Author: David Worcester

From my reading in Acts 28 in the One Year Bible New Testament.

The book of Acts ends abruptly.

Paul is preaching in prison in Rome and then bam it ends!

“For the next two years, Paul lived in Rome at his own expense. He welcomed all who visited him, boldly proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. And no one tried to stop him.” Acts 30:31

What happened to Paul aftet those two years? What was the result of his preaching? These questions and many others are left unanswered in this book.

Part of the reason could be that Acts is not over!

We are to continue what Jesus and the apostles started. God is still all about spreading his good news to the ends of the earth.

Acts is the story of God’s church spreading God’s Word to the world. The church should still be a part of that.

Your ministry will look different from Paul, but you can still be a part of what God started in Acts.

Are you ready to play your God given role in this mission?

From my reading in Acts 27:27-44 in the One Year New Testament.

As Christians we can be a positive influence on others and even save lives.

Paul is a great example of this. He was liked by the officer in charge of the prisoners so much that the other prisoners were spared because of Paul’s popularity!

“The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners to make sure they didn’t swim ashore and escape. But the commanding officer wanted to spare Paul, so he didn’t let them carry out their plan. Then he ordered all who could swim to jump overboard first and make for land. The others held on to planks or debris from the broken ship. So everyone escaped safely to shore.” Acts 27:42-44

Paul was used by God to help save those men!

Most of us hopefully will not be in similar situations but having a good influence on others can impact those around us in more ways then we know!

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From my reading in Acts 27:1-26 in the One Year New Testament.

If God has made a promise you can be sure he will fulfill it!

The Apostle Paul relayed a message from God that even though his ship was being tossed by a storm that no one would die.  He encouraged the crew to take courage because God always keeps his promises.

“So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as he said.” Acts 27:25

God always keeps his promise.

Courage comes when we trust that God will do what he said. God has not promised us safety or comfort in this life but he has promised us a perfect eternity in Heaven!  He has promised that he will never leave us or forsake us. He has promised to give us peace in hard times.

There are many great promises for us to rely on. Peter said this about God’s promises,

“And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.” 2 Peter 1:4

Courage comes from trusting God’s great and precious promises.

Next time you are afraid or worried remember God’s promises and trust that he will keep them 100% of the time!

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From my reading in Acts 24 in the One Year New Testament.

Integrity is what sets great people apart from others.

Many people are gifted and have leadership abilities but it is rare to find a person with true character. The Apostle Paul was a man of character, he said,

“I always try to maintain a clear conscience before God and all people.” Acts 24:16

Having a clear conscience before God is living with the awareness that God sees everything.

Knowing this gives you a healthy “fear” or respect for obeying God’s laws. Also you know that even if you get away with lying or stealing that God sees.

Living with a clear conscience before people is all about faithfulness.

When you say you are going to do something, do you really do it? Are you someone people can trust?

Integrity is not about being perfect it is about being honest when you mess up!

No one is perfect, but the people who have clear conscience are the ones who are honest about their sins and confess them to God and others and don’t lie.

Are you a person of integrity?

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From my reading in Acts 23:16-35 in the One Year New Testament.

Some people are overly political, others don’t care enough.

God can and will use government for his purposes. In today’s reading we see that God can use government and it’s decisions in order to serve His purposes. The government leaders listened to someone knew that there were people wanting to kill Paul.

The government leaders listen and protected Paul.

“Then the commander called two of his officers and ordered, “Get 200 soldiers ready to leave for Caesarea at nine o’clock tonight. Also take 200 spearmen and 70 mounted troops. Provide horses for Paul to ride, and get him safely to Governor Felix.” Acts 23:23-24

The government can be used to protect God’s servants.

Government makes a lot of mistakes, and even does many things that are dishonoring to God. But even corrupt governments can me used for God’s purposes.

Instead of disengaging from politics all together it is helpful to be informed. Also I recommending using wisdom in how you express your political views especially on social media and among friends.

Government ultimately is a tool that God can use to accomplish his purposes in the world.

As followers of Christ let us pray for wisdom on how to wisely engage.

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From my reading in Acts 22 in the One Year New Testament.

Today I witnessed a baptism at my father’s church. (See picture above)

The testimonies of the people whose lives that were changed moved me and reminded me why I do what I do. Baptism is an amazing step for those who just received Christ, but is it also an inspiration to the church.

Especially among those new to the faith, there is a misconception that baptism is like a graduation.

Perhaps this is because usually when we celebrate adults it is because of something they accomplished. They think that they have to “get their lives together” to make sure they are ready to be baptized.  In the Bible baptism virtually always happens right after someone is saved!

Baptism is not a graduation, it is an initiation.

Many cultures have initiations into manhood or womanhood. When I was in Kenya on a mission trip I heard that in certain tribes in order to become “a man” you have to kill a lion with a spear!  Compared to that baptism is EASY!

Baptism is the Christian’s initiation.

When you go under the water you identify with Jesus’ death on the cross and burial. When you are raised out of the water you are symbolically joining Christ to walk in new life.

If you have received Christ, you have already been cleansed spiritually and reborn.  Baptism is a way of showing the world what has already taken place on the inside.

Note: Baptism itself does not save you!

Baptism is a celebration your salvation but it is not something you must do to get salvation.

You don’t have to know everything or have it all together to be baptized.  You just need to have decided to follow Jesus!

Ananias said this when the Apostle Paul was converted,

“What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord.” Acts 22:16

Once someone is truly saved there is nothing to wait for!

If you have an adequate understanding of the good news and accepted it then it is time to get dunked!

I believe that having regular baptisms is a way to keep the vision for reaching people in front of the church and a great way of helping the new believers feel initiated.

If you have never been baptized talk to your pastor today and get dunked!

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From my reading in Acts 21:18-40 in the One Year New Testament.

God is the one who changes lives!

He deserves the glory and honor for whatever success we achieve in ministry. Paul set a good example of giving God the glory in his ministry report.

“The next day Paul went with us to meet with James, and all the elders of the Jerusalem church were present. After greeting them, Paul gave a detailed account of the things God had accomplished among the Gentiles through his ministry.” Acts 21:19

Paul told about what GOD had accomplished and not what Paul had accomplished.

We should not try and take credit for something that God has done. This is a very important distinction to make for ministry leaders.  Now it is important to acknowledge that we do have an important role to play and he does use us.

But we should be quick to celebrate what God has done and not brag about how great we are.

Giving God the glory will keep the focus where it should be, on God and not on us!

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