Holy Spirit

To Be Continued...

To Be Continued...

The book of Acts comes to an anti-climactic end in chapter 28. We never hear about Paul standing before Caesar. There is little conflict from the Jewish leaders there. We never hear whether he made it to Spain afterward. It ends with him living in his own rented home for two years, continuing to share the Good News. The Story does not end here, because the Story is not over. It continues with you and I.

In a sense, Acts ends as it started. It was a continuation of all Jesus began to do through the Spirit — which he now continues through His Spirit at work in his followers.

Philip and the Ethiopian

Philip and the Ethiopian

The Spirit of God continues to work through ordinary men and women. Philip is one of those willing participants in God’s work, partnering with the Spirit to bring the message of good news of the Kingdom of God through Jesus, to even the least likely of people. God is building His family and community and gathering people from all tribes, tongues, and nations together, as one.

Simon and the Spirit

Acts 8 gives us a snapshot of another ordinary man filled with the extraordinary power of the Spirit of God. Philip traveled to Samaria to bring the good news of Jesus to a people traditionally hated by Jewish men and women. There, he encounters a man named Simon who is using another power to gain control and status in the community. Yet his power is no match for the power of God — so Simon wants the power the followers of Jesus possess and is willing to pay the right price for it.

It may seem like a strange, otherworldly story to us. But are there ways we try to obtain the favor, love, or power of God too? Do we try to earn or buy it, when it is freely given by Jesus?

Acts of the Spirit

Acts of the Spirit

What changed in the few weeks between Jesus' followers running and hiding from fear for their lives to surging out into the streets with a message for thousands to hear? They had been equipped by Jesus. They had been witnesses of Jesus. They had been commissioned by Jesus. But the day had finally come which gave power to all of that. The day had come which made all of those other days all the more real. On the day of Pentecost, the Spirit of God was breathed into these disciples. As the breath of God once again filled humanity, they were also filled with the hope that this was just the beginning.

The Spirit of the Lord is on Me

The Spirit of the Lord is on Me

The good news of Jesus is often not what we expect. His words were often shocking to people and difficult to understand. Jesus often approached what God’s people thought they knew, and revealed an even deeper and better meaning behind them.

In Luke 4, Jesus stands in the synagogue reading from Isaiah's words centuries before. He is the fulfillment of those long awaited words promised, and yet it is unlike anything expected.

Forgive Us As We Forgive

Forgive Us As We Forgive

Followers of Jesus are kingdom-people who know that they have been forgiven for their sins. Therefore, God's kingdom-people must live out forgiveness to others, otherwise they are denying the very basis of their own existence! Followers of Jesus breathe in true divine forgiveness day by day. Once that life-giving air from God fills us, we can't help but breathe it out. As we learn what it is like to be forgiven, we begin to discover that it is possible, and indeed joyful, to forgive others.