Day 2 - Week 85 - Acts 1:8 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

"Acts 1:8 is the key that unlocks the door of Acts and the gates of Christian history."  - Robert J. Morgan

The Book of Acts, most often thought to be authored by Luke through inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is the book that documents the first days of the Christian church.  It is a fascinating account of how a band of few revolutionized the world by the message of grace and hope brought by Jesus Christ. 

Robert J. Morgan in 100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart, shares some wonderfully insightful thoughts about Acts 1:8:

Acts 1:8 represents the last known words of Jesus during His earthly ministry.   Verse 9 indicates these are the Lord's final words before being "taken up."  Luke 24:50-53 says Jesus ascended to heaven while blessing His disciples, but His words of blessings aren't given.  Acts 1:8 are His final words as they were recorded for us.  Shouldn't His last command be our first concern?

Morgan's last sentence is convicting, isn't it?  "Shouldn't His last command be our final concern?"  How serious do we take Jesus' last words?  Just like in Matthew 28:19 where we are told to "Go", Jesus now tells us to be His witnesses...testify to everything we know about our Jesus.

What do you know about Jesus?  Tell it.  Do you know that He is God's Son?  Do you know that He came as a baby, born of a virgin?  Do you know that He spent 33 years here on earth telling us, and showing us, who our God really is?  Do you know that He took your sins to the cross because He loved you so much?  Do you know that He rose again, proving God's power over death?  Do you know that you share in that resurrection power and that because of Christ's blood covering your sins that you will share eternity with Him in the presence of God the Father? 

These are the things we can know and that we can testify to because of the Holy Spirit's power in our lives.  He has given the Holy Spirit to us to assure us of everything we know to be true and to empower us to share it with others.

Don't stifle the Holy Spirit's promptings...be Christ's witness just as He asked you to be...to the ends of the earth!

 

 

Day 1 - Week 85 - Are we spreading the Word?

Lots of buzz going round regarding December 21, 2012...just 4 days away.  According to the Mayans, this could be the day that we see an end to the world as we know it.  Personally, I've never been convinced that the Mayans were the most intelligent civilization that has ever existed, so I'm not correspondingly not convinced that they alone, among all peoples of all times, knew the exact day the world would end.  Also, as a believer in the Word of God as revealed in Holy Scripture, there's this verse that keeps ringing in my ear..."But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only."  Matthew 24:36.  So, come Friday, December 21, I suspect that we will see the day come and go without anything outstanding occurring.  You see, I figure any day could be the day of Christ's return, other than one that someone is predicting.  Man's predictions pretty much rule that particular date out in my book.  So December 22, December 23, maybe even December 20, I'm not so sure about! 

I've made the comment recently that while we cannot know the day or the hour, it sure seems like the times are giving us signs that we are drawing closer to Christ's return...does that excite you?  It should!  As Christians, we should be anxiously awaiting that glorious day when we look up and see our Savior descending to gather His own unto Himself.  I want to be able to throw my hands up and say, "Take me Lord Jesus!"  Knowing that we will leave this world and all of its uncertainty for an eternity governed by the love of God where we will have no fear, no sadness, and where we will bask in the radiance of Jesus Himself!

The only thing that should keep us praying for the delay of Christ's return is the fact that there are those who we have still not yet reached with the message of Jesus and His gift of salvation for them.  And then there are those who have heard the message, but for some reason or another, have still not accepted Jesus into their hearts as their Savior ready to cover all of their sins with His blood.  Unless we are actively working in one of these avenues, evangelizing those who have never heard or convincing those who have heard of the importance and the urgency of their acceptance of Jesus into their lives, we are not showing that we really love people.  For if we really love people, and we know that Jesus is coming some day, either in the sky or when He calls each of us to come home individually, we sincerely want them to know their eternal future.  Just as John wrote in 1 John 5:13, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."

No, I do not believe Friday, December 21, will be the last day of this world of ours...but I do believe that Jesus is coming back, and due to many things going on in our world and how they align with the word of prophecy in the Bible, I believe that time is growing closer.  So we must get passionate about the Great Commission.  We must go, tell and teach! 

Reviewing....

Faith: Trusting God and Resting in His Word (12)
Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift."
Ephesians 2:9 "Not by works, so that no one can boast."
Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Colossians 3:15 "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful."
Colossians 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns
and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."
Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God's power for salvation to everyone who believe, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."
Romans 1:17 "For in it God's righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith."
Psalm 56:3 "When I am afraid, I will trust in You."
2 Chronicles 16:9 "The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him."
Hebrews 11:6 "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

The Great Commission (4)
Matthew 28:18 "Then Jesus came near and said to them, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."
Matthew 28:19 "Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
Matthew 28:20 "Teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.  And remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

The verse we add this week explains how and why we will be compelled to carry out Christ's Commission:

Acts 1:8  "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

The Holy Spirit gives us the power and the pressure to take Christ's message out and into all corners of the world.  Without the Holy Spirit within us, we will have neither the compulsion nor the spiritual wisdom to carry out Jesus' command.  It is His Spirit, living within us, that gives us the opportunity, gives us the ability to see the opportunity, and gives us the compulsion not to let the opportunity pass.  But we must be paying attention to the Holy Spirit's prompting within us, and surrender our pride, our discomfort and our inabilities to His power to do His will.   We need to allow Him to prove His absolute ability to do amazing things through us, despite of us! 

Pray to be used by God, pray for His Spirit to open up opportunities for you to share His Word, to share the story of what God has done for you, and pray not to miss one of those opportunities that may mean another person walking on the streets of gold!