Once the Holy Spirit came, just as Jesus had previously promised, everything concerning our Lord’s followers was different.

I shall use Peter as the “example” for such a bold statement.

Peter who often spoke rashly, after Pentecost, became rather eloquent! As if Someone (the Holy Spirit) outside himself had taken control of his once stammering tongue! Acts 2:14 records for us … “But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words …” (Of course, post-Pentecost the Holy Spirit has actually come to live within Peter!)

Yes, I am saying that the Holy Spirit can affect our words, voices, tongues!

Also, Peter in that great Pentecostal Sermon seems to have been given unusual insight into Scripture. He quotes and properly applies the Prophet Joel, King David, and some of the Psalmists as well! The once called “ignorant” fisherman … is now a skilled expositor!

Yes, the Holy Spirit is the real “Teacher” of Scripture! “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things.” John 14:26

Something else. Peter’s once non-existence grasp of prophecy has now become precise and quite understandable! He comprehends that Jesus is coming again some day. And that God is going to put all enemies under the Feet of our dear Lord. Jesus as Victor! “For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool.” Acts 2:34-35

And in the future, fully so in the Millennium I suspect. Quoting the prophet Joel, Peter relates … “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: and I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come …” Acts 2:17-20

And this new Holy Ghost filled Peter can exalt Jesus as never before. He has become a skilled defender of the Faith! Especially of the Fact of our Lord’s Resurrection! “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.” Acts 2:32 (All the preaching in the Book of Acts is Jesus-saturated! Focusing sharply on the Resurrection of Christ!)

And power? I mean the sheer Power of the Holy Spirit? Look at the harvest of souls … “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Acts 2:41-42 (That morning there were 120 Christians in Jerusalem. That night there were 3,120 of them! Powerful growth!)

And no telling what else. There is no limit to the Holy Spirit’s effectiveness with the sincere saints of God! “And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.” Acts 2:40

Verbal accuracy, Bible insight, prophetic acumen, doctrinal boldness, Peter is truly a changed man!

And what the Holy Spirit did for Peter long ago … He is still doing today in the hearts of dedicated Believers in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!

Are YOU yielded to Him?

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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I owe the “seed thought” for this little devotional to an old Scottish Preacher named George Morrison. It focuses on an incident in the life of the Apostle Peter, in his relationship to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our Saviour had, earlier in the day, miraculously fed 5,000 men, not counting their families! Subsequently Jesus sent his Disciples (by ship) to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Whereupon He went to a mountain top and prayed for some time, several hours it appears.

Meanwhile a storm had arisen on the Lake. That’s when, with the winds raging, Jesus walked on the water and came toward his fearful followers. The Disciples actually saw Him walking on the sea!

Then … “Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.” (Matthew 14:28)

Then Jesus said … “Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.”

That’s when it happened … “Peter saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; AND BEGINNING TO SINK, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.” (Matthew `14:30)

Immediately, as one would expect … “Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him …”

Sad words, “beginning to sink.” 

That godly old Preacher (Dr. Morrison) then developed these thoughts, hoping (I am sure) to teach us some things about “sinking,” should such a thing ever happen to us!

First, Peter’s “temperament” put him in danger! His impulsiveness, his boisterous spirit. His adventuresome personality! (The eleven other men remained in the boat!) Yes, that temperament worked to Peter’s good at times. (“And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:16) But here, not so. BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR NATURAL INCLINATIONS! EVERY CHRISTAIN HAS SOME “WEAK POINTS” IN HIS LIFE.

Second, Peter began to sink in “familiar waters!” Not far from “home!” He had played in this general area as a child, had invested countless hours trolling these waters. He knew his environment! Yet he began to sink there. BE ON GUARD EVERYWHERE. DON’T GET TOO LAX, EVEN AT HOME!

Third, Peter began to sink after serving Jesus for a while! After a time of “loyal discipleship!” No one is exempt! Yesterday’s right decisions do not automatically predetermine today’s options! SERVANTS OF GOD, BEWARE! LONGSTANDING CHRISTIANS HAVE ALSO MADE SHIPWRECK OF THEIR LIVES AND TESTIMONIES!

Fourth, Peter began to sink on a “permitted path!” Jesus had given him permission to come across those waters! YES, EVEN IN THE MIDDLE OF GOD’S WILL, WITHOUT VIGILANCE, WITHOUT KEEPING OUR EYES ON JESUS, WE MIGHT “BEGIN TO SINK!”

Fifth, when Peter got into trouble here, “fear” had preceded his sinking! Fear, worry, apprehension … these things do not usually buoy a life when the winds of adversity are blowing! Faith, trust, reliance on Jesus would have prevented this whole near tragedy! (PETER WILL LATER TELL US TO LEARN TO CAST ALL OUR CARES, ALL OUR WORRIES, ON JESUS! BECAUSE HE IS INTERESED IN OUR WELFARE!)

Sixth, there is no sign that the other Disciples even noticed that Peter was sinking! Sinking “alone,” with no one aware except Jesus! Oh, how we need systems of accountability in our homes, Churches, Sunday School Classes, wherever we congregate in Jesus’ Name. A GOOD LESSON HERE … KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR FELLOW BELIEVER! THROW HIM A LIFE-JACKET IF NEED BE!

Last of all, maybe best of all … Peter began to sink when “Jesus was near!” That’s comforting! Otherwise, the outcome here would have been catastrophic. KEEP JESUS NEARBY, EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY. BY THAT I MEAN BE CONSCIOUSLY AWARE OF HIS PRESENCE! HE IS OUR SAVIOUR IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE!

And I might add in closing … HALLELUJAH, WHAT A SAVIOUR HE IS!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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That’s what we called them, anyway, when we were young. Little flying creatures with “tail-lights.”

Here are a few interesting facts about these little bugs, miraculous creations of our great God …

Their flashing “lights” are used to send signals, messages actually! To ward off an enemy. To attract a mate. Even to mark off their “territory.”

Really, scientists say that these little marvels are not flies at all. Rather, they belong to the “beetle” family of the Lord’s vast creation!

The color (hue) of light they emit can vary from one species to another. Yellow, green and orange have all been observed! No one can ever accuse God of being boring!

Textbooks proclaim there are as many as 2,000 species of these “light-producing” beetles, flies.

The chemical (chemicals) that produce the “glow” we are discussing have been isolated, studied, and are now being utilized in several helpful endeavors in today’s world. Like food testing, forensic investigation, and even types of cell research!

Their “light” is nearly 100% efficient. By that I mean it is “all light” and virtually “no heat!” (We can’t build lightbulbs that effective! Not yet anyway.)

In one way these little creatures “preach” to us Christians! They let their little lights shine wherever they go! So should we …

The light of the Gospel. The light of a godly countenance. And some day, the Light of the Glory of God!

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

Wow!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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Ocean creatures never before seen by mankind?

That live 35,000+ feet below the surface of the sea?

In total darkness?

Where the weight of the water alone (the sheer pressure) would crush any human in a few seconds?

Little fish with no eyes!

Why would they need any, existing in an environment where not a ray of light has penetrated for centuries?

Although some of God’s little masterpieces who live down there have “headlights!” Not very bright, but (like the lights on a miner’s helmet) helpful in identifying a fish’s location!

Has anyone ever been down there?

Yes, but you can count the men on one hand!

And the submarine (if that’s the right word) that brought them there was only able to stay at that depth about 15 minutes! Too dangerous!

And get this, no man has ever walked on the bottom of the ocean, the sea-bed itself! (On the moon, yes! But not this particularly challenging place of our planet.)

Wow!

The octopus is there, some form of the crab too. Even squid! And sharks! As well as many (not yet explored) fish!

While most scientists (oceanographers) have not personally visited the most extreme ocean depths, they do use sonar devices to “listen!”

And they are telling us that there is a perceptible “song” that seems to be emitted from these creatures! As if a yet unstudied symphony might be playing some tune, way down below!

Singing what?

I think we might someday learn (perhaps during the Millennium) that they are singing praise to the Creator, to our Lord Jesus Christ!

“And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and UNDER TEH EARTH, and such as are IN THE SEA, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.” Revelation 5:13

“But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and THE FISHES OF THE SEA shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?” Job 12:7-9

Oh, what a mighty God we serve!

What a Saviour too, the Lord Jesus Christ!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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He is a little animal God created way back in Genesis chapter 1. He is a considered a mammal and can weigh as little as 2 pounds but as much as 36 pounds. (Different species!)

His long claws are virtually excavation tools. With amazing speed he can “cover himself” in dirt, hiding from a predator! In fact, they build their “homes” (called “dens”) underground! Around 10 feet deep and with “rooms” (for sleeping, for rearing their young, etc.) connected by tunnels and spread out over 30 feet or more!

The badger is such a fierce fighter he will even take on a rattlesnake! And usually wins, being quicker and smarter. (He goes for the back of the snake’s head!) They have even killed dogs twice their size!

Furthermore, he can run extremely fast, backward or forward, at practically the same speed either way!

His digging ability, once his sense of smell locates an underground meal (rat, snake, whatever) is so keen that he accurately rips open the earth and enjoys a bit of nourishment!

Yet with all these positive traits, the badger is sneaky! When in grave danger with no means of escape, he often pretends to be “dead!” He even stops breathing during his little act! Then when approached by the “enemy,” the little follow springs to life with sharp claws pawing in every direction! Poor predator!

You might say he is a “great pretender!”

And that trait reminds me of a few professing Christians in our lax land today! “Pretenders, hypocrites!”

Acting like something they are not!

Jesus’ fiercest Sermon was directed against that crowd!

Seven times in Matthew chapter 23 our dear Lord uses that term in the plural … “hypocrites!”

He calls the religious charlatans of His Day “blind guides, fools, extortioners, stinking gravesites, and even vipers (deadly snakes)!”

What a warning to us all.

James 5:12, in an unusual way, exhorts us to be genuine, to be non-hypocritical. “But let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.”

And Paul in Philippians 1:10 taught us to be “sincere!” Do not be a spiritual fake!

Badgers are amazing little creatures. And as we have seen they are endowed with some interesting and positive character traits.

But play-acting is not one of them!

Folks, BE REAL … for Jesus’ sake! We do bear His Name in this dark and sinful world!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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