Repent and Be Baptized: Ascend and Be Filled | Ascension to Pentecost

The crowd heard Peter's sermon and asked the only question that mattered: What do we do now? In Day 10 of our Ascension to Pentecost series — the final day — Peter gives them the doorway into the kingdom: Repent and be baptized. To repent is to renounce rival kingdoms and submit to Jesus' rule. To be baptized is to pass through water and be filled with the Holy Spirit, remade as a true image of God. The waters of baptism connect to the whole story. God once covered the world in flood to wash it clean. He led his people through the sea to free them from slavery. Now he invites every person to pass through those same waters — freed from ancient slavery to rebellious powers and filled with the Spirit of the king. On that first Pentecost, 120 became 3,000. And through the church — Jesus' Spirit-empowered body on earth — the kingdom has grown and pushed back rival rulers in every generation since. The promise isn't just for those gathered in Jerusalem. It's for every generation, near and far. Including ours. The pattern that began in Genesis — God ascending to reign and filling his people with his Spirit — isn't finished yet. We await the day Jesus returns, when the whole earth will be filled with his flourishing life. 📖 Series: Ascension to Pentecost — a 10-day devotional journey 📅 Day 10 of 10