Virtues: I’m going to start this with some virtues we all need and should have. However, many in this day and age don’t have many of these. We need morals, integrity, love, joy, and be open to whatever God wants from us.
Virtues of mankind
Accepting
The act of accepting something or someone
Complements: Contentment, Forgiveness
Transcends: Denial, Rejection
Assertiveness
Disposed to or characterized by bold or confident statements and behavior
Complements: Confidence, Courage
Transcends: Self-doubt, Shyness
Authenticity
True to one’s own personality, spirit, or character
Complements: Honesty, Integrity
Transcends: Low self-esteem
Beauty
The qualities in a person or a thing that give pleasure to the senses or the mind
Complements: Joyfulness, Peace
Transcends: Ugliness
Caring
Feeling or showing concern for other people
Complements: Compassion, Kindness
Transcends: Cruelty, Insensitivity
Cleanliness
The practice of keeping yourself and your surroundings clean
Complements: Orderliness, Purity
Transcends: Dirtiness
Commitment
An agreement or pledge to do something in the future
Complements: Loyalty, Perseverance
Transcends: Lack of Direction
Compassion
Sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it
Complements: Caring, Understanding
Transcends: Grief, Judgment
Confidence
A feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something
Complements: Assertiveness, Courage
Transcends: Self-doubt, Uncertainty
Consideration
The act of thinking carefully about something you will make a decision about
Complements: Caring, Compassion
Transcends: Selfishness
Contentment
The state of being happy and satisfied
Complements: Fulfillment, Joy
Transcends: Dissatisfaction, Restlessness
Cooperation
A situation in which people work together to do something
Complements: Teamwork, Unity
Transcends: Defiance
Courage
Mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty
Complements: Boldness, Confidence
Transcends: Fear, Self-doubt
Creativity
The ability to make new things or think of new ideas
Complements: Joy, Purposefulness
Transcends: Ordinary
Detachment
Lack of emotion or of personal interest
Complements: Faith, Freedom
Transcends: Control
Determination
A quality that makes you continue trying to do or achieve something that is difficult
Complements: Commitment, Tenaciousness
Transcends: Complacency
Dignity
A way of appearing or behaving that suggests seriousness and self-control
Complements: Honor, Respect
Transcends: Egoism, Selfishness
Encouragement
Something that makes someone more determined, hopeful, or confident
Complements: Support, Caring
Transcends: Self-doubt, Discouragement
Enthusiasm
Strong excitement about something; a strong feeling of active interest in something that you like or enjoy
Complements: Energy, Motivation
Transcends: Boredom, Indifference
Ethical
Following accepted rules of behavior; morally right and good
Complements: Fairness, Respect
Transcends: Immorality
Excellence
Extremely high quality
Complements: Dignity, Honor, Integrity, Respect
Transcends: Mediocrity
Fairness
Treating people in a way that does not favor some over others
Complements: Equality, Justice
Transcends: Grievance, Injustice
Faith
Strong belief or trust in someone or something
Complements: Confidence, Hope, Trust
Transcends: Apprehension, Doubt
Flexibility
Willing to change or to try different things
Complements: Detachment, Understanding
Transcends: Stubbornness
Forgiveness
The act of forgiving someone or something
Complements: Freedom, Peace
Transcends: Anger, Bitterness
Friendliness
Acting like a friend; kind and helpful
Complements: Kindness, Tact
Transcends: Shyness
Generosity
The quality of being kind, understanding, and not selfish; the quality of being generous
Complements: Kindness, Service
Transcends: Stinginess, Self-centered
Gentleness
Having or showing a kind and quiet nature; not harsh or violent
Complements: Patience, Peace
Transcends: Aggression
Graciousness
Very polite in a way that shows respect
Complements: Dignity, Tact
Transcends: Disrespect, Rudeness
Gratitude
A feeling of appreciation or thanks
Complements: Hope, Joy, Peace
Transcends: Disappointment, Pain
Harmonious
Having parts that are related or combined in a pleasing way
Complements: Unity
Transcends: Hostility
Helpfulness
Making it easier to do a job, deal with a problem, etc.; giving help
Complements: Graciousness, Service
Transcends: Negativity
Honesty
The quality of being fair and truthful
Complements: Integrity, Truthfulness
Transcends: Deceitfulness
Honor
Respect that is given to someone who is admired
Complements: Dignity, Respect
Transcends: Shame
Hope
To want something to happen or be true and think that it could happen or be true
Complements: Faith, Joy, Trust
Transcends: Despair, Frustration
Humility
The quality or state of not thinking you are better than other people
Complements: Modesty
Transcends: Arrogance, Pride
Idealism
The attitude of a person who believes that it is possible to live according to very high standards of behavior and honesty
Complements: Confidence, Hope
Transcends: Cynicism, Pessimism
Integrity
Firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values; the quality or state of being complete or undivided
Complements: Honesty, Trust
Transcends: Corruption, Deceitfulness
Imaginative
Having or showing an ability to think of new and interesting ideas; having or showing imagination
Complements: Creativity
Transcends: Ordinary, Rationalism
Joyfulness
Feeling, causing, or showing great happiness; full of joy
Complements: Hope, Peace, Love
Transcends: Discontent, Suffering
Justice
The process or result of using laws to fairly judge and punish crimes and criminals
Complements: Fairness, Integrity
Transcends: Discrimination
Kindness
The quality or state of being kind; a kind act
Complements: Caring, Compassionate
Transcends: Cruelty, Loneliness
Love
A feeling of strong or constant affection for a person
Complements: Caring, Forgiveness, Unity
Transcends: Fear
Loyalty
The quality or state of being loyal
Complements: Honesty, Trust
Transcends: Betrayal
Moderation
The quality or state of being reasonable and avoiding behavior, speech, etc., that is extreme or that goes beyond what is normal or acceptable
Complements: Diligence, Responsibility
Transcends: Obsessions, Overindulgence
Modesty
The quality of not being too proud or confident about yourself or your abilities
Complements: Humility
Transcends: Self-importance
Optimistic
Having or showing hope for the future; expecting good things to happen
Complements: Hope, Joyfulness
Transcends: Pessimism
Orderliness
Arranged or organized in a logical or regular way
Complements: Cleanliness, Purity
Transcends: Chaos
Passionate
Having, showing, or expressing strong emotions or beliefs
Complements: Enthusiasm, Purposefulness
Transcends: Indifference
Patience
The ability to wait for a long time without becoming annoyed or upset
Complements: Determination, Peace
Transcends: Frustration
Peace
A state of tranquility or quiet
Complements: Love, Serenity, Unity
Trnscends: Anger, Cruelty
Perseverance
Continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition
Complements: Commitment, Determination, Resilience
Transcends: Laziness
Preparedness
The quality or state of being prepared
Complements: Excellence, Orderliness
Transcends: Complacency
Purposefulness
Having a purpose as in something set up as an object or end to be attained
Complements: Creativity, Commitment, Joyfulness
Transcends: Boredom, Indifference
Reliability
The quality or state of being reliable
Complements: Integrity, Loyalty
Transcends: Untrustworthy
Respect
An act of giving particular attention
Complements: Dignity, Reverence
Transcends: Inconsideration
Responsibility
The quality or state of being responsible as in moral, legal, or mental accountability
Complements: Courtesy, Tact, Trust
Transcends: Selfishness
Reverence
Honor or respect that is felt for or shown to (someone or something)
Complements: Respect, Worth
Transcends: Hatred
Self-discipline
Correction or regulation of oneself for the sake of improvement
Complements: Commitment, Determination
Transcends: Chaos, Unruliness
Service
Contribution to the welfare of others
Complements: Compassion, Generosity, Purposefulness
Transcends: Lack of concern, Self-centered
Sincerity
The quality or state of being sincere; honesty of mind
Complements: Authentic
Transcends: Disingenuous
Tact
A keen sense of what to do or say in order to maintain good relations with others or avoid offense
Complements: Graciousness, Responsibility
Transcends: Clumsiness
Temperate
Habitual moderation in the indulgence of the appetites or passions
Complements: Moderation
Transcends: Excessive
Tenacious
Persistent in maintaining, adhering to, or seeking something valued or desired
Complements: Discipline, Perseverance
Transcends: Indecision
Thankfulness
Conscious of benefit received
Complements: Gratitude, Thoughtfulness
Transcends: Unappreciative
Tolerance
Capacity to endure pain or hardship; sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one’s own
Complements: Patience, Tenacious
Transcends: Narrow-mindedness
Trust
Assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something
Complements: Loyalty, Respect
Transcends: Doubt, Skepticism
Truthfulness
Telling or disposed to tell the truth
Complements: Honesty, Faith, Trust
Transcends: Corruption, Deceit
Understanding
An agreement of opinion or feeling; adjustment of differences
Complements: Kindness, Tolerance
Transcends: Egoism
Unity
The quality or state of being made one
Complements: Harmony, Love, Peace
Transcends: Loneliness
Visionary
A thought, concept, or object formed by the imagination
Complements: Imagination, Leadership
Transcends: Lack of Inspiration
Wisdom
Accumulated philosophic or scientific learning; knowledge
Complements: Idealism, Visionary
Transcends: Lack of Intelligence
Wonder
A feeling caused by seeing something that is very surprising, beautiful, amazing, etc.
Complements: Creativity, Imagination
Transcends: Boredom
Notes:
The empowering of the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit personally fills Christian believers with a measure of His presence.
Instead of the Holy Spirit making the Christian life easier/better for them, what He does is make the Christian life for all eternity possible.
Without the Holy spirit, we really can’t even come close to living the life God has God us to live.
We, as Christians, need to be God centered, Christ exalting, and be Spirit empowered.
The Holy Spirit’s job for Christians is to empower us to be a witness to the world, and in deeds.
The Holy Spirit is the source of personal testimony and revelations.
The Holy Spirit wants to help us and guide us to right decisions.
The Holy Spirit can (but might have another way even if we must go through things) protect us from physical and spiritual dangers.
The Holy Spirit is my comforter and calms fears in my heart repeatedly and fills me with hope.
The Holy Spirit shows me that I am a child of God and that Jesus found me worthy enough that He died for me/you.
Virtues: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude/courage, knowledge, piety/reverence, fear of the Lord/wonder of Awe, charity, faith, right judgment, hope, temperance, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, Chasity.
The Holy Spirit gives me: Faith, hope, and charity!
Acts 1:1-11 Study Notes
Jesus prepares his Apostles for world-wide witness by:
Proving he is alive – Resurrection vindicated his claim to be Messiah.
Teaching them: The Apostles and then all of us to do the same thing. Giving them the vision and strategy to accomplish his purpose for them & all Christians ever since.
Outline
1:1-5 Prologue: Instructions to Apostles
1:6-8 Power for witness
1:9-11 Ascension
Verses 1-5
What does Luke mean by “the first book?” What’s the first book?
The Gospel of Luke.
What does this first book tell us?
It tells us about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day he was
taken up into heaven. That is, the Gospel of Luke tells us about the earthly ministry of
Jesus.
If Luke’s first volume describes “All that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up
into heaven, what is implied about Luke’s second volume? What will that be about?
It will be about what Jesus continue to do and teach from heaven
How is Jesus going to continue to act and teach?
He will continue to act and teach through his Spirit-empowered disciples (vv. 4-5).
How does Jesus spend those 40 days between his resurrection and ascension? With whom does he
spend them? Is this the best use of his time? Why doesn’t he make a lot of public appearances?
Jesus focuses on preparing his disciples. They/we are his strategy for saving the
world.
What determines the soundness or effectiveness of this strategy? Luke tells us in v. 3 that Jesus gave “many convincing proofs” that he was alive. Why does Jesus do this? Why does he think it necessary to give many proofs? People then were no more willing than people today to believe that dead people could rise from the dead. There were like 500 people that saw the Lord during this time. They were the witnesses as well.
What kind of proofs do you think Jesus gave? He let them see him, touch him, talk to him. V. 4 in the NRSV says, “While ‘staying’ with them is “took salt together,” an idiom for eating together. This act was the ultimate sign of physicality (in many Jewish traditions, angels could not eat human food) and intimacy.
What did the resurrection prove? That God had vindicated Jesus’ claims to be the Messiah. He was not “cursed” by God but rather vindicated and anointed by him (see Peter’s sermon in Acts 2)
What did Jesus command his disciples to do? Remain in Jerusalem and wait. What do you think the disciples might have been thinking when Jesus says, “do not leave Jerusalem?”If you were one of the disciples would you have wanted to wait there? Remember the Christians would be persecuted if caught.
What were they supposed to wait there for? The promise of the Father. What kind of promise would make them even want to stay there knowing that, if caught, they could have the same. They totally trusted God in staying even though they didn’t really realize what was going on or what was going to happen.
Read also re places in Bible where it talked about the pouring out of the Spirit: Isa. 32:15; 44:3; Ezek. 36:25-28; 37:14; 39:29; Joel 2:28-31.
John 14-16. There Jesus says among other things, that the Spirit will be with them forever (Jn. 14:16), will teach them everything and remind them of everything Jesus said to them (Jn. 14:26), will testify on Jesus’ behalf (15:26), will be sent by Jesus (Jn. 16:7), will prove the world wrong (or convict the world) about sin and righteousness and judgement (Jn. 16:8), will guide them into all truth (Jn. 16:13).
Luke records Jesus’ words, “When they bring you before the synagogues, the
rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how you are to defend yourselves or what you
are to say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say” (Lk.
12:11-12).
So the disciples had heard a lot about the Holy Spirit but they hadn’t yet experienced a lot of the Spirit. For this they had to remain in Jerusalem and wait. Now, we know what the Bible says, but they didn’t have the Bible, and they knew that if they were caught could receive the same treatment that Jesus God.
Verses 6-8
6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”
7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
What do the disciples assume, take for granted, in their question? That the Kingdom would be restored to Israel. Why? Because Scripture predicted it. For example, Joel 2:28-32 talks about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Joel continues in 3:1-21 by talking of the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord,
when God would “restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem.” visit the Gentile nations with judgement, break their oppression of Israel, and restore Jerusalem as the center of his diving presence.
The disciples must be thinking, “So many prophecies concerning the Messiah have been and are being fulfilled. When will the prophecies concerning the restoration of Israel be fulfilled?”
Look again at their question. It’s not, “Are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel “Are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
Did the disciples ask because they were concerned because of the times and what was happening all around them? The people were oppressed and their people were suffering hatred, ridicule, hardship, and much frustration.
How does Jesus answer their question? (v. 7) Jesus answers the question they asked, and He doesn’t deny that he’s going to restore the Kingdom to Israel; he simply tells them that they can’t be told the exact
timing of it, since the father had reserved all such matters of times and dates to himself.
What does Jesus say next (v. 8) Instead of focusing on things they can’t know about or do anything about, they are to focus on being witnesses. They would have the job and opportunity to go out into the world and share the gospel with all who would listen. They had a great responsibility and we, also, have a great responsibility to go out into our own world and be a witness to those around us as well.
“In you [Abraham,] all the families of the earth shall be blessed”) In Isa.49:6, as Messianic passage, the Lord says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to
the end of the earth (cf. Acts 1:8)
How exactly will the Messiah’s salvation reach to the ends of the earth? Through the Spirit-empowered witness of his disciples. If you are truly a Christian then your job is do as God says and witness the truth to others as well…in whatever way God makes it for you to do.
What did it mean for the disciples to be “witnesses?” To what were they supposed to witness? How had Jesus prepared them for this task? How has he prepared us? What prevents us from being effective witnesses? Do we, like the disciples, have concerns or perspectives or priorities that restrict us or distract us from effectively fulfilling our roles as witnesses?
We want others to know about Jesus and we want others to be saved, but don’t more people than not…want this to be the responsibility of someone else and not us? It can be very uncomfortable, and even at times dangerous to go into the world and do this.
Verses 9-12
9 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!” Matthias Replaces Judas 12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile.
Why does Luke put this down? What is its purpose? What does it tell us that we need to know? Why does Jesus ascend? Where is he going? To do what? What does the ascension prove? Why do the two “men” tell the disciples that Jesus is coming back? Why would that be important to the disciples? (And who are these two men?) Can any of us ever really wonder what the disciples thought and felt right then, and if that was to happen before us…what would you be thinking. Maybe we would be thinking, “What the heck just happened?” Jesus just floated up right before their eyes. Amazing!
Do you ever feel like Jesus is really far away or that life is just way too hard? How does the fact that
Jesus will return affect you during those times? We have all heard that Jesus is coming back but it has been so long since He went up to heaven, and maybe our life on this earth has been very hard. Do we ever wonder why it is taking Jesus so long?
The disciples who saw Jesus go up into the air wanted Jesus to restore the kingdom to Israel and they wanted it right then. Their life and life of those they cared about, in those days, was difficult. They just wanted Jesus to restore the kingdom to Israel then. Don’t we also want that right now. Oh, we know He will come because His word is true…but how many of us ask also…when Lord, and Jesus come soon. We need you. We want to go home now but Jesus, apparently, is not quite ready to come and as He said…the time is up to the Father!!!
So why not now? When? Why? We all ask questions if we are honest. We all want Him to return now. They saw Him leave, and those still alive when He returns will see Him coming back in the same way He left.
There is a time coming when the full restoration would come then. The purpose of this interval between
Jesus’ ascension and return was not the restoration of Israel, but world-wide witness to, and of, Jesus. That purpose continues to stand today.
The disciples stood there staring at Jesus going up in the clouds and disappearing from their sight. Because Jesus went up into the clouds to do His work in heaven before He returns for us…it then became the job of the disciples (and us) to go into the world, tell the absolute truth of God’s word, no compromising, no calling sin okay, and no matter what happens to us…we are to be about our Father’s business…in whatever way He gives us to do for Him. We are not all called to do the same things in the same way. Some might reach millions (like Billy Graham), or maybe we are just to reach a person or two. Let God lead you to go and do whatever He says. All of us are as important as the next no matter if we reach one person or a million people. They were to be a witness and not a stargazer and that goes for us as well. So in thinking about what they felt, and even what, or how, we would feel…what do we give our attention too?
So in thinking what happened to the disciples, and what we also are supposed to do now days…it is our duty to do what God asks us to do, how God asks us to do it, and to trust Him no matter what we go through on this earth. God didn’t say that life would be easy when we ask Him to come into our life. In fact, He said that in this world we would have tribulation. We don’t like or want that part. We want to believe all the things that we are fed that tell us that we will be rich, have an easy life, and never get sick. That is not reality! Time for us to get back to reality.
Life might not be easy, and some of us will face tribulations…but we must keep focused on Jesus and do whatever He tells us to do. The disciples did not have a Bible to turn to and see what was promised, what would happen, and all that we have been given. They prepared the way for us and it is now our responsibility to go forward and tell others about Jesus’ love, but also to tell them that if He is not their Lord and if they keep on sinning…that they will miss heaven. We can and should always believe God and trust Him in every area of our life. He might not have promised us an easy time while we live on earth…but if we love Him, if we are faithful, and if we do what He wants and do it His way…we will cross into heaven victoriously…in however that comes to us.
Now, may God bless you, keep you, draw you, teach you, and give you His peace.
God bless you!