Kicking Tires

         Purchasing a car is a big investment and you want to be as sure as you can that you are making a wise choice. In the old days, I recall people "kicking tires." I once heard one of our relatives speaking to my Dad about going out and kicking a few tires. That meant he was looking for a new car. There was something going on as the salesman would speak about the prospective purchase as the buyer would look down at the ground and begin kicking the tire. I never knew what this actually proved but have witnessed many people kicking tires to get their own opinion of the vehicle. These days, we don't necessarily kick the tires but we take the car out on a test drive. Why even prospective buyers of fighter aircraft witness what a plane can do before signing on the dotted line to purchase any number of them. It is always good to see how it works before you make it your own. Acts 1:1-2 says, " The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:” 

         The Book of Acts is the only “historical” book in the New Testament. It shows the life of the early church from the ascension of Christ. Some refer to the book as “The Acts of the Apostles” and others “The Acts of the Holy Spirit.” In either case, we see the formation and beginning years of the “church” or the “body” of believers that first met after the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. The opening chapters show the difference between apostles lives after the events of Pentecost. Peter, who had denied Christ three times, now preaches one of the most dynamic messages where thousands are professing Christ as their Lord and savior. Philip becomes an evangelist in Samaria having a successful work there and then is ushered down to speak to the Ethiopian Eunuch and to lead him to salvation in Christ. Then, of course, we learn of the exploits of the soon to be apostle Paul and how his conversion changed his life. We able to witness the growth of the church from Jerusalem to Rome. The book of Acts is unique in that there is no ending to it. Being a historical book, it is still being written so to speak even today as the Gospel message still goes out to unreached people in the world. For us, today, it is like kicking a few tires or taking it out on a test drive because we can see by the history of the church what it can do and how it should operate. We can learn about obeying the leading of the Holy Spirit as we see Paul and Silas finally stopping in Troas in order to determine the leading of the Holy Spirit as to where they should go next and there they received the Macedonian call. We learn that persecution drove the church out of Jerusalem unto the far corners of the civilized world. Most of all, we learn the answer to the most important question, “What must I do to be saved?” Paul answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ...” Just think about it. The Book of Acts is the church in action and shows us the mighty power of God. Praise God today that we still have His Body of Believers, the church, present as a testimony of God in this world.