Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.
Acts 5:17//

Lord, help me not to be jealous of the ministry of others.

The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.
Acts 4:1-2//

Government interference in preaching and teaching about Jesus is as old as antiquity.

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.
Acts 3:13-15//

I am one of these wretched sinners. But, praise God that I am saved by His grace!

I pray the rest of the world finds Him before it is too late. It amazes me that many still adhere to the mantra in the verses above. As one songwriter put it, the world clings to the philosophy of “save the trees and kill the children.” Jesus, come soon!

And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Acts 2:21//

Thank You, Lord! Amen!!!

After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
Acts 1:3-6//

Isn’t it interesting that even as Jesus is preparing to return to Heaven, the disciples focus on an earthly kingdom. Lord, may I focus on Your Heavenly kingdom.

Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
John 21:22-23//

To the end, the disciples still had issues understanding the meaning of things Jesus said. When I don’t fully understand what He said, I’m in good company.

Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
John 20:17//

Jesus spent the first three days releasing captives from Hades. His priority is you and me above all else.

The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
John 19:21-22//

It seems Pilate knew Jesus was the Son of God. He tried to release Him multiple times and here, Pilate states his final statement about Jesus, the King of the Jews. If not a statement of Pilate’s belief, it is surely a statement of fact in his own mind.

“You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
John 18:37//

There are those who are not on the side of truth. I shouldn’t be surprised when those people twist ideas and words to make them false.

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
John 17:20-23//

The evil one divides the church by making people believe sin is acceptable. Jesus prayed for unity for the church so that others may believe in Him. Lord, grant us unity within Your ways, so that others may believe because of what they see in the church.