Written by: Chris Routledge

Acts 1 v 1-5
To Theophilus.
The first book I wrote was about everything Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up into heaven. Before this, with the help of the Holy Spirit, Jesus told the apostles he had chosen what they should do. After his death, he showed himself to them and proved in many ways that he was alive. The apostles saw Jesus during the forty days after he was raised from the dead, and he spoke to them about the kingdom of God. Once when he was eating with them, he told them not to leave Jerusalem. He said, “Wait here to receive the promise from the Father which I told you about. John baptized people with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Notes
I went to see "The Mummy Returns" last month. Very entertaining, with a daft but exciting plot, and a lot of familiar faces. In fact, all the main characters from the original film reappear in the sequel, along with loads of new characters as well, to continue the tale...

In the same way, the book of Acts continues the story of Jesus begun in the Gospels. It was written by Luke, who also wrote one of the Gospels. "The 
Acts of the Apostles" takes up the story after Jesus' Resurrection, and leads us through the life of the early Church - the first Christians.

Today's passage reminds us what Jesus has just done - that He spent a lot of time - 40 days - with the apostles, teaching them about the Kingdom of God.

This was a time of preparation for the apostles. They knew what 
Jesus wanted them to do, but it wasn't the right time. In fact, Jesus told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for 'the promise from the Father'. Without the Holy Spirit, they weren't properly equipped to do the job.

In today's high-speed culture, it's easy to rush into things without waiting on God's timing. I have a friend who felt called to full-time Christian youth work 10 years ago - but the time wasn't right. So he waited. His first job starts in September - when God wants him to start.

What does God want you to do? Are you ready to do it yet? However long it takes - 40 days or 10 years - it's much better to wait until God's got you sorted than to try and do it on your own.

Acts 1 v 6-8
When the apostles were all together, they asked Jesus, “Lord, are you now going to give the kingdom back to Israel?”
Jesus said to them, “The Father is the only One who has the authority to decide dates and times. These things are not for you to know. But when the Holy Spirit comes to you, you will receive power. You will be my witnesses—in Jerusalem, in all of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world.”

Notes
A lot of my work is with children, and I am often amazed by some of the questions they come out with. Recently, one 7-year-old asked me the following question: "Where did Jesus' Spirit go between Good Friday and Easter Sunday?"

How do you answer that in 15 seconds, with a dozen other children wanting to ask things that are just as difficult?!

Life is full of questions, as I'm sure Jesus knew, with all the questions the apostles kept asking Him! "Lord, are you now going to give the kingdom back to Israel?"

Jesus always knew the right thing to say! Here, His answer is basically, "Don't worry about it. It's not your problem. God will sort out dates and times." Great! The timing of the kingdom isn't the apostles' responsibility! They can leave it to God!

And that's important, because they do have a responsibility - they are going to be
Jesus' witnesses to the whole world! That's a big enough responsibility without having to worry about getting the timing right too.

No matter how old we are, we all have responsibilities. The important thing is to recognise what ours are, so we don't get distracted by what isn't our concern. Jesus helped the disciples to focus, and He'll help us too, if we ask Him. So ask Him to show you your responsibilities today, and while you're at it, praise Him for what He and others take care of, so you don't have to worry about them.

Acts 1 v 9-11
After he said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud hid him from their sight. As he was going, they were looking into the sky. Suddenly, two men wearing white clothes stood beside them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing here looking into the sky? Jesus, whom you saw taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you saw him go.”

Notes
"As they were watching, Jesus was lifted up, and a cloud hid him from their sight." 
You know, I get the feeling that this sentence doesn't quite get across what an amazing event has just happened!

Can you imagine it? Try. (If possible, ask someone to read this next bit out loud).
Close your eyes and picture yourself standing with the apostles and Jesus. Look around. You're on a hilltop, it's a beautiful day, there's a few clouds in the sky. Now let your attention come back to Jesus. There's something different about Him. He seems brighter.. taller.

Then you realise that His feet are no longer on the ground. He's rising upwards into the sky. How does He look to you? He's going higher and higher, into that bright, bright sky. You raise a hand to shield your eyes from the light, and as you do, a cloud passes between you and Jesus, and you can't see Him any more....

That still doesn't get the true 'WOW' factor across, does it? It must have been fantastic! The disciples know Jesus is God - and this makes it a complete, 100%, no questions asked certainty! Jesus is God and His home is in Heaven, and that's where He's gone! I wish I'd been there! It must have been.. WOW!

Praise God! Praise Jesus! And not only is Jesus our God in Heaven, but He's coming back too! I can't wait!

Acts 1 v 12-14
Then they went back to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. (This mountain is about half a mile from Jerusalem.) When they entered the city, they went to the upstairs room where they were staying. Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon (known as the Zealot), and Judas son of James were there. They all continued praying together with some women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and Jesus’ brothers.

Notes
Families aren't always the easiest places to be. Living together all the time is always going to create tensions - between brothers and sisters, and parents and children.
Everyone feels the odd one out at times. And it's even lonelier if you're the only Christian in your family.

Did you know that Jesus had problems with His family? It's true - check out John 7 v 1-5. Even Jesus' own brothers did not believe in Him - they were embarrassed by Him. Jesus knows what it's like to be dissed by family.

You know what that means? It means that whenever you feel totally let down – by family or friends, you can talk to Jesus about it, because He's been there. He knows what it's like. And He can help you get things sorted.

Check out today's reading. Everyone was praying, including Jesus' brothers! It took time, but they believed in Him eventually! They didn't change through Jesus arguing with them - they changed and believed in Him because they saw what He did.

Are you getting a hard time from your family, for whatever reason? Chat it over with Jesus. Ask Him to give you patience and to help you respond in the right way. That means living your life in a way that says "I belong to Jesus", which will have a much greater effect than arguing will. Ask an older Christian you know and trust for advice too. And remember - however difficult family life may be - Jesus will never stop loving you!

Acts 1 v 15-20
During this time there was a meeting of the believers (about one hundred twenty of them.) Peter stood up and said, “Brothers and sisters, in the Scriptures the Holy Spirit said through David something that must happen involving Judas. He was one of our own group and served together with us. He led those who arrested Jesus.” (Judas bought a field with the money he got for his evil act. But he fell to his death, his body burst open, and all his intestines poured out. Everyone in Jerusalem learned about this so they named this place Akeldama. In their language Akeldama means “Field of Blood.”) “In the Book of Psalms,” Peter said, “this is written:
‘May his place be empty; leave no one to live in it.’
And it is also written:
‘Let another man replace him as leader.’

Notes
Christianity began with Jesus Christ. That's pretty obvious, wouldn't you say? A Christian believes that Jesus is God on earth, that He died for all people on the cross, that He rose again three days later and that He is still with us today, through the Holy Spirit. Christianity only came into being after Jesus, but it's easy to forget that the Christian movement had its origins in Judaism.

Jesus was a Jew. The original 12 disciples were Jews. Most of the early Christians were converts from Judaism. And the Old Testament - the first half of the Christian Bible - is made up of the Jewish scriptures.

The main difference between Christians and Jews is that Christians believe that Jesus is the Messiah, whilst Jews do not believe the Messiah is here yet. And yet there are so many prophesies in the Old Testament about the Messiah - the one who would save Israel - pointing to who He is.

Peter refers to two of them here - both concerning the person who would betray the Messiah. But there are so many others. There are prophesies that say the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, that he would be born of a virgin, that he would be rejected by his own people - and many more. There are so many prophecies about the Messiah in the Old Testament - and Jesus fulfils them all! Praise God that you have recognised Jesus! Check out some of these Old Testament passages, and try to recognise how they point to Jesus:

Micah 5 v 2; Isaiah 7 v 14; Zechariah 9 v9; Psalm 41 v 9; Isaiah 53 v 1-12; Psalm 22 v 14-18.

Acts 1 v 21-26
“So now a man must become a witness with us of Jesus’ being raised from the dead. He must be one of the men who were part of our group during all the time the Lord Jesus was among us—from the time John was baptizing people until the day Jesus was taken up from us to heaven.”
They put the names of two men before the group. One was Joseph Barsabbas, who was also called Justus. The other was Matthias. The apostles prayed, “Lord, you know the thoughts of everyone. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to do this work. Show us who should be an apostle in place of Judas, who turned away and went where he belongs.” Then they used lots to choose between them, and the lots showed that Matthias was the one. So he became an apostle with the other eleven.

Notes 
We make loads of decisions every day. Some are important, one-off decisions, like "who shall I marry?" or "what shall I do with my life?" Others are not quite so life-changing, such as "what shall I have for breakfast this morning?" But whether big or small, making choices is a big part of life.

The apostles needed to choose someone to replace Judas in the 'inner circle' of 12.
There were about 120 believers, yesterday's reading told us, so how did the 11 go about choosing a 12th to join them?

Firstly, they knew it had to be someone who'd been a part of the group since early on, a person who had spent a lot of time with Jesus, listening to Him and seeing Him in action. That narrowed it down to two: Justus and Matthias.

How did they decide which one was right? Simple! By praying and asking God to tell them! The casting of lots was a traditional Jewish method of removing human choice from the decision-making process and allowing God to make the final decision. How it actually worked doesn't matter - the important thing is that by praying first, the apostles had given it to God and asked for His will to be done.

Some of the decisions we make are a matter of common sense, like the narrowing down of the candidates to Justus and Matthias. We don't need to ask God what we should have for breakfast! But there are many decisions that do need God's guidance. When faced with these decisions, the best course of action is to pray, listening for God's reply. If we truly want to follow God's guidance, He will answer us, through either prayer, the Bible or other Christians. But pray first

Acts 2 v 1-4
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a noise like a strong, blowing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw something like flames of fire that were separated and stood over each person there. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak different languages by the power the Holy Spirit was giving them.

Notes
This sounds like quite an experience, doesn't it! Imagine what it must have felt like for the believers. Sitting quietly together, probably praying, when suddenly this tremendous noise like a strong wind filled the house, and flames of fire touched each person there. "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak different languages...

That's God making His presence known in a dramatic way to these believers! Wind, fire, the Holy Spirit and power! It was just the kick-start that the believers needed – an awesome experience to let them know that God was with them.

Has God ever revealed Himself to you in such a recognisable way? If you're anything like me, you know people who seem to experience God like this all the time, but He's only spoken to you that powerfully once or twice, if at all!

Don't be discouraged! God reveals Himself to us in all sorts of different ways! Check out 1 Kings 19 v 10-13. Elijah needed to hear a message from God. First came a great wind, then an earthquake, then a fire... but God wasn't in any of these.
Afterwards, there was a gentle whisper. God spoke to Elijah in that whisper.

God uses the dramatic - He also uses the ordinary. But we can run the risk of only looking for Him to speak in dramatic, attention-grabbing ways - and that has two dangers. Firstly, it means we're putting God in a box - placing our expectations of who He should be ahead of who He actually is. Secondly, we will be in danger of missing what God is actually saying to us! So rather than expecting God to speak in one particular way, let's learn to listen, so God can speak to us in any way.


word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes