- Mary accepted the 'impossible' and Joseph stood by her.
- Men 'downed their tools' and left their homes to follow a daring, driven, self-confident young man with a message of love and a promise of a better life.
- People were healed, comforted and when neccessary, rebuked at his hands.
The ultimate gift from our heavenly father came when the promise of eternal life was demonstrated in Jesus being resurrected in the flesh.
His parting gift to his followers, and to this day to all who ask for it, is the gift of faith, personal power, strength and endurance through HIS holy spirit.
Cue: ACTS
Our father's ultimate messsage to us: Go out and spread the word .... but to keep up the pace, be effective and stand tall in the face of criticism ... don't go without MY spirit. "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift ..." (1:4) "But you will receive the power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; ..." (1:8)
For me, this is a reminder that I will only 'fail' at bearing witness, fighting temptation and reflecting HIS nature if I try and do it from my human-ness.
For me, there is FREEDOM in this ..... THANK YOU LORD!!!!
4 comments:
Gemma, that is the most beautiful, eloquent, powerful, appropriate statement as we move into stage 2 of our journey. You have said everything that is on my heart after reading Acts 1 this afternoon so I have nothing further to add!
Thank you Andrew and others for your support and encouragement as I continue to discover what being a Follower of Jesus means to me.
I had to stop and consider the Apostles way to choose someone to replace Judas. Cast Lots? Long and short straws?
I am inclined to be pretty sceptical about taking some seemingly trivial sign as a direction to take.
When I read this I thought, this should have been something deeper or more meaningful - and then I realised - no - this is simple trust. Pray, trust - and accept Gods ability to intervene in ALL things... straws included!
Learning? Pray more, then trust and ACT.
As I sat down to read Acts 1 today, I read the following introduction in The Message Remix version. I though some may find it helpful; I did:
"Because the story of Jesus is so impressive - God Among us! God speaking a language we can understand! God acting in ways that heal and help us and save us! - there is a real danger that we will be impressed, but only impressed. As the spectacular dimensions of this story slowly (or suddenly) dawn upon us, we could easily become enthusiastic spectators, and then let it go at that - become admirers of Jesus, generous with our oohs and ahs, and in our better moments inspired to imitate him."
And also...
"The story of Jesus doesn't end with Jesus. It continues in the lives of those who believe in him. The supernatural does not stop with Jesus. Luke makes it clear that these Christians he wrote about were no more spectators of Jesus than Jesus was a spectator of God - they are IN on the action of God, God acting IN them, God living IN them. Which also means, of course, in US."
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