Jose Morelos

This Wednesday we continued our study of Acts by looking at the second chapter, specifically the first 13 verses.  We asked ourselves and then answered a few questions in relation to the Holy Spirit.

Who Has it and Who Doesn’t?
These provocative questions were sparked by comments within our group during our second meeting, when we looked at Acts 1.The straightforward answer to these questions is that all believers (Christ followers) have the Holy Spirit and nobody else does. It is the gift of the Father to all who believe in the Son.  We looked in Romans (8:9) and John (14:17) to verify that answer.

What is the baptism of the Holy Spirit?
The baptism of the Holy Spirit consists of two parts: first, becoming a part of the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-13, Eph. 5:23) and second, receiving or being indwelled by the Holy Spirit (John 14:16). We discussed how once you are baptized by the Holy Spirit you are never alone and that it is never “undone.”

Another note from the verses in Acts 2 is that while speaking in tongues happened after the baptism of the Holy Spirit, it wasn’t a result of the Baptism. It was a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Which brings us to the third question of the night.

What is the filling of the Holy Spirit?
Filling of the Holy Spirit is a temporary thing that requires constant refilling (Rom. 6:3-4, Eph. 5:18). The filling of the Holy Spirit is always followed by external manifestation (Acts 1:4). This is a marked difference from being baptized by the Holy Spirit. That happens once, at salvation, but being filled is something that can happen many times. We see many instances in the Bible of people being “filled” – Acts 6:5 where Stephen was filled with faith and the Holy Spirit, in Luke 1:45 Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and we see in Luke 1:67 that Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied. These are just three examples of many found throughout scripture.

To be filled with the Holy Spirit you must giving total control of your life to the Holy Spirit. This is done through emptying ourselves (asking God to help us empty ourselves) and allowing Him to fill us with the Holy Spirit.

These were the main topics of discussion during our time on Wednesday. I have added a link here to download the full set of notes that include more scripture references and information on the other sections of Acts 2. 

Download notes.

Over 40 youth and adults got together during 2nd Saturday's mission activity at Union Mission in Norfolk, VA.

It was the spring of the year 30 AD and a cluster of Jews, men and women, were huddled in a home in Jerusalem. Everyone in the small gathering was nervous, jumpy and some were scared stiff. They were confused and at a loss to explain what had happened. Their leader, known to them as Jesus, accused of rabble-rousing and treason, had been executed by the Romans. Fearing retribution, they were all now worried about what would happen to them. All of a sudden, Mary Magdalene and other women, bursted into their gathering and startled all of them. Tripping over her own words, they heard her say something about the body disappearing, resurrection and conversation with angels.

This was the start of the most amazing 40 days in human history. During the next 40 days, the resurrected Christ, appeared to many of his disciples, and specially to the eleven. Throughout that time he went fishing and ate with them, comforted them and assured them that he was coming back for them. He explained to them the scripture and encouraged them.  In the mean time, they were to get on with their mission: the transformation of this world into the Kingdom of God. And for this revolutionary task, he was sending to them a special weapon: the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would not only be with them, but it would dwell inside them. Together they were to become a community, called the church.

The Book of Acts is about this astonishing 40 days and about the next 30 years after this even, 3 decades which were to be a vital period for the infant church and its given mission. For the next 13 weeks a group of us will be looking at this book. We will, with the guidance of the Spirit of God, see what this book says, learn what it says and then apply its teaching to our own lives. It should be an exacting journey! We will post here our weekly findings.

I don’t condone the supposed child abduction by the Baptist group, which has been in the news recently from Haiti, but I can understand their motivation. During my trip to Haiti last week there were numerous times in which the thought crossed my mind of helping children I encountered, who were in very bad shape, and to rescue them from such horrific conditions.

I saw a little boy who could not have been more than 6 years old. He had been pinned under the rubble and his arm was badly injured. Under "normal" circumstances, in the United States, or even in Haiti, he would have had surgery to repair the badly torn arm. But in the aftermath of an earthquake with the devastating damaging effects equivalent to seven megatons of TNT or about 7000 times as powerful as the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima, "normality" was also shattered. No water and food was accessible for days. No medical supplies or doctors were readily available. No emergency first aid attention was on hand. So, an arm that in other circumstances could have resulted to be, at worst badly scarred but functional, became infected and gangrenous, and needed to be amputated. My heart flinched when I saw him. (I thought about my own Nicholas and Annie. What wouldn't I do for them?) When his eyes met mine I almost started crying. At that moment, if someone would have said to me: "…sign here and he is yours. He is your responsibility; you take care of him…" I know I would have signed that paper.

So, laws and regulations for adoption are in place, especially, for times like this. In spite of the terrible situation, we all must be protected from reflexive good intentions, which may have unintended long term consequences. 

• Did this little boy have relatives? 
• What would be the psychological impact of snatching him out of his environment? 
• What would be in the best interest for him, long term?  

These and many other questions require thoughtful and unselfish consideration, for the sake of this child.

Nevertheless, I still think about that little boy. No child should have to live through what he may be going through right now.  And for certain, please Lord, no child should have to endure this alone. I hope he is not.

His name was Noe and he hadn’t seen his mother for 10 days. He was nearly 1 year old. When the earthquake hit he was with his aunt. The house they were staying in collapsed, killing his aunt. Somebody rescued Noe and he ended up at a hospital in Jimani, a city in the Dominican Republic. On Sunday he was reunited with his mother. It was striking how unemotional Noe was, when he saw his mother.  What an incredible trauma he must have endured. Maybe the trauma had sapped him, hopefully temporarily, of outward emotions.