ACTS OF
THE APOSTLES
CHAPTER
1
1. In the first book, Theophilius, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning 2. until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verses 1 and 2)
Oh Jesus Your Word is indeed a lamp that shines bright enough to guide us in our daily interactions, with others and also in the management of our selves in relation to our own behaviour, which reflects our relationship with You. Thanks for giving us such instructions. Although You physically left the earth, You did not abandon us or leave us as orphans because even to this very day, You keep on communicating with us by means of the Holy Spirit by means of people in the Roman Catholic Church such as Popes and priests and even by means of other members of the church such as leaders of protestant groups, who in their teachings also shed light on Your Word and also give guidelines based on Your Word on how we are to base our lives according to Your will. I believe that we are all mouthpieces of God and at any moment regardless of the situation You can make Your will available to us transmitted by means of anybody according to Your choice.
3. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verse 3)
Verse three oh Jesus Son of God and God in verse three of the first chapter of the book of Acts of the Apostles we are given important facts that are instrumental to our faith in You, not that we actually need proof to convince us to believe in You. The first important point is that with your own power and not with that of any fake or foreign source You presented yourself alive for forty days to the apostles. The second point is that the content of the message of the 'Good News' remained the same therefore there was no discrepancy in the truths of your message which was about the kingdom of God, and the last point were the physical marks on Your body that were still visible in this new revived body.
4. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This", he said, "is what you have heard from me; 5. for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verses 4 to 5)
Another part of this message is the fact that You required obedience from Your apostles, and this is what you desire of us today. This is a time when humans have become or are trying to become the centre of control of their lives and are putting You oh Jesus aside so as not to take the steering of our lives from us and in the process some of us are making a mess of their own lives and that of others. You oh Jesus are offering us the opportunity to be blessed in the Holy Spirit and have our lives boosted based on your love and forgiveness, however at times we prefer to choose the baptism of John and just show the will of repentance but on the other hand do not choose to make the great leap of faith and opt for a more intimate life with You in the Spirit by accepting Your Baptism and let You take over the control of our lives. In order to obtain a more deeper explanation of the difference between the baptism of John and that of Jesus please click on the following link
Difference between John and Jesus baptism
6. So when they had come together they asked him, "Lord is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?"
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verse 6)
Although the apostles had witnessed your miracles and your passion they still did not understand the nature and purpose of your mission on earth that had the intention of claiming our salvation. This error could happen to all of us. We could claim we believe in You however we may not have good reasons for believing, or in fact we may only think we believe in You but in truth we have no reason at all. It could be that we have been Christians for a long time but we still have not made a peak experience of You that makes that big difference in our life and acts as a booster in our spiritual lives.
7. He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verse 7)
Oh how curious we are oh God, all the time wanting to know what is to become of us both in the present and in the future. This curiosity gets us into trouble because it has led many to seek the sinful services of fortune tellers. In verse 7 it is condemned by Jesus, that we ought to know such things. On the contrary You teach us to live day by day and let the day worry for itself instead of us worrying for what is to take place in time.
8. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verse 8)
Oh friends and fellow Christians, brothers and sisters since the proclamation of this scripture we have been given the 'Power' of the 'Holy Spirit'. This power drives all negative traits away from us. We have embodied in us the loving, healing and majestic power of this Spirit. All we need is to permit it to be active in our life. The Holy Spirit dwells in our being. It is not me that lives but the Holy Spirit that dwells within me. He gives me these words of knowledge and inspiration to share with myself and then with all who receive these posts. These words are not my own! I thank You Holy Spirit of God for this time of prayer and for all the insights and prayers that You inspire me to include in this blog. I pray that You keep on giving me the proper thoughts, words and inspirations. May my life be a reflection of this mighty presence that lives and dwells within my being amen amen! Let us all pray for more power of the Holy Spirit. I invite you all to click on the following link and join in the following prayer;-
Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Prayer to the Holy Spirit
9. When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verse 9)
After having promised us the gift and power of the Holy Spirit You were exalted back home to Your Father, from where You came, however this was not the end but the beginning. If You had not undergone your passion You would not have passed through the phase of resurrection. Even so this is the human condition, by means of tribulation and persecution we experience Your personal salvation of our soul, because by means of such testing situations we come closer to You.
10. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verse 10)
I can only imagine the amazement of the apostles on seeing You oh Jesus rise up towards heaven. They might have started feeling afraid and even confused about their future now that Jesus was not physically present. They would be dead meat and direct victims of the Pharisees who would seek revenge on them, however You do not abandon us during such situations. In order to help us, You send Your angels in order to console us and give us the much needed support. One may not believe that angels exist, however if Jesus says so in His Good News, they actually do! Jesus is all truth and is not subject to lies!
I would like to share with you readers of this blog the following experience of a person who was literally saved by angels. I invite you to click on the following link:-
Saved by Angels
11. They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verse 11)
Oh Jesus on reflecting You could still be asking us the same question, "Why are you still looking at the heavens when there is still so much to do! there are so many people who need your help, people whom I have entrusted in your care! So wake up from your dreaming and face reality and continue the work that I have assigned you to do with alot of love and care! Get on with it and do not waste time!
12. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey away. 13. When they had entered the city they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter and John and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot and Judas son of James.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verses 12 to 13)
On returning from their mountaintop experience with You the apostles returned back to their new family who sought refuge in a room located in the city. I would imagine that they would come and go in secret in order to ensure their security. However although You were not physically presence You were still with them in Spirit for I cannot imagine that You were not mentioned during such a gathering. You told us that when two people offer their prayers to You, You dwell among them. While seeking refuge in such circumstances the best thing to do would be to wait for further instructions from You and meanwhile invest in our prayer time, so that when the moment came to use us, we would be ready to answer to Your call.
Likewise when we find our selves in such turbulent situations where nothing else can be done, it is good to invest our time in prayer so that when he rain clouds pass and the storms of testing abate, we will be ready to continue with our life and answer to the changes that You oh Jesus are asking us to make in our lives, so that we can live according to Your 'Good New, according to the wisdom of the Holy Spirit who if we permit him to so will remain in us and show us the way to proceed on.
14. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verse 14)
Oh Jesus what a beautiful scenario men and women with different personalities and levels of faith praying together and I imagine even working together to keep their lives functioning in secret. I imagine that the word constantly meant day and night praying. During our times, when we are fast asleep there are people living in cloisters or convents such as monastic nuns who spend days and even nights in prayer for the world and other issues. They are a power station of spiritual power that stands up against that of the forces of evil that plan the destruction of the world and all that is good as in Christianity so that evil could reign and conquer the world.
15. In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about one hundred twenty persons) and said. 16. Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus- 17. for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry."18. (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verses 15 to 18)
The Holy Spirit was alive among the apostles so much that their number was gradually increasing. Moreover this same Spirit was already sustaining the presence of Peter as the leader and thus empowering him with words of knowledge in order to transmit this message. God can also use us in different situations in order to pass on His message, therefore when we feel the urge to speak in favour of Jesus in a given situation we must do so with faith that the holy Spirit of God may at that moment be using us as His mouthpiece to share knowledge or even the faith with others who might at that time be really in need of God's 'Good News' in that particular situation of their life.
19. This became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their language Hakeldama, that is Field of Blood.) 20. For it is written in the book of Psalms, 'Let his homestead become desolate and let there be no one to live in it'; and 'Let another take his position of overseer.'
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verses 19 to 20)
As in the case of Judas and the field of blood which was the fruit of sin, there are many situations which are tempting and may in fact lead us to more sin. In life there were cases where prominent people had to leave their positions due to the fact that they had abused their position and were accused of their crimes. Oh Jesus, may You be our only judge because there is no body who is totally objective like You. Humans act on rationality however they cannot perceive the whole reality which means whether it was Your will or not that the action actually took place. At times events even negative ones are linked to others which are part of a chain reaction. Therefore we are never to view a situations as one even but part of a series of events. God is able to reap good fruit out of even a negative situation.
21. So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us-one of these must become a witness with us with us to his resurrection." 23. So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. 24. Then they prayed and said, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen 25. to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place." 26. And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verses 21 to 26)
The first group of apostles faced one of their toughest dilemmas since the departure of Jesus their leader. Now that Judas had betrayed his position of trust they needed a replacement, therefore this meant that they to refer to You my God in order to show them who of the selected candidates was worthy to fill in the place of Judas. This is the same scenario that takes place when a new pope or bishop is elected.
For those of us who are not familiar with the process of choosing a new pope please click on the following link:-
Inside the conclave how it works
I would like to end the first chapter of the book of Acts of the apostles with the following prayer.
Oh holy Spirit of God blessed be Your Holy Name may You anoint us with Your power and grace and be always present in us especially when facing the dilemmas of life. Your are the power and many different situations, You are able to help us discern a good decision from a negative one, You are the fountain of knowledge that can give words of wisdom to even the uneducated and make of them professors and even theologians in order to defend You before the world and its evil forces. I would also like to thank You and bless Your name for giving me a person without background in theology all these insights and prayers to share with others. When I am on line in a spirit of prayer my brain becomes filled with these thoughts and insights. You lead me to sites to find links on which to reflect, sites that I have never visited before. I dedicate this blog to Mary the mother of God who along with the apostles was gathered in a spirit of prayer. May we all be united in unceasing prayer and may we all desire the gift of the Holy Spirit of God Amen.
3. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verse 3)
Verse three oh Jesus Son of God and God in verse three of the first chapter of the book of Acts of the Apostles we are given important facts that are instrumental to our faith in You, not that we actually need proof to convince us to believe in You. The first important point is that with your own power and not with that of any fake or foreign source You presented yourself alive for forty days to the apostles. The second point is that the content of the message of the 'Good News' remained the same therefore there was no discrepancy in the truths of your message which was about the kingdom of God, and the last point were the physical marks on Your body that were still visible in this new revived body.
4. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This", he said, "is what you have heard from me; 5. for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verses 4 to 5)
Another part of this message is the fact that You required obedience from Your apostles, and this is what you desire of us today. This is a time when humans have become or are trying to become the centre of control of their lives and are putting You oh Jesus aside so as not to take the steering of our lives from us and in the process some of us are making a mess of their own lives and that of others. You oh Jesus are offering us the opportunity to be blessed in the Holy Spirit and have our lives boosted based on your love and forgiveness, however at times we prefer to choose the baptism of John and just show the will of repentance but on the other hand do not choose to make the great leap of faith and opt for a more intimate life with You in the Spirit by accepting Your Baptism and let You take over the control of our lives. In order to obtain a more deeper explanation of the difference between the baptism of John and that of Jesus please click on the following link
Difference between John and Jesus baptism
6. So when they had come together they asked him, "Lord is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?"
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verse 6)
Although the apostles had witnessed your miracles and your passion they still did not understand the nature and purpose of your mission on earth that had the intention of claiming our salvation. This error could happen to all of us. We could claim we believe in You however we may not have good reasons for believing, or in fact we may only think we believe in You but in truth we have no reason at all. It could be that we have been Christians for a long time but we still have not made a peak experience of You that makes that big difference in our life and acts as a booster in our spiritual lives.
7. He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verse 7)
Oh how curious we are oh God, all the time wanting to know what is to become of us both in the present and in the future. This curiosity gets us into trouble because it has led many to seek the sinful services of fortune tellers. In verse 7 it is condemned by Jesus, that we ought to know such things. On the contrary You teach us to live day by day and let the day worry for itself instead of us worrying for what is to take place in time.
8. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verse 8)
Oh friends and fellow Christians, brothers and sisters since the proclamation of this scripture we have been given the 'Power' of the 'Holy Spirit'. This power drives all negative traits away from us. We have embodied in us the loving, healing and majestic power of this Spirit. All we need is to permit it to be active in our life. The Holy Spirit dwells in our being. It is not me that lives but the Holy Spirit that dwells within me. He gives me these words of knowledge and inspiration to share with myself and then with all who receive these posts. These words are not my own! I thank You Holy Spirit of God for this time of prayer and for all the insights and prayers that You inspire me to include in this blog. I pray that You keep on giving me the proper thoughts, words and inspirations. May my life be a reflection of this mighty presence that lives and dwells within my being amen amen! Let us all pray for more power of the Holy Spirit. I invite you all to click on the following link and join in the following prayer;-
Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Prayer to the Holy Spirit
9. When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verse 9)
After having promised us the gift and power of the Holy Spirit You were exalted back home to Your Father, from where You came, however this was not the end but the beginning. If You had not undergone your passion You would not have passed through the phase of resurrection. Even so this is the human condition, by means of tribulation and persecution we experience Your personal salvation of our soul, because by means of such testing situations we come closer to You.
10. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verse 10)
I can only imagine the amazement of the apostles on seeing You oh Jesus rise up towards heaven. They might have started feeling afraid and even confused about their future now that Jesus was not physically present. They would be dead meat and direct victims of the Pharisees who would seek revenge on them, however You do not abandon us during such situations. In order to help us, You send Your angels in order to console us and give us the much needed support. One may not believe that angels exist, however if Jesus says so in His Good News, they actually do! Jesus is all truth and is not subject to lies!
I would like to share with you readers of this blog the following experience of a person who was literally saved by angels. I invite you to click on the following link:-
Saved by Angels
11. They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verse 11)
Oh Jesus on reflecting You could still be asking us the same question, "Why are you still looking at the heavens when there is still so much to do! there are so many people who need your help, people whom I have entrusted in your care! So wake up from your dreaming and face reality and continue the work that I have assigned you to do with alot of love and care! Get on with it and do not waste time!
12. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey away. 13. When they had entered the city they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter and John and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot and Judas son of James.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verses 12 to 13)
On returning from their mountaintop experience with You the apostles returned back to their new family who sought refuge in a room located in the city. I would imagine that they would come and go in secret in order to ensure their security. However although You were not physically presence You were still with them in Spirit for I cannot imagine that You were not mentioned during such a gathering. You told us that when two people offer their prayers to You, You dwell among them. While seeking refuge in such circumstances the best thing to do would be to wait for further instructions from You and meanwhile invest in our prayer time, so that when the moment came to use us, we would be ready to answer to Your call.
Likewise when we find our selves in such turbulent situations where nothing else can be done, it is good to invest our time in prayer so that when he rain clouds pass and the storms of testing abate, we will be ready to continue with our life and answer to the changes that You oh Jesus are asking us to make in our lives, so that we can live according to Your 'Good New, according to the wisdom of the Holy Spirit who if we permit him to so will remain in us and show us the way to proceed on.
14. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verse 14)
Oh Jesus what a beautiful scenario men and women with different personalities and levels of faith praying together and I imagine even working together to keep their lives functioning in secret. I imagine that the word constantly meant day and night praying. During our times, when we are fast asleep there are people living in cloisters or convents such as monastic nuns who spend days and even nights in prayer for the world and other issues. They are a power station of spiritual power that stands up against that of the forces of evil that plan the destruction of the world and all that is good as in Christianity so that evil could reign and conquer the world.
15. In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about one hundred twenty persons) and said. 16. Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus- 17. for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry."18. (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verses 15 to 18)
The Holy Spirit was alive among the apostles so much that their number was gradually increasing. Moreover this same Spirit was already sustaining the presence of Peter as the leader and thus empowering him with words of knowledge in order to transmit this message. God can also use us in different situations in order to pass on His message, therefore when we feel the urge to speak in favour of Jesus in a given situation we must do so with faith that the holy Spirit of God may at that moment be using us as His mouthpiece to share knowledge or even the faith with others who might at that time be really in need of God's 'Good News' in that particular situation of their life.
19. This became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their language Hakeldama, that is Field of Blood.) 20. For it is written in the book of Psalms, 'Let his homestead become desolate and let there be no one to live in it'; and 'Let another take his position of overseer.'
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verses 19 to 20)
As in the case of Judas and the field of blood which was the fruit of sin, there are many situations which are tempting and may in fact lead us to more sin. In life there were cases where prominent people had to leave their positions due to the fact that they had abused their position and were accused of their crimes. Oh Jesus, may You be our only judge because there is no body who is totally objective like You. Humans act on rationality however they cannot perceive the whole reality which means whether it was Your will or not that the action actually took place. At times events even negative ones are linked to others which are part of a chain reaction. Therefore we are never to view a situations as one even but part of a series of events. God is able to reap good fruit out of even a negative situation.
21. So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us-one of these must become a witness with us with us to his resurrection." 23. So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. 24. Then they prayed and said, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen 25. to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place." 26. And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verses 21 to 26)
The first group of apostles faced one of their toughest dilemmas since the departure of Jesus their leader. Now that Judas had betrayed his position of trust they needed a replacement, therefore this meant that they to refer to You my God in order to show them who of the selected candidates was worthy to fill in the place of Judas. This is the same scenario that takes place when a new pope or bishop is elected.
For those of us who are not familiar with the process of choosing a new pope please click on the following link:-
Inside the conclave how it works
I would like to end the first chapter of the book of Acts of the apostles with the following prayer.
Oh holy Spirit of God blessed be Your Holy Name may You anoint us with Your power and grace and be always present in us especially when facing the dilemmas of life. Your are the power and many different situations, You are able to help us discern a good decision from a negative one, You are the fountain of knowledge that can give words of wisdom to even the uneducated and make of them professors and even theologians in order to defend You before the world and its evil forces. I would also like to thank You and bless Your name for giving me a person without background in theology all these insights and prayers to share with others. When I am on line in a spirit of prayer my brain becomes filled with these thoughts and insights. You lead me to sites to find links on which to reflect, sites that I have never visited before. I dedicate this blog to Mary the mother of God who along with the apostles was gathered in a spirit of prayer. May we all be united in unceasing prayer and may we all desire the gift of the Holy Spirit of God Amen.
