May 26: Acts 1:7-8

Key Verse: Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Devotion:
After Jesus had died and rose again, He appeared to the disciples on a few more occasions. On this occasion they asked Him if He was going to restore the kingdom of Israel because He had talked about the building of a kingdom. What they did not yet understand was this was the beginning of the new kingdom – a church which would grow and cover the world before Christ would return.

Here Jesus reminds them they are not going to know the date and time of His return because only God the Father knows that moment; we all have to remain prepared as if we expect this time to be the next moment in our lives.

Jesus did not leave us alone but sent the Holy Spirit to be with us and to guide, protect and teach us. We are to be the witnesses for the next generation. We are to be the disciples who go out and teach more people to be disciples. We are the next generation, but probably not the last generation – only God knows that.

I do like people knowing I am a Christian and I do like people knowing I am a human being! Sometimes we think if we are labelled as Christians then we will somehow lose our identity and struggle in some way. Jesus did not promise a fool-proof and gold covered path to walk; but He did promise to leave us the Holy Spirit who can look after us and guide us. With God’s help through the Holy Spirit we can reach out to more people and show them being a Christian is probably the best thing in our lives! Spread the news!

Points to Ponder:
Do people know you are a believer?

How many people will you encourage today?