Read: Acts 1:1-11
. . . and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (v. 8)
Have you ever received a gift but weren’t quite sure what to do with it? I once received some freeze-dried army food. I didn’t need it right away, so it sat in my closet for a long time, waiting for the right moment to be used—which never came. One day I quietly got rid of that unopened gift.
Jesus’s gift to us is not like that. He gives us the Holy Spirit, and in today’s reading, he explains what this gift is for (being witnesses) and where we’ll use it. Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth had specific meanings for Jesus’s first disciples. Jerusalem was the place they were in, and the Spirit would send them first to be witnesses to the people in that local area. Judea was the region around Jerusalem, where the people were a lot like them. Samaria was a neighboring region that included people of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. The Holy Spirit would send them to those places and then also all the way to “the ends of the earth” to share the good news of Jesus with people who lived far away.
Jesus offers the same gift of the Spirit to us. Who are the people living in our “Jerusalem,” “Judea,” and “Samaria,” and in all nations to the ends of the earth? How can we support God’s mission in each of those places?
As you pray, ask the Holy Spirit to help you be a witness.
Rev. Titus Baraka is the executive director of Words of Hope Uganda. With more than forty years of experience as an evangelistic preacher and pastor, he is passionate about sharing the gospel.
Through radio programs of all types, from music, to Bible studies, to counseling, Words of Hope Uganda is claiming all assets of Ugandan society and culture for Christ. Words of Hope is empowering Ugandan pastors and churches to effectively nurture their people in the life of Christian discipleship. In the midst of this hard place, radio is bringing truly life-changing good news. To learn more about Words of Hope Uganda, visit our ministry pages.
