Courage Beyond Yourself!
This week’s devotions are based on the message, ‘The Spirit’s Still Working!” (WATCH HERE)
Acts 2:14 “Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd.”
The Peter who stands before the crowd in Acts 2 looks very different from the Peter we encounter during Jesus’ trial.
Only weeks earlier, Peter denied even knowing Jesus. Fear controlled him. He worried about what others might think or do. Yet on Pentecost he stands before thousands and boldly proclaims Christ.
What changed?
The Holy Spirit.
Peter did not suddenly become naturally brave. His circumstances had not become safer. Opposition still existed. Risk still remained. What changed was that the Spirit strengthened him.
Many people think courage means having no fear. The Bible presents courage differently. Courage is moving forward in faith even when fear is present because God is with you.
This is why Joshua could enter the Promised Land. God told him, “Be strong and courageous… for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).
God’s presence changes everything.
The same Spirit who strengthened Peter lives in every believer today. He strengthens us to stand firm in our faith, to speak truth with love, to endure hardships, and to trust God in uncertain situations.
Perhaps your challenge is not preaching to a crowd. Maybe it is having a difficult conversation, standing for biblical truth, facing a health concern, or navigating a season of uncertainty. Whatever the challenge, God’s promise remains the same.
You do not walk alone.
When we focus on our weaknesses, fear often grows larger. When we focus on God’s presence, faith grows stronger.
Remember that Peter’s confidence was not in himself. It was in Christ. The Holy Spirit does not point us toward greater self confidence. He points us toward greater confidence in God.
Today, ask yourself where fear has been holding you back. Then remember the promise of Pentecost. The Spirit who empowered Peter has not changed. He is still strengthening believers to live faithfully and courageously.
Reflect: What situation in your life currently requires courage and trust in God? How does remembering God’s presence help you face your fears differently?
Prayer: Father, thank You that I never face life’s challenges alone. Strengthen me through Your Spirit and help me trust Your presence more than my fears. Give me courage to follow You faithfully wherever You lead. Amen.
The Spirit Speaks!
This week’s devotions are based on the message, ‘The Spirit’s Still Working!” (WATCH HERE)
Acts 2:5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”
One of the most remarkable details of Pentecost is not simply that the disciples spoke in different languages. The greater miracle is that people heard and understood the message of God!
The crowd gathered from many nations. They spoke different languages and came from different cultures. Yet every person heard the wonders of God declared in a way they could understand.
This reveals something important about God’s heart. He is a God who speaks so people can know Him.
Throughout history, God has revealed Himself through His Word. He spoke through the prophets. He spoke through His Son. He continues to speak through the Scriptures today. The Holy Spirit’s mission is always connected to God’s Word.
Jesus said in John 15:26, “When the Counselor comes… he will testify about me.” The Spirit’s primary work is not to draw attention to Himself. He points people to Jesus.
Many people today wish God would speak audibly from heaven. Yet they fail to realize every day we have access to His living Word. The Bible is not merely a collection of ancient writings. Hebrews 4:12 describes it as living and active. Every day through Scripture, the Holy Spirit speaks comfort to the anxious, truth to the confused, conviction to the wandering, and hope to the weary.
Think about how personal God’s communication is. At Pentecost, people heard in their own language. Today, God still meets people where they are. He speaks into our circumstances, struggles, fears, and questions through His Word.
When we neglect Scripture, we often feel spiritually dry and disconnected. We try to navigate life like trying to navigate a dark road without headlights. Go back and turn on the light of God’s Word! God’s Word illuminates the path before us. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”
The Spirit who spoke at Pentecost is still speaking today. Every time you open God’s Word, you have an opportunity to hear His voice. The question is not whether God is speaking. The question is whether we are listening.
Make time today to sit quietly with Scripture. Read slowly. Pray thoughtfully. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal Christ more clearly to you. He delights in answering that prayer.
Reflect: How regularly are you creating space to listen to God through His Word? What is God teaching or reminding you of through Scripture right now?
Prayer: Holy Spirit, thank You for speaking through Your Word. Open my ears to hear Your truth and my heart to receive it. Help me grow in my understanding of Jesus and trust more fully in His promises each day. Amen.
Waiting Together
This week’s devotions are based on the message, ‘The Spirit’s Still Working!” (WATCH HERE)
Acts 1:4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 2:1 “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.”
Before there was the sound of wind, before there were tongues of fire, before Peter preached and thousands believed, there was waiting. The disciples were gathered together in obedience to Jesus’ command. They did not know exactly what would happen next. They did not know when the promised Holy Spirit would come. They simply trusted Christ’s promise and waited.
Waiting is not something most of us enjoy. We prefer action. We like answers, solutions, and progress. Yet throughout Scripture, God often does some of His greatest work while His people wait. Abraham waited for a son. Joseph waited in prison. David waited to become king. The disciples waited for the Spirit.
Waiting does not mean God is inactive. It often means He is preparing us for what comes next.
The disciples could have scattered after Jesus ascended. They could have returned to their former lives. Instead, they remained together. They prayed. They trusted. They stayed where Jesus told them to be.
There is an important lesson for us here. Sometimes we become discouraged because God has not answered a prayer as quickly as we hoped. We wonder why circumstances have not changed. We question why doors have not opened. Yet God may be doing work beneath the surface that we cannot see.
A seed planted in the ground looks inactive long before it breaks through the soil. Roots are developing. Life is growing. The process is hidden, but it is real.
The same is true in our spiritual lives. God often works in unseen ways before His purposes become visible. Through His Word, through prayer, through worship, and through Christian fellowship, He strengthens our faith while we wait.
Isaiah 40:31 reminds us, “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.” Notice that strength comes not from frantic activity but from hoping in the Lord.
The disciples waited together. They waited expectantly. Most importantly, they waited trusting Jesus’ promise. The same Savior who kept His promise to send the Spirit is still faithful today. Whatever season of waiting you find yourself in, remember that God has not forgotten you. He is still at work.
Reflect: What area of your life currently requires patience and trust in God’s timing? How can you use this season of waiting to grow closer to Christ?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for Your faithfulness. When I become impatient or discouraged, remind me that You are always at work, even when I cannot see it. Help me trust Your promises, remain faithful in prayer, and wait with confidence in Your perfect timing. Amen.
He Keeps You in His Name
This week’s devotions are based on Week 7 of “How Would You Answer? Does Jesus care? (WATCH HERE)
John 17:9–11 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one.
Everyone wants security somewhere.
People look for safety in success, relationships, money, reputation, health, or control. Yet all of those things can change quickly. Circumstances shift. People disappoint us. Strength fades. Life becomes uncertain.
In John 17:11, Jesus prays, “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name.”
This prayer reveals something beautiful about God’s care. Jesus does not simply save His people and leave them on their own. He puts the protection of the Father’s name over them.
The disciples were about to face fear, confusion, persecution, and failure. Jesus knew Peter would deny Him. He knew the disciples would scatter. Yet He still prayed for them. He still claimed them as His own.
That is grace.
The phrase “protect them by the power of your name” carries deep meaning. In Scripture, God’s name represents His character, authority, faithfulness, and covenant love. To be kept in God’s name means we are held by all that God is.
Think about the comfort of belonging. A child feels secure when they know they belong to a loving family. In the gospel, God places His name on His people. Isaiah 43:1 says, “I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”
That means you are not spiritually forgotten or abandoned. You belong to the Father.
This does not mean life becomes easy. Jesus does not pray for His disciples to be removed from the world. He prays for them to be protected within it. God’s care is often shown not by removing hardship, but by sustaining us through it.
Psalm 121 says, “The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” Romans 8 reminds us that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
Sometimes believers feel weak and wonder whether they can hold onto God. The good news of John 17 is that our ultimate security does not depend on our grip on God, but His grip on us.
Jesus keeps His people.
This truth gives peace in anxious moments. When fear rises, when failure weighs heavily, when life feels unstable, remember whose name is over you. You are held by the faithful love of God.
And because we belong to Him, we can live courageously. We do not have to live controlled by fear or driven by the need to protect our own image. We are already secure in Christ.
Today, rest in this promise: God does not just know your name. He gives you His.
Reflect: Where are you most tempted to look for security apart from God? How does knowing you belong to the Father change the way you face fear and uncertainty?
Prayer: Holy Father, thank You for keeping us in Your name. Thank You that our security rests not in our strength, but in Your faithfulness. Help us trust Your care when life feels uncertain. Remind us that we belong to You and that nothing can separate us from Your love in Christ. Give us peace, courage, and confidence as we walk with You today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
He Revealed the Father to You
This week’s devotions are based on Week 7 of “How Would You Answer? Does Jesus care? (WATCH HERE)
John 17:6–8 6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.
One of the deepest questions people ask is not simply whether God exists, but what God is actually like.
Is He distant or near? Harsh or compassionate? Disappointed or patient? Interested in our lives or indifferent to our struggles?
Jesus answers those questions in John 17 when He says to the Father, “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me.”
Jesus came to make the Father known.
Many people carry distorted pictures of God. Some see Him as impossible to please. Others imagine Him as detached from human suffering. Some fear Him but do not know His love. Others believe God tolerates them but could never truly delight in them.
Jesus corrects those false pictures.
When we look at Jesus, we see the heart of the Father. John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son… has made him known.” Jesus is not hiding the Father from us. He is revealing Him to us.
Look at Jesus throughout the Gospels. He welcomes children. He touches lepers. He forgives sinners. He weeps with grieving friends. He feeds hungry crowds. He washes the disciples’ feet. He prays for weak followers who are about to fail Him.
This is what God is like.
The cross itself reveals the Father’s heart most clearly. God did not stand far away from human pain. He entered it through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:19 says, “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ.”
Sometimes our experiences with people shape how we think about God. An absent father may make it difficult to trust God’s presence. Harsh criticism may make it hard to believe God is gracious. Rejection may make us fear abandonment.
But Jesus invites us to define God by His revelation, not by our wounds.
If you want to know whether God cares, look at Jesus.
Jesus shows us that God is holy, but also compassionate. Powerful, but also personal. Exalted, but also near to the brokenhearted.
This truth also changes how we represent God to others. People often form impressions about God based on the lives of Christians. That is a sobering responsibility. We are called to reflect the character of Christ through patience, humility, compassion, forgiveness, and truth.
Today, spend time looking at Jesus. Read the Gospels slowly. Watch how He treats people. Listen to His words. Let Him shape your understanding of the Father’s heart.
God’s care has a face, and His name is Jesus.
Reflect: What false ideas about God do you sometimes struggle with? How does Jesus help you better understand the Father’s heart?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for revealing the Father to us. Thank You that we do not have to guess what God is like because we see His heart in You. Heal the distorted pictures of God we carry and help us trust Your love more deeply. Teach us to reflect Your compassion and grace to others each day. In Your name, Amen.