The Holy Spirit repeatedly warned St. Paul that chains, hardship, and even martyrdom awaited him. Although this would result in Paul suffering persecution and death (Acts 20:24), the Spirit compelled him to finish his race and complete his service to the Lord. The Holy Spirit warns us of trouble and then gets us into it.
If we're going to receive the Spirit in a new Pentecost, we must volunteer to get into the Holy Spirit's kind of trouble. For instance, some nurses who receive the Spirit this Pentecost will quit their jobs rather than be silent about their hospitals performing abortions. Some teachers who have a true Pentecost will be fired because they prayed publicly in a public school. Others will be prepared this Pentecost to have their homes vandalized and lives threatened by porn-pushers that they've tried to put out of business. Some Christians who receive the Spirit this Pentecost will be persecuted or even killed because they have tried to lead others to Christ in Muslim, Communist, or secular humanistic countries.
The Holy Spirit will get us into a certain kind of trouble. If we're willing to get into that trouble, we will receive the Holy Spirit this Pentecost.
| PRAYER: | Father, may my love for You make me willing to suffer and die for You. |
| PROMISE: | "Eternal life is this: to know You, the only true God, and Him Whom You have sent, Jesus Christ." –Jn 17:3 |
| PRAISE: | The king of Uganda, enraged at the refusal of some of his page boys to submit to his immoral demands, ordered his Christian servants to separate from the non-Christian ones. St. Charles Lwanga and fourteen other young men stepped forward, declared their loyalty to Jesus, and courageously endured martyrdom. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College