y goal in this series is to strengthen your faith, to get you to the point where Paul was at the end of the book of Acts when he said, "So don't lose your courage...I have faith in God that it will happen just as He told me." (Acts 27:25). I hope you'll join me!

Acts: Lessons In Faith

Here are thirty inspiring devotionals based on the lives of the very first followers of Christ. Their acts of faith ranged from waiting on God to speaking out for him, from healing others to being ready to die themselves. This devotional will help you to find, increase and express your own faith in Christ in practical ways.

Just click the Introduction below to begin, or pick a lesson that interests you. You can also now order this devotional in a beautiful paperback book for yourself or or your friends. Just visit The Ranch Giftshop to order.

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Introduction to "Acts: Lessons In Faith": My goal in this series is to strengthen your faith, to get you to the point where Paul was at the end of the book of Acts when he said, "So don't lose your courage...I have faith in God that it will happen just as He told me." (Acts 27:25). I hope you'll join me!
Lesson 1 - Faith Waits: It's ironic, but fitting, that the first thing Jesus tells people to do in the book of "acts" is to "wait." If God is telling you to wait, waiting can be just as much an act of faith as doing. How can we wait patiently, but with expectancy? How long will we have to wait? And what are we supposed to do in the mean time?
Lesson 2 - Faith Acts: The book of Acts begins with waiting, but when the Spirit shows up, the "acts" of the apostles take off with a bang. God doesn't call us to wait forever, and when it's time, He wants us to stand up and act. When God calls us to act, we need to be ready to act, to stand up, and do all that God has called us to do.
Lesson 3 - Faith Heals: God is a healing God, and He gave the power to heal not only to Jesus, and not only to the 12 disciples, and not only to the 72 He sent out to "Heal the sick..." (Luke 10:19). He gave it all who believe in Him: "And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name...they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." (from Mark 16:18). Jesus wants you to pray for your family and friends.
Lesson 4 - Faith Saves: Of all the great things faith could do for you, this is the ultimate! Faith saves! As Peter said, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). If you've never put your faith in Christ, do it today--He'll save you, too!
Lesson 5 - Faith Obeys: Faith obeys, even when tempted to run the other way. Our best example of obedience is Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemene when He prayed: "Not my will but Yours be done." Suffering, pain, and hurt may follow, but nothing is as sweet, or as fruitful in the end, as obedience.
Lesson 6 - Faith Fills: God wants us to be filled with faith and with the Holy Spirit? How can we be filled with faith? How can we know for sure what we believe about God and Jesus and the resurrection? People who have studied the resurrection intently, even trying to disprove it, have been won over to believing it and becoming people of great faith. Keep seeking the Lord, and you will find Him.
Lesson 7 - Faith Speaks: There are times when Jesus told people to keep quiet about what He had just done for them. But there are other times when Jesus calls us to speak boldly about what He's done in our lives. One expression of faith is to testify to God's goodness. To be faithful, we must recognize His goodness in our lives, and then give testimony of that goodness to others.
Lesson 8 - Faith Explains: Do you find it easy to read and understand the Bible? If so, God may want you to help others to understand it, too. Like the man from Ethiopia in Acts chapter 8 who was interested in spiritual truths but needed Philip to help explain it to him, God can use you to explain spiritual truths to others.
Lesson 9 - Faith Surrenders: Although the Apostle Paul thought he was doing God a favor, he was actually fighting against Him. When Christ stopped Paul on the road to Damascus, Paul had to make a choice: to continue his own way, or to surrender to God's. Thankfully he surrendered his will to God's and touched millions of lives as a result. God wants to work in and through you, too, if you'll surrender to Him.
Lesson 10 - Faith Gives: I've noticed that as my faith increases, so does my desire and willingness to give. A man in the Bible named Cornelius found this to be true, too. He also found that God takes notice of our gifts, and loves to bless us back when we give generously to others.
Lesson 11 - Faith Is For All: Christ opened the door for all people to come back to God, regardless of their age, race, nationality, economic status, or any other factor. For those who are willing to put their faith in Him, God offers eternal life, as Cornelius and his entire household found out.
Lesson 12 - Faith Prays: Abraham Lincoln said, “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.” Faith prays, and this story from Acts shows how God can answer at times beyond what we can even imagine.
Lesson 13 - Faith Fasts: If you want to intensify, deepen or accelerate your prayers--and get filled up more spiritually at the same time--try fasting. Many throughout the Bible, throughout history, and throughout the world today have found fasting to be a significant help in hearing from God and seeing God honor their prayers.
Lesson 14 - Faith Persists: If God has called you to it, press on through it. Don't give up just because the opposition comes. That's the time to shine. That's the time to let God send you His Holy Spirit to do things through you that you could never have done on your own. Press on!
Lesson 15 - Faith Purifies: Lady Macbeth tried to wash out an imaginary stain from her hands, a sin from which she was never able to get clean. Many people try to do the same thing, but in vain, because they miss the one key ingredient that's needed for the cleansing: putting their faith in Christ.
Lesson 16 - Faith Sings: If you're down, one of the best ways to get back up is possibly one of the last you might want to try. But taking a cue from this story in Acts, and from the lives of many others who have tried it, you might just be ready to give it a try yourself. What is it? Singing.
Lesson 17 - Faith Examines: You many not like examinations of any kind. But the kind of examination the people in the city of Berea did changed their lives forever. When the Apostle Paul brought them the message that Jesus was the Christ, they examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. God wants you to do the same.
Lesson 18 - Faith Works: Is work a blessing from God or a curse from God? Sometimes if takes faith just to get up and go to work, whether that work is secular or religious. But the truth is, work is something that God has planned for us from the very first person He put on the earth. When we realize work is a blessing from Him, we'll find out that "faith works."
Lesson 19 - Faith Baptizes: Baptism is more than just part of being a Christian. Baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit empowers us to do supernatural things that we could never have done on our own. As John the Baptist said about Jesus, "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."
Lesson 20 - Faith Resurrects: Which takes more power: to kill someone, or to raise someone who's been dead back to life? God says that if you've put your faith in Christ, then the same Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives within you, too. By faith, you can tap into the same power that raised Christ from the dead.
Lesson 21 - Faith Dies: There are times when God calls people to use their faith to raise people from the dead. But there are other times when God calls people to use their faith to be ready to die. How can the same faith produce such different results? This message tells us.
Lesson 22 - Faith Testifies: While sharing your testimony may fill you with fear, it can give others hope, encouragement and eternal life. If God has done something special for you, consider doing something special for Him by sharing your testimony with others.
Lesson 23 - Faith Keeps A Clear Conscience: It may not be the big sins in your life that bring you down, but those "little" sins that build up over time. Like sand in your shoes, it's better to empty those sins out now before they build up and cause bigger problems.
Lesson 24 - Faith Flees: There are times when God calls you to stand up for what you believe in, but there are other times He calls you to lay low. Paul and Jesus knew the key for when to face others with courage and when to flee with wisdom: it comes from staying as close to God as possible at all times.
Lesson 25 - Faith Appeals: Is it OK to appeal your case to a higher authority? The Apostle Paul did, and there are good reasons to follow his lead, as long as you stay close to God and follow His lead as well. If God calls you to appeal a decision that's been made, use your faith to appeal.
Lesson 26 - Faith Models: God wants to use your life as a model for others to follow. Your testimony alone is enough to encourage others to follow you. And if they follow you in putting their faith in Christ, they'll find that they have followed the best model of all.
Lesson 27 - Faith Warns: Are there people in your life who could use a good warning right now? Maybe God has given you the wisdom to see what lies ahead of them. If so, I pray He'll also give you the faith to speak that warning to them...it could save their life, their marriage, their job, their family--and their soul!
Lesson 28 - Faith Supplies: One of the natural responses of faith when God increases it is the increased desire to give as well. In this way, God often provides for His work to continue to spread throughout the world. If God is prompting you to give, consider it a part of the faith He has given you.
Conclusion - The Power Of Faith: Jesus said if we believed in Him, we would do the same things that He did and even greater! If that's true, then it's also true that nothing's impossible for us, when we believe in Christ! And that's the truth!