The Holy Spirit can do amazing things in your life
As the president of a Christian university for 18 years now, I have come to fully appreciate the value of a college education. Just a week ago, I shook the hands of another graduating class as they walked across the stage to greet me and receive their diplomas. Their faces exuded a variety of feelings. For some it was relief that it was behind them. For others it was pure elation and joy. For a few the depth of their tears told me stories that made me realize how much they had likely overcome to be in this moment of accomplishment.
All of those who walked across the stage were taught by Christian professors. They also all had received some class hours talking about faith, scripture, and Jesus. We do not force belief in Jesus on anyone, but we do not hesitate to present to students the good news of Jesus and what he did for them and for the world.
Some of our students come to us to specifically to prepare themselves academically for jobs in ministry. These students spend many hours not only studying practical ways to minister to others, but also studying scripture in great depth. Our small university has produced some great bible scholars and many fine pastors and church leaders over the years.
If we have done our job well, our students also graduate knowing that when God uses them in ministry, whether formally or naturally, as many work in business, education, mental health, and elsewhere, they realize that it is not simply their education that brings them success. It may not be immediately, but eventually these graduates will come to understand that their effectiveness includes their education but is actually fueled by and through the depth of their faith and flows from their relationship with Jesus.
As we read through the book of Acts, we see the Holy Spirit do amazing things in the lives of the apostles and in the growing number of believers who heard and accepted the gospel. When Peter and John healed the lame man in Acts 4, there was great concern in the ranks of the Pharisees and chief priests. They were annoyed that this ragtag group of fishermen were disrupting Jerusalem as much as, or even more than, Jesus had before they had him crucified. So, they had Peter and John arrested.
The religious leaders questioned Peter and John about their activities: “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Peter responded, referring to their examination of their actions, which were arguably quite good, that they had healed a man who had been crippled from birth and were being questioned and criticized. They continued by answering that they healed this man by and through the name of the crucified and resurrected Lord, Jesus.
Acts described the reaction of the priests and religious scholars. They were puzzled because these apostles were uneducated fishermen. They had no special training, and they didn’t come through the normal religious training of the faith. All they could say in summary of these apostles was this: “They had been with Jesus.”
What I hope our students have learned, or one day will figure out, is that everything changes for the better when you have been with Jesus. Life changes the day anyone realizes what Luke recorded Peter as saying, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Yes, our graduates aren't perfect. Neither are anyone else’s. But our graduates have all heard the name of Jesus and have been taught by professors and coaches who live out their faith in Jesus daily. And one day, if we did our jobs well, every graduate will realize that ultimately the things that matter and the good that they will accomplish is rooted in their faith in Jesus as Lord.
Jesus is the foundation of life. He is our hope and our salvation. The early church didn’t grow because they had great technology or celebrity pastors. The church grew and still exists today because of one thing: Jesus is the Son of God and the head of his church. When we surrender to him, the world will finally experience the great redemption and transformation planned from the beginning of time.
Father, thank you for sending Jesus to redeem us. We surrender to him now and trust that his spirit will use us today and every day to proclaim the simple yet powerful truth of the gospel. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Acts 4:1-22 ESV
Photo by Stanley Morales: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-black-long-sleeve-dress-standing-on-brown-concrete-pathway-3186386/
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash
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