You would think that by now the disciples would have understood that Jesus was not interested in a political revolution. Yet even now they ask: “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” Jesus’ reply is filled with patience. His answer implies something like: “You’ll see how this all works when the Holy Spirit starts to move you along.” They could not conceive of a way to change the world other than by the customary forceful means. But they were about to be a part of something completely different; a new sort of movement that would achieve infinitely more than what any army could achieve. They were going to change the world, not by big overt surges of force. No, they were going to change hearts by the Holy Spirit who would empower them. This would be a long slow process, but it would be unstoppable. Nothing can thwart God’s purpose. That’s what we see in the early history of the church. There would be great opposition to this movement, but the Holy Spirit would nevertheless change millions of lives. Within three hundred years of this moment the known world would be permeated with Christians, and even the Roman Emperor himself would turn to Christ. And all this because ordinary people went out and bore witness to the God that was in their hearts. It happened not by great acts of conquest, but many small acts of love. This same movement of the Holy Spirit continues to transform the world. In fact, it is more prevalent now than ever. God is calling you to be a part of what he is doing today.
Pray for open eyes to recognise the small things that God has for you to do today.
Read Acts 1:6-11
