Rarely am I at a lost for words. Too many words get me in trouble more than the lack thereof. There have been several occasions, however, when my words crumbled before the weight of the event. It is usually in times of great joy and great sorrow. Occasionally, it comes in conversation with my wife, Darcy. Too often I can come up with great advise and continual conversation with others, just to fail at communicating care and support for my closest friend. Especially when it comes to girly stuff, with statments that start with “I feel…”, or “I noticed…..”. “Feelings” and “Details” really throw me off. Acts 4 gives me hope in all conversations.
“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them…” (Acts 4:8)
The phrase “filled with the Holy Spirit” means a present time gift of special ability. There is no doubt that Luke, the author of Acts, had in mind an earlier instruction from Jesus himself:
“Settle it therefore in your minds, not to meditate beforehand how to answer,
for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries
will be able to withstand or contradict” (Luke 21:14-15)
Have you been avoiding a difficult conversation because you don’t know what to say? Pray, Think, Move. (Some of you may remember that from Sunday’s message). Pray for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Think about the first line of conversation. The move and let the Holy Spirit guide you.