Acts Chapter Twenty Nine
OK, I know what you are thinking. There are only twenty eight chapters in the book. What is going on?
Acts is written to document the history of the early church. Luke started the book this way.
1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.
The former book was the Gospel of Luke. He wrote that to document the life of Jesus. He wrote Acts to tell the continuing story of the church. We can learn much about God’s plan for His church through Acts. As we have been reading I trust you have paid attention to the supernatural. I trust you have paid attention to what was normal in the early church.
We study history to learn. We learn what to do and what not to do from history. We study church history in Acts to learn what God wants for His church. As we study and learn, we must strive to apply.
Why am I calling this Acts 29? Because the history of the church is still being written. Acts cuts off abruptly. There is no farewell or ending. It just stops. I believe this is because the history didn’t end there. Luke only wrote up to a certain point, knowing that the church would go on. Paul’s life continued. He eventually was released from prison in Rome. He did much more to advance God’s Kingdom.
Today, we are active in helping write chapter 29. Or, maybe it would be chapter 2,000. Whatever the case, the church is very much alive today. How productive it is depends on the believers.
What was normal in Acts? People got saved. People were baptized in the Holy Spirit. They had powerful prayer meetings. Believers were fully committed to God and His work. People sacrificed. The church had great power and many miracles happened. The church was persecuted. The world knew the church was alive and impacting society around it.
What should be normal today? The list should be the same. The power of God is always the same. God is always the same.
Chapter 1
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Chapter 2
4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
More than ever, we need the fullness and the power of the Holy Spirit. The church today must be Spirit-filled and impacting the world. The only hope for all the anguish around us is the change that Jesus will make in the lives of people. We have that power in us. Having read Acts again, I trust that you are inspired and challenged to be used for God in greater ways than ever before. You? Yes, You. Maybe it might help for you to read it again, looking for the inspiration that comes from seeing God do His great work. I trust our prayer is “Lord, do it again.”
OK, I know what you are thinking. There are only twenty eight chapters in the book. What is going on?
Acts is written to document the history of the early church. Luke started the book this way.
1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.
The former book was the Gospel of Luke. He wrote that to document the life of Jesus. He wrote Acts to tell the continuing story of the church. We can learn much about God’s plan for His church through Acts. As we have been reading I trust you have paid attention to the supernatural. I trust you have paid attention to what was normal in the early church.
We study history to learn. We learn what to do and what not to do from history. We study church history in Acts to learn what God wants for His church. As we study and learn, we must strive to apply.
Why am I calling this Acts 29? Because the history of the church is still being written. Acts cuts off abruptly. There is no farewell or ending. It just stops. I believe this is because the history didn’t end there. Luke only wrote up to a certain point, knowing that the church would go on. Paul’s life continued. He eventually was released from prison in Rome. He did much more to advance God’s Kingdom.
Today, we are active in helping write chapter 29. Or, maybe it would be chapter 2,000. Whatever the case, the church is very much alive today. How productive it is depends on the believers.
What was normal in Acts? People got saved. People were baptized in the Holy Spirit. They had powerful prayer meetings. Believers were fully committed to God and His work. People sacrificed. The church had great power and many miracles happened. The church was persecuted. The world knew the church was alive and impacting society around it.
What should be normal today? The list should be the same. The power of God is always the same. God is always the same.
Chapter 1
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Chapter 2
4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
More than ever, we need the fullness and the power of the Holy Spirit. The church today must be Spirit-filled and impacting the world. The only hope for all the anguish around us is the change that Jesus will make in the lives of people. We have that power in us. Having read Acts again, I trust that you are inspired and challenged to be used for God in greater ways than ever before. You? Yes, You. Maybe it might help for you to read it again, looking for the inspiration that comes from seeing God do His great work. I trust our prayer is “Lord, do it again.”
