Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Wednesday's Devo - Gift of Power

Read Acts 1
I have been wondering where God was going to lead me to go after 2 Sam. I felt like we should go to the New Testament next ...but where? Today it hit me - Acts!!! It seems like noone likes to teach Acts unless they are Pentecostal, then they love it. I don't know if people are afraid of it or what, but I love it and so does God. I heard someone say the other day that they don't get their doctrine from Acts but from Romans. What do they do with the scripture that says "ALL scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness?" (2 Ti 3:16) Anyway, here we go.
Paul is writting this to Theophilis which means "friend of God". That's us! Jesus has risen and come back to spend 40 days teaching his followers about the kingdom of God. He had instructed them to stay in Jerusalem until they received the promise God was going to send. It was going to be a baptism of the Holy Ghost. This promise was going to give them power to be witnesses all over the world. As soon as he told them this he was taken up in a cloud. As the disciples were watching this phenomenon two angels appeared with them in white. They told them that one day Jesus would come back that same way - in a cloud of glory. John saw that in Revelation.
So they went back to Jerusalem and went into an upper room where they were all staying. There 120 of them prayed and waited for this "promise" Jesus said would come. Peter stands up and starts teaching them about prophecy. He explains that Judas' story was prophecied by David and Jeremiah. Judas had been a part of them and ended up betraying Jesus. He then regretted what he had done and gave back the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. He then went and hung himself. With the money, the counsel bought a field to bury strangers in. They called it "the field of blood" because it was payed for with blood. There is a field where all the people who are strangers to God are buried. In the end there will be a feast of Leviathan and they will be eaten by the birds of the air and the wild animals. In the meantime the friends of God will be eating the wedding feast. All this had been prophesied.
The disciples voted in a new disciple: Matthias which means "gift of Jehovah". This was just a precurser to the gift God is fixing to give them. Can't wait till tomorrow!!!
We all need this baptism of the Holy Ghost because we all need the power to witness to the world. If Jesus had to die to send this great gift, why are we so afraid to receive it? Lord, increase our hunger to receive. We need your power to be a witness for you.

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