KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Thursday, November 17, 2016
Chapters: Acts 1-3
Message: Speaking For Christ
Hello My Friend,
The Book of Acts contains twenty-eight chapters, the author is the Apostle Luke and it was written to all believers, addressed specifically to Theophilus, which means, lover of God. The timeline for these events took place approximately between 34AD and 65AD. The purpose of the book was to explain the work Jesus continued to do after His ascension through the apostles in the form of the Holy Spirit. What we are to learn from the book is that true evidence of the Holy Spirit is directed by the power of God, in all believers, it is He who gives them the power to become witnesses for Christ. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” – Acts 1:8.
Every time I start reading the Book of Acts it never ceases to amaze me why I do not quote from it other than when I am reading it. The book tells of the journey of the apostles as they continued the ministry Christ began. An apostle, in case you wondered what an apostle is, they are disciples who actually saw Christ face to face and served Him. Today, those who serve Him are disciples. It was time for Jesus to leave the earth, He had walked the earth forty days after He arose from the dead, He gathers eleven of His apostles for one last message.
“When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” – Acts 1:6-11.
“why stand ye gazing up into heaven?” As disciples, we cannot keep gazing up to heaven wondering when Jesus will return, we have work to do. In case you have not noticed, things are getting pretty crazy in the world, not only natural disasters, but man made as well, it does us no good to hope for His soon return if we are not going out and telling the world the Gospel. It is the Holy Spirit in us that gives us the knowledge and words to speak His Word, to world those words are just a bunch of noise, but to the believer they are life. “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” – John 6:63.
Just as Jesus promised shortly after He left He sent the Holy Spirit down upon them, and it was pretty dramatic, it actually looked like drops of fire falling on them like snow, but as soon as it touched them they were able to speak the Gospel. Now, something amazing happened at that moment, as the apostles were speaking everyone understood, no matter what language they spoke. Needless to say, this caused a big stir among the people.
“And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.” – Acts 2:7-13.
“we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.” When God wants us to hear His Word, He makes it clear to us. I do not know how many times I picked up my Bible and started to read it then lost interest in it before I finished the first chapter. But the day I heard God speak to me was the day I understood His Word. When God wants us to get the Gospel out to someone, He will do it no matter what language we speak. And incidentally, that is what speaking in tongues means, you speak in your own language while someone else who understands another can here you speak in their own language. As Peter continues speaking He gives an account as to what the Scriptures have said all along and how the Jews turned Jesus over to be crucified.
“This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” – Acts 2:32-38.
“they were pricked in their heart,” When God opens our heart to His Word it literally pricks us, sticks right in us as though we are being stuck with a needle in our conscious. You know, the Holy Spirit nudges us from time to time even before we get saved, we hear bits and pieces of Jesus spoken to us, and how God wants us to be, we go through problems and get the urge to start praying. I use to be a talk to God only when I was in trouble kind of Christian, that was until I got into life threatening trouble that my heart was pricked and I finally took my salvation seriously. To be baptized her means to be baptized in Christ, to receive the Holy Spirit (and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.) simply by believing in the Gospel and accepting Him. Do not confuse water baptism with spirit baptism, ofter water baptism followed immediately after spiritual baptism because they were in the moment, but water baptism is not necessary for spiritual baptism, says John the Baptist too. “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:” – Matthew 3:11.
Now, we must be careful, God will give us the power to reach people in the most unusual circumstances, but we must understand that He is the one who saves a soul, not us, we are merely the vessel He uses. Point in case, we learn this through a man who was crippled from birth, every day someone would drop him off in front of the temple and he would beg for money. Peter and John saw him, they did not give Him money, they gave Him the Gospel, Peter took him by the hand and he was able to walk for the first time in his life.
“And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering. And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” – Acts 3:11-16.
“or why look ye so earnestly on us,” Faith healers, they call them, men or women who touch someone and all of a sudden they are miraculously healed. Faith healers feed off those who are desperate to be healed and become millionaires as a result. There is only one faith healer and that is Jesus Christ, He alone heals the broken, there may be times when He will use someone to touch another as He did with Peter in order to bring others to Him, but it is God who gets the glory, not the person. God is in control, He works by faith, not sight, not someones bank account, it was the mans faith that not only saved him, but healed him, God would then use this man to tell others about Christ. And this is what miracles are all about, for us to be witnesses for Christ. When I took Christ seriously I was laying on my bed in pain, wondering if I would even make it through the day, and not one person knew it. Now, I am a witness to the miracle of Christ healing me and can tell my story to others, we are all witnesses, and need to tell our stories to all who God lays upon our heart. “But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.” – I Thessalonians 2:4.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” – Acts 1:11.
Today’s Prayer: God, No other power in the world can compare to Your Power, only You can give me the power to overcome my afflictions, trials, and difficulties and in the midst of them, be a testimony to others. I try and try to handle things on my own, but it never works, You are my hope, my peace, my comfort, and my sanity. Lord, I need Your power, give me Your power and work in me so much that others see You through me and receive You too. Thank You for loving me and not giving up on me and for always being there when I need You, even when I try to do things on my own. I love You, Lord and pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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