As you journey through the book of Hebrews, we encourage you to invite the Lord into your studies through prayer, reading of the word, and reflection.

• Pray: Before you start each devotion, ask the Lord to use it to grow you up in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
• Read: Invite God to open your eyes and deepen your understanding of His Word through each daily passage.
• Reflect: Ask the Spirit to help you take to heart what He wants to show you.

The Fifth Gospel

The book of Acts, sometimes called the fifth Gospel, is a continuation of the four Gospels. Matthew concludes with the Resurrection, Mark with the Ascension, Luke with the promise of the Holy Spirit, and John with the promise of the Second Coming—all of these funnel down into the first chapter of Acts. And as all four do, Acts confirms the great missionary call, “Take this good news to the world!”

Acts builds a bridge between the Gospels and the Epistles. Just imagine Dr. Luke, the author of Acts, likely got together with Peter and Paul many times and shared wonderful talks about how God was at work in their separate mission fields. Read Acts and their letters together and you get a picture of early church history, along with the personal relationships and struggles that each of the letters address.

One verse summarizes Acts, a promise from Jesus Himself as He returns to heaven:

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” -Acts 1:8

Acts records tremendous growth of the church in those first generations. By the end of the first century alone, millions followed the Lord Jesus Christ. Dr. Luke mentions 110 people by name, in addition to multitudes and crowds.

What was it that got everyone’s attention? Jesus’ resurrection—the center of all gospel preaching. In the early church, the resurrection of Jesus Christ was the heart of the message, and no sermon was preached without it. In the early church, “He is risen!” was proclaimed everywhere; every day was a day to proclaim the Resurrection, not just on Easter.

But the book isn’t complete! The narrative of the church is a continuing story. Perhaps Dr. Luke is today in glory writing the next chapters?! Perhaps he is recording what we do for Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. Although the Lord left the earth, He only has moved His headquarters to the right hand of the Father. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit (John 1:33; 7:37-39; 14:16-17; 20:22; Acts 1:8) to be the great power of this age, and He did. Right now His Spirit lives in us, His believers.

Our commission now is to be His witnesses. We should make Him the center attraction. This directive is not only to the church as a body but it is also a very personal command to each believer—personally, privately. Our business is to get the Word of God out to the world. The Lord wants people to be saved. This is our part in His great commission.

In order to get this gospel out, we need power. Jesus promises to be with us through His Spirit and move through us personally, through His church, and through every ministry. Our only choice is whether we permit Him to be powerful.

Jesus said we are to take our testimony, our witness of Him, to the end of the earth. This global reach is His idea. What are you doing to take Jesus Christ to the world?

1. What do you think the Holy Spirit’s purpose was in telling us what happened after Jesus’ resurrection? Why was it important for us, two thousand years later, to know this part of the story?
2. Based on what you hear Christians talking about, is the Resurrection as central to the church’s message today as it was in the first century? What has changed?
3. The amazing part of Jesus’ ascension was the promise that, by leaving, Jesus would return. How can you better remember and hold on to that promise today?