Scripture: Acts 1:2b
Before he was taken up, working in the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus instructed the apostles he had chosen.
Thought for the Day: For the last few Sundays (and for a few more to come), we have been focusing on a selection from Acts 1. Each week, we have started with vs. 3. For that reason, I decided to back-up just a bit and reflect on what came before vs. 3. Notice how it says that Jesus instructed the apostles, but he did so as one “working in the power of the Holy Spirit…” Wouldn’t you have thought that Jesus, the Messiah (the saving one of God), would have been capable of teaching the apostles without the assistance of the Holy Spirit. He had just experienced death firsthand, and then on top of death, he knew the power of resurrection. That alone gives someone a lot of authority. Yet for the writer of Acts, the Holy Spirit was a main actor that could not be ignored. This is the reason some people have suggested that the Book known as the Acts of the Apostles (full name) should have been called the Acts of the Holy Spirit. Though in good trinitarian thought, it can be assumed that Jesus and the Holy Spirit never did anything apart from the other. With that said, the inclusion of that information is key to understanding this underlying character that is present throughout the Book of Acts.
Prayer: Holy Spirit, allow for your power to be fully present to me. Allow for me to be made available to your presence in the same way Jesus was available to you. Amen.
SEE YOU IN WORSHIP
