The Gift Of The Holy Spirit

Think of this; from the beginning the Israelites were picked by God to be His chosen people and were called the apple of His eye.  Their nation was the least likely to be chosen but it was the one that God choose.  For many years they were protected by the Lord and provided for and forgiven of so many trespasses and sins and the Lord’s mercy and grace was extended so many times to them.  They were the chosen, the special ones that the Lord led through the wilderness with a cloud by day and by fire at night.  The Israelites saw and heard so many miracles that the Lord performed on their behalf.  Their nation has been extremely blessed and watched over for many years.  There is no other nation that can claim what they can claim.  And even when the Holy Spirit was poured out, they were the ones who received Him and were baptized by Him with the evidence of speaking with tongues, plus so many other things that I could mention.  I think it would be very easy for them to get puffed up with pride and be arrogant and even jealous.

Now think of this; at one time the Gentiles were spoken of as dogs whom the Jews would have nothing to do with.  Then think of this; when Jesus came to earth, He came to the Jews who were God’s chosen people and no one else. When Jesus picked His disciples, He picked only Jewish men that He spent most of his time on earth with.  How special do you think you would feel if you were a Jewish person?

This is something else you can think about; not long after the Holy Spirit was poured out something happened that was very unexpected to Peter and all the Jews who were with Peter who saw what had happened.  They were shocked to say the least, they were astonished because of what had happened, read it for yourself in Acts 10:44-46, “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.”

When it says those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, it means the Jewish people, I guess they never thought that the Gentiles would be chosen to receive the same gift that they had received, because they had no reason to believe it.  But they also received the gift of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.  Many times, we don’t know what God is doing or what He is thinking.  

Read Isaiah 55:5-8 says, speaking of the Jews, “Surely you shall call a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and the Holy One of Israel; for He has glorified you. Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord.”

His word also says this in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

Like I alluded to earlier, we don’t always know what the Lord is thinking or what He may have in mind for us but there is one thing we can be sure of, and that is this, we know that He works all things out for the good of those who love Him and those who have been called according to His purpose.  Sometimes we may be astonished at what the Lord does in our lives or someone else’s life that we know or hear about, just like Peter and the Jews that were with Him were.

If you experience something that is hard to believe, don’t take it for granted that it could not be from God, did you ever hear of a donkey talking?  Please read Numbers 22:26-28, “Then the Angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff. Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?’”

It is an interesting story, if you would like to look it up and read the whole story.   Like I said you may be shocked at what the Lord may do in and through your life.  The Lord has done some things in my life that were unbelievable, so expect the unbelievable to happen in your life and get ready to be astonished.  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may all of you have a super day!!