But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. – Acts 1:8

Scripture reading: Acts 1:6-9

After our Lord’s resurrection, He appeared to His disciples to teach them the proper way of interpreting the Old Testament.

“Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem’”  (Luke 24:45–47).

However, they were not to begin their mission until they were endowed with power from the Holy Spirit. This was to instruct the Church that missionary endeavor depends on the blessing of the Holy Spirit. 

This teaching is explained in Lord’s Day 21, Q & A 54, of the Heidelberg Catechism: 

“What do you believe concerning ‘the holy catholic church’?  I believe that the Son of God through his Spirit and Word, out of the entire human race, from the beginning of the world to its end, gathers, protects, and preserves for himself a community chosen for eternal life and united in true faith. And of this community I am and always will be a living member.’” 

The Belgic Confession emphasizes the universality of the Church in Article 27:

“This holy Church is not confined, bound, or limited to a certain place or to certain persons, but is spread and dispersed over the whole world; and yet is joined and united with heart and will, by the power of faith, in one and the same spirit.”

Suggestions for prayer

Ask the Lord to bless all missionaries who are spreading the Gospel, sharing with converts the riches of the Biblical faith, as summarized in the Reformed confessional standards.

This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional. Rev. Bassam Michael Madany has served as a missionary in Syria, and in 1958 he began a 36-year radio and literature ministry to the Arab world. After retirement Bassam & his wife Shirley began an Internet ministry, Middle East Resources, to provide a “Christian Response to the Global Challenge of Islam.”