Waiting
Day 484, Monday, Dec. 8
Acts Chapter 1
Chapter 1 feels like an intermission—a time in a great drama when the curtain has gone down on one act but has not yet risen on the next.
In verse 3 we read, “[Jesus] appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.”
Remember some of the previous forties of scripture—forty days of rain for Noah, forty years in the wilderness, Jesus spending forty days in the desert before his ministry begins. Each of them had the same feeling of life suspended. One time was ending, and another was about to begin.
That same thing is happening here, and in verse 8, Jesus tells the believers what the next act will be. “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.”
Another significant action in chapter 1 is the selection of a new apostle to replace Judas. Matthias is chosen to bring the number of apostles back to the symbolically important twelve.
It is also interesting that in verse 15 it is noted that the number of believers gathered to await Jesus’s return is about 120. This fairly small group formed the core of the whole church to come.

-Rev. Mark Fleming

Monday meditation

Psalms 38:1-12
Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. Your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has come down on me. Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin. My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear.
My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly. I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning. My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body. I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.
All my longings lie open before you, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes. My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds; my neighbors stay far away. Those who want to kill me set their traps, those who would harm me talk of my ruin; all day long they scheme and lie.

Prayer focus
Reassure us, God, that the in-between waiting times are also important.