Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Acts 1 God anticipates the reception of His gift recieved

Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.

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Acts 1:1-26
The Promise of the Holy Spirit
1Dear Theophilus: In my first book F1 I told you about everything Jesus began to do and teach 2until the day he ascended to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions from the Holy Spirit. 3During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time and proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. On these occasions he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.
4In one of these meetings as he was eating a meal with them, he told them, "Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you what he promised. Remember, I have told you about this before. 5John baptized with F2 water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."


The Ascension of Jesus
6When the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, "Lord, are you going to free Israel now and restore our kingdom?"
7"The Father sets those dates," he replied, "and they are not for you to know. 8But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
9It was not long after he said this that he was taken up into the sky while they were watching, and he disappeared into a cloud. 10As they were straining their eyes to see him, two white-robed men suddenly stood there among them. 11They said, "Men of Galilee, why are you standing here staring at the sky? Jesus has been taken away from you into heaven. And someday, just as you saw him go, he will return!"
Matthias Replaces Judas
12The apostles were at the Mount of Olives when this happened, so they walked the half mile F3 back to Jerusalem. 13Then they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying. Here is the list of those who were present:
Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the Zealot), and Judas (son of James).
14They all met together continually for prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.
15During this time, on a day when about 120 believers F4 were present, Peter stood up and addressed them as follows:
16"Brothers, it was necessary for the Scriptures to be fulfilled concerning Judas, who guided the Temple police to arrest Jesus. This was predicted long ago by the Holy Spirit, speaking through King David. 17Judas was one of us, chosen to share in the ministry with us."
18(Judas bought a field with the money he received for his treachery, and falling there, he burst open, spilling out his intestines. 19The news of his death spread rapidly among all the people of Jerusalem, and they gave the place the Aramaic name Akeldama, which means "Field of Blood.")
20Peter continued, "This was predicted in the book of Psalms, where it says, 'Let his home become desolate, with no one living in it.' And again, 'Let his position be given to someone else.' F5
21"So now we must choose another man to take Judas's place. It must be someone who has been with us all the time that we were with the Lord Jesus—22from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us into heaven. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus' resurrection."
23So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24Then they all prayed for the right man to be chosen. "O Lord," they said, "you know every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen 25as an apostle to replace Judas the traitor in this ministry, for he has deserted us and gone where he belongs." 26Then they cast lots, and in this way Matthias was chosen and became an apostle with the other eleven.
FOOTNOTES:F1: The reference is to the book of Luke. F2: Or in; also in 1:5b. F3: Greek a Sabbath day's journey. F4: Greek brothers. F5: Pss 69:25; 109:8.

Copyright Statement:
Holy Bible, The New Living Translation

~ Lena’s Journalin’
The promise of the Father, that we human beings would be baptized in the Holy Spirit! Is that a promise for us, or for God? Think about that one. Do not leave until the Father sends what He has promised.
When one gives a gift, who has more excitement, the giver or receiver? Did the giver plan for and have use for the giving of the gift? Maybe the receiver did not even expect it, without being told, why would he? Yet the giver had planned for it, saved for it, prepared a day when it would be received.
This is exactly what God the Father did with the giving of the life of His Spirit. God was giving His own spirit into human man, He was gonna be able to live in a human on earth. He did that in Jesus, but now He’d be able to do that in any man who would receive Him!
I can hear His voice saying with great anticipation- “Please wait for it, please get ready for Me to come live in you. Please anticipate that, as I anticipate it, please desire it, want it, yearn for it. Please seek and find it, come where I instruct and receive it. Be there when He comes! Please, it’s only a few days away.”
We’ve got to realize this is what Jesus also died and rose again for. For God to be able to be reproduced in the earth, to live with any man that would ask or invite him to. What a monumental day in the plan and scope of the kingdom of God being able to be established in the earth!
If I do not go, He cannot come! The Father, Jesus and the Spirit all wanted that to happen, had planned for that day, and could not wait any more, it was about to be here. Can you imagine their continual anticipation whenever a person gets born again, “Will they also receive My spirit?”
He is the way, to empower people everywhere, to tell about the power of God. To show and demonstrate Him in life form, as Jesus did.
The spirit of Judas was being replaced in the earth. The spirit of division and betrayal. As they set a man in “his place” they were making a statement in the spirit, that every gap created by man or otherwise, will be filled in by the resurrection power of God! Gaps will not go unfilled. The enemy wants us to think, when he makes a gap, a wound, a breech, “That’s it, see now there’s a breech!”, somehow he leads us to believe there’s no answer. This is one of the biggest lies we battle in life, that the situation finds itself impossible.
Excuse me, NOTHING is impossible through God, through Christ, and by His Almighty Spirit! Nothing, no gap, no wound, no breech. They filled the space, the empty place. What the enemy meant for harm, was turned around for God!
We need to pray for the impossible to happen, command the gaps to be filled in by the spirit of God in us. Bring healing to every wound. This is part of our OT co-mission. Fill space!
Now Go…


Daily Meditation/Recital/Question
Ask myself daily: “What Page Am I On?”