Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

On one occasion the late evangelist, Dwight L. Moody, holding up an empty drinking glass, asked one of his audiences: "Tell me, how can I get the air out of this glass?" One man said, "Suck it out with a pump." Moody replied, "That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass." After many impossible suggestions, Moody smiled, picked up a pitcher of water, and filled the glass. "There," he said, "all the air is now removed." He then went on to show that victory in the Christian life is not by sucking out a sin here and there, but rather by being filled with the Spirit of God.¹

As genuine Christians if we are to live a successful Christian lifeâ€"one that empowers us to overcome sinful ways, gives us a sense of inner peace, and empowers us to live a fruitful life that glorifies Godâ€"it is essential that we are filled with God’s Holy Spirit.

In fact it is God’s will that every Christian “be filled with the Spirit,â€�² the evidence of which is P-O-W-E-R.  As Jesus said to his disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."³ So the question is: How can we be filled with God’s Holy Spirit? Following are five key steps:

P â€" Present your life to Jesus Christ
O â€" Obey God on every issue
W â€" Want sincerely to be filled
E â€" Entreat or ask God to be filled
R â€" Receive the filling by faith

1. Present your life to Jesus Christ. To be filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit for fruitful and dynamic living, it is essential that we daily present, commit and trust our life to Jesus Christ in unconditional surrenderâ€"in deed and not just in word. The Bible says, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.â€�⁴ 

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit given to empower me to be an effective witness for you and to help me live a victorious and meaningful Christian life. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. Lee Tan, Paul, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, Assurance Publishers, Rockville, Maryland 20851, p. 555. © 1979 by Paul Lee Tan.
2. Ephesians 5:18 (NIV).
3. Acts 1:8 (NIV).
4. Romans 12:1-2 (NASB).

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