As he was about to leave Miletus (my Greek grandfather’s middle name) to sail to Jerusalem, Paul addressed the elders from the church at Ephesus and declared, “My only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me.”

As we see the end of our lives drawing near, being faithful to God’s mission for our life becomes paramount.

“Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others.” 2 Cor. 5:11 NLT

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, our greatest goal and delight is to please You with our obedience and faithfulness to the call You’ve placed in our lives. Give us the grace daily to keep accomplishing Your will.

READING: Acts 20-22

Paul and Apollos were educated men who had an excellent grasp of language. Also, they were men who deeply knew the scriptures and took every opportunity possible to instruct and reason with the learned men of the day.

God uses our lives and our words to testify to all around us of his greatness and the good news of the Gospel.

READING: Acts 17-19

Paul and Silas were beaten and cast into prison for preaching the gospel and performing miracles. Such resistance was common to this new message of salvation.

We are told that martyrdom is as strong now as it ever was. Many of us have suffered very little for the gospel.

READING: Acts 14-16

In Acts chapter 13 we see Paul and Barnabas encountering resistance to the gospel message. A sorcerer, Elymas personally provided great resistance to Paul but was struck blind by God’s Spirit upon Paul’s command.

God always has the last word.

READING: Acts 11-13

God’s spirit instructed Philip to approach a man in a chariot. As he got near, he heard the man reading the book of Isaiah. At that point Philip begin to do what Jesus had instructed. He witnessed to the man about Christ and God’s Kingdom.

Here we have an interesting combination. He was led of the Spirit but also moved by obedience to Jesus’ teachings.

Good things happen when we follow God’s Spirit.

PRAYER: LORD, lead me by Your Spirit today. Give me the grace to be obedient.

READING: Acts 8-10

The patriarch, Abraham, spent much of his life searching for the fulfillment of the promises God made to him at Haran. His life and journey were the result of the faith he had in God and the confidence he gave to God’s promises.

We look back now and clearly see how God was faithful to him and his seed.

We can also live in that mode … being able to look back over our lives and see the testaments to God’s faithfulness. He is no man’s debtor.

PRAYER: Father of faithfulness, we trust all we are and all we have to You.

READING: Acts 7, 8

Acts 5 actually says that sick people in Jerusalem were so desperate to be healed that they were laid in the streets so that Peter’s shadow might even pass over them and that they would be healed. This speaks not of the power of  a shadow, but of a man who was so committed to the Gospel message that people had faith God’s Holy Spirit was moving miraculously through his life. It’s not recorded that the shadow healed them, but they were flocking to news that God’s healing power was available. Verse 16 says, “All were healed.”

This is our goal. This is our God.

PRAYER: Father, show us Your mighty power like You moved in the book of Acts. We believe. Help our unbelief.

READING; Acts 4-6

The Apostles performed many signs and wonders under the power of God’s Holy Spirit after the initial outpouring on the Day of Pentecost. Luke stated that everyone was amazed and awed by what they saw. [Acts 2:43]

We need that same power and awe in the Church today. We need believers who seek the Lord with the passion and perseverance of the early Church as described in the Book of Acts. By God’s grace, we shall accept that challenge.

PRAYER: Father, we seek You. We present ourselves at Your feet and worship You. Let that same Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead rest upon and in us.

READING: Acts 1-3

John made an interesting statement at the conclusion of his book. He stated, “If every one of them (the works of Jesus) were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

Jesus declared before Pilate that, “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” [Jn. 18:37c]

This rings true today when we hear of many who categorically and openly reject Christ. They seem to align themselves with others who embrace lawlessness and immorality. They love what God hates, and hate what God loves.

Christ’s teachings are Truth. He was the incarnate Truth of God to us. We listen to Him.

PRAYER: Lord, we embrace Your teachings and want to please You with the way we live. We love the Truth we find in You.

READING: John 17-19