Send your Rain!
And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.1 John 4:16 NKJV
So many times we are told that this didn't happen or that didn't happen in the WORD of GOD and many believe what they did not see because they did not look. When we see that Jesus was crucified and put in the tomb and the women went to find him, we see that the Angel told them he is not there. But he comes back and says much. But so many forget that Jesus sent the HOLY SPIRIT as more than the comforter. We will speak in other tongues and we will do the things that Jesus did because that's what the scriptures say. But so many will believe their denominations and not the WORD of GOD. We get so stuck in the box of religion and the religiosity of church. Being in a relationship with the Trinity is not about the church. It is about Jesus, the Holy Spirit and about God the Father. It's about getting into the Word of God, alone and seeking HIM and hearing HIM. I am not telling you your church is unimportant but I am telling you, you have to dig in and seek this real relationship out for yourself. Pray, using the adoration's first, this means it's not about YOU! It is about HIM. Love on him as you would your spouse when you first fell in love. Remember that feeling that you had with your spouse, your heart beat faster, your mind was sharp, you were over the moon in love and you could not imagine your life without them? That is as it should be with Jesus. You can be a good person, you can give to all the right things, you can be baptized too, but if you don't know Jesus, he won't know you and that would be a shame. Read this prayer and repent. Let go of the past, let it go, forgive those who have hurt you- it's for you and not for them. 
Acts 1:4-11
The Holy Spirit Promised
4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me[a] in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”Jesus Ascends to Heaven
9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
Acts 2
Acts 2New King James Version (NKJV)
Coming of the Holy Spirit
2 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord[a] in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
SIDEBAR: HOLY ATTENTION from BIBLEGATEWAY.COM
These are words of adoration, use these to start your own revival in your heart. Because it starts in the heart. I want others hungry for HIM! WITH HOLY FIRE on them! Be blessed!
Eighteenth-century Scottish pastor Thomas Boston said this about the best way to gain nourishment from Scripture:
“Read with a holy attention, arising from the consideration of the majesty of God, and the reverence due to him. This must be done with attention, first, to the words; second, to the sense; and, third, to the divine authority of the Scripture, and the obligation it lays on the conscience for obedience.” (HT: Fire and Ice: Puritan and Reformed Writings).
Our attention must be focused in order to discern the meaning of a passage. Focused attention involves studying the Bible using insights from language, genre, literary context, and relevant background information. It can also consist of memorizing, meditating on, and prayerfully reflecting on Scripture. Most importantly, recognizing that Scripture carries the stamp of “thus says the Lord” helps us realize that we are encountering God as we read. Seeing the Bible as God’s revelation of himself prepares us to draw near to God with worshipful, teachable, and obedient hearts.
The goal of Bible reading is to experience transformation through God’s Word, by the work of the Spirit. Why be content with just letting the words skim off of the surface of our lives (see James 1:21-25)? With holy attention we can be intentional about letting God speak to us and shape us as we read the Bible.
Greg MaGee, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biblical Studies
Taylor University
Associate Professor of Biblical Studies
Taylor University
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