Daily Devotions

Where are we?

Acts ends abruptly with Paul imprisoned in Rome, waiting to bring his appeal before Caesar. It is worth noting that in this history of the early Christian church, Luke mentioned neither Paul’s death (AD 64–68) nor the persecution of Christians that broke out under Nero (AD 64). More than likely, Luke completed the book before either of these events occurred, sometime between AD 60 and AD 62, while Paul sat in prison, awaiting the resolution of his appeal.

https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-history-of-the-early-church/acts

Day 1 (June 16)
Acts 5:1-42
Key Verse: 5

Day 2 (June 17)
Acts 6:1-15
Key Verse: 15

Day 3 (June 18)
Acts 7:1-34
Key Verse: 3

Day 4 (June 19)
Acts 7:35-60
Key Verses: 54-55

Day 5 (June 20)
Acts 8:1-40
Key Verse: 32-33

Day 6 (June 21)
Acts 9:1-43
Key Verse: 31

Memory Verse

Acts 1:5
For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

Why is Acts so Important?

Acts is the only biblical book that chronicles the history of the church immediately after Jesus’s ascension. As such, it provides us with a valuable account of how the church was able to grow and spread out from Jerusalem into the rest of the Roman Empire. In only three decades, a small group of frightened believers in Jerusalem transformed into an empire-wide movement of people who had committed their lives to Jesus Christ, ending on a high note with Paul on the verge of taking the gospel to the highest government official in the land—the Emperor of Rome.

https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-history-of-the-early-church/acts

Day 1 (June 23)
Acts 10:1-48
Key Verses: 9-16

Day 2 (June 24)
Acts 11:1-30
Key Verses: 17-18

Day 3 (June 25)
Acts 12:1-25
Key Verses: 21-23

Day 4 (June 26)
Acts 13:1-52
Key Verse: 41

Day 5 (June 27)
Acts 14:1-28
Key Verses: 11-12

Day 6 (June 28)
Acts 15:1-41
Key Verse: 21-29

Memory Verse

Acts 1:7
And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 

What’s the Big Idea?

Acts can be neatly divided into two sections, the first dealing primarily with the ministry of Peter in Jerusalem and Samaria (Acts 1–12) and the second following Paul on his missionary journeys throughout the Roman Empire (Acts 13–28). Acts is significant for chronicling the spread of the gospel, not only geographically but also culturally. It records the transition from taking the gospel to an exclusively Jewish audience—with Peter preaching to a small group in the Upper Room—to the gospel going out among the Gentiles, primarily under the ministry of the apostle Paul. The transition is best illustrated by Peter’s vision in which he heard a voice telling him, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy” (10:15). This led Peter to then share the gospel with many Gentiles. The lesson? God wants His message of hope and salvation to extend to all people—“in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (1:8). 

https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-history-of-the-early-church/acts

Day 1 (June 30)
Acts 16:1-40
Key Verses: 30-31

Day 2 (July 1)
Acts 17:1-34
Key Verses: 29-31

Day 3 (July 2)
Acts 18:1-28
Key Verses: 5-6

Day 4 (July 3)
Acts 19:1-41
Key Verse: 11

Day 5 (July 4)
Acts 20:1-38
Key Verses: 9-10

Day 6 (July 5)
Acts 21:1-40
Key Verses: 27-28

Memory Verse

Acts 1:8-9
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

How do I apply this?

What opportunities for sharing the gospel can you take advantage of in the days to come? This question should ring through your mind as you page through the book of Acts. In virtually every chapter, apostles such as Peter and Paul powerfully present the gospel to individuals and groups of people. The apostles portrayed in Acts shine with evangelistic zeal, showing a striking transition from the often misguided disciples of the Gospels. Clearly the apostles’ faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus produced a noticeable change in their hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Too often, our own lives do not reflect that sort of change. We struggle with fears over how others will react to our faith or with breaking out of our own routine long enough to invest in the life of someone else who needs the gospel. Allow Acts to encourage you to walk more closely with God so that you might make Christ’s name known with the boldness and the zeal of the apostles.

https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-history-of-the-early-church/acts

Day 1 (July 7)
Acts 22:1-30
Key Verses: 23-24

Day 2 (July 8)
Acts 23:1-35
Key Verse: 11

Day 3 (July 9)
Acts 24:1-27
Key Verses: 25-27

Day 4 (July 10)
Acts 25:1-27
Key Verses: 26-27

Day 5 (July 11)
Acts 26:1-32
Key Verse: 32

Day 6 (July 12)
Acts 27:1-44
Key Verses: 42-44

Memory Verse

 Acts 2:4
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Why is First Timothy so Important?

First Timothy presents the most explicit and complete instructions for church leadership and organization in the entire Bible. This includes sections on appropriate conduct in worship gatherings, the qualifications of elders and deacons, and the proper order of church discipline. Paul advised Timothy on these practical matters in a way that would have helped the young pastor to emphasize the purity that should characterize Christian leaders and the gatherings they oversee.

https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-pauline-epistles/first-timothy

Day 1 (July 14)
Acts 28:1-31
Key Verses: 26-27

Day 2 (July 15)
I Timothy 1:1-20
Key Verses: 18-20

Day 3 (July 16)
I Timothy 2:1-15
Key Verses: 1-4

Day 4 (July 17)
I Timothy 3:1-16
Key Verses: 1-7

Day 5 (July 18)
I Timothy 4:1-16
Key Verse: 10

Day 6 (July 19)
I Timothy 5:1-25
Key Verses: 17-19

Memory Verse

 Acts 2:21
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.