Today’s Bible readings are 2 Samuel 20:14-21:22, Acts 1:1-26, Psalms 121:1-8, & Proverbs 16:18
Acts
1:9-11
9 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they
were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they
strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood
among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you
standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into
heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
How long do you think they would have stood there &
stared had it not been for the angels telling them to move on? I have wondered
this before & was wondering this today.
This particular day was unique to the disciples. They had
seen so many incredible things happen over the last 40 days or so. They had
seen Jesus die, rise from the dead, restore those who had walked away, &
open their minds to the scriptures in new ways. It was very exciting. Now the
moment has come for Him to leave them again.
I am sure that they were a little concerned that things were
going to end up like they did last time He left. Maybe they were afraid that
they were going to fail Him again. They surely didn’t know what to expect. They
stood there & gazed into heaven as He ascended.
They were straining to see Him when these angels appeared
& told them it was time to quit staring. I love this part of the story.
Basically, the angels told the disciples that it was time to stop staring &
start doing!
Remember, Jesus had just told them that He was going to send
the Holy Spirit. He told them that the Holy Spirit would give them great power.
He told them that the great power of the Spirit would cause them to be His
witnesses. He told them that they would go to the ends of the earth for Him.
They were so intrigued by the presence of Jesus & the
wonder of seeing Him that they stood there staring. The only problem with that
is that they were about to miss their own move of God. In just a few short days
heaven was going to be parted & the mighty Holy Spirit was going to be
poured out on ALL flesh. So they needed to be reminded that it was time to go
& be prepared.
This is what we need from time to time. We don’t need to be
standing around watching God move in other people’s lives. We need to be
prepared & ready for Him to move in our life. There are far too many
believers sitting on the side line watching God use others but not offering
themselves to Him for service. This is a great tragedy. God wants to pour His Spirit
on ALL flesh so that ALL flesh can be part of His end time revival.
When I say “End Time Revival”, I am not talking about you
& me sitting around experiencing God blessing us. What I mean is you &
I out in the trenches reaching the lost for His glory. That is what the
disciples went & did after they were filled with the Holy Spirit. They went
out & made disciples. They built the kingdom of God. They didn’t leave it
in the hands of the pastoral staff to reach people. They ALL went out empowered
by the same Spirit & began to reach the lost & daily the Lord added to
their number.
This is the great difference that the Holy Spirit makes in a
person’s life. He causes us to be soul winners. We can’t just sit & watch.
We become the player who followers the coach around saying: “Put me in this
inning. I’m ready to go in coach.”
Remember, God has a plan for your life. He desires to use
you to for Hs glory. He has called you to be a soul winner. He has anointed you
to be a witness for Him. It is time to get off the sidelines & into the
game. You are not a spectator. You are an allstar.
Start today by doing these simple things:
1. Be kind & encouraging to people that you meet today.
2. Tell people about what God has done in your life.
3. Pray for those around you.
4. Do something outside of yourself to express love to another person today.
5. Invite somebody to church or small group.
6. Ask a person if you can pray for them when they share their struggles with you.
7. Tell somebody that God has a plan for their life.
It is not hard to be a witness. It only takes practice. I
will say this, you will never be much of a witness if all you do is stand by
& stare. Let’s make it a pint that we are not going to just stand by &
stare. Let’s not just watch God move. Let’s be part of the move.
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