Thursday, June 6, 2019
The Original 120
They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus. (Acts 1:14)
The book of Acts is the story of a handful of men and women who, by the power of the Holy Spirit, did not leave their world the same way they found it. They were ordinary people who, empowered by the Spirit, were able to do extraordinary things.
This was the beginning of a movement that continues to this day, because the book of Acts is the story of the life-transforming move of the Spirit of God changing the lives of those who encounter Him. Thus, it is an unfinished book.
I am not suggesting, of course, that we add new chapters to the book of Acts. But we should not put a period where God has put a comma. God is still working, and in a sense, these acts of the Holy Spirit are still being recorded in our day.
The book of Acts was written to cover a period of church history spanning about thirty years. As we read it, we basically see nonstop action. One chapter ends with a miracle, and another begins with something supernatural taking place. Thus, we might falsely conclude these first-century believers had miracles at every moment.
I don’t think that was necessarily the case. I think they, like us, had many days of simply walking by faith and applying biblical principles as they sought to obey God. Yet the book of Acts is the record of the intervention of the Holy Spirit, where He did amazing things here and there as He chose to do them. It is the record of the Spirit of God working through the Word of God in the hearts and lives of the people of God.
And within thirty years, this original group of 120 Christians and their converts were able to change the world.
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