The Gospel Continues

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

• The Acts of the Apostles records the beginnings of the Christian church under the leadership of the people Jesus had appointed.
   
• This book can also be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit, because the Spirit’s power supplied courage for the apostles in the face of every hardship.
   
• Just before Jesus was taken up into heaven, He told the ones He had chosen: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
   
• With those words, one chapter in the story of God’s work on earth ended.
   
• But a new one began. We are a part of that ongoing story.
   
• The book of Acts describes the faithful witness of Peter, John, Barnabas, Paul and many others during the early days of the church.
   
• These ordinary people depended on God to give them strength as they spread His Word and demonstrated His love.
   
• That story continues through us.
   
• As we trust God and obey His direction to make Jesus known, He writes through us new pages in His story of redemption.
   
• People can know true faith stories only when they see them.
   
• And we are the living testimonies of Jesus Christ.
   
• For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. (2 Corinthians 2:15-16).