“Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
The Bible says that the Lord is no respecter of persons (Romans 2:11). This is counterintuitive to the way we see the world. We are separated by class, by income, by skin color, by where we live, and so much more. We even have markets that separate us by how much we can spend on food and clothes. Since we are born into this division, it is hard to break the walls down. After raising four girls through high school, the separation was so bad that we had to monitor the friends list and actions of all of them to keep those walls from forming.
For some of us, those walls have been up long before we knew about them. Your parents may have had to operate within those walls of separation and passed them down to you without knowing there was a different way to see the world.
After the disciples received the gift of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, a crowd had gathered outside the place where they were staying. Why? Because when they were praying, they were hearing, in their own languages, the disciples proclaiming the wonderful things of God. The Bible records no less than 15 different languages being heard at the same time. An altar call for the world around them that included everyone who was in Jerusalem.
The Holy Spirit was showing off, and that day over 3,000 people were added to the Kingdom. Those 3,000 were from those 15 different places, no doubt. It would seem that Romans 2:11 was playing out right before them. To make it more interesting, Peter just walked out of the house and started to preach. No music, no building, no fancy message that was polished beforehand, just the Holy Spirit pouring out on all flesh, just like Jesus told them. The promise was for everyone.
Today, realize that the love of the Father does not come with strings attached. I don’t love my daughters any less or any more because of what they have done or not done. I love them because they are my family. Period. The promise is for everyone. Salvation is for everyone. The Holy Spirit is for everyone. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are for everyone. The love of the Father is for everyone. You don’t have to get cleaned up before you call on the Lord. It is not a job interview; He is your Father who has His arms out waiting for you to run to Him, no matter where you are coming from. You are called. Drop your act and just come to Him. The promise is for you.
Prayer: Father, help me to think, act, and proclaim the promise of Your love and grace to all of those around me. Help me to be bold in spreading the Gospel, and I pray that the gifts of the Holy Spirit will be used through me to spread the promise. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Let It Go 
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