Changing Everything

“After he had given instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen … he said … ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.’”—Acts 1:2, 5 CSB

The disciples were filled with questions. After His resurrection, Jesus had been with them for 40 days. During that time, He demonstrated the reality of the resurrection and taught “about the kingdom of God” (v. 3). But in His last words, He focused on the Holy Spirit and the revolutionary impact He was to make.

This focus continued the emphasis He had placed on the Spirit before His crucifixion. As He described, other people would not be able to “see Him or know Him,” but the Spirit actually would be “in” them (John 14:17). He would be their counselor, teacher, and guide, declaring “what is to come” (John 16:13).

In ways the disciples did not fully understand, the Holy Spirit would change everything. As the book of Acts describes, the Spirit would revolutionize their understanding of what it means to serve God. He would show the limits of their past thinking. As Jesus warned, some people would not be sensitive to the Spirit’s revelations and would resist these changes.

This same Spirit is at work in the world today, and His impact remains just as revolutionary. He is with us to teach and guide us, to help us recognize the limits of our past thinking, and to disrupt us from comfortable clichés.

The Holy Spirit empowers us and enables us to experience the full potential of God’s Kingdom. And He still is changing everything today.

Reflection Question: What has the Holy Spirit been teaching you lately?