Mar 16 - 08 - Acts 1:8

"But you will receive power

when the Holy Spirit comes on you;

and you will be my witnesses in

Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,

and to the ends of the earth."

Acts 1:8

Bible Rank: 8

Let's set the time line ...

·       Jesus died on a Friday. (Good Friday)

·       Three days later, He was resurrected (Easter)

·       On and off for forty days, he would appear to his disciples (and up to 500 others believers -- see 1 Cor 15:6). 

·       On that fortieth day, Jesus ascended into heaven (The Day of Ascension.)

·       Then on the fiftieth day from Easter (ten days after the Ascension), God came down to earth in a new way. (The Holy Spirit descended on Pentecost.) 

Historically, let's place these words ...

·       Jesus himself spoke these words ... after he was resurrected ... and sometime before he ascended into heaven. (In, thus, those 40 days.)

·       They were words of prophecy. 

·       He was telling them of a day coming day when the Holy Spirit would descend upon the believers. And the effect, the gift, the fruit, would be "power."

·       We can read the book of Acts and see that while those initial Apostles exhibited some the same powers that the human Jesus (God made flesh) exhibited while on earth, the most important power -- and the purpose for all the power -- was to witness to Jesus' name. 

You and I have had our Pentecost too. When one first become a believer, the Spirit descends on this individual. The Spirit inspires us and intercedes for us. The Spirit calls us to different roles within his body. The fruit of our relationship with the Spirit are blessings like love, joy, and peace. God, through the Spirit, also promises power. And what is the most important power? What, indeed, is the purpose for all power? It's to witness to Jesus' name. 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who doesn't want

power for selfish reasons

-- but is willing to use it

to witness and benefit others

... forever