saying to me. Instead of solely having head knowledge of Your truth, I began to open up the pathways between my head and heart as I truly began to embrace Your truth in my life. Once I had other Godly men in my life who were more mature and stronger in their faith than I am, they began to truly guide me and mentor me in Your way of living as a man in this life. I am so grateful for this command and that I am finally following it. I am so grateful to You for revealing this as a command to me today, Father. Thank You for bringing these Godly men into my life now that I am finally ready and willing to accept them. Thank You for knowing when the timing was right for me to be ready to accept this great relationship I’m building with You through the Godly men in my life and the wisdom and guidance they’ve been providing me from Your word and Your truth.
EXAMPLE (verses 32-35): I truly love how so much of Scripture, even in the Old Testament, points straight to Jesus. The men were reading in the book of Isaiah and were confused at who the Scripture was referencing. Philip immediately pointed them to the cross; he immediately pointed them to Jesus and began to evangelize about Jesus to them through this Scripture that never mentioned Jesus specifically. Thank You for showing me just how vast the references are to Jesus in Your truth. Thank You for revealing to me how we can be blessed by the Holy Spirit in the way of being able to interpret Your truth and then evangelize that Truth to those who have questions. Help me to be better at truly embracing this gift of interpretation and communication in my faith walk, Father, so that when opportunities like this arise I am well-prepared to share Your Good News!
*DAILY NOTE: Although the book of Acts has a lot of history-related topics of discussion, I am finding that it is also giving me some great examples along with some strong convictions to my heart. Thank You for speaking to me through these lessons, testimonies, examples, and wisdom, Father. Thank You for giving me fresh eyes to be able to see something different in Your truth than I ever saw before. Thank You for continuing to work in me through the Holy Spirit, through Your truth, and through the many Godly men You have put into my life recently. I am appreciative of all that You are doing in me, but I am also aware that I am still not exactly where You expect me to be. I still have a lot of work to do in my heart, mind, and life to bridge the gap between Your will for my life and where I am currently at, but I know that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are that bridge so I am proud to say that I am on a sturdy foundation towards the greatness of Your kingdom! Thank You, Father!
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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