Key events in today’s reading:

• Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-31)
• The Vine and the Branches (John 15:1-15)
• Jesus Prays for His Disciples and Future Believers (John 17:1-26)
• Jesus Before Pilate (John 18:28-40)
• The Crucifixion (John 19:17-37)
• The Resurrection (John 20:1-10)
• Jesus Appears to His Followers (John 20:11-29)
• Jesus Reinstates Peter (John 21:15-25)
• Jesus Ascends into Heven (Acts 1:1-11)
• The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13)
• The Fellowship of Believers (Acts 2:42-47)
• Peter Heals and Preaches (Acts 3)
• Peter and John Preach (Acts 4:1-21)
• Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-10)

Verse that stood out: “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people the full message of this new life” – Acts 5:20

My calling into the ministry was not a spectacular one. No vision from heaven like many of the prophets we’ve been reading about. Just a nagging sense that if I believed what I read in the pages of the scriptures, I couldn’t give my life to anything else. I don’t even remember any one moment when I decided to be a minister. I do remember this verse resonating with me as a teenager: “Go stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life” (from the NASB).

A lot has changed since those days. Like many young people, I thought I had life all figured out in those early days of adulthood. As I’ve grown older, I’ve learned that there aren’t always easy answers or explanations for life’s troubles. I’m certain about far less than I once was about all sorts of things in this life. But, I do still believe this story of Jesus, the one we call the Christ, is the whole message of this life. That when we proclaim the story of of his death, the story of his resurrection, the hope of his return, we proclaim the very essence of what life is all about. In some ways, even though I understand less than ever, I find myself believing all the more.

For tomorrow:

• Cover to Cover: Acts 5:22-16:5
• Key Passage: Acts 10:9-48
• Verse of the Day: Acts 10:34-35