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“Wait here . . . I’ve got a gift for you.”

“Wait here . . . I’ve got a gift for you.” Acts 1.1-11

Good Day!

When someone tells you they have a gift for you, there is something a little exciting about it, something that produces expectation within us. Just like when your hostess clears the dinner table and says, ‘keep your fork,’ you know that dessert is on the way, right? Jesus re-ups a big promise in Acts chapter one. Promises, like unopened gifts, produce expectations. In this case, Jesus promises a gift!

But before looking at the promise—note that we are turning the page from the days when the Son of God physically walked the dusty roads of Palestine to the time when the Holy Spirit would come with wind and fire, and radically change the life of the Christ follower.

Turning the page from the gospels to the book of Acts. Its been said that Acts is the second volume of a story which has no end. Twenty-seven chapters written by the physician Luke, filled with life change, adventure, shipwrecks, a man being struck blind so God could get his attention, and a blueprint for Christian community. As in the gospel that bears his name, Luke records history with careful attention to the details—names of people and places. Details are important as they show care in writing and are verifiable by other written sources and archaeology. Archaeological digs testify to the veracity of Acts.1,2 And as Albert Einstein said, "Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind."

Luke writes, “In my former book, Theophilus3, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 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. 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. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”4

Our God is the greatest Promiser! He started early with the promise that he would never again destroy the earth with a flood, and sealed that promise with the glorious display of the rainbow.5 When God makes a promise, it comes with a guarantee of delivery.

The disciples had heard Jesus speak of the Comforter before6, but now the arrival of the ‘gift’ Jesus spoke of seems eminent. Yet the disciples missed the impact and power that the Gift was to have; instead, they were fixated on what they were certain the Messiah would accomplish—the overthrow of the Roman Empire and return of Israel to her own rule. Not so, not then.

They missed how the Holy Spirit was going to change everything, and we must not be guilty of the same thing. Opening our hearts and minds to the Holy Spirit will bring radical transformation to each of us. I for one do not want to miss out on knowing about the Holy Spirit—who he is, what he does, how he works, and how he will empower me to live the life I am meant to live.

Join me in this simple prayer, won’t you? “Heavenly Father, open my mind to understand what your Word teaches about the person of the Holy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit, lead me and grant me your wisdom this day. Amen.”

Grace and Peace,
Christine Todd DiGiacomo

1 – “Is the Book of Acts Credible?” Dr. Colin J. Hemer, http://www.harvardhouse.com/correlate_1.htm ;
2 – In Plain Sight. “The Book of Acts and Archaeology,” Craig S. Hawkins. http://www.inplainsite.org/html/acts_and_archaeology.html ;
3 – While it isn’t known for certain, Theophilus was probably a Roman official
4 - Acts 1.1-5
5 -Genesis 9.12-17
6- John 16.7; John 14

“Wait here . . . I’ve got a gift for you.”

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