Day 15 – With Great Power

“So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, 'Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?' He replied, 'The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'
After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!'"
Acts 1:6-11

Long before the movie came out in 2002, Spiderman has been one of my all time favorite super heroes. I guess it’s because you have this ordinary guy named Peter Parker who is just trying to make it through life until he has this extraordinary experience that changes him forever. A radioactive spider bites Peter and that one bite slowly changes his DNA and begins to empower him with amazing abilities. Now Peter has super-human strength, the ability to climb walls, a heightened sensory awareness and, of course, the ability to shoot webs from his wrists – something I’ve always thought was very cool. As Peter begins to control his new powers, he slowly realizes that his powers aren’t just for him. He begins to feel an obligation to help those who can’t help themselves. Peter understands this one concept that shapes everything else he does in life:

With great power comes great responsibility.

Essentially, that is the same message that Jesus leaves with His first century followers and, ultimately, with us. In the passage above, Jesus has experienced the cross, the burial and the resurrection, and He is now preparing His followers for what their next phase of the journey will be. They ask Him if He is about to restore the nation of Israel to its autonomous power and rid them from their Roman oppressors. After telling them “no,” Jesus tells them that they will have an extraordinary experience that will change them forever. The Holy Spirit is going to “bite” them and that one bite is going to change them and empower them with amazing abilities.

Power. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit was going to come upon those who follow Christ and give them power. Power to overcome the enemy. Power to overcome sin. Power to be victorious in life. Power to forgive. Power to withstand temptation. Power to display the fruit of the Spirit. Power to move mountains. God-sized, Jesus-bought, Spirit-endowed power. “But”, Jesus said, “with great power comes great responsibility.”

Jesus’ whole message to these guys is that His followers will receive power and His followers will be His witnesses everywhere they go. All too often, we who follow Christ get consumed with the idea of the Spirit’s power to change us. We obsess about the areas that we still need to grow in, and we get frustrated when we have areas that aren’t changing. We wonder why God isn’t keeping up His end of the bargain when we are trying to do our part by following Him the best we can. The answer is simple – that was never the bargain. While it is true that God desires to help us to become better people who love Him more and who learn to overcome sin and temptation, that is not the primary purpose of the Spirit coming upon His people and giving them power. The power is given to fulfill the purpose of being Christ’s witnesses everywhere we go.

God is on mission to reach this world and to give people everywhere who are living ordinary lives, just trying to make it through another day, an opportunity to experience an extraordinary life filled with power and purpose. And we are the messengers. We are the ones He has called to tell them that there is more. We have been given the power, the authority, the ability and the responsibility to let people everywhere we go know that Jesus can change them too.

So be a Christ-follower with power. But recognize that with great power comes great responsibility. With great power comes a great purpose: to be Christ’s witnesses everywhere we go.

As you pray today, let the following ideas prompt your conversation with God.

• Thank God that He is a God who is on mission to reach this world.
• Thank God that He reached you and changed you and filled you with His Spirit.
• Ask God to empower you to live each day for Him and for His glory.
• Ask God to help you redefine the purpose of your life so that everywhere you go, you will be a witness for Christ.
• Ask God to give you courage and boldness to tell people what He has done for you.
• Thank God that He has given you a church that is on mission with Him and ask Him to help you find where you can best serve the cause of that mission in your church.

Day 1 - In the beginning

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

John 1:1-3 (New International Version)

We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment.

Colossians 1:15-17 (The Message)

In the beginning…

The phrase alone gives hope. “In the beginning” suggests a time of fresh starts and clean slates. It’s a place where you can be anything you want to be without lugging around the oversized baggage of a fractured past. A blank page waiting to be written on. A fresh life waiting to be lived.

So it’s no wonder that God begins His book with “In the beginning…” He creates a brand new world that He quickly fills with earth and sky, water and land, flora and fauna. And then, towards the end of that first week, God creates man. The Bible teaches that God created man and woman “in His image.” It’s as though God is saying right from the start, “These people are important to me. I want them to have the capacity to know me and to be known by me.”

Value.

Meaning.

Purpose.

Long before the first couple rebelled against their Creator, God breathed into them a life filled with meaning. His desire is, and has always been, for His creation to know Him. In the seventeenth chapter of John’s testimony of Jesus, he records a prayer spoken by God’s Son. Jesus prays, " Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.” Imagine – Jesus sums up all of eternal life, not with works or “right” behavior, but with knowing God and His Son Jesus.

As we begin this 21-day prayer journey, let’s begin with perspective. God’s desire is not that you pray as a means of getting things from God, though He has good gifts that He longs to give to His children. God’s desire is not that you learn a system of rules and regulations, though He has standards that He longs for His children to embrace. God’s primary desire in prayer is for us to spend time developing the relationship that we were created for “in the beginning.”

Also, as a means of support, you may find it helpful to have a friend, family member or co-worker keep you accountable during the next 21 days. Simply ask them to ask you each day for the next three weeks if you have prayed that day. Having someone to spur you on will help you accomplish your goal and, hopefully, develop a habit of prayer.

As you pray today, allow the following prompters to fuel your conversation with God.

• Spend some time thanking God for making you and giving you the capacity to know Him.
• Thank God for what Jesus did in restoring the relationship that was broken because of our sin.
• Ask God to help you view your life, your family, your job and your future from His perspective of value and purpose.
• Ask God to help you stay focused and on track through this 21-day journey.
• Ask God to give you someone to spur you on to completing this journey.
• Thank God for this time with Him and for going with you through the rest of your day.