As it was written in Luke 9, Jesus calls the twelve apostles together and gives them power and authority to drive out all demons; to cure all diseases. Then He sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

In Acts, the disciples set out to do as commanded by Jesus - like Jesus they were also persecuted, arrested, and put into jail.

God intercedes and frees them from jail, and they continue to teach and spread the news of God’s Kingdom.

Again, the apostles were rounded up to appear before the Sanhedrin.

Peter and the apostles reply “We must obey God rather than men! The Lord of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead - whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree. God exalted Him to His own right hand as Prince and Savior that He might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witness of these things, and so is The Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

Wow! A lot to digest, but what these verses say to me is that we are commanded by God, through Jesus, through the apostoles to spread the news and the teachings of Jesus. Through arrest, jail, and even in death, just as Jesus and the apostoles had faced.

I have to ask myself as a Christian, what is my level of commitment? How much persecution am I willing to endure? I’d like to think my commitment level is total - but that is what Paul and Judas thought too. Oh Lord, I pray that you guard my heart, and I be committed to you100% through good and difficult times.