Acts

Hello friends!

First of all let me just praise the Lord right now for this year! I cannot imagine being anywhere else. What a transforming and growing year!

Yet again, this week was just fantastic!  Mitch Maher came and taught on the book of Acts. There is so much in that one book! Just look at how amazing our God is as you look at the apostles’ lives, specifically Peter and Paul.

Acts is written by Luke as a continuation of his gospel book (Luke). Mitch raised an interesting question: He asked “Whose ‘acts’ are recorded in this book?” Are they the acts of the apostles who spread the gospel to the farthest regions? Are they the acts of the early church? How about the acts of the Holy Spirit? It records the acts of the risen and exalted Jesus through His Spirit in the lives of His people! Get excited.

In the Old Testament the Jews were under the Old Covenant of the Law and offered sacrifices to atone for their sin. The New Testament gospels explain that Jesus then came and paid the price by becoming the ultimate (perfect Lamb) sacrifice on the cross to atone for the sins of all and redeem those who accept Him.  He conquered the grave and now we have a New Covenant where the law is written on our hearts instead of tablets. Cool. The book of Acts tells the story of the transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. In this New Covenant life changed a lot for the Christ believing Jews.

The book of Acts starts out with Jesus ascending into Heaven and soon after the Holy Spirit comes down on those who believed. Change number one: Holy Spirit indwelling believers. In this case, fire came on the people and they spoke in tongues as a sign of the Spirit in them.  Bold moment: Peter uses this opportunity to preach the gospel to people around.  I love that Peter uses this as a teachable moment. He doesn’t focus on the tongues or on the Spirit but uses the opportunity to glorify the Lord and evangelize. I hope to point clearly and boldly to the Lord when I see God working in my life or the lives of those around me, giving all glory to God.

Later, Peter and John are arrested after healing a man and again preaching the gospel in boldness. When they speak with the Sanhedrin they speak boldly about Christ. Just think, Peter is the man who denied Jesus 3 times before His crucifixion. Something changed in the disciples when Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. This persecution leads to more and more coming to the faith. How encouraging is that? When things are hard and we feel persecuted, stand firm! God is glorified and more come to know Him. His plan is bigger than the suffering we endure and He turns all things to the good for His glory. Perspective is good.

Philip goes to Samaria and brings the gospel to them. This is a big deal because the Samaritans are “half-breed Jews” and the people were not sure if they were to be included in salvation. Well guess what? They are! Peter and John come and pray with them and the Holy Spirit comes on them. This means a lot to us today if you are a Gentile because this makes it one step closer to Gentiles being grafted into the faith. Praise the Lord for adopting us into His Kingdom! Sure enough, God calls Peter to spread the gospel to the Gentiles and he is obedient. The Gentiles are added and the church celebrates!

Saul was one of the top persecutors of Christians before the Lord called him on the road to Damascus. Saul’s name changed to Paul and he became a great missionary and wrote much of the New Testament of the Bible we have today. He brought the gospel to the furthest regions of the world during three missionary journeys. Let me tell you, if God is quick to forgive a top persecutor like Paul, then He is quick to forgive even the sins in our life that we believe to be unforgivable. If God is able to turn a man like Saul into Paul and use him, you bet He can use you and me!

Paul goes on his first missionary journey with Barnabas to Asia Minor. Some time after bringing the gospel to Galatia (located in Asia Minor), false teachers had come in and confused the people so Paul writes a letter to them. Before this year I had no idea when Paul wrote his letters. It gives a neat perspective when reading the letters in the New Testament. Can we talk about Barnabas for a minute here? His name means “the encourager”. He took Paul, an ex-persecutor, under his wing on their first missionary journey. We all need a Barnabas, someone to believe in us and encourage us. I hope that I can be a Barnabas to others, encouraging and spurring them on.

Paul’s second missionary journey was to the Aegean area. There he wrote 1 and 2 Thessalonians. His third missionary journey was to Ephesus. There he wrote 1 and 2 Corinthians. One thing that I loved realizing in our study of Acts was that there are a few places in scripture that Paul says that the Spirit kept him from going to a certain area or that his disciples warned him not to go into a certain area. This was so encouraging to me at this point in my life. I am trying to decide what I want to do next year and it is so great to remember that the Lord will shut doors and turn me away from places that He does not want me. He will guide me and will make each step clear. What great peace we have knowing the Lord is for us!

Each of Paul’s journeys spread the gospel out farther and farther. He deeply wanted to spread the gospel all the way to Rome. He wrote Romans in preparation for his coming. He was arrested in Jerusalem and then appealed to Caesar in Rome. While in prison he wrote the rest of the Pauline letters we find in the New Testament.

And that, my friends, is my attempt at summing up the book of Acts. You should read Acts. There is so much more to discover and it is so good.

Thanks for reading! Have such a blessed day!

Joyfully His,

Mal