And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John's baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.

The key to understanding this passage lies in the word "believe". Those Ephesians believed in John's statement that they were to believe in the one to come after him and their baptism was a public commitment to that belief. However, Paul introduced them to the One whom John prophecied, the Lord Jesus Christ and they were baptized in His Name. This is a crucial shift in commitment.

Today's readings in the Psalms:

Morning: Psalm 93

Mid-day: 119:1-8

Evening: Psalm 19

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