Daily Devotional Readings from the Book of Acts: March 30 - May 10, 2008
By Pastor Jim Pelletier, River Crest Church
INTRODUCTION
"Pentecost, one of the three great annual festivals of the Jews, lasted only one day, was on the fiftieth day from the morrow after the Passover Sabbath (Lev_23:15-22). The Savior, crucified on Friday, was in the tomb on the Passover Sabbath, and rose on Sunday, the day from whence the count began. The Sunday following would be the eighth day, and the fiftieth day would fall on Sunday, the first day of the eighth week. Hence, the ancient church observed Pentecost on the first day of the week. ... Pentecost was the feast of the grain harvest (Exo_23:16; Exo_34:22-23), and was also held by the Jews to be the anniversary of the giving of the law." - from The People's New Testament [notes] 1891 by B.W.Johnson
"At the Pentecost of Sinai, in the Old Testament, and the Pentecost of Jerusalem, in the New, where the two grand manifestations of God, the legal and the evangelical; the one from the mountain, and the other from heaven; the terrible, and the merciful one." - from Charles Wesley's Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible
The Book known as the Acts of the Apostles begins at that outpouring and catalogues the first decades of the Church. Considered the sequel to the Gospel of Luke, being written by him, its authenticity was never seriously questioned throughout the bulk of church history (especially early church history). Like all other writings in the New Testament, it had no title, chapters or verses, and no punctuation. These were added by scholars. It was probably written after 63A.D. during Paul's imprisonment in Caesarea and finished before Paul's Martyrdom in 68A.D in Rome.
In 2008, "Pentecost" falls on Sunday, May 11th, on the Church calendar. While we've never made it a point to study God's Word based upon the liturgical calendar, I believe the Holy Spirit is leading us to reacquaint ourselves with the only history of the Church certified by God to belong in the canon of Scripture [transliteration of the Greek word "Kanon" meaning literally "rod" or "reed" meaning by extension boundaries, rules, standard, measure, etc.].
The Gospel of Christ was spread throughout the entire Roman world within a mere thirty or so years being noted here in thumbnail in Acts. Adding Acts to our daily devotions and Bible study, let these few extra minutes of reading help you reflect upon the nature of the Church and how God intends it to work through us today. The book ends without an ending, as has been so often stated, because the work of the church has gone on for these almost two thousand years. Let us prepare to write our own chapters, as has every generation before us.
- Pastor Jim
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