“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere — in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” — Acts 1:8 (NLT)

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Chris Paul announced his retirement from the NBA in February after 21 seasons. He was one of those seasoned players who often becomes like a coach on the court and in the locker room. Fans and general managers are sometimes short-sighted when they see a player’s production diminish; they forget about the value of their leadership in guiding younger players through some of the pitfalls of professional sports. But in many cases, veteran players can deliver messages to new players and they are received better coming from an experienced teammate rather than one of the coaches.

We all need guidance in our lives. There are times when we should allow others to lead us, and times when we ourselves need to lead.

In the Bible, Jesus did everything possible to prepare Peter and the others for His crucifixion and death before the resurrection. But they all still panicked when Jesus was arrested. They knew He was innocent and didn’t fully understand that Jesus was dying as our substitute. Our Savior allowed Himself to be punished for our sins. But Jesus told His disciples that His death was temporary and He would rise again.

When Jesus appeared to His disciples after the resurrection, many of the recent events suddenly made sense and God’s truths sank deeper into their hearts. Then, Jesus reassured them of His continued presence through the Holy Spirit, who is just as much God as the Father and Son. Jesus placed the Holy Spirit in the hearts of His original disciples to abide forever. “Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit'” (John 20:21-22).

Soon afterward, all Christians also received the Holy Spirit, just as we receive Him today, as a constant Companion to encourage and guide us on the best path for living. As the Holy Spirit works on us, we learn to put aside selfish ambition, and our goal is to glorify God and follow His plan of sharing the Good News about Jesus with everyone.

If getting saved was our only purpose in life, then we would probably fly to Heaven as soon as Jesus came into our hearts. But God wants us to work toward making more disciples. If we are led by the Holy Spirit, then we are sharing our faith with others. If we are stuck in our little group and not getting outside our comfort zone, then the Holy Spirit is not truly our Guide and we need to change direction.

Life is short and we should not worry about future events. Instead, we should let the Holy Spirit lead us and deliver God’s life-changing words while we have life and breath. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere — in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NLT).

— Bill Kent, Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church, Sylvania, Georgia

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