Encounter!

Shift Your Focus… The proper title of the book of Acts is “The Acts of the Apostles,” but in reality, it should be “The Acts of the Holy Spirit.” Nothing else explains the complete metamorphosis of these disciples into mighty apostles—especially the transformation of Peter. Without the Spirit’s indwelling and empowering work in their lives, if we had this history of early Christianity at all, it would probably have been entitled, “The Attempts of the Disciples,” and the subtitle might well have been, “Close, But No Cigars.”

You cannot help but be impressed with the dramatic change in the big-mouthed, braggadocios Peter. He was always passionate, if nothing else, but was terribly unfocused. Peter was all over the map prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Like a cross-eyed javelin thrower, Peter never set any records, but he sure kept the crowd awake.

Now, through the Spirit, there came a laser-like focus that turned Peter’s passion into power and his out-of-control expressiveness into finely tuned eloquence. Jesus’ prediction that Peter would become a rock was well on its way to coming true. Indeed, the Lord’s prediction in Acts 1:8 had materialized: Peter and the others had been baptized in the Spirit, and the first result had been this dramatic empowerment for witness to the death and resurrection of Jesus.

What is most exciting about the Acts of the Holy Spirit, however, is that it is not just history; it is an ongoing saga, a work of non-fiction still being written. If you were to flip to the end of the book, you will notice in Acts 28:31 that the author, Luke, doesn’t close with, “the end.” There is no “that’s all, folks.”

Acts is the only book in the Bible that doesn’t have a proper conclusion. It is the never-ending story. And here is the exciting part: You are Acts 29! You are the next chapter, waiting to be written! That’s why there is no end. The Holy Spirit is still at work in the world, and he desires to transform you just as he did Peter, turning your passion into power and your unfocused expressiveness into finely tuned eloquence. Or perhaps your personality is more reserved than Peter’s. Not to worry—the same Holy Spirit can energize your reticence and modesty as well.

Here’s the deal: You are one encounter with the Holy Spirit away from becoming Acts 29. So if you are interested, talk to the Holy Spirit about the possibilities!

“Trying to do the Lord’s work in your own strength is the most confusing, exhausting, and tedious of all work. But when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, then the ministry of Jesus just flows out of you.”  ~Corrie Ten Boom

Prayer… Holy Spirit, here I am. Fill me, empower and equip me, and use me to be the continuation of your Acts in the world today. I pray as St. Augustine prayed, “Breath in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy.”  May the life and ministry of Jesus flow out of me.