In The Beginning…

We often think of missionaies as Godly people who sail to some far-off, uncivilized land not returning for several years. Being a missionary was the ultimate calling nothing could be more noble or admirable. I still believe that God calls men and women to other lands, and I have great respect for them. However every Christian is part of Christ’s mission in the world. What Jesus told His disciples in Acts 1 applies also to us. We are His witnesses and therefore must speak and live so that others will glorify Him when they hear our message and see our faith in action.

Being a missionary is not an option—it’s what we are called to be.

Early Greek manuscripts of the book include the title “Acts of the Apostles.” Whether or not Luke himself penned this title, the church has traditionally understood Acts to be about the witness of the Apostles to the Lord Jesus Christ.

The book of Acts was written by Luke, the companion of Paul the Apostle; it is the second volume of his “orderly account” written to Theophilus. In his Gospel, Luke “dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen”. Now, in Acts, he picks up where his Gospel left off and continues the story of Jesus, detailing the growth of the Church. The commission of Jesus found in Acts 1:8 is the road map for what follows.

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