Heavenly Father, I praise You for Christ using ordinary men to become his disciples, be the leaders of the first church, and our examples of what You can do through us. I praise You for Your word and the wisdom that I can gain from it. Help me today to take command of my day and, with the help of the Holy Spirit, shake the evil from it.
Holy Spirit Christ told His followers just before he ascended to heaven: It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 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. [Acts 1:7&8] This power can be mine and all who call on the name of Jesus to help us be the modern-day witnesses to the kingdom of God. Help me to witness Your Spirit within me as I live as Your moving, breathing temple on this earth. Help unite my spirit with other believers so that we can, as one body, not only bear Your name but witness to the world with our words, actions, and most of all with Your love moving through us to others. Let us change our world as the disciples did long ago.
I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times. I long to impart on you some spiritual gift to make you strong—that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. For in the gospel righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Amen. [Romans 1:8-17; Romans 15:13]