‘Truly, O Theophilus, I made the first report as to all things that Jesus began both to do and teach until the day He was taken up, having given directions to the apostles whom He chose, through the Holy Spirit; to whom He also presented Himself living after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them through forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.’
And having met with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to await the promise of the Father which you heard from Me.
For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days from now. Acts 1:1-5
I don’t know about you, but things seem to be happening so fast in my life, and there are times when I am caught off guard with surprises, not of the kind I enjoy. This year has been like a buzz-saw for me, my having surgery, currently having chemotherapy.
For the most part these are things that do leave me at times to asking myself: What is going to happen next? If left alone to my own thoughts and evaluations, I come up empty handed. Not that I don’t trust God, it’s the realization of how much more I need Him, to sort out my meanderings that cloud up my view of Him, as He works out the details of today and finishes them with a hope for tomorrow.
Luke was in that place as he tried to put things in perspective for the earlier believers, especially the ones before the promise of the Holy Spirit given to all believers would come. I am thankful to God that He inspired these words in his Gospel and the Book of Acts, to correct, instruct, rebuke, reproof, that its is all for us for our training in righteousness. Bottom line? Where would I be had it not been for Jesus?
In just a few words of introduction, Luke says some very big things as he begins his account of the early church. Acts begins where The Gospel of Luke left off. Luke tells us that Jesus’ instruction to the apostles was inspired by God. Next, he explains that the apostles were chosen by Jesus. He then goes on to say that Jesus spent significant time with these apostles after his resurrection—40 days of proofs and teaching. Finally, Luke tells us that Jesus instructed the apostles to remain in Jerusalem. Their ministry would begin there when they received the gift of the Holy Spirit from God.
At the close of his Gospel, Luke left the believers in the temple, praising God. Now, Luke picks up the story and begins to explain: ‘What is going to happen next’.
Jesus would be spending 36 days teaching His disciples teaching and answering the questions that burned in their hearts. Who, What, Where, and When.
- Who– “But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said to you.” John 14:26
- What– “But the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true and no lie, and as He has taught you, abide in Him” 1 John 2:27
- Where– “Therefore go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things, whatever I commanded you.” Matthew 28:19
- When– “And behold, I send the promise of My father on you. But you sit in the city of Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49
- How– “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
Luke records what Jesus “began both to do and teach” in His human body, and the Book of Acts tells us what Jesus continued to do and teach through His spiritual body, the church.
In this chapter, we see the believers taking care of “unfinished business” and getting ready for Pentecost. What they said and did reveals to us the faith of the church. In what did they really believe?
From this day forward we are challenged by the response and conduct of the Apostles as Jesus instructed them by the Word and commanded them to wait for the promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit, who would be doing all the things Jesus did, except He would be everywhere. I need to be ready for what comes next, by taking care of unfinished business. So often do I lose focus on the important thing Jesus has asked me to do. I become distracted by problems I cannot solve. I worry about how things will work out. And I find myself unprepared when the opportunity comes up to be able to share with someone: who, what, where, when, how. Just as Luke was prepared to record all the sights and sounds of Jesus in his Gospel and in Acts, I need to be prepared, asking the Holy Spirit to help me.
Jesus said in Luke 21:15 ““For I will give you a word of wisdom in your mouth that the adversary will not be able to resist or refuse”. Really, I haven’t any excuse for being able to testify of my witness of Jesus Christ at all. He has given me His Word, His Spirit. He has given me spiritual gifting’s to accomplish the task, and He has given me Harvest. “Therefore said He unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He would send forth labourers into His harvest.” Luke 10:2
Here is today’s video! Enjoy, and tell someone who’s struggling without hope about Jesus!
Walking the Berean Road 
