COMMUNION MEDITATION: The Lord Was With Him

Communion Meditation…

And David became more and more powerful, because the LORD Almighty was with him. – 1 Chronicles 11:9

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. – Acts 1:8

God was with David, and so he became powerful. All Israel petitioned him to be their king. All of the nations around them came to pay him tribute. God made the shepherd boy become a powerful king whose power grew because the Spirit of God was with him.

How can I be powerful in my walk with God?

Jesus told His disciples, just before he ascended back to the Father, that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came to them. Because of this power, they would be witnesses of Jesus in all the earth.

Do I read Jesus’ promise wrong? Do I read it as if He said to them, “You will receive power to perform miracles when the Holy Spirit comes on you”? Do I (along with many others) insert an inference into the text here? God’s power is expressed in many ways – not just in miracles. David did no miracles, but was powerful because the Holy Spirit came on him when Samuel annointed him. Even without miracles, God is with His people, giving them power to do His work.

Is that why I am not more active in being a witness of Jesus “to the ends of the earth”? Do I fail to realize the power that I have because God has given His Holy Spirit to me as one of His children?

At this Table, should I be concerned about the lost world for which Jesus died? Should I pray here that I be filled with His Spirit, so I can go to the ends of the earth? This was at the heart of Jesus’ mission, for He came to seek and to save the lost.

He told His disciples, “As the Father has sent me, so send I you.” If Jesus was sent to seek and save the lost, ruined souls of this world – what am I sent to do?

Jesus came in the power of the Holy Spirit. He promised power to His disciples when they would receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit that came on Pentecost is the Father’s promise for “you and your children and all that are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”

Lord, let me be filled with your Holy Spirit that I may live with power – and take the good news to the uttermost part of the world! Amen!