Luke–Acts are two books but one volume, and will satisfy any logical systematic thinker. Luke, having investigated everything from the beginning, presents his gospel of what Jesus did and said, and then continues in Acts presenting what the disciples did and said. A must-read for any new Christian, these books are the foundation of not only what Jesus did but the spreading of the good news of Jesus, in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
Sometimes, when I feel prompted by the Holy Spirit to do something, I feel completely inadequate for the task. Actually, every time. Does anyone else feel like that? It starts at salvation–do you remember your heart skipping a beat when you felt God nudge you to to return to Him? Remember the fear, the jitters? But you felt the power of God over you, you did it and it changed your life.
I remember teaching a class on Angels and Demons and one of the students asked me how the Old Testament people lived without the Holy Spirit. It is a common misconception that the Holy Spirit only turns up in our Bible in the New Testament.
Have you noticed the golden thread that runs through the Books of Luke-Acts? In one of my TYB bibles, I decided to highlight the Holy Spirit; any moments where people are empowered by the Holy Spirit or the word ‘Spirit’ appears throughout the Books of Luke-Acts. It was amazing to see how Luke has threaded the Holy Spirit as the divine link throughout his books.
It is easy to overlook things that change the course of history, you can miss moments that you didn’t realise had so much impact. When you are reading the Book of Acts, there are incredible moments that formed the Christian church as we know it and if they didn’t happen, we would be in a very different church indeed.
Ever wondered what the church would be like if Paul didn’t have his road to Damascus encounter, if he didn’t change his thought patterns from his previous way of thinking, if he let the shame of his past stop him from entering into his future?
In this week’s Deep Dive, we challenge you to further your own study, and we’ll point you in the right direction with some great resources. Paul is an incredible character to study and I am somewhat obsessed with books on the life of Paul, so I’ve got some great suggestions for you!