"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends
of the earth." -- Acts 1:8

Acts 1:1-11

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And then what happened?

This may have been the question Theophilus asked after reading the Gospel of Luke.

The Acts of the Apostles is part two of Luke’s telling of the story of Jesus and the early church. It’s known as the Acts of the Apostles but in reality, it is the story of what Jesus continued to do and teach through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

In Acts, the good news of the Kingdom of God spreads from Jerusalem all the way to Rome, capital of the Empire. In just a few short years the story of a man crucified by Roman soldiers and raised from the dead would be told under the nose of the emperor himself and day by day more and more people would confess that Jesus, not the emperor, is Lord.

How is that possible?

Before Jesus ascends into heaven he tells the disciples they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them and, in the power of the Holy Spirit, they will be witnesses to Jesus’ life, teaching, death, resurrection, and exaltation to the very end of the earth. Before they can turn the world upside down with the good news of the kingdom they must wait to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit for it will be the Spirit of Jesus working in and through them that will transform the world.

Ask God to give you power through the Holy Spirit so that you can be a witness to Jesus’ life and love.

Almighty God, as at creation your Spirit hovered over the face the deep, and by your Word brought forth light and life; so may your Spirit hover me and by your Word fill me with power so that in my life the light and life of Jesus may shine forth, to the glory of your name. Amen.