We are taught that we must become upright people who, in God’s sight, are blameless and fully keep His commandments. “In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly” [(Modern Translation: “When Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the division of Abijah, and his wife Elizabeth also came from the family of Aaron. They were righteous before God and faithfully kept all the Lord’s commandments and regulations without fault”)] (Luke 1:5–6). While meditating on this passage, I would like to draw out the lessons given to us: (1) The author of Luke’s Gospel, Luke, first wrote to Theophilus about John the Baptist’s parents. The father’s name was “Zechariah” (meaning, “The LORD remembers...
Have you received the Holy Spirit? [Acts 8:14-25] Here, we must consider the correct attitude towards the Holy Spirit. Pastor A. W. Tozer advises in his book "Speaks to Students" not to grieve the Holy Spirit with a single word. What causes one to grieve the Holy Spirit? It is when we resist the guidance of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, even though we may sense it. Pastor Tozer says, ‘Cease immediately from any act of resistance against God. Do not further resist what you believe to be right. If your conscience enlightens you from the Word of God, do not go against it. Follow the teachings of the Bible. If we continue to resist the will of the Holy Spirit as expressed in the Scripture He has authored, it grieves the Holy Spirit’ (Tozer). May the indwelling Holy Spirit guide us an...