Acts - Chapter OneParaugs

Knowing Christ Through our Experience …he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. Acts1:3 Apart from content, Christ gave convincing proofs that he was alive. He asked that they touch him, and he even ate with them. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke …(Acts1:3b) All of these convinced them further, that he was indeed alive. The appearances were a call to challenge them about the coming kingdom rather than to merely comfort them. Christ constantly highlighted kingdom values even during his lifetime. He preached about the kingdom, Matt. 4:17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." His prayer was for the kingdom ‘your kingdom come your will be done’. (Matt. 6:10) He taught about the values of the kingdom in the ‘Sermon on the Mount’. (Matt. 5-7) H e called on his disciples to … seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matt. 6:33) There are at least 116 references to the ‘Kingdom’ in the gospels. The kingdom was his primary focus even after his resurrection, which prompted one of the disciples to ask, “ Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” . They were still thinking in terms of the kingdom being restored to Israel, when the Lord was concerned about His kingdom reign, over all the earth. May we intentionally take steps to seek out His Kingdom and His righteousness. Let this be our prayer, “your kingdom come your will be done’’.