Devotional for Tuesday Sep 30, 2003: Power with a Purpose
Greg Laurie Senior Pastor Harvest Christian Fellowship Riverside, Ca
" 'But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.' "
What comes to mind when you hear the word dynamite? I automatically think of something explosive. And when something is described as dynamic, I know it is something unusual or special, something that stands out. Jesus told the disciples they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them. The word that Jesus used for power is from the Greek word dunamis, the same word from which we get our words dynamite and dynamic.
Have you ever seen a fire hose on the loose? It can knock people and things over. It can be very destructive. But if you get hold of it and aim it in the right direction, you can do a lot of good. Power is exciting if it used for something productive. In the same way, God has given us the power of the Holy Spirit for a purpose. God's power is practical. He did not give us the Holy Spirit so that we would behave strangely. He gave us the Holy Spirit to be His witnesses and to effectively share our faith. It is power with a purpose.
When the Holy Spirit came upon those first-century believers on the Day of Pentecost, the Bible says that about 3,000 people made commitments to Jesus Christ (see Acts 2:41). Peter made an important statement about the Holy Spirit back then: the power they had received was not only available to them, but would be available to future generations of believers as well (see Acts 2:39). This means that the same power is available to us to change our world.
