Discovering the Bible – Page 4

John 17:1-26 💛 Jesus Prays for You

Jesus teaching and praying for his disciples

Did you get goosebumps or simply weep when you realized Jesus was praying for you in today’s reading on prayer? It doesn’t matter that we weren’t one of the followers walking in person with Jesus. We are walking with him now! What a beautiful plea on our behalf to God the Father!

Jesus would have precisely known the right words to say. He knew the human frailty that limits each of us. He had firsthand knowledge of the evil one’s schemes to mess us up and get us off track. What applied to his closest followers also applies to us when we accept his call on our lives, that is when we devote ourselves to living the Great Commission we read about in our reading from Acts 2.

Luke 11:1-4 💗 How Jesus Prays

Read Luke 11:1-4

Jesus praying on his knees, hands lifted up, looking heavenward

The theme we’ve been focusing on is the “Holy Spirit & Prayer.” Understanding both are so crucial to a healthy faith journey. After a couple of reflections on the Holy Spirit, today we focus on prayer with a simple example given to us by Jesus.

You may recognize it like I did. I grew up saying the Lord’s Prayer in church every Sunday. I never realized where it came from. Matthew 6:9-13 is another place where Jesus teaches us how to pray.

Galatians 5:16-26 💜 When the Spirit Takes Control

Read Galatians 5:16-26

Fruit of the Spirit displayed in a tree with various fruit all named, entitled "This Fruit is Always in Season"

I couldn’t help but picture a little devil and a little angel sitting on my shoulder, like the familiar meme. Especially when I read, “these two forces are constantly fighting each other.” It’s true. We are constantly fighting the battle of sin in our lives. Evil can often disguise itself as good, or we can try to explain away our sinfulness.

I hope you’re happy, too, to know that we have a helper in the Holy Spirit. We can be assured that when follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in our life, we will be less likely to stumble into the traps of the evil one.

1 Corinthians 12:1-31 💚 Special Abilities

Read 1 Corinthians 12:1-31

superman suit revealed underneath clothes

Isn’t it exciting to know that having the Holy Spirit take up residence in you has some added perks? This is the perfect reading to touch on some of the special abilities we have access to through the Holy Spirit. This doesn’t mean we’ll see all these things manifested in our lives. “God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.” That’s the truth we need to hold on to.

When you read this list, did you recognize a Spiritual gift you may have been given? If not, no worries because there are other lists in the Bible. Each of our gifts and abilities may be different, but perfectly chosen by God for his purpose.

Acts 2:1-47 💙 The Church Was Born

Read Acts 2:1-47

Pentecost celebration of church, people, with a dove

To have been in Jerusalem that day when Jesus’ promise was first fulfilled would have been glorious! Albeit a little frightening, I’m sure, for those who didn’t understand what was happening. “They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed.” As soon as the realization hit the disciples, that they were witnessing what Jesus had described to them in our last reading, they were in awe.

Peter was so moved he started preaching! He got their attention using Joel’s fulfilled prophecy to explain what was happening. Of course, he shared with everyone his own testimony of what Jesus had done and how that changed his life! Many people were moved by hearing words they had never heard before. People were encountering Jesus’ Spirit without him being visually present (except in tongues of flames)! The church was born that day!