Monday 18 May, 2020

19 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when[a] you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied. 4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues[b] and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.

I remember a distinct time in my life when I moved from being just a ‘disciple’ of Jesus to having a personal encounter with the Holy Spirit’s power in me.

In this passage of scripture we read today that Paul met some people at Ephesus who were disciples. They had faith and repentance but had not yet encountered the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. The good news is that when these disciples heard that there was more to be experienced, they had open hearts to receive it. The result was a powerful encounter with the Holy Spirit!

Going back to my own experience, although I had grown up in church, there was a time as a young adult when my eyes were opened to see that God was offering me more. A closer relationship with Him and a more powerful experience of the Holy Spirit was on offer, and I gratefully received it.

This reminds me, that there is always more of God to be known.  Whether you have been a follower of Jesus for days or decades, there is an infinite wealth of power and mystery to be uncovered as we seek to go deeper with Him.

My prayer for each one of us is to have a renewed excitement and passion to spend time with the One who’s mysteries we will be discovering for all eternity.

 Written by Shelley Witt