T H E O P H I L U S

Today’s Scripture Readings: Acts 1:1-11, Psalm 89

¹ In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. ³ After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. ⁴ On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. ⁵ For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” ⁶ Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” ⁹ After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. ¹⁰ They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ¹¹ “Men of Galilee,” they said, “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 1:1-11

Each morning we wake up, we can easily go about our days and ambitions with the notion that I can get by with my own handy work and ability. While this mostly holds true in a fleshly and vain sense, when it comes to something that is beyond our control or skill sets, we are often quick to criticize or give up. The daily Christian walk is thankful in all moments for the hands that enable us to function even in the most menial of tasks. It is an understanding that nothing we are able to do is by our own strength or achievement – but by Grace that God has given us a living breath to do so. If we keep that heart and mind in all matters both physical and spiritual, the Christian calling to the ministry of the Gospel is done in no manner by our own strength, ability, or ambition. It is supremely by the power of the Holy Spirit whom enables us.

Many of us get frustrated when things do not go as planned or as we please. Sometimes the end product of something we have been working on, or the response of someone you have been ministering to or praying for sees hardly any fruit or change. But as scripture beholds, Jesus says to us that “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.” The most important response to any circumstances in life is that we ought to have faithfulness and practice utmost patience.

Salvation is given to us all by His Grace, by the power of Christ’s blood and resurrection. Life as a whole is given to us by His Grace. Thus the matters of life, the future, whether it is physical or spiritual should lean on His Grace unconditionally. Are you seeking His Grace in all matters both great and small in your life? Have you decided to give up and lose heart in your spiritual journey? Have you decided to remain discouraged in even the physical matters which have vexed you beyond grief? Find peace and solace in Christ, and reflect on His Grace which has brought you up to this day and may he answer your prayers in His great timing which is beyond perfect and wonderful.

“There is nothing which so certifies the genuineness of a man’s faith as his patience and his patient endurance, his keeping on steadily in spite of everything.”