Be Empowered…Again?

Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

As we celebrated Shavuot last night, we’re looking at the promise given 2000 years ago: that normal people will lead extraordinary lives; that disciples, who were terrified on the night of Yeshua’s (Jesus) death, were transformed into bold saints of God; and that fishermen, tax collectors, and housewives – normal everyday people – became empowered, and turned the Roman Empire inside out and upside down!

In Acts 2, we read about the initial outpouring of the Spirit during Shavuot. Just a few chapters later the same saints who had been once filled to overflowing, sought to be refilled again [Acts 4]. It was not a one-time experience, but rather a constant refilling of the Spirit which they needed to change their world. They repeatedly sought to be empowered to accomplish whatever task God assigned to them. They just kept going back, to the well that never runs dry, and so they kept getting filled – and refilled — and refilled again!

Don’t ever become spiritually “satisfied”! Seek to be filled — once filled — seek to be refilled! And refilled again! How do we live in a constant state of revival? By always seeking MORE! In doing so, God will empower everyday folk like us to turn our world inside out and upside down!

Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.

More Devotions

If you’ve ever been to Israel, you know that Shabbat—what we call the Sabbath—is a big deal. It starts Friday at sundown and goes until Saturday at sundown, and let me tell you, the whole country gets ready for it like clockwork. Friday mornings are busy—really busy. The outdoor markets are packed, folks are rushing around grabbing last-minute groceries, cleaning house, cooking meals, and getting everything wrapped up before things shut down. By the time the sun sets, the streets get quiet, the stores close, and life slows down. For the next 24 hours, it’s all about rest.

Watching Yeshua (Jesus) lay down His life to die on the cross was not what His disciples were expecting, but rather a shocking, perplexing, and apparently hopeless ending to what had seemed like a promising fulfillment of Messianic hope. The shattering ordeal of Yeshua’s trials, torture, and horrific death must have left them all feeling bereft, miserable, and uncertain of the future. What would they do now? What would their future hold?

What an amazing thought that a holy and infinite God dwells within our bodies when we come to faith! This awesome God so desires to inhabit our very beings … wow!

Now imagine how that God is constructing this magnificent temple of living stones, believers around the world, and fitting us together into a masterpiece; stones of every color, every size, and differing weight, and fitting them TIGHTLY and perfectly together for His glory!

According to ancient Jewish legend, one day Abraham was shown his father, Terah’s room of many idols. Young Abraham, thinking that perhaps he could discover intimacy with them, made some desirable delicacies and placed them before the idols. When nothing happened, he realized that these idols were nothing more than clay — they could do nothing for him or anyone else for that matter. So he proceeded to destroy all the idols, except for one.

Every day roughly 150,000 around the world die. Death has a way of raising our spiritual temperature and quickening us to re-evaluate life…especially to ask, “Am I doing all that I can do?”

The first king of Israel, King Saul,was told by God to utterly slay Amalek and his descendants. In blatant disobedience Saul allowed Agag, the king of the Amalekites and the best of the cattle to remain alive. The following day, Saul tried to remedy his disobedience by attempting to sacrifice the best of the cattle to the Lord.

Among those in the court of Alexander the Great was a philosopher of outstanding ability but little money. He asked Alexander for financial help and was told to draw whatever he needed from the imperial treasury.