Acts of the Holy Spirit

I'm reading the book of Acts, and thought I'd post some observations, question and wonderings here for anyone that wants to read along and discuss 'stuff'...

During an earlier study on this book, I saw how the true Central Character of the story is the Holy Spirit. In my own mind, the full title of this book is The Acts of the Holy Spirit.

Starting in Acts, chapter 1 - It doesn't take long until we encounter him*:

Acts 1:2 (NLT)
until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit.

--- This is the first time the Holy Spirit is mentioned, yet the day of Pentecost has not yet occurred in the story sequence. I guess this is an anachronism fitted in by the narrator?

-- As I recall the original term for Holy Spirit is Ruach Hakodesh... Meaning holy wind or breath -- review time:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Spirit

http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=865&letter=H&search=Holy%20Spirit

*As the articles linked make clear, God The Holy Spirit is not male or female. This is merely a limitation in the English language which lacks gender-neutral personal pronouns.

**Here's a good : Online Bible

True Sheep in unexpected places?

I've been wondering from time to time about the mantra heard in many churches regarding those "good people" we all know who will never darken the doorstep of a church for one reason and another, yet they live lives that look more Christlike than that of many professing Christians.

While reading Jesus' explanation of a parable in the book of John, this statement stood out for me:

"But the true sheep did not listen to them..."

It opens up for me the concept that there are still a lot of Christ's followers in the world who have not heard the voice of the True Shepherd in any churchs they may have experienced, yet still they do hear it somehow, at least sometimes, and live accordingly. And when they do eventually encounter The Shepherd more directly and intimately, they will indeed respond more fully yet. Isn't this why Jesus hung out with people outside the overtly religious circles of his day? And might it not explain why he found a better reception there than he did with the Religious Ones?

I'm wondering...

John 10:7-10 (NLT)
... "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. [8] All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. [9] Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. [10] The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

"show" ... Not "tell" ...

As part of a committee looking to update and develop the mission for our little cogregation, I am scanning the scripture to clarify what God's desire for his church is as a whole. I notice that here it says "show" ... Not "tell" ...

"... you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, ...". 1 Peter 2:9

Time for a change?

"You were not pleased with burnt offerings
or other offerings for sin." - Hebrews 10:6

I'm often surprised by how often we Christians go running into the Old Testament to find rules and principles to live by, while over-looking Christ's specific teachings and examples of love clearly expressed in the New Covenant.

Why do we fail to grasp that much of what is expressed in the OT was intended to be a temporary agreement between Yaweh and one particular nation? True, it was pointing them to the permanent and ultimate truths of God, but it did so by accomodating some of their needs that Yaweh expected them to "grow out of" just as a child grows out of its need for diapers.

Yet, thousands of years later some of us keep running back to the same old s-tuff... ;-). I wonder why?

Like an army for doing good

I like the image this verse evokes - that God is mustering a people dedicated to winning the world for God, through goodness and selflessness rather than violence.  

This is the Way - the Only Way to win the hearts and minds of the world.

Titus 2:14

"He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://read.ly/Titus2.14.NLT