Every so often the approach has to change even when the goal hasn’t.

We see this when coaches make halftime adjustments to the game plan because of how the game has gone to that point. They still want to win the game, but they also recognize some changes that they can implement that will be more effective than what they’d been doing.

Don’t be afraid to adjust your approach based on information you have now that you may not have had when you started. It doesn’t mean you’ve given up; it only means you’ve learned.

“I’ve got the power!”

You probably read that and thought of the song by Snap! from the 80s (and now you’re gonna be singing it the rest of the day – you’re welcome!). I think that line expresses perfectly 50% of the truth in the most famous Pentecostal verse in the Bible.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (‭‭Acts‬ ‭1:8‬ ‭NIV, emphasis mine)

The question this morning isn’t whether we have the power, but rather, are we using the power the way we were told to.

“You will receive power, and you will be my witnesses.”

The power of the Holy Spirit is power to witness. It’s the power to overcome the fear and anxiety of having a conversation with someone that includes the name of Jesus and the testimony of how He has changed us. It’s the power to allow our words and our actions to clearly point people to the hope they need.

Today, don’t neglect the power that has been placed within you by keeping it within you. Let that power out and tell someone about how the Holy Spirit has changed you. Speak the name of Jesus and watch what the power can do in the people and circumstances around you.

The woman had no business being there, and yet, there she was mixing her tears with perfume while kissing the feet of Jesus.

Today, she might be accused of failing to read the room. She was an intruder at a dinner party thrown by a religious leader who had invited other religious leaders to eat and talk with Jesus. Had she read the room, she never would have been there in the first place, much less gone public with such an audacious act of devotion.

And yet, Jesus commended her while chiding the host. His final words on the matter are the ones we must take to heart: “Whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” (Luke 7:47)

Not only did this woman love big because she’d been forgiven big, she also knew the source of that forgiveness. As a result, it turns out that she did read the room correctly. In fact, she was the only one who had because she was the only one who recognized Who mattered most in the room.

Our worship changes when we remember how much we’ve been forgiven and when we recognize the presence of the Forgiver. Caution gets thrown to the wind. Reckless abandon ensues. Tears and perfume flow. And forgiveness takes center stage.

Today, worship like one who has been forgiven much.