Today we will learn 5 lessons from the book of Acts, which was written by Lucas in the form of a letter to his friend Teófilo. In it the author deals with themes such as the beginning of the church, the story of perseverance of our first brothers in the faith – among them the missionaries Paul and Peter stand out – amid persecution and the care of God with his servants. In Acts we see the action of the Holy Spirit, guarding His people which has resulted in the salvation of many lives.
1. Pray before making important decisions
Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen, to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs”. Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
Acts 1: 24-26
In this chapter, Peter who assumes the apostolic leadership of this new moment in the church, presents the need for the appointment of a new apostle to the place of Judas Iscariot and then, after praying and asking for God’s direction , Matias is appointed. This passage teaches us the importance of praying before making important decisions, because our Lord knows everything and always has the best direction for each person’s life.
2. Do the will of God
So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us”. All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
Acts 6: 12-15
One of the most prominent deacons in the Early Church was Stephen: “a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit”, he was a powerful man in God and announced the gospel of Jesus Christ, but that caused many religious leaders to rise up in opposition to him.
They even paid bribes for false witnesses to file blasphemy statements against him. Even so, Stephen stood firm and did the Lord’s will. We must always remain in the Father’s will, even though in the eyes of others it may seem “crazy”, because our greatest desire must be to please God and not men.
3. Be sincere when they accuse you
While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
Acts 7: 59-60
In Acts 7, Stephen begins to talk about the history of the Israelites since Abraham and God’s promises made to him. He also highlights the hardness of the people’s hearts in the past and the present, and accuses them of murdering all the messengers that God raised up to announce his will.
They stoned him who had the same attitude as Jesus on the cross and pleaded with the Lord to forgive those who took his life. However bad the circumstances may be, we must be sincere, God is for us, nothing happens without His permission.
4. Rejoice when you receive an exhortation
You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell. So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message.
Acts 15: 29-31
In this passage are given some rules and recommendations for the church in Antioch, which must be followed up to the present day and the text shows that religious leaders were happy to receive the exhortation. Whoever exhorts you, loves you and wants you to follow the right path and not the one that leads to condemnation, so we should be happy to be exhorted, however difficult it may be.
5. Fear not!
But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.
Acts 27: 22-25
God is on the boat with you! In Acts 27, God gave Paul an absolute guarantee that no one on the ship would be lost. However, Paul told the centurion that if the sailors left the ship, their soldiers would lose their lives. In this way, according to what Paul had said, the soldiers prevented the sailors from leaving the ship and everyone arrived ashore safely and God kept His word and His promise through Paul’s warning and the choice the soldiers made.
We often know that we don’t need to worry or be distressed, but we still let the spirit fall. This passage reminds us that if God is telling you to trust Him, trust Him, for He is faithful!
To recap …
We must pray before making decisions, always seeking to do the will of God, also as children of the Creator, we need to be sincere when we are accused of something and rejoice when receiving an exhortation, because who exhort loves. Finally, do not fear, our Lord is faithful and our trust must be in Him!
God bless you!
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