Receive the Holy Spirit

And when He said this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

John 20:22 

Because the tomb is empty, you do not have to be! The Resurrected Christ gives us the Holy Spirit. The word “receive” implies action on our part. It denotes a yielding to or taking in. If a wide receiver is to do his job well (catch the football), he will need soft hands. “Soft hands” means one’s hands are pliable enough to yield to or take in a football moving fast. In the same way, we receive by taking or yielding.

For the disciples, this was a moment in time that they received the Holy Spirit. As for us, we can receive every day. What are you receiving at this moment? What do you want to receive more of? You are choosing what you receive. There are things in our lives screaming at us, “Receive me! Receive me!” The TV is screaming. The ball game, the cell phone, the computer, people, and their needs are all screaming to us.

Paul asked the disciples in Ephesus, “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?” That is a great question. What are you choosing to receive today? Hear His whisper, “Receive Me. Receive my love.” Yield your self, time, and life to Him today. There are many things that are urgent and need your time today, but do not sacrifice the important on the altar of the urgent.

The more one’s self is filled and focused on “me,” the more and more empty one becomes. The self finds life and meaning in what it reaches out and embraces. Losing our lives to embrace Jesus Christ, the author of life, joy, and peace, is to find a life more abundant and meaningful than any amount of self-fulfillment ever could. Let the Resurrected Christ breathe a fresh wind into you today. Quiet your mind, your spirit, and ask the Holy Spirit to come and fill you right now.

If you then, being evil, will give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!

Luke 11:13