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.
Acts 1:8 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%201%3A8&version=NIV
In Acts 1:8, Jesus is instructing his disciples or rather reminding his disciples of the Great Commission. But really it’s not solely about what they’re supposed to do but how they’re supposed to do it. I’ve always read this in a manner like this: you start off where you are and work your way out. When you are discipling, work your inner circle first, then begin to expand your it before going global.
Another perspective that stood out to me in this verse is that it said go to Samaria. I can’t help thinking about the woman at the well and when she heard Jesus’ message, she dropped her buckets, her livelihood and ran to the village to tell everybody about Jesus. She was doing exactly what Jesus was asking his disciples to do. She started in her center and eventually worked its way out.
Even a bigger thought, Samaria? Samaritans were the outcasts; these were the people that Jews weren’t supposed to talk to. Even the woman at the well was wondering what this rabbi was doing talking to her. The song Woman at the Well by Olivia Lane stands out to me. The chorus goes like this:
Wondering how someone could love me
When I can’t love myself
But You want me as I am and that sounds crazy
I guess maybe that’s why grace is so amazing
You don’t have to do anything but surrender in order to have a lasting relationship with Jesus. Militarily speaking surrendering means that you may be captured and imprisoned. Spiritually speaking though, once you surrender you cannot be any more free from the prison the world has placed you in. Jesus knows everything about us, the good and the bad – but loves us anyway. That is what is so great about grace. Do you know Jesus yet? Maybe today is the day to get to know him!
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The subsequent series of posts, 66 in all, can be used as a devotional. Each book of the Bible is unpacked by me each morning by examining: • context (historical and biblical) • connotations and denotations • connections (verses around it and cross-references) • character (God’s and mine) • commission (how can I go out and do it) I do hope you enjoy and…
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Woman at the Well
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Jesus is the snake this time.
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Jesus is the rooster
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