Acts 2
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs-we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?" Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine."
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
" 'In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
I will show wonders in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved."
I love this.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful way to represent pentecost!
Sharolyn! I'm so sorry I've taken a week to respond to your wonderful comment! I've been in a whirlwind all this week but have been constantly thinking about taking time to write back to you!
ReplyDelete((SIGH OF EXASPERATION)) A MOMENT! WHAT A RELIEF!
You know what, I like comments. Some people do think that sending an email is more etiquette friendly but I get a little thrill out of seeing another tick on the register. I feel like another person feels/gets me and wants to reach out to let me know. It's super encouraging.
IT'S HILarious that you would compliment me on not having a cell phone two DAYS before my mother (that woman!) bought me one for my birthday. A CELL PHONE! BLAAAHHHHH NOOOOOOOOO! A fancy one, with 3-G network and unlimited minutes and a flip typepad. I looked like someone killed my cat (if I had one). I writhed in agony about keeping it for two days, realizing it was there in my purse every few hours, like a stepchild I never asked for. I finally walked into a moment of peace when I asked my friend, Joel, if I wanted to be the type of person who carries a cell phone. He simply asked me what do I believe in?
And I gave it back kindly the next day. Every now and then, I feel regretful but mostly I'm so happy to be who I want to be.
(I could look at your pictures all day. Congratulations on BBC!)
This is great! I really really (really really) like it!
ReplyDelete