Dear Church Family,
If you used the Well last year and this year for your daily scripture reading, then you know we have been in the Book of Acts since September 29, 2023. Seven months and 28 chapters later, we finish.
As we finish, what did we learn? I have spent some time reflecting on this question.
One of the most awe-inspiring aspects of our journey through the Book of Acts has been witnessing the birth of the church. We see the fulfillment of the promise of the Holy Spirit as well as the fulfillment of the Great Commission. Men and women alike commit themselves to becoming disciples of Jesus. To learn to follow the commands of Jesus and to “make disciples of all the nations, Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you.” We see them give their lives to the gospel.
We read about Jesus continuing to work among them by transforming Paul, a Pharisee bent on destroying “The Way,” into a man just as zealous for the truth of Jesus and the gospel as he was in trying to stop it. We read in awe as he, as well as some of the other disciples, over and over endured beatings and prison as they were run out of town after town. The church begins to struggle within as disagreements and interpretations of who is allowed to be a disciple of Jesus, and what does that require divides them. Despite all these things, thousands of people come to believe that Jesus Christ of Nazareth died on the cross and was raised from death three days later, fulfilling the age-old prophecy of the promised Messiah.
We read further about Paul and how Jesus has given him the ministry to the Gentiles. Paul takes the Gospel of Jesus from town to town and country to country, teaching and making disciples everywhere he goes. Soon, the name of Jesus will be everywhere you turn. Paul is sent to jail over and over again as the church grows and is persecuted.
Towards the end of Acts, we see Paul thrust into jail again—probably for the last time. However, God has a plan. Acts 23:11 says that the following night, the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so also you must testify in Rome.” Paul endures court hearing after court hearing. He has petitioned to be brought before Caesar. He is shipwrecked and marooned on an island. Finally, he makes it to Rome.
I love the way Acts ends. Acts 28:30-31: 30 Paul stayed there two full years in his own rented house, welcoming all who came to visit him. 31 Boldly and freely, he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.
My prayer for you is this: May the God of your salvation bring you to a place where you can not help but talk about him everywhere you go. May you become a disciple who follows him, is changed by him, and is used by him to reach those who are far from God. I pray that you learn to walk in all authority of Jesus, making disciples of all the nations, that you would baptize them, and then you would teach them all that Jesus has taught you!
Acts 20:24 But I consider my life of no value to me if only I could finish my course and complete the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus—the ministry of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
Go in God's Grace,
Ron
