Something was Missing

Acts 8:14-17

“When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.”

Isn’t this passage interesting? New believers came into faith in Samaria. The Samaritans were not ethnically fully Jewish, and so were looked down upon, and treated as second-class citizens. Those of us in prison or any other form of bondage can easily identify with their treatment.

When Peter and John arrived, they must have readily seen something lacking in these new believers. Their faith, outwardly portrayed by water baptism, brought them into the Body of Christ, but something more remained for them to receive.

Perhaps what was lacking was the process of sanctification. One of the jobs of the Holy Spirit in a Believer is to set them apart for God’s service, and begin the process of making them more holy.

Left to our own devices, we are powerless to transform ourselves. It comes only by the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us progressively over time as we obediently submit to His leadership.

Is something missing in your life as a Believer?

TODAY’S CHALLENGE:

Tell the Father you want to submit to everything the Holy Spirit wants to do in you. Ask Him to give you whatever He sees missing in your life.

Dive Deeper: Study Acts 8.