July 21, 2011 - Acts 19:4

“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.’” Acts 19:4.
Upon arriving in Ephesus, Paul asked some disciples that he encountered what baptism they had accepted and believed. They responded that they had received John’s baptism for repentance, and that they were trying to live a holy life as a result. Paul realized that they didn’t have the power of God that alone would enable these disciples to actually be successful in living a repentant life. They didn’t know Jesus, nor had they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, who Jesus had sent to empower His disciples.
Sometimes, I observe that I am trying to live according to John’s baptism; that is, I am trying hard to live a repentant life. As a result, I find myself in a “sin management” phase of my journey. Because I am doing it on my own strength, I continually fall short and mess up. It is not until I receive freely the gift of God, the Holy Spirit, that I am able to release myself into the arms of the One who can do all things within and through me. On my own, I always fail; released into God’s arms, I can walk freely in the Holy Spirit.
Questions to consider: Whose baptism do you find yourself living under, John’s or Jesus’? Have you truly experience what it means to live under the Holy Spirit’s power? Have you ever asked for God to fill you afresh with the Holy Spirit?
Prayer: Father, I desire to walk in Your strength and not my own. I continually fail to walk a repentant life on my own. I need to be filled afresh with Your Holy Spirit. Please fill me in a new way today. Amen.