Acting on it
WhenI started my December blog series, I thought I would go through the Bible for afull year of posts. I thought I should share the actual stories instead ofalways just the verses that inspire me and, I hope, inspire you.
Herewe are on the first of June and I honestly don’t know where that idea went to.Okay, so I will plow forward at this point and see how it goes.
The Great Commission
Then the eleven disciples left forGalilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they sawhim, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted!
Jesus came and told his disciples, “I havebeen given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and makedisciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and theSon and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands Ihave given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end ofthe age.” (Matthew 28:16-20, New Living Translation)
Thelast words of Jesus in the book of Matthew are like something you would hear atthe end of an action movie, where the hero says goodbye to his fans, but heneeds to leave it open for the sequel. The Book of Acts would be the firstsequel to the story of Jesus.
The first book I wrote was abouteverything Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up intoheaven. Before this, with the help of the Holy Spirit, Jesus told the apostleshe had chosen what they should do. (Acts 1:1-2, New Century Version)
Andso, the next act in the life of the disciples begins. Appropriately titled theBook of Acts, it was written by Luke, the physician who wrote the gospel, whichbears his name.
InActs, we read about the travels of the disciples as they spread the gospel ofJesus Christ. We learn about new apostles, the most famous being Paul. We hearof several of them being martyred for their faith.
I’dlove to share all of those stories and more, but we’ll see how much time Ihave. In the meantime, however, you could start reading those stories on yourown. I hope you do.
(The picture above is from my second trip toKenya in 2013, taken on a rutted road near the village of Saikeri. It remindsme of the desolate roads the first disciples traveled, except this one has muchmore greenery.)
