Acts 1:1-7New Living Translation (NLT)
The Promise of the Holy Spirit
1 In my first book I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. 3 During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.
4 Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before.5 John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
The Ascension of Jesus
6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”
7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.
Dear Father, Jesus taught truth. He taught until he was taken up to Heaven to sit at your right hand. He needed to go so that the Holy Spirit could come. Jesus appeared to the apostles and proved that he was alive. He told the apostles about the Kingdom of God. Jesus even ate with the apostles. I love that Jesus took such care to reassure us. As a believer in Jesus, I am baptized with the Holy Spirit. Thank you for taking such good care and for your love. Thank you for your patience and long suffering as new believers are still in the making, for I pray for my children, their spouses, and my future grandchildren. I pray for my family to know you, Father, and to be part of your family. Only you, Father, have set dates and times. They are not for me to know. May I never stop praying for the rest of my days for the salvation of my family. In Jesus’ Name I Pray, Amen.
