Acts 5: 12-42   God was at work in the apostles.. using them to present signs and wonders among the people.  They met in public at that time, in Solomon's portico, the same place that Jesus had preached a time or two. They were teaching about Jesus.. boldly proclaiming Him as both Lord and Christ, the Messiah; the "Prince and a Savior to grant repentance to Israel; and forgiveness of sins." 

The power of the Name of Jesus and the Presence of the Holy Spirit brought many people to faith... "multitudes of men and women were constantly added to their number."  God was at work in Peter.  He was so filled with the Spirit that people laid those that were sick on the streets so that his shadow would fall on them.  People came from everywhere to find healing and deliverance. And, of course, the Sadducees were filled with rage and "jealousy". 

The apostles were once again arrested. "But an angel of the Lord during the night opened the gate of the prison" and took them out.  He told them to go back to the temple and preach the "whole message of this Life."  So they did. 

It is almost comical. The High priest and his gang called for a meeting of the whole Council.  Then they called for the apostles to be brought out.  The officers went to the prison. The guards were standing guard. The doors were locked.  But, the jail was empty.  Nobody knew what had happened!  Then the report came in.. the apostles were back at the temple.. teaching!  Again, they were brought in.. again they were commanded to not speak in the Name of Jesus.. and again, they spoke boldly "We must obey God rather than man."

The council had the nerve to accuse the apostles of intending "to bring this man's blood upon us.."  They were the same ones who had said, " His blood be on us and on our children!" ( Matthew 27:25)  

Peter spoke powerfully before them, " The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross.  He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him."   They were guilty... but God was still in control! He still offered forgiveness to those who would repent and obey Him fully. 

Verse 33 says that they were "cut to the quick"..  but instead of repentance.. they were ready to kill the apostles.  One man, Gamaliel, stood up and addressed the Council.  He spoke with wisdom.  The Council needed to consider carefully what they would do next.  If this movement was not of God.. it would "come to nothing...... but if it is of God you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God." 

They listened to Gamaliel. They flogged the apostles and sent them home, telling them again to stop teaching about Jesus.  "And every day, in the  temple and from house to house they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ." 

Father in heaven, all these years later, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is still being preached.  Let the power of the Holy Spirit fall on like those days. Let Your church stand up and speak up no matter who demands us to stop.  We must obey You and not man.  Help us to always be witnesses of the Truth.. that Jesus came, that He died to pay the price of sin for all of mankind..  that He rose again...  and that those who will believe in His Name and call upon Him will be saved and given the gift of Your Spirit. We give praise to the Lord Jesus, our Risen Savior at the right hand of our God!  Praise to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit . Amen

 Acts 5 Verses 1-11 tell the story of Ananias and Sapphira, the couple who sold some land and gave a portion to the apostles.  The problem was.. they lied about it.  They seemed to have claimed to give the whole amount that they received for the property, but  really it was just a "portion" of it.  The problem, as Peter explained, was not how much they gave or didn't give.. the problem was that the two of them together deliberately decided to  lie about it... 

Peter understood that Satan had "filled" their hearts.. to lie to the Holy Spirit.  They had allowed the spirit of deception.. the father of lies.. to lead them in this interaction with the Church of Christ.. to lie to the Spirit of Truth! 

Because of their actions both Ananias and Sapphira died.. separately.. on the very same day. "And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things." (v11) 

God was at work bringing men and women into His kingdom.  He used the apostles to do "signs and wonders".  But.. He also used this situation with Ananias and Sapphira to bring to light the Truth.  Coming to believe in Jesus Christ; living in the Spirit of the Lord; becoming part of God's church and kingdom.. is a sacred covenant with the Holy, Almighty God of heaven and earth.  Only by His great mercy and grace are we saved.. only by His great power and love are we forgiven and sanctified.  Had Ananias and Sapphira repented and spoken the truth.. they would have been forgiven.  But, they did not.  Satan tried to use them to bring disunity into the church.. and the Lord stopped that without hesitation. 

Unfortunately, it happened again soon enough.  Even worse, it still happens now. 

Father in heaven, You are our Holy and Perfect God, and we are Your humble servants .  We need Your Spirit to fall fresh on us.. day by day and hour by hour.. so that we might walk in Truth and live in obedience to Your Holy Word.  Help us we pray.  Jesus has overcome the enemy and by His holy Name we ask for cleansing and wholeness in Your Church. Break down the gates of the enemy. Lead us in righteousness and deliver us from  the lies and deception of the enemy we pray.. in Jesus' name. Amen. 

 Acts 4  " And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved."  

This is the message that "uneducated and untrained" spoke boldly to the priests and rulers and elders of Israel,  There stood before them a grown man who had spent his whole life as an invalid.. now standing before them.. completely healed "by this name" - the Name of Jesus Christ.  

The Lord was at work in Jerusalem.. using His apostles and others... to bring others to faith in the risen Lord.   The Sadducees were most disturbed at the fact that they proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.  Peter and John refused to stop speaking what they had "seen and heard"! They were His witnesses and wanted to do nothing more than to proclaim His Name. 

All the believers.. now over 5000 men... gathered and praised the Lord. They heard the threats but prayed for confidence to "speak" His word.  The Holy Spirit filled them once again.. shaking the room and answering their cry.  "And with great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all." 

Holy Spirit, come upon Your church today.. give Your servants the power to speak up.. to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ!  His Name is the only Name we have been given, the only way to salvation, the only Way, Truth, and Life. Let the work of the Lord our God continue in our world.. the whole world that You have made.. so that a great harvest of souls will be made ready for the day of our Lord's return. It is in His  Name that we pray. Amen 

 Acts 3 Peter and John went up to the temple to pray.. and God led them to heal the man who had been lame all his life.  Peter said, "I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you; In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene - walk!" Peter took the man's hand and pulled him up  - as his feet and his ankles were strengthened.  He went from never walking to  leaping, jumping, and walking right into the temple.  No longer sitting at the gate.. he walked through the court of women.. and for the first time entered into the place of worship.  

Still "clinging" to the apostles, they moved with the crowd of amazed worshippers into the porch of Solomon.  There, Peter addressed the crowd and spoke about Jesus.  The people had "delivered up and disowned " Him; they had asked for a murderer to be freed and for the "Prince of life" to be put to death.  But, God raised Him from the dead and His Name is the One who healed this man .  Again, Peter calls upon the people to repent that their sins would be forgiven.. 

Jesus was the fulfillment of every prophesy.  He is the Servant of God that they had been awaiting and the One who would come again to fulfill all that the holy prophets had spoken.  But first... Jesus was raised from the dead to "bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways." 

"Repent"- think differently.. turn away.. regret.. change your mind. Verse 19 "Repent therefore, and return that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord."  This is the call that still is needed. Turn from sin and to the Lord our God, to Christ the Eternal Son.. and receive the Spirit of refreshing. 

Father draw us ever more into Your blessed Presence we pray. Amen

 Acts 2 The day of Pentecost came and the group of believers met together once again. "And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distribution themselves, and they rested on each one of them." 

God "poured forth" His Spirit that day.  He fulfilled the promises of prophets.. and the promise of Jesus.. doing what He said He would do.  The believers heard the sound.. saw the fire.. and received the Holy Spirit.  Immediately they began to speak about the "mighty deeds of God".  The fact that others all heard their words as if spoken in their native languages was both amazing and bewildering.  "And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity.."  They all had this one question.. "What does this mean?"

Peter stood up and addressed the crowd.. people from many different nations.. all confused and astounded.. some mocking.. some doubting.. but all ready to listen for the moment.  Peter began with the Word of God.. quoting the prophet Joel, "And it shall be in the last days, God says, that I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all mankind.. "   Peter proclaimed the gospel, " Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God perform through Him in your midst... this Man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. And God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power." ( v17-24) 

Peter continued his message by speaking of the resurrection of Jesus and His ascension into heaven, "exalted to the right hand of God".  Jesus received the promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit, and He "poured forth" the Spirit "this which you both see and hear."  

"Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ -this Jesus whom you sacrificed." (v36)

The people who listened carefully to Peter's message were "pierced to the heart".  They didn't know what to do. Peter told them to "Repent and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."  3000 people received this word, were baptized... and joined the kingdom that day.  The church was born. 

Father in heaven, thank You for the gift of Your Spirit, "poured forth" from our Lord Jesus to all who repent and are baptized. We want to continue to walk in the Spirit every day, living in the power of Your great love and grace. Help us to also to continue to  be steadfast in the reading of Your word and in fellowship with other believers and in much prayer.  Let our voices be so lifted up in praise to Your Name that others will come to be saved as You work in us Your will and delight. In the Name of Jesus our Lord we pray. Amen 

 Acts 1 :1-11 Luke tells of the last meetings between Jesus and His disciples before He ascended into heaven.  He spent that time giving them "orders";(v2)  presenting Himself to those He had chosen for 40 days.. giving them "proof" that He was indeed alive; and "speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God."( v3)  Jesus gathered His followers together and reminded them to wait in Jerusalem "to wait for what the Father had promised." (v4)

The promise of the Holy Spirit's  baptism was more important than the restoration of the kingdom of Israel..which was certainly on the minds of the disciples.  Jesus wouldn't answer their questions about that.. He had a different priority.. a greater purpose.. "But.. you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you ; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." (v8)

Jesus prepared His disciples for the coming of the Holy Spirit and then He ascended into the sky right before their eyes.  It had to be an amazing moment!  They just stood their staring until the angels came and told them to stop!  "This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven , will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven." ( v11) 

Vs 12-26  Luke gives a timeline for what happened next.  The disciples went back into Jerusalem, back into the "upper room", and waited as they were told. "These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary , the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers."  I love that Luke includes the brothers of Jesus in this list of believers.. they finally believed!  All through the ministry of Jesus on earth they had not accepted Him as the Lord, the Son of God.. now they knew and devoted themselves to prayer!  They would receive the Holy Spirit and be His witnesses too.  What amazing grace. 

Luke tells us what happened to Judas and the election of Matthias to take his place as one of the 12. Scripture was examined and fulfilled in both of these events. 

There is a moment of suspense here... we know what happened next.. and we can almost begin to feel the anticipation that those in the upper room were experiencing.. The  Holy Spirit was coming in a way that had never happened before.. and they had no idea what was about to happen.. 

Father in heaven, we thank You for giving Your children this wonderful promise, this sacred Gift.. .. Your Holy Spirit.. Who came to give us "power" to be Your witnesses.  Fill us continually we pray.  In Jesus' name. Amen. 

 Joshua 24 Before Joshua passed away at the age of 110 he called all the leaders of Israel together at Shechem and presented a new covenant between them and the Lord their God.  The Lord spoke to them all.. reminding them of what He had done..

He "took" Abraham from "beyond the River" and brought into Canaan and promised him the land.

He gave Jacob and Esau to their father Isaac. It was Jacob who went down into Egypt.

He sent Moses and Aaron to bring them out of Egypt. 

He led them across the Red Sea.

He gave them victories and deliverance.. He gave them "a land on which you have not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived on them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant." 

Joshua then presented the challenge. " Now, therefore, fear  the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord." 

Three times the Israelites vowed to serve the Lord their God and obey His voice.  Joshua told them that God would use their words as "witnesses" against themselves.. and they agreed. 

After this Joshua passed away and was buried in the land given to the tribe of Ephraim.  "And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, and had known all the deeds of the Lord which He had done for Israel." 

Unfortunately .. that was as far as they went.. and the nation began to fall away.  

The lesson is clear.. we must not forget all that the Lord had done.. we must teach the next generation these truths! We must keep clinging to the Lord!  We must be diligent to keep adding perseverance  and virtue and knowledge  and godliness and self-control.. and love.. and obedience to God's word as we walk with Jesus. 

Father, come and fill us again with Your Spirit so that You are exalted in our lives. Teach us and guide us Spirit of our Mighty God.. we need You... for what is impossible for us to do in our own strength.. You alone can do in us.  May Your plans and purposes be completed in us according to the power of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior whom we serve. Help us to be faithful.. Help us to teach our children and grandchildren Your Words.. that they may also continue to walk in the Light.  We ask this in Jesus' name. 

Amen.