Acts 1:1-3

 Infallible proofs

Acts 1:1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,

The former account is the Gospel of Luke. At one time the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts were joined together as one book with two "volumes."

The name Theophilus means "Lover of God", we are not sure who he was, but the title "most excellent" (Luke 1:3) is used for one of high offices.

Acts 1:2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
Acts 1:3 To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

Speaking of the things of the kingdom of God. He was giving them a vision of the future hope. Not much is recorded of his words at this time. He was concerned with them, because of their unbelief. They were cowering, being upset by the events of their time, Their leader had been crucified and they didn't remember that Jesus had said to them that he would die and be raised on the third day.. They were lacking in faith.

We can identify with their sorrows in a small way as we witness our country being terrorized on Sept 11, (This study was first shared in 2002.) Some people have withdrawn, some are depressed, some even had their hearts fail them. Do not remove your eyes from the hope that is in Jesus. He has risen. We shall be with him in the Kingdom.

Infallible proofs of his resurrection:

1 Cor 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1 Cor 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
1 Cor 15:5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
1 Cor 15:6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
1 Cor 15:7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
1 Cor 15:8 And last of all he was seen of me (Paul) also, as of one born out of due time.

Doubting Thomas believes.

John 20:26  And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 

John 20:27  Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 

John 20:28  And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 

John 20:29  Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. 

Breath of God

 Jesus had risen from the cave tomb having shed his blood for the sins of the world. Whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16)  He appears in a closed room where his disciples were gathered in fear.

John 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath 

sent me, even so send I you.

John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, 

Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

John 20:23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose 

soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

This is what Jesus had meant by being born again of God’s Spirit.

Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a 

man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

We remember that at creation God breathed life into his creations giving life.

Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed 

into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

When Adam and Eve sinned, their spirit was dead, no longer in fellowship with 

God, their creator. God our heavenly father sent his son, who had no sins to die in 

our place and to rise from death restored back into eternal life.

Jesus had earlier sent forth seventy witnesses two by two, with his authority. 

10:17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are 

subject unto us through thy name.

Luk 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

Luk 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and 

over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Luk 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; 

but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

What did they say to the Jewish people? They had the prophets who told of future 

events. Jesus was the promised Messiah, the Son of God.

Isa 42:5 Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched 

them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that 

giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

Isa 42:6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and 

will hold thine hand, 

and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the 

people, for a light of the Gentiles;

Isa 42:7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and 

them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

Isa 42:8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, 

neither my praise to graven images.

Isa 42:9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: 

before they spring forth I tell you of them.

Job 33:4 The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath 

given me life.

Psa 33:6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of 

them by the breath of his mouth.

Psa 150:6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.

1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last 

Adam was made a quickening spirit.

1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; 

and afterward that which is spiritual.

1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from 

heaven.

1Co 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the 

heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.

1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the 

image of the heavenly.

Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God 

unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Rom 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it 

is written, The just shall live by faith.

2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are 

passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

2Co 5:18  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus 

Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 

2Co 5:19  To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not 

imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of 

reconciliation. 

2Co 5:20  Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech 

you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. 

2Co 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might 

be made the righteousness of God in him. 

At Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out to the believers in Jesus.  This was

the beginning of the Church age.

Act 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one 

accord in one place. 

Act 2:2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty 

wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 

Act 2:3  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat 

upon each of them. 

Act 2:4  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other 

tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 

The rain shall fall

 It was the day after Christmas and we were out of cheese. I thought that there is time to go to the outlet market and buy some cheese for my daughter and I. I bought two kinds of cheese; colby Jack and sliced mild chedder  I continued to shop until the market basket was full. I pushed the cart to go outside and "oh no", it was pouring down rain! I had parked my car a block away, I needed the excercise?  What I did not need was a downpour, the kind of rain that instantly soaks like walking into a lake and me a spong. Well, it is not going to quit, :so here goes, I pushed the cart in the direction of my parked car. Just as I came to the car, it began hailing bean sized hail, stinging rocks, "ouch", I fumbled the car door open and poked my head into the car to quit the pounding of the hail. "Get in the car", I thought as I abandoned the groceries and started the car to get some heat. The hail stopped, it was still raining as I unloaded the contents of the market basket cart. I managed to get home with my load and the cheese.

I changed into somethng dry and turned the space heater towards my chair by the computer. I heard the sound of my daughter closing her car door;sspirithe was home from work. We greeted each other and she was carrying a brown paper grocery bag. she said with a smile"I bought cheese". We have cheese.

 Is there a spiritual lesson in this? What does the Bible say about rain?

Mat 5:43  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 

Mat 5:44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 

Mat 5:45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

The important thing is to be on solid ground.

Mat 7:24  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 

Mat 7:25  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 

Mat 7:26  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 

Mat 7:27  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

On Jesus, the Solid Rock our foundation is sure. He is the Corner Stone of our faith.

Jesus shall reign forever

 Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy that an everlasting king would come from David's lineage. His moher was from the lineage of David and his legal father Joseph, was also from he lineage of king David. His throne would be everlasting because His Father is God. Jesus is the everlasting God man who will have an everlasting kingdom with judgement and justice.

Psa 89:36 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.

2 Sam 7:16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

Psa 72:11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.

The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. God came in a man; Jesus shall reign, forever with all who believe in him., amen.

Son of Man, Son of God

 Col 2:9  For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 

Col 2:10  And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

Godhead - the state of being God.

Who is this Jesus?  If he truly is the son of God, the word of God would say so. The prophets would declare him.  The prophets have spoken. God has come in a human, born of a virgin, in Bethlehem, the city of David. He had no sins and he gave up his body to take the punishment of sins as our substitute Savior. Jesus as a human called himself the son of man. He also in spirit is the Son of God. God is a Spirit.

John 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

By believing in Jesus we become the adopted sons of God.

The Bible speaks of God as being one God in the plural, Elohim.

The one God is God the Father, Jesus, the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  How can this be? We believe what the Bible says.  The prophet Isaiah prophesied of Jesus hundreds of years before his coming.  He gave the titles of God to Jesus.

Isa 9:6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 

A child is born of a virgin, a miracle birth.  A Son is given, the Son of God who takes away our sins and who gives us eternal life. When he returns to earth he will be the supreme King of Kings. His name shall be called wonderful, counselor; he loves us and leads us.  The Mighty God and the Everlasting Father are His shared names with His Father. Remember now that God is one God in the plural. I cannot explain how,  but I believe the true word of God. Nothing is impossible with God.   Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Through believing in him we have peace with God.

John 14:27  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

HANDRAILS AND SAFETY NETS

 I climbed the two steps from the garage to enter the house and  neglected to grab the handrail, then suddenly I was falling backwards. A slow motion fall, a helpless feeling as my hips and back hit hard objects on the ground. I called for my daughter and she called a neighbor to help get me up. I have a lot of pain with purple black bruising from side to side, and it was my doing or undoing. I had neglected to grab the handrail.

Some  people depend on the government as a handrail to be responsible for them.  There are laws that act as safety nets, but we also need to be personally responsible for our safety and needs. In the news, our government is at war with the drug cartels.  Our military are gathered on the ocean  near Venezuela.  Boats with drugs are shot down and exploded.  Tons of drugs are found hidden in warehouses and in underground tunnels.  Hundreds of millions of  dollars are stacked in bundles.  There are many of these drug places in our land yet to be uncovered.  Why so many?  Because too many of our citizens are using drugs. Why are they not being responsible? A drug addict will steal to get money to buy their drugs. Actual demons come into them to destroy their family relationships and their ability to be faithful at work. By making drugs an idol they disobey the laws of man and God. By turning away from God they invite in evil powers.  God is our help.  We cannot fight the darkness in our own abilities, we need the grace of God. 

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Only God can overcome the spiritual darkness.  He sent his son Jesus, to be our way to overcome sin and death.  The laws are good, but we cannot keep them. They accuse us and the end is our death.  Choose Jesus who was without sin and was sent to be our savior from our sins and evil.  He is our way to forgiveness and restoration, both now and in life eternal with God. 

The government uses tax dollars to help people. These are referred to as handrails and safety nets. We hear in the news that billions of dollars used to support the needy were stolen. The devil is a thief. He comes to kill, steal and destroy. Jesus is come to give us life, more abundant life. (John 10:10)  

If you are a drug user, or if you know some who are users, I pray to God for your recovery. Almighty God, you created us to be in fellowship with you.  You are holy, so much greater than your creation. You spoke the universe into existence. You are a life giver and a loving God. LORD God through your son Jesus, touch hearts and bring people out of the darkness. You are the eternal light, giving mercy and justice. Help us to trust you, in Jesus name, Amen.

Eternal Love

 John 15:12  This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 

John 15:13  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 

Jesus tells us that we are to love one another. Love does not kill, so why do  people kill? That is not what God commands; this is the way of the devil. If you go along with the devil he wants to steal your soul from God. In John 10:10 he is called the thief.

Joh 10:10  The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 

Joh 10:11  I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. however Jesus, the Good Shepherd comes to give you a more abundant life. He came to us to give us life everlasting.   The people following the devil are filled with hate, anger and unforgiveness. They want to remove, to destroy those who they are not in agreement with. Are they reacting from fear?

We must  be careful not to speak destructive words. Our words are not to put down others. Look for the best in those you know. I like peace and seek to keep the peace. An elderly friend spoke to me that if we would shut up then we would avoid conflict. May we know when we should speak and when to be silent. We are to speak up for what is good.  Many have died for our right to speak and for our freedom. Stand for truth, and trust in Jesus. He knows our failings and will forgive you. He gave us his life so that we might live free in him.