Acts 3 & 4

After the walk through Acts 2 and the overview of the work of the Holy Spirit throughout Acts, I thought I would move on to the book of Romans (which is my favorite book in the Bible, btw.)  I am SO glad that the Spirit prompted me to take a peek at Acts 3-4 though!  There is power in the Word, ladies.  I started this chronological Bible study in June 2008, and it was only supposed to take me 61 days.  Ha!  It took me two years to study from Genesis to the Resurrection of Jesus, because God keeps showing up and showing off in Scripture, and I don't want to miss a single drop of His goodness.  I took six years off, and I am so grateful that God didn't let me go, but has drawn me back to this study with His loving kindness.  (Romans 2:4)  One of my favorite plaques says, "Faith in God includes faith in His timing."  I believe God has brought you and me to the study of His Holy Spirit at just the right time.  I agree with several other believers who say that we are seeing a mighty work of God in this day and age, and I want to be part of it!  How about you?

Acts 3 & 4 tells us the story when Peter and John healed a man who had been lame from birth, and then they took the heat from the Jewish council over their actions.  Talk about a life change, and I'm not even referring to the man who learned to walk instantly as an adult!  In less than two months, Peter went from a cursing scaredy cat who denied Jesus to a courageous believer who invoked the healing power of Jesus.  Before the resurrection of Jesus, Peter cowered and then hid from the Sanhedrin.  After the resurrection, Peter defied the authorities and performed miracles.  That's the power of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer, girls.  Give me some of that!!

My favorite thing about ministry is to see God changing lives.  It excites me to see entire families transformed when they come to salvation in Christ.  The power of a changed life is inspiring!  So, I really want to hear your story.  Do you have a testimony that indicates, "I once was lost, but now I'm found," or "I once was lame, but now I walk," or "I once was a scaredy cat, but now I'm bold"?  Will you write your story in the comments?

I want you to become a pro at sharing your Jesus story.  It doesn't have to be long and detailed.  In fact, sometimes you only have a minute or two to tell your story to a lost friend.  Sometimes we are scared or embarrassed to talk about our salvation, but girls, no one can deny your story of how Jesus changed your life! (Acts 4:14)  In truth, there are people whose eternal destination depends on your personal testimony of the change God has brought in you.  A guest pastor recently challenged my church family with this question, "How bad must I hate my neighbor not to tell him about Jesus?"

Girls, we probably don't have silver or gold, but let's start sharing Jesus!  (Acts 3:6)  If you want help getting started, begin by asking questions.  That's what my blog is all about!  Let's glorify the Spirit together!!

p.s.  I didn't even get to the following topics in our chapters today:  miracles, the Trinity, Jesus' return, unity in the body, or Barnabas.  Let me know if you want to discuss any of these nuggets of gold.  I just can't get enough of God's Word, girls!!

The Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts

Acts 2 was the chapter that prompted my study of the Holy Spirit this week, and I can assure you that there is still so much more left to discover.  I hope that this blog post leaves you hungry for more, because I can only give you a small taste, and I pray you will join me in seeking the filling of the Spirit on a daily basis.

I grew up Southern Baptist, and I am a Southern Baptist preacher's wife.  So studying the Holy Spirit is foreign territory for me.  It's not that Southern Baptists don't believe in the Spirit, it's just that we are scared of being too charismatic; so it's easier just to read the stories and treat them as church history instead of recognizing that the Holy Spirit is Christ's gift to us personally.  I am thankful that God sent His Son Jesus as a physical being with whom we can relate.  It makes it easy to envision walking through Galilee with Jesus and his disciples, and we can relate to Jesus as a tangible God.  But sadly, we hang on to Jesus alone like Mary did in the garden, and we miss out on the power of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promised would always be with us.  Jesus told his disciples in John 16 that it was best for them that he was returning to heaven; only then could the Spirit come.  The only reason you and I can enjoy a personal relationship with Jesus is because the Holy Spirit lives in us, teaches and reminds us of the Scripture, interprets and communicates between us and the Father, and gives us personal guidance and direction if only we will listen to him.  Girls, when the Holy Spirit lives in you, you have access to the very power of God that raised Jesus from the dead! (Romans 8:11)

I want you to do a topical search of the Holy Spirit on biblegateway.com.  Before you begin reading, will you pray and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into all wisdom?  Will you ask Him to fill you and to speak directly to you?  Will you ask Him to be personal with you?  Jesus is the hope of the gospel and the fulfillment of the promise of salvation.  The Holy Spirit is the power of the gospel.  Let's not miss Him!

Before I leave you, I want you to help me with a struggle I have with this question:  How does the Holy Spirit come?  In Acts 2, the Spirit came with noise and a mighty wind in the form of fiery tongues.  I want to see that video when we get to heaven!  In the remainder of Acts, the Holy Spirit came when the apostles prayed for believers and laid hands on them.  In one instance, the Holy Spirit took control of the Gentiles listening to Peter preach.  As Southern Baptists, we teach that a person receives the Spirit at the time of salvation.  I want to know what you believe and why.  Will you post your thoughts in the comments so we can work through this together?

Thanks so much for joining me on this journey of faith as we glorify the Lord together!!

Acts 1

Please read Acts 1 before we begin.  I've started reading from the Contemporary English Version recently, but you can use your preferred version.

The book of Acts is groundbreaking territory for the people of God.  Up to this point, God's good news had been reserved for the Jewish people, whom God had chosen through Abraham.  Jesus had preached in the synagogues and focused much of his ministry on reaching the Jews first.  However, Jesus also loved the Gentiles and set an example for his disciples as he reached out to women and to Greeks and Samaritans.  In the book of Acts, we see the good news of salvation through the Messiah being spread to all nations and no longer reserved for Jews only.

Acts 1:8 is not only the theme verse, it also serves as an outline for the book of Acts.

• The Holy Spirit comes (Ch 1)
• The Good News is shared in
• Jerusalem (Ch 1-8)
• Judea and Samaria (Ch 8-12)
• Everywhere in the world (Ch 13-28)

The author of Acts is Luke, a doctor who traveled with Paul on his missionary journeys. Luke also interviewed Mary when he wrote his gospel of Luke.  As a doctor, Luke made a careful study (Luke 1:3), and his is the most detailed of the gospels.  Luke's gospel also mentions the Holy Spirit more than the other three gospels, which makes complete sense because of Luke's exposure to the work of the Holy Spirit throughout the book of Acts.

Acts 1:3 - Jesus was with his disciples for 40 days after his resurrection.  I'm guessing the apostles paid better attention to Jesus' teaching this time around.  I wonder if they began taking notes while they sat around reminiscing about their travels with Jesus?  Are you a note taker?  For me, it makes all the difference in the depth of my spiritual study.  I love that this verse says Jesus proved his resurrection!  Jesus will answer your prayers when you ask him to prove himself to you.  Do you need God to show up to you?  ASK HIM!!!

Acts 1:4 - Jesus told the disciples not to leave Jerusalem yet.  I typically skim past this verse, because it is easy for me to assume that the disciples wanted to hang around Jerusalem.  These boys were from Galilee.  I suspect they were very ready to head back home after such an emotionally exhausting time of losing their leader.  They also feared that they would be the next ones crucified and probably would have liked to put some distance between themselves and the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council that put Jesus on trial.

Acts 1:5 - John baptized with water (John 1).  Jesus would make a way for the very Spirit of God to come and dwell within believers.  Before the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, the Spirit would come and go in the lives of God's servants.  You and I can enjoy the filling of the Spirit daily.  Please don't take him for granted!

Acts 1:6 - Now, Lord??  The apostles still thought Jesus was there to set up his earthly kingdom.  Do you think Jesus rolled his eyes at them?  "Come on, boys, get a clue!"  I can't say that I blame them.  I am also impatient and ask Jesus often to come on back and set up his earthly rule.

Acts 1:11 - He will come back!!  I can hardly wait!!  However, I am so thankful the disciples did not sit down on that hill waiting for his return.  Once they were filled with the Spirit, they scattered among the nations and spread the good news.  Are you following their example, or are you sitting around complaining that he isn't answering your prayers fast enough?

Acts 1:14 - The disciples met together and prayed with a single purpose.  I pray that our church families can do the same.  Did you notice this verse mentions that Jesus' family was also in attendance?  I am so glad they finally got on board.  Who in your family has been resistant to the good news?  Will you stop and pray for them now?  Ask God to draw them to himself.

Acts 1:15-26 - I am not going to describe the theories about this new 12th disciple, but feel free to do an internet search on the topic.  It's pretty interesting, and opinions are varied.

This was fun, girls, and I am pretty excited that God has reopened this avenue of study for me.  I hope you will join me on this chronological study through God's Word.