Wait...

I've often wondered about the emotions Jesus' disciples went through after the crucifixion, the fear, guilt for some, disappointment, the doubting, I imagine they experienced 3 days of it all.  But the joy after His resurrection must have been indescribable, the comfort during the 40 days of teaching before He ascended into Heaven, the unbridled enthusiasm of wanting to tell the world...all of these, some of them at once I'm sure.    

In Acts 1, we read that Jesus gives some final instructions before He is taken into Heaven.  He said to the Apostles in Acts 1:4, "Do not leave Jerusalem, but WAIT for the gift my Father promised..."  

Now we know today that the gift that Jesus was referring to was 2 fold, 1) the special outpouring on the Apostles that gave miraculous powers to those 12 and 2) the indwelling gift of the Holy Spirit received at baptism.  

But there's something deeper for us to get from this today as well, not anything earth shattering of Gospel changing, as I'm not about to do that (see Galatians 1:8).  But sometimes, God just needs us to wait.  For us to learn, to listen, to pray, to be prepared.  

That even though we want to go and do, we need to stay and grow.  As a youth minister I'm very privileged to teach and lead some amazing students, several of whom have already committed themselves to overseas missions, and if they had the chance, they'd leave today.  But it's just not their time yet, there's work for ahead of them, preparing them for what's coming up, and there's work for them to do here, leading and teaching other students and even their families.  

Many times we need to wait, but let this not be an excuse to not do the things Jesus commissioned us to do while we are waiting, teaching and baptizing others, that's ALL of our jobs at all times.  

But for you, what do you need?  What are you waiting for?  And more importantly, how are you pursuing what you lack?    

Something New

Of course the picture here has nothing to do with being new, in fact, it's from the 1984 movie "Breakin 2."  But I guess when you think about it, was new in 1984.  

Go ahead, look at the picture again and laugh...

There's been something that's been on my mind for a while, for a few years actually, and it's something that I've been trying to figure out what it should look like today.  Something that all Christians want to be a part of, but I'm convinced that few, me included, actually get.  Sure, some are further along than others, but in all honesty, it seems that most don't really care or have a clue.  

What I'm talking about is being a true New Testament Christian, being a part of the Church (with the big 'C') that is described in Acts.  That sounds like fun doesn't it?  

So, this is what we're going to do, we're going to go through Acts and check out words that stand out to me, ways that we can live and be the Church of Christ.  

First and for most, you cannot be apart of the Church without accepting Christ, in case you were wondering.  Second of all, what this comes down to is an overused word...LOVE.  It comes down to the greatest command, loving God and loving others, if we do these things, following God is not an issue and helping others is also not an issue, we just do it because we WANT to.  

So as we go through this journey (haha overused church buzz word) together, there will be days that I will randomly do write something else, and also this won't happen everyday, so keep checking in.  

So let's get started, our first word is found in the first verse of the first chapter and it's simply, 'began.'  "I (Luke) wrote about all that Jesus BEGAN..."  

This word BEGAN is the key to the entire book and the entire Church that we are now a part of.  This word BEGAN joins us to Jesus' work.  

I know for me, 2000+ years is a long time ago, it seems so far away that it's almost untouchable, until you view Acts and Jesus' work through the word BEGAN. Jesus' work did not end when He left, Jesus' work is not for others who are long dead, Jesus' work is for us today, it BEGAN with him, and it ends when He returns.  In the mean time, it's up to us to do the things He BEGAN.

What are those things?  So in being the church today, we need to understand and realize that we are part of this beginning, we have a role in this situation, we are involved and connected to Jesus' ministry.