Acts 4:32-35 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.

Good Morning.

All the believers were one in heart and mind. . . unified, sold out to Jesus, and because of that, loving each other selflessly, even to the extent of seeing to any practical needs among them. 'Reminds me of Paul's teaching to the church at Philippi, in which he asks some rhetorical questions: "Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from His love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too." Philippians 2.1-4, New Living Translation

In other words, if we belong to Christ, we should be people of love, compassion and humility; in other words, we should REALLY love one another. Do you belong to a community that practices that kind of love and grace? Does such a thing exist. . . and would you want to be a part of it, if it did? I guess I have experienced it in fits and bursts--like when I have pulled a group together to plan a Christian retreat, for example. Working together for one purpose, and toward one purpose in itself is empowering, as well as doing the work of God to draw others in and to Himself, lifts us to a higher place of living--at least for a time. As a team, we study God's Word together, pray for each other and those to whom we will minister; we resolve any conflict as it arises because we know that God is grieved when His children don't get along, and, because unity is critical for a spiritual team. For a time, we are part of something much bigger than ourselves. It is really good. But to sustain a community like that takes an incredible, tenacious commitment AND, I believe it takes being one in heart and mind like Peter, John, and their gang were. I lead a weekly group called Women of Passion, and our goal is indeed authentic community, but in today's world, it is difficult to achieve and sustain. The early church had it, at least for a time, and it was good.

Note from the above verses that it was with great power the apostles continued to testify about Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. I love the whole concept of God's grace. . . and living in it, learning to issue it to others. When we are baptized with the Holy Spirit, we have the power we need to serve, and effectiveness in doing so. And when we are part of a community of believers, it gives us a platform from which to serve.

Filled with the Spirit--what an empowering notion! What a pure and perfect gift from our Father! As we discussed last time in "Filled with the Spirit. . .Again?" at the time of our conversion to Christ, His Spirit takes up residence in us. . . but as Ephesians 5.18 notes, we are to be continually filled up, again and again, with the Spirit, which we will look at today. Sometimes, when Christians feel their faith is not growing, I think that may be because they have let their lives become a pond rather than a river--a pond can stagnate, whereas a river is flowing. . . possibly feeding another body of water. Which are you--pond or river? As we talked about the gifts of the Spirit recently, we are to use our individual gifts to serve others, to grow and enhance the kingdom of God.

So how do we be continually filled, how do we obtain the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Here are a few thoughts:

?Get straight with God, by accepting the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.

?Then, confess your sins--and may I say keep short accounts with God--repentance and confession is not a once for all action.

God is serious about His children maintaining lives of purity and holiness before Him. Do not mock Him by indifference to sin.

?Luke seems to indicate that being baptized with water, which is in obedience to Jesus, and also an outward sign of our faith

to the world, is essential. (Acts 2.38)

?When we are obedient, we seek to surrender our will to God's will--an attitude of 'not my will but Thy will be done'.

?Be desirous of the Holy Spirit; ask God to fill you~

?Remember that your Father is the giver of good gifts, and He will answer your prayer.*

"Let us be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace," Ephesians 4.3, for it is the Holy Spirit in us that fosters the love for other people that the world just can't know or emulate. . . a love that we all crave, and a sense of 'belonging' that we all want.

Be filled. . . be a river,

Christine Write on the wall of Facebook's Morning Briefings group; or check out my blog, and respond on allaboutgod.com, or powerinthewordofgod.ning

*for more on this, consult R.A.Torrey (1856-1928), Baptism with the Holy Spirit. Torrey was a pastor, evangelist, educator, the author of more than 40 books; he lead Moody Bible Institute and was dean of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (now Biola University).