Ascent to the Upper Room

From my room to the Upper Room. Come Holy Spirit, come!

From the Ascension to Pentecost While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for “the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; …… in a few days you will be baptized with the holy Spirit.” Vs. 4&5 But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses …… to the ends of the earth. Vs. 8 When they entered the city they went to the upper room where they were staying, …… all these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. Vs. 13&14 What a significant and important period of time this is, from the Ascension to Pentecost. Why? Firstly, it is a direct instruction from the Lord. “Go and prepare for the coming of the Holy Spirit.”   Recall these words from Jesus: “I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” Jo. 15:5.  This is critical, for without this communion with Jesus, our religious efforts remain just that, our efforts. We may look the part, but there will be no real fruit. There is more to authentic religion than just looking the part. To be authentic it must be alive, an ongoing, daily, person to person relationship with Jesus. More than merely taking the talk, it must be walking the walk, with Him. Anyone can claim the name Christian when convenient, but does Jesus known that person? Consider these words of Jesus recorded in Matthew; “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ Mtt. 7:21-23 So how do I know where I stand? “You'll recognize them by their fruit.” Mtt. 7:16 You must put your Christian life to the test, the test of discernment. In what ways do I manifest the "Fruits of the Spirit", in my daily life. Traditionally they are identified as: Charity + Generosity + Joy + Gentleness + Peace + Faithfulness + Patience + Modesty + Kindness + Self-control + Goodness + Chastity. We have already referred to this text in Acts, While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the country and came down to Ephesus where he found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the holy Spirit when you became believers?” They answered him, “We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Acts 19: We may say we have heard of the Holy Spirit, but how well do we know the Spirit? Let this be the focus of our prayer as we lead up to Pentecost. The following is a link to a concordance of scriptures under the heading Holy Spirit. Ask the Spirit to guide you to which of the passages that will most benefit your prayer at this time.  [... LINK ...]