At work I shake my head as we discussed the state of the world. Politics, nature, terrorism, and religion have all collided and its rubbed into the face of all of us.
"The world is just a huge mess right now," I hear myself say.
When I go through these moments of questioning and of grasping for truth in my own life, I often turn to displays of God's miraculous power.
Why?
I am partly an intellectual, but when it comes to my faith in Christ, I've come to the conclusion that the miraculous works of God are one of the greatest evidences of his existence.
...
"In a few days you will be baptized by the Holy Spirit," Jesus says after appearing to the apostles (Acts 1:5).
Acts opens with the reminder that even though Jesus has left, there is more to come.
We are hanging on the edge of our seats if we must be honest. In life, often, we are barely holding on trying desperately to give off the, "I'm okay world" vibe.
I'm not okay often. Not on this earth. Not while there is this schism between God and I. Not when there is so much wrong with the world.
This is why we must anticipate these words in Acts. For ourselves. For the church. For others.
Because when we are at the edge of our human limits we recognize our need for God to be present, for him to show up and not to leave.
Because Jesus' death and resurrection can't be the end of the story.
In Acts the people are mourning the fact that Jesus must ascend to heaven. Yet, if you've read Acts you know that many incredible things occur in Acts, fulfilling Jesus' statement that, "you will received power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
When we're in the midst of our messy lives here on earth, the Holy Spirit is the one who empowers us to stand for God. We are witnesses for God, by his grace.
In the midst of what could have been a time of despair, mourning, and desperation, the church is raised up as a beacon, proclaiming the truth of the death and resurrection of Jesus (Acts 2).
In the midst of our world, the current state of politics, and the general confusion of a post-truth world. we are in desperate need for the truth of Jesus, just as in Acts.
I think that there are two responses to the beginning of Acts.
One is that we become witnesses.
By definition a witness is someone who can state what they have seen or heard or know to be true by some means. (Bible hub, 2017).
I almost had an accident today driving to work. My mind was on something else and I wasn't as sharp as I usually would be. So I almost ran into someone when the light turned red and they went to make their left turn. I was the foolish driver running the red light and almost crashing.
Being a witness requires that we keep our eyes open. It requires that we are constantly aware of God's goodness. We keep our minds sharp.
We hold our breathe and wait with longing to see more.
We pine to know the real and living God.
And we tell.
We see, not only as the world sees, but with the eyes of Jesus, so we can be witness to the things he is doing (just as in Acts).
When the apostles say Christ ascend to Heaven they became witnesses to his ascension.
He's not done. God is continually working and we are his witnesses to the things he continues to do.
The second response to Acts is that we are to anticipate God's power with faith.
Faith has been hard to come by at times for me, especially in times of hurt. Sometimes I'd like to just curl up and shut down, but I know there is a better way.
The believing way.
As Jesus ascends to heaven the people look to the sky.
"Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11)
It would have taken faith to believe this, just as it takes us faith to continue to put our trust in God over and over again even in the midst of the times he seems far off.
In the remainder of Acts 1, the people pray together and choose another disciple to replace Judas. Life goes on even while the people mourn the end of Jesus' presence on earth. Yet, the church continues to grow in Acts as the people continue to see miraculous deeds through the apostles (Acts 2:41- 47). The Holy Spirit enables the people.
I am quick to shut down and forget to anticipate that God is still powerful and moving, that Jesus is still coming back, and that there is hope in the world, that a church like that in Acts is still available to me today even in the midst of terrorism, messy politics, and difficult circumstances.
I can stand with the Lord and say that I have faith that he will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) and that he has good plans for us (the greatest plan being the gospel).