Meditating on Acts 1-4 (Feb 27)

Empowering of the Holy Spirit

Luke 24 presents only a brief
glimpse of Christ’s ascension.
Now in the book of Acts, Luke
resumes his narrative by filling
in the details he omitted from
his gospel account. With Jesus’
last words of instruction still ringing
in their ears, the disciples go forth
speaking words of eternal life,
first to the Jews and then to the
Jewish officials. Visited by their
resurrected Lord and empowered
by the promised Comforter,
they fearlessly follow their
marching orders in spite of
mocking, threats & physical abuse.

Dear Lord, thank You for the
book of Acts which records the
growth of the Christian church.
Our faith is supernatural and
we need to be more Spirit’s
conscious rather than problem
conscious as well as claim Holy
Spirit’s power to do Christ’s work.
Help us Be Devoted In Prayer.
Help us Be Open to Holy Spirit.
Help us Be Gospel Minded.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Lord, we’ll Stay Devoted in Prayer:
Then they returned to Jerusalem…
they went up into the upper room…
Peter, James, John and Andrew…
These all continued with one
accord in prayer and supplication,
with the women and Mary
the mother of Jesus and with
His brothers (Acts 1:12-14).
And they continued steadfastly
in the apostles’ teaching and to
the fellowship & to prayer (A2:42)
Lord, help me to be diligent to
study Your Word; and teach me
so that I can understand it well.
Help me to be in communion with
other believers to discern Your will.
Enable me to maintain direct line
to You by praying constantly as
You bring things to my mind that
need to be covered in prayer. Amen.

Lord, we’ll be Open to Holy Spirit:
On the day of Pentecost, seven
weeks after Jesus’ resurrection,
the believers were meeting
together in one place. Suddenly,
there was a sound from heaven
like the roaring of a mighty wind
storm in the skies above them,
and it filled the house where they
were meeting… And they were filled
with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4).
Lord, grant us the same unity
and fervency in prayer that Your
followers had in the upper room.
We long to see Your kingdom
expand, Your Spirit poured out
in power and the accomplishment
of Your will & purpose in our time.
Give us hearts that take an active
role in laying the tracks for Your
Spirit’s work in our generation.
In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

Lord, we will Share the Gospel:
Then Peter filled with the Holy
Spirit said to them: Rulers of
the people and elders of Israel:
… There is no other name under
heaven given among men by
which we must be saved. Now
when they saw the boldness of
Peter and John… they marveled.
And they realised that they had
been with Jesus (Acts 4:8, 12-13).
Lord, I ask that You would open
the eyes of my friends, loved ones
as well as the areas of influence
to see Your great salvation. And
I ask that You will give me the
appropriate boldness to see
opportunities as they arise.
And I pray that words be given me
that I may open my mouth boldly
to make known the mystery of
the gospel. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Preview on Acts of Apostles (Feb27)

Growth of the Church

As the Bible is arranged by genre,
to enhance understanding context
we had been meditating scripture
by time sequence in 25 months
over three Old Testament phases:
OT1A: Genesis
OT1B: Poetry Book of Job
OT1C: Life of Moses (Exo to Deut)
OT2A: History to David (Josh-1Chr)
OT2B: Five Books of Psalms
OT2C: 1 Kings & Wisdom Poetry
OT3A: 2 Kings & Prophets
OT3B: 2 Chronicles & Prophets
OT3C: Post Exilic Period & Prophets
Earlier this month we meditated
on John gospel where we learnt
Jesus Christ as Son of God and that
believing we have life in His name.

Next, beginning with a frightened
band of disciples in an upper room,
Acts traces the outpouring of the
Holy Spirit in Jerusalem following
the ascension of Christ, and the
subsequent spread and growth
of Christianity throughout the
Roman Empire. Written by Luke,
Acts records the fulfilment of
Jesus’ Great Commission as
Spirit-transformed disciples carry
the gospel to Jerusalem… Judea
and the uttermost part of the earth.

We will meditate Acts over five
weekends in following divisions:
Acts 1-4: Spirit of the Church
Acts 5-7: Growth of the Church
Acts 8-12: Persecution & Expansion
Acts 13-20: Paul’s Mission Journeys
Acts 21-28: Lessons fr Paul’s Trials
Lord, even as we learn of the growth
of the church, may we be challenged
to witness for Christ for His glory.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.