Filled with the Holy Spirit

Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, was very bold and was used by the Lord for His move after the day of Pentecost. This very Peter was the one who was a "chicken" who denied the Lord thrice. But after being filled with the Holy Spirit he was a "lion", so bold to testify of the resurrected and ascended Christ. 

Peter and John were uneducated and laymen, but had been with Jesus (v.13). That made all the difference! Educationally or physically, men of no repute, but when with Jesus and been filled with the Holy Spirit, notable signs were manifested which no men could deny (v.16) as they had spoken and repeated the very words and works of Christ which they had seen and heard (v.20) issuing in the glorification of the source of all their works, God Himself (v.21) which led to the church praise and prayer, and became the very essence of the believers' oneness (v.32) resulting in the a normal healthy church-life where there was the filling of the Holy Spirit, the preaching of the Word, the testimonies of God's work, and the mutual care for one another's need--the sharing of God's blessings among all saints.

What a blessing to see this! What had happened can happen again. Only with one condition, "by being filled with the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:4 says, "..they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues.." 4:31 "they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness" proving that when one is filled with the Holy Spirit, there are different manifestations, all for the church life, for the propagating and spreading of the gospel of the Kingdom.

This was the word I enjoyed as I read the word in a train journey last Thursday. Lord, keep me ever filled with your Holy Spirit.