Acts 2:1-21 ~ everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved †

Today, amidst liars, repeat winds and schemes

Repeated and repeated and not believed, a spring of hope, a hint of healing .... came multiple reports on Social Media that this is the real end of the world. Angry God is going to walk upon this wicked and vile planet. So, you know, Social Media, it must be true. It painted a picture.

What is this picture?

Oh, this is a scene from the movie, Cowboys and Aliens! Tucker Carlson says this is a wild time. And evidently, from reading Social Media, people are, 'creeped out.'

Let's reconsider the subject of fear. With a more grounded look at reality in History. 

Movie, "The Darkest Hour"

Churchill on the London subway to speak to the people about hope and fear. Regardless of the cause, fear is an aspect of the news and jokes and dire predictions on Social Media. Fear can stir up and cause more fear. No one on earth is immune to fear.

What are we fighting? 

For the Victory in Jesus Christ.

Against fear. Love to encompass and enfold hearts. A kinder and more merciful life. Without the cruelty of false labels and injustice. To live seeing goodness. 

I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone. At any rate, that is what we are going to try.

We shall go on to the end. 

We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender. 

I will say: It is to wage war, by sea, land, and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalog of human crime. That is our policy.

You ask, what is our aim? 

I can answer in one word: 

VICTORY

It is victory, victory at all costs, 

victory in spite of all terror, 

Victory.

Acts 2:1-21

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 

And they were amazed and astonished

Saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 

8 And how is it 

that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 

9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians

—We hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 

And all were amazed and perplexed, 

saying to one another, 

“What does this mean?” 

But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

14 But Peter, standing with the eleven

Lifted up his voice and addressed them: 

“Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day  ^{[9 A.M.]} 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
18 even on my male servants ^{[bondservants]} and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
20 the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood

Before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.

And it shall come to pass that everyone

 who calls upon the name of the Lord

 shall be saved.’

 

An entire Church in Scotland suddenly could speak in different languages in the late 1800s. 

We see language seen as a gift of God's to communicate. God said this:

1 Corinthians 13:8

Love never fails. 

But where there are prophecies, they will cease; 

where there are tongues, they will be stilled; 

where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

We see John gives us prophecy, the burdens of the Church rise and fall. 

Exactly parallel in Scripture repeats and shows human error again and again. 

The Kings of Israel were told not to run after foreign gods. God said there are gods in the Psalms and we are told there are such powers. The Kings, including Solomon, quickly fell into error, seeking other gods to answer prayer. 






Why did the gift of Tongues largely cease? 

History meets Faith.

John was telling us why tongues would cease. 

It's the Trust of Faith, Hope and Love creating relationship. 

Wonder is for believers.  Jesus feeds us, He is the Bread of Life. Jesus is Living Water. Wonders do not cease for believers, yet this is the detail, the relationship is the key.

I recall and repeat modern-day events of people, priests, speaking in Arabic, not knowing Arabic, proclaiming Jesus is the Son of God.  And belief happens. 

Wonders are created to begin relationships. 

Relationship with Jesus sustains and deepens us, in Jesus. 

No one can solve the swirls and winds in another human being. 

We can trust God is in charge. He has His Wonders and His Plan is always accomplished.

In ways, God understands.  He has the whole world in His Hands. The Universe is upheld by His Word.  God is not worried.

God does not worry. Not when Hitler is rising, France is falling and England is about to be invaded. 

God did not worry in 1348 AD when Pope Clement V abandoned the Vatican and moved to Avignon, France. The Vatican was collapsing, and the Pope sought political strength for safety.  History was made recently when Pope Benedict was the first pope in 600 years to resign from office in February 2013. Tides rise and fall. 

God did not feel that man ended communism in so many countries, merely by millions of people holding hands across communist bloc nations. God knew an Act of God, is His. 

Jesus knew intimately, and lovingly, to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. Because the Glory and the Victory, the Shelter of Love is His. 

“I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how a man could look up into the heavens and say there is no God.”

― Abraham Lincoln

† 

The Direction of our thoughts

is important.

Abba, Father,

To know Scripture is to see

Jesus as the exact representative

of You.

Ephesians 3:11-12

This was according to the eternal purpose

 that He has realized 

in Christ Jesus our Lord, 

in Whom 

we have boldness and access

 with confidence

 through our faith

 in Him.

God gives us His Promise

He is with us to the end of the age

Matthew 28:16-20 

Until the Whole World Knows

Matthew 28

Jesus is going to send out His People 

to spread the good news to all the world

and that same commission is extended to us as well  

Dwell in us, Father, 

we ask in the Name of Jesus.

Cloth us in today and always

in Your Kingdom,

Your Power and Glory.

Dwell in the ones we Love

Cover them in the Love and Name 

of Jesus Christ.

Help us to seek You first.

And, in Jesus Christ, we will finish well.

Thanksgiving

for hearing (please)

and health!

We ask You, Father, in the Name of Jesus.

And in Jesus - this Hope, 

Faith and Love - we will rise up believing Jesus. 

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

YES Bless the Lord Jesus

Thank You Jesus

Psalm 81 ~ Our Feast Day

 

Exodus, painted by John Martin

Psalm 81

 

1 Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob! 

2 Raise a song; sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp. 3 Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day.
 

4 For it is a statute for Israel, a rule of the God of Jacob.
 

5 He made it a decree in Joseph when he went out over the land of Egypt. 

I hear a language I had not known: 6 “I relieved your shoulder of the burden; your hands were freed from the basket.

7 In distress you called, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah   8 Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!

O Israel, if you would but listen to me! 9 There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
 

10 I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

11 “But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me. 12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels. 

13 Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!  14 I would soon subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes.

 

15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe toward him, and their fate would last forever. 

16 But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”  

When we compare Psalm 81 to John 17, we remember Jesus telling us about His Joy in life. When we look at God's emotions, He doesn't put forth all of His Hopes and Plans, The Lord the Almighty's ways reveal His Words are Beautiful and then Wondrous. And matter of fact, so we'd have to say tender, yet authoritative. 

Psalm 81 is very similar to Jesus telling us of His compassion for us, the sheep of His Pasture. Tender and shepherding. If we thought about God's emotions as the Exodus unfolded, we would have to see Pleasure. Gladness. Steadfast Love. God wants His Glory to be seen. Why? The Gospels tell us God wanted His Son in Egypt. Out of Egypt, He calls His Son. The Exodus of Egypt, God is brilliantly clear and majestic.  Perhaps, the works of Egypt is something He wants to awaken them to shift their lives to more joy.

This is a Christian Rock Concert and the Light in the center, isn't there. This is a messenger of fire and wind, an angel. 

Revelation 4

From the Throne 

came flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and peals of thunder. 

Before the Throne burned seven torches of fire. 

These are the seven Spirits of God.

 6 And before the Throne was something like a sea of glass, 

as clear as crystal. 

In the Center,

 around the Throne, 

were four living creatures, 

covered with eyes in front and back

Psalm 97

The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice;

    let the many coastlands be glad!

2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around Him;

    righteousness and justice 

are the foundation of His Throne.

Fire goes before him

    and burns up His adversaries all around.

His lightnings light up the world;

    the earth sees and trembles.

The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,

    before the Lord 

of all the earth.

The heavens proclaim His righteousness,

    and all the peoples 

see His Glory.

When we read God's Throne has shining water, Angels of various shapes and sizes fly.  A Heavenly Choir. Darkness, Thunderous Light.  Aren't you reminded of a modern, yet Holy and Beautiful Rock Concert? God of the Ages. Why couldn't God love to remember the beauty of thousands of years and cultures. Jesus is with us until the end of the age, and including the modern era!

The Joy of the Lord

The People had heard a band of musicians

but not a jet

or modern war

nor the power of gunpowder

The Noise of Acts 1?

Exodus 19:1-20

On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness.

 There Israel encamped before the mountain, 3 while Moses went up to God. 

The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. 

8 All the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” 

And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. 

9 And the Lord said to Moses, 

“Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.”

When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, 10 the Lord said to Moses, 

“Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments 11 and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. 13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ 

When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” 14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people; and they washed their garments. 15 And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.”

16 On the morning of the third day 

there were thunders and lightnings 

and a thick cloud on the mountain

 and a very loud trumpet blast, 

so that all the people in the camp trembled. 

17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, 

and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 

18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke 

because the Lord had descended on it in fire. 

The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, 

and the whole mountain trembled greatly. 

19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder,

 Moses spoke, 

and God answered him in thunder. 

20 The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. 

And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, 

and Moses went up.

Revelation 1

.

† 

9 I, John, your brother and partner 

in the tribulation and the kingdom 

and the patient endurance 

that are in Jesus

Was on the island called Patmos 

on account of the word of God 

and the testimony of Jesus. 

10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, 

and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, 

“Write what you see in a book 

and send it to the seven churches, 

to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum 

and to Thyatira and to Sardis 

and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

12 Then I turned to see the Voice that was speaking to me, 

and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 

13 and in the midst of the lampstands 

One like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around His chest. 

14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. 

His eyes were like a flame of fire, 1

5 his feet were like burnished bronze, 

refined in a furnace, 

and His voice was like the roar of many waters. 

16 In His right hand 

He held seven stars,

 from His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, 

and His Face 

was like the sun shining 

in full strength.

17 When I saw Him, 

I fell at his feet as though dead. 

But He laid His Right Hand on me, saying, 

“Fear not, 

I am the First and the Last, 

and the Living One. 

I died, 

and 

Behold 

I am alive forevermore, 

and 

I have the keys of Death and Hades. 

19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, 

those that are 

and those that are to take place 

after this. 

As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw 

in My Right Hand, 

and the seven golden lampstands, 

the seven stars 

are the angels 

of the seven churches, 

and the seven lampstands 

are the seven churches."

Abba, Father,

Clothe us in Your Name

Dwell in us, Father, 

we ask in the Name of Jesus.

Cloth us in today and always

in Your Kingdom,

Your Power and Glory.

Dwell in the ones we Love

Cover them in the Love and Name 

of Jesus Christ.

Help us to seek You first.

And, in Jesus Christ, we will finish well.

Clothe us in Jesus Christ, please, Father.

 Finally, be strong in the Lord 

and 

in the strength 

of His Might.

Put on the whole Of God's Word, 

that you may be able to stand!

To Know the Scriptures is

to know

the Power of God

Stand firm

Stand therefore, 

having fastened on 

The Belt of Truth, 

and having put on 

The Breastplate of Righteousness, 

and, 

as shoes for your feet, 

having put on the readiness given by 

The Gospel of Peace. 

In 

All

circumstances

 Take up the Shield of Faith, 

with which you can extinguish 

all 

the flaming darts of the evil one

And take the Helmet of Salvation, 

and 

The Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, 

Praying at all times in the Spirit, 

with all prayer and supplication. 

To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, 

making supplication for 

all 

the saints, 

and also for me,

and with health and healing for our families

 that Words may be given to me 

in opening my mouth boldly 

to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 

for which We are Ambassadors.

Thanksgiving

for hearing (please)

and health!

We ask You, Father, in the Name of Jesus.

And in Jesus - this Hope, 

Faith and Love - we will rise up believing Jesus. 

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

YES Bless the Lord Jesus

Thank You Jesus