DEVOTIION - SATURDAY JANUARY 15, 2011

SATURDAY, JANUARY 15^TH, 2011

“THE COMFORTER"

BY

BAYLESS CONLEY

Many times when Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit, He referred to Him as the Comforter.

In Acts 1:4-5, after the resurrection, Jesus said something to the disciples that was very intriguing,

And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."

He had already told them to go into all the world, but then He said, "Hey, you need to wait for something.  There's some equipment you need before you go.  Don't go start a Bible study, don't go pass out a tract, don't do anything.  You need something first.  You need to be baptized with the Spirit."

Then look at what He said in verse 8,

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

The Holy Spirit gives us power to be a witness.  There is something beyond even living a life of integrity.  There is a supernatural, captivating element when a person is filled with the Holy Spirit that makes the witness of the gospel even more inescapable.

Jesus was so strong on it He said, "Look, don't leave Jerusalem without it."  God has given us His Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to empower us to reach our generation for Christ.