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Good morning friends,
Today is Thursday May 2, 2019, the second day of our 150 Days of Summer 2019 journey together.
Today we begin the Bible book of ACTS together. Is that a strange name for a book of the Bible? I suggest this book traces the work (Acts) of the Holy Spirit of God alive and powerful in the lives of Jesus followers as what Jesus called the “church” was birthed across the Roman Empire.
Dr. Luke, who also wrote the Gospel of Luke, begins Acts mentioning the same person, “Theophilus” as perhaps the primary person for whom he wrote these accounts. We can assume Luke ‘carefully investigated’ (Luke 1:3) through interviews, for both books. Luke was a Greek physician who joined Paul’s expedition in Troas (Acts 16:10), perhaps to be Paul’s personal traveling physician. We can imagine Luke began his ‘investigation’ of Jesus by questioning Paul, then later as many of those who knew Jesus personally as he could find. Of course Luke was led by the Holy Spirit to write his two books carefully.
Do you see in Acts 1:3 Luke speaks of ‘many convincing proofs’ that Jesus was truly alive? May I ask you… what are the things which have convinced you, 2000 years later, that Jesus is in fact resurrected and alive now in God’s presence in heaven? Remember Jesus’ statement “I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” (John 16:28)?
Do you often wonder what the disciples thought and talked about during the 40 days between resurrection Sunday and Jesus’ Acts 1:9 ascension from the Mount of Olives? Acts 1:6 gives us a clue. They struggled to figure out who Jesus really was; what His teachings and miracles were all about; and evidently they wondered about Jesus’ role in restoring Israel to its former glory as a great kingdom? Perhaps daily they struggled with trying to figure out what they were supposed to DO now that Jesus was not walking with them and leading them everyday. It wasn’t until after the Holy Spirit ‘came upon them’ as Jesus promised, that they finally understood.
Jesus said “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses…” (1:8). A few days before on a hillside in Galilee He had told them “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, therefore, go (it really means as you are going through life) make disciples of all peoples…” (Matt. 28:18-20) This became their life purpose, each of them, for the rest of their lives… empowered and led by the Holy Spirit of God, they were to live their lives as Jesus lived His, and tell everyone who would hear them, the truth about Jesus, the Son of God, who died and rose again and ascended back to heaven to be the Savior from sin for anyone who would trust Him.
So may I ask… what would you say your life purpose is? Here’s another way to ask it: what is the greatest value you have on earth, from GOD’s perspective? How does each day you live bring God the greatest glory and make the greatest contribution to humanity?
Acts 1:9 of course is one of the greatest moments in human history, the ascension of Jesus back to heaven, in full view of many people, and with the explanation of angels… just like His birth. And what do you make of the promise “This same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back, in the same way you have seen Him go…” (Acts 1:11). Link that with 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17, what do you see? Could it happen TODAY? If it did, what would happen to you?
Let’s live today, and every day, with expectation. . . maybe today! And let’s live with purpose, God honoring purpose… live each day as if the risen Jesus was walking right beside you, and point as many people to Jesus as possible.
Have a great day friends,
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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