Through The Bible in a Year - September 2, 2026

“The Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’… So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went.” - Acts 13:2, 4

The Spirit is not dormant. He is not distant. He is not waiting for conditions to improve before He starts moving.

Today, there are more people worshipping Jesus in China than in the United States. More than 500 million people in Africa now identify as Christians—at the beginning of the last century, Christians were almost too few to count. More Muslims have come to Christ in the last 15 years than in the previous 14 centuries. In recent years, the fastest growing church in the world has been in Iran—underground, persecuted, pursued—but still growing like wildfire.

The Spirit that blew upon the apostles at Pentecost is still blowing. The question is not whether He is at work. The question is whether we are lifting our sails to catch the wind of what He is already doing.

I remember receiving an email from Christian leaders in China at the height of the Covid epidemic. Tens of thousands were sick. Church meetings suspended. Christian leaders were denied freedom to proclaim the gospel. Because of the restrictions, I could not lead the conference to which I had been invited in Hong Kong. Church leaders simply asked that I write them words of encouragement.

I felt unworthy to encourage those who have endured hardships I have never faced. So, I wrote what others have said to encourage the faithful in other generations: “The eyes of King Jesus are upon you. The Holy Spirit intercedes for you with groanings too deep to utter, advancing the purposes of God in your lives so that all things will work together for good. These temporary afflictions are working for you a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”

After the epidemic had waned, I was again asked to speak at the conference. Leaders did not know if the 250-thousand Chinese who usually attended the annual conference in-person or by internet would come after the devastations of Covid. They prayed that God would work beyond their limitations. After their prayers, the conference occurred but 250-thousand did not attend – 1.1 million did! The Spirit was blowing in China, as He was blowing in Acts 13. God is still working in your city, your church, your community, your family—right now. Not by might. Not by power. But by His Spirit.

Respond: How are you lifting your sails to the blowing wind of the Holy Spirit in your church, community, and circumstances?

At least three identifiable actions of Christians in Acts 13 were used by the Spirit to bless and blow the mission of God forward: unity with humility (welcoming those of different backgrounds and personal histories for the sake of the gospel), devotion through worship and prayer (confessing need for the Spirit’s power rather than depending on their own), and proclamation with courage (speaking truth where it could really cost).

Consider how you may be being called to take one of these actions also. Who can you welcome? Where do you need to worship more than strategize? What needs to be said that you’ve been afraid to say?

Lift your sails. Believe the Spirit is blowing. Go where He sends you.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I believe You are at work—in China, in Africa, in Iran, in the immigrant churches in this country, on college campuses, in my community, and in my family. I don’t want to miss what You’re doing because I’m too comfortable, too afraid, or too cynical to lift my sails. Give me the humility of the church at Antioch—willing to be unified across every human division. Give me the devotion of those first missionaries—worshipping before strategizing, fasting before planning. Give me the courage of Paul—willing to speak truth where it costs. Blow, Spirit, blow. I lift my sails to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.