Acts 1
Rebecca Lightfoot
I always want to know when “what I want” is finally going to come about;when is The Lord going to “come through” with what I have been praying for/waiting for?The apostles had this same “want to know” when they came together in Acts1:6->and they ask Jesus,”Lord,will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel”?The apostles were probably a little excited about what they thought were the next things to come.After all,they had just been through 3 years of many ups and downs as they followed Christ.Additionally, they not only witnessed Jesus perform miracles,but at times they personally were the conduit of the Power of Jesus as they were sent out by Jesus.When they gather around Jesus n the 1st chapter of Acts,they must have been thinking(with all the miraculous things they had seen,especially the last 40 days after Jesus raised from the tomb and walked about to the astonishment of all who saw and heard Him)that NOW was the time that Jesus would set up His Kingdom and they would all have “sweet jobs” as part of Jesus’ inner circle.As Christians,we tend to have the same preconceived notions & expectations because of our ideas about our “personal faithfulness”->just like what might’ve been what prompted the question,”Lord,at this time...?”(Acts1:6).We allow ourselves to be “set up” for “let downs” because of our expectations that are rooted n somewhat of a entitlement attitude.And attitude that because of “MY struggles & MY faithfulness....when is Jesus going to come through with the “dividends” of MY faithfulness”?Jesus addresses this by what He says,& by what happens in Acts1:7-11.1st,Jesus says,”It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,& you will be my witnesses n Jerusalem & n Judea & Samaria,& to the end of the earth.”Jesus tells them to b careful about taking their eye off the ball,because of their expectations!Actually,Jesus is telling them that all they have been through (all they have experienced & all they have done) has been preparation for the mission ahead,& that each of their “missions” will expose needs in their lives that only The Holy Spirit can help with(Acts1:8,”But u will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon u..”).Up until this time,each of the apostles probably had a more temporal perspective for life than an eternal one.Jesus knew this,and timed his statements n Acts1:7-8 perfectly,so there would be no doubt about which perspective was the only one to have for life!Jesus sets the stage perfectly for His apostles to have what He just said to them be referenced to the RIGHT PERSPECTIVE,leaving no doubt about how their lives needed to be taken from a temporal paradigm of thinking/living,to one that was far far beyond the temporal and into the Eternal ways of Thinking&Living!Acts1:9-11 says,”And when he had said these things,as they were looking on,he was lifted up,and a cloud took him out of their sight.And while they were gazing into Heaven as he went,behold,two men stood by them in white robes,and said,’Men of Galilee,why do you stand looking into Heaven?This Jesus,who was taken up from you into heaven,will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven”.When they saw and heard these things,each of them must of had “their worlds shaken”...their ways of thinking about life and what in life is important!They saw into ETERNITY,when they witnessed the ascension of Jesus.And then they saw and heard angels point to the promises of the Bible about Eternity when the angels said that Jesus would return in the same way that he left.All of the sudden,what Jesus had been teaching,and what Jesus had been referring to in the Old Testament began to come to life in their hearts/minds/lives,in ways that made them each become “Eternally Perspective” about life!They knew that their life n the here and now had purposes that rippled into Eternity! And that the here and now is fleeting,with eternal reason&purpose for their lives->REASONS & PURPOSES that would be realized in Eternity,& not in the here and now!This turned their paradigm for life and their expectations inside out & upside down!Their lives would never b the same!They would have joys in the middle of the most severe of earthly challenges because of their ultimate HOPE being in the TRUTHS of Eternity!They would have confidences and power that were supernatural because these confidences and power were “reinforced” by God’s Word & The Holy Spirit!Dear Lord,I suffer from a temporal perspective of life that ultimately yield disappointments and emptiness no matter what.I know better than this...but need Your help to draw me away from the strong pull of temporal things.I pray for You to use Your Word and Your Spirit in mighty ways to restore in me the Hope and the Eternal Purposes that You want to give me through Your Mercy &Grace.