October 13

"He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." (Luke 3:16 NIV)

It was just a few weeks ago he'd been saved. Now he would follow us out and attend a service at the place where he was born and raised. His parents were not Christians, but his grandfather was a member of the congregation that we would visit. The Bible study in the service focused on that we as Christians must be filled with the Holy Spirit - Jesus' spirit - and that this was a possibility for every Christian. Israel had two bodies of water to pass - the Red Sea and the Jordan, before they came into the promise land where God would provide them with all good things. Such were the Bible teaching. We extended an invitation, and many people came forward and asked to be part of the blessing.

Now we were in the car on the way home. He sat in the back seat and was very pensive. We stopped to buy hot dogs, but he did not want one. In the end, we asked why. Then he said: "I should have gone forward." We said: "That can be resolved, we’ll talk more about that next week - then we’ll pray that you be baptized with the Holy Spirit – Here’s a little literature, study it." He then said the definitive words in his provincial Norwegian: "I see no reason to wait".

He was right. Then and there we prayed that he be filled the Holy Spirit. The miracle occurred, and led by the Holy Spirit’s power, this man has been a strong witness for Jesus for nearly thirty years. 

Prayer

Lord, there is no point in postponing what you are telling us to do. When you call me today, I will go immediatel