Real Hope: Acts (A Study of Acts 18 -23)Sample

The Full Picture

READ ACTS 19

The Holy Spirit? Jesus’ baptism not John’s? It must have been confusing for the early believers. We have the full picture plus the scriptures to unpack and dissect, and we’re still confused at times, but the believers in the early church were just winging it.

They thought they had the full picture, but they only had a blurry snippet. They thought they had experienced all there was to offer, and then they received the Holy Spirit. They thought they had the real thing, but they only had a taste. They had been baptized and had experienced forgiveness, but they were yet to receive the fullness of what God had to offer.

We might have the benefit of hindsight today, but there are still ways in which we miss the fullness of what life with Jesus can look like. We understand that we’ve been set free from sin and yet we lack the joy and peace that comes from the Holy Spirit. We feel God’s presence in a real and tangible way, and yet we lack discipline and speak without love. Sometimes we don’t even know what we’re missing out on. We think we’ve seen and experienced it all.

What these early disciples show us is that an openness and curiosity towards the things of God is critical if we are to continue growing and becoming more like Jesus.

Do you have the full picture or is it still a little blurry?

Written by STEFF WILLIS