Devotionals: Acts Archives

Cut to the Heart

By Andrew YoungApril 4, 2018Devotionals: Acts

“Now when they hear this they were cut to the heart…” (Acts 2:37) Bible Reading: Acts 2:37-41 These words describe the outcome of Peter’s great Pentecost sermon. Three thousand “souls” were added to the church that day as a result of it (Acts 2:41). It remains one of the great evangelistic events of all time, one which we need to learn from still today. The first thing we are told about the response of Peter’s hearers is that they were “cut to the heart” by what he has said (v. 37). Pause and think about what that means for a […]

The Risen Lord and His Apostles

By Andrew YoungApril 20, 2018Devotionals: Acts

“…after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.” (Acts 1:2) Bible Reading: Acts 1:1-3 After several months working through some of Paul’s letters, let’s change our devotional diet and turn to something closer to the story of the gospel by looking at the opening chapters of the book of the Acts of the Apostles. As many of you will know, the book of Acts is the second part of Luke’s record of events surrounding the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus on earth (Acts 1:1). It begins with a brief account […]

Power to be Witnesses

By Andrew YoungApril 21, 2018Devotionals: Acts

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…” (Acts 1:8) Bible Reading: Acts 1:4-8 Luke, in these verses, records for us a conversation the risen Jesus had with his apostles on one occasion when he met with them. It is not only essential to the story of Acts that follows, but to the continuing life of the church today. Once when Jesus was with his disciples, Luke tells us, “he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father which, he said, ‘you heard from me…’” (Acts 1:4). The […]

Taken Up From Us

By Andrew YoungApril 22, 2018Devotionals: Acts

“This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven…” (Acts 1:11) Bible Reading: Acts 1:9-11 As a rule, we give much less attention to the ascension of Jesus than we do to his death and resurrection. Yet, it plays a very important part in our understanding of his life and continuing significance. For one thing, it explains his absence from the earth. It was important for Jesus’ apostles to witness their Master being “lifted up” into the heavens (v. 9). It was something they saw with their own eyes, and they needed to. For, recall, Jesus had “appeared” to […]

Devoted to Prayer

By Andrew YoungApril 23, 2018Devotionals: Acts

“All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer…” (Acts 1:14) Bible Reading: Acts 1:12-14 Jesus’ last words to his apostles before ascending into heaven had included the order to remain in Jerusalem until they had received the “promise of the Father,” the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4). What they were to do while they waited, he had not told them. Here we learn of the main thing that occupied them. They prayed! After the eleven apostles returned the short distance from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem to the upper room where they were staying (vs. […]

Scripture Fulfilled

By Andrew YoungApril 24, 2018Devotionals: Acts

“Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled…” (Acts 1:14) Bible Reading: Acts 1:16-20 Praying was not the only activity that engaged the time of Jesus’ followers as they waited for the gift of the Holy Spirit. There was something else that happened. The apostolic band was completed again with the election of a man to replace Judas. Luke tells us that this action was initiated by the apostle Peter, the apparent leader among Jesus’ closest followers. “In those days,” that is, the days of waiting and prayer, “Peter stood up among the brothers… and said, ‘Brothers, the Scripture had to […]

A Replacement Apostle

By Andrew YoungApril 25, 2018Devotionals: Acts

“…the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.” (Acts 1:26) Bible Reading: Acts 1:21-26 Guided by the Scriptures (Psalm 109:8), Peter led the early apostolic community in selecting a replacement for Judas. These verses tell us the process they followed. First, it required that they find someone (a man) who had accompanied them “all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us beginning with the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us” (Acts 1:21-22). Jesus’ choice of men to be “with him” (Mark 3:14) had […]

Filled with the Holy Spirit (1)

By Andrew YoungApril 26, 2018Devotionals: Acts

“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…” (Acts 2:4) Bible Reading: Acts 2:1-4 Jesus had instructed the apostles to wait in Jerusalem until they had received the gift promised by the Father, the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4). He had not told them how it would come – other than that they would be “baptized” with the Spirit in a way parallel to John baptising with water. Here we read how that promise came to pass. It occurred on the “day of Pentecost” (2:1), a day of Jewish celebration marking the first-fruits of the harvest, fifty days after the […]

Filled with the Holy Spirit (2)

By Andrew YoungApril 27, 2018Devotionals: Acts

“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…” (Acts 2:4) Bible Reading: Acts 2:1-4 We have only dealt with part of the story of the coming of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost – the fact that it was attended by the sound of a rushing wind (Acts 2:2). Given the significance of this event, and the controversy that it has aroused, we also need to consider the other things that happened when “the Spirit was poured out from on high.” In addition to the sound of a rushing wind, “divided tongues as of fire appeared to them […]

Amazed and Perplexed

By Andrew YoungApril 28, 2018Devotionals: Acts

“And all were amazed and perplexed…” (Acts 2:12) Bible Reading: Acts 2:5-13 The Spirit-filled disciples, we have seen, immediately manifested the new Presence within them by beginning to “speak in other tongues” (Acts 2:4). This, in turn, aroused a response in others that heard them and prepared their hearts to hear the message of the gospel. Luke tells us that “at this sound” – referring, most likely, to the sound like a rushing wind (v. 2) – “a multitude” of Jews “came together” (v.6). He makes a special note of the fact that this “multitude” included, or was made up […]