God's Holy Fire: 'A Good Man!'

Earlier in the book of Acts, we met Stephen, who was described as being "a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 6:5). Now Barnabas is described in similar terms. Just as was the case for Barnabas, ministry must be based on the work of God through us as we are gifted and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Our faith that God can do more than we can even imagine is crucial to this kind of Spirit-power working through our lives (Ephesians 3:14-21). Unfortunately, some of us want a shortcut to the Spirit's power. We don't want to have to demonstrate faithfulness. We don't want to be focused on prayer. We don't want to be devoted to sharing with others. But in both Barnabas and Stephen, we see these qualities. As we continue our journey looking at the Holy Spirit through the remainder of the year, let's all ask ourselves: "What do I need to do to open my heart and invite the Holy Spirit to have more influence on me and more transformational power in me?" When we yield to the Spirit's power and influence, our lives bear amazing fruit. Barnabas wasn't effective just because of his talent; he was effective because of his faith and because of the Holy Spirit's power in him!