The Acts of the Apostles
Chapter
2
1. When the day of Pentecost had come they were all together in one place. 2. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the spirit gave them ability.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 1 to 4)
I can only imagine the surprise of the apostles on the experiencing the mighty power of Your Holy Spirit. In my my mind I compare it to a scene from superman when the people ask each other 'Was that a bird? No it was Superman!
When I had my first mountaintop experience with You oh God I also experienced the same feeling of a strong wind that filled the room. I was also amazed by the experience. Today many years after I am praying to You to make an action replay of that wonderful experience. Currently my heart is filled with feelings of hurt and anger that only You can heal. For some reason that is beyond me I am feeling the negative effects of the emotional abuse that I had experienced way back in my childhood. For now I am not a fertile grounds for You to dwell in. Were it not for these moments of prayer I would be desperate. With alot of support from You by means of my group leader I am being guided on how to forgive those who hurt me, so that I can then receive forgiveness from You. This has been a major blockage in my life that has even caused me severe chest pains, because my body was responding to my emotional state. I wish to thank You oh Jesus for all the support both online and offline that You are giving me. I greatly desire Your healing power and grace because the hurts are many and You are my only hope!
You are able to manifest Yourself in many different forms. In verses 1 to 4 You first appeared as a strong gust of wind, then you appeared as a tongue of fire that divided itself among the apostles. Moreover You then manifested Yourself in knowledge that enabled the apostles to speak in different languages. Oh Jesus how great You are. All this encourages me more and continues to strengthen my belief and faith that You will also give me the gift of forgiveness for others particularly my father and even others, so that I can be freed from my bondage and be open to the presence of Your Holy Spirit!
I invite you all to join me in this prayer to the Holy Spirit of God:-
Come Holy Spirit
5. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 5 to 6)
When these devout Jews witnessed the strong sound of the Holy Spirit who came in the form of a strong wind they felt bewildered. Although we believe in You oh Jesus, when making a direct experience of You we question if this is real and true or not. Even though we witness enough evidence to convince us of Your presence it still seems to good to be true. The reason is that we may believe in You oh Jesus as a person who existed during the times of the Apostles, however not during our times. Either through ignorance or simply unbelief we are not convinced of the existence of Your Holy Spirit until we make a personal experience of Your Holy Spirit. Renee Descartes argued that he thinks therefore he is, therefore his existence depended on his rationality while others reason that feeling is believing. However when I experienced the presence of God during a dream I was not conscious of what was going up until I was suddenly aroused by the strength of the voice of Your voice that left me trembling and in a state of shock. Therefore feeling is not always a reliable source in order to enforce our belief system, but faith in You by means of the power of the Holy Spirit of God. It is you oh Jesus who makes the first step and not us.
7. Amazed and astonished they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8. And how is it that we hear each of us, in our native language? 9. Parthians, Medes, 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, both Jews and proselytes, 11. Cretans and Arabs-in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power."12. All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another. 'What does this mean? 13.But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine".
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 7 to 13)
When the Holy Spirit of God takes control of our lives and uses us people will notice the change in us. Some might admire the new person that we have become, others might be jealous, and others may totally disagree with us because what we say and how we live goes against their values and or makes them guilty of the way they are living. When reading this chapter, if you happen to know me you might also have many things about me. Is this the same Vince who was going to be a monk and quitted, is this the same Vince who graduated as a social worker and because of the abuse he had incurred he quitted or maybe he did not have the guts to be a social worker and is still putting the blame on his past. Is this the same Vince whose parents have separated and had their marriage anulled and almost had his own marriage separated. Shame on You Vince! You really have the nerve to pray on the Good News of God!
However God thinks otherwise. Oh Jesus thank You for my past. I thank You for my unfaithful father, he did not have the skills to make good choices and he hurt me, because he himself was hurt. Thanks for not permitting me to continue in the role of social worker. My intestines became irritated in the process and were it not for Your healing grace I would have been chronically ill and or maybe even worse. Thanks for my past because were it not for my past I cannot understand and thank You for the present and others who may have experienced a similar childhood. Thanks Jesus I pray to You!
14. But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'cklock in the morning. 16. No, this what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 14 to 16)
Oh Jesus by means of the power of Your Holy Spirit, You want us to break down the barriers of our lives, go against what others may think and say about us and give testimony of Your love, Your faith in us more than our faith in You and confirm the old prophecies of the old Testament by means of the new prophecies that are fulfilled in Your Good News and moreover also in the testament of our daily lives. Every day of my life is another page of my testament in which You are still active writing on each page of my life Your Divine will that I do not always understand (almost never!) but still my life is a living testimony of Your will even though I am still a sinful person.
17. 'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon 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 upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. 20. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day. 21. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 17 to 21)
Oh Jesus I totally believe in Your Good News. I do not wish to be misunderstood that the ends of the world are on the doorstep. I do not wish to alarm people however the facts speak by themselves however it is only God who is competent to know the day and the hour and not the sciences. I invite you to click on the following link:-
Signs of the end of times
22. "You that are Israelites," listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and sign that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know- 23 this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. 24. But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 22 to 24)
Oh Jesus how limited a portrayal Peter is projecting of You when declaring that You were a 'man'. You were more than a man You were the Son of God and God Himself. At times even those who are close to You may have a somewhat distorted perception of You, or maybe for some reason in particular sometimes may project an image that others can understand according to their knowledge. This could have been Peter's situation. On knowing that the people of Israel may have accepted You as Jesus the man who performs miracles and not as the Son of God who is one with God, this may have compelled Peter to speak in this way.
I pray oh Jesus that in whatever circumstances I find myself in the truth about You in my testimony of You will always reflect You and Your Good News even if I am surrounded by unbelievers. I believe to be crucified for my belief in You than for declaring a half truth about You and be the cause that others may be misled in their faith.
25. For David says concerning him, 'I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken; 26. therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will live in hope. 27. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One experience corruption. 28 You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.'
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 25 to 28)
Oh Jesus these verses are very positive and encouraging. As in the case of David I can say with conviction that You are always before me. This means that any situation that I am currently experiencing or will face in the future, You have handled it already and therefore half of the problem is already solved. All I need is to place my trust in You and Your intervention and dedicate myself to the remaining percentage of the problem in which God will surely be by my side. Therefore on knowing that I have You on my right side I need not be afraid or discouraged for You are with me and I am fully convinced that You will never abandon me. If David believed in You with such a great faith and was still prone to sin, whom am I who is also a sinner to be afraid in placing my trust in you. Therefore I encourage You the reader as scripture has encouraged me, to place 100% percent trust in God, He is always before You. No situation is greater than God. He is greater than all our problems and He will never abandon or forsake you!
29. 'Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. 31. Forseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying, 'He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh experience corruption.'
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 29 to 31)
It can be said that although David was convinced of his faith in You he still experienced death, however although David died in his heart he had the promise that even on dying God will be with him and guide his soul on its way to His heavenly father. Even though our situations may appear to be morbid up to the point of death our faith in You oh Jesus is to remain firm and solid to withstand all the tribulations of our lives.
32. This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verse 32)
It is clearly written in plain black and white lettering 'We are witnesses'. As witnesses as in a court of law we are required to give our testimony. When we find ourselves in environments where negativity starts flowing like drainage, when it starts being accepted by all the members of the group or those making part of that environment we are to speak up and refuse to accept the negativity by proclaiming all the good things acts and graces that God has shared with you. This is necessary to challenge the negative current. In return we might be confronted with another wave of negativity however the final victory is of God. The Holy Spirit on seeing that we are ready to give testimony and witness will give us words of wisdom based on the Good News and other sources so that we can with love and humility refute the negative arguments that are being presented as evidence. Therefore let us pray to the Holy Spirit of God to make us good and worthy witnesses.
I would like to share with you all this moving experience where this woman gave witness of her faith in God to a man who was about to steal her money and in ten minutes this man repented and was deeply moved by the witness of his victim so much that this man decided to go home and pray to God. Please click on the following link:-
Witness in action
33. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit he has poured out this that you both see and hear.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verse 33)
Oh Jesus thank You for always keeping your promises especially that of giving us the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is the gift of all gifts. As in the case of the youth in whom you placed your finger in his ear and loosened the restrictions on his ability to speak, the power of Your Holy Spirit also gives us the ability of seeing beyond what is commonly seen and even interpreting beyond what is commonly heard for instance as in the case of interpreting words of knowledge given by the Holy Spirit and even the interpretation of dreams and tongues as they are being proclaimed.
34. For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, 35. until I make your enemies your footstool! 36. Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both LORD and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified."
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 34 to 36)
Oh Jesus you are my refuge and protection. You are the avenger I need not feel feelings of revenge or harbour grudge because You are at my right side and are a certain and reliable means of protection. In a nice and loving way you turn the situations in our favour if we obey and place our trust in You.
37. Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles. "Brothers," what should we do?" 38. Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 37 to 38)
I pray oh Jesus that when we are made aware, of the fact that it was due to our sins that Your Son was to be crucified in order to atone for our sins, we also feel guilty and experience the need to repent from our ways. Some of us may say that they were not even born during that time, however oh Jesus You did not only die for the sins of the Pharisees and the Jews of this period but even for the sins that were yet to be done up to the end of time.
39. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are fare away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him."
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verse 39)
And everyone means everyone according to God's dictionary. Everyone means that repentance along with the baptism of the Holy Spirit is available for all at our request. One might say "oh I am not worthy! No! the Good News says everyone! this is without exception. We are all open to being called by God to make that great leap of faith and make that big "U" turn in our life.
40. And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, " Save yourselves from this corrupt generation."
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verse 40)
Today during our times God is also asking us to place our trust in Him and not on the corrupt values of this world. Our decision is to be firm and based on prayer and not just on social bias so as not to become social outcasts if we do not believe in other values and beliefs. Jesus wants us to follow Him because we are convinced that we want to follow Him having true believers even though we are sinners.
41. So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verse 41)
When I reflect on this verse oh Jesus I remember the time when You prompted me to begin praying on Your Word and sharing it online. In the beginning I was sharing people the blog with six people. Today I have been invited and accepted by 717 people in the blog of the Old Testament, New Testament and another 717 following the new blog 'The Acts of the Apostles".
42. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verse 42)
A new Christian community was born that was based on the apostles teaching of the Good News and the celebration of the breaking of bread in the sacrament of the Eucharist. These were the two basic foods offered to these new members of the body of Christ which was still in an early stage of development. As in the development of human relationships these new members as in our case where still in their honeymoon phase of their relationship with You oh God.
43. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verse 43)
Once we open our hearts to welcome the presence of Your Holy Spirit, as individuals and even more on a group level the Holy Spirit can do more than wonders. He uses us as channels of transmitting God's message to us, healing powers, words of knowledge among other acts. His power is unlimited, so strong that even today The Holy Spirit is still at work in the management of the world and its people especially those who are receptive to Your Spirit oh God.
44. All who believed were together and had all things in common; 45. they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all as any had need.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 44 to 45)
The believers were bound together because they were united by the Holy Spirit of God, in which they all believed. The Holy Spirit instilled in them a strong sense of unity and community, so much that they all used their means to cater for the need of the common good. The self was sacrificed for the whole, which goes directly against the laws of human nature which implies that we be avaricious and cater for our own needs before those of others and only when our needs are met in abundance then and only then we may choose or even think if we are to help others or not. Oh Jesus You desire of us to make this great leap of faith and generosity and think of others and their needs before thinking about our own needs. Due to the fact that this new group of Christians the Church in an early state of development reached out to cater for others needs God continued to provide them with enough resources to even meet their ow needs.
46. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, 47. praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. and day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 46 to 47)
The members of the new Christian Community that was formed were bound together by the Holy Spirit that kept them together as one family. They were free from the limitations of worldly possessions because they distributed all their resources according to who happened to be in need. They had their time of prayer and communion and You oh God blessed their unity by adding more members to the group of believers. This is the difference oh God between a family that prays together in a spirit of love and generosity and another family like my own where barriers have started to be erected and personal interest takes priority over the needs of the family thus disrupting the daily interaction of the family and creating a strong feeling of distrust and disunity leading to the breakdown of that family.
I pray to You oh God with a heavy heart to spread Your protective wings over my family, for the evil one is trying to wreck havoc in my family. I pray oh God that You breed in us feelings of sincere love and trust in each other. May You be our cornerstone. I feel that everybody is against me, my wife declares that she hates me, and state that she wishes to leave home. I am feeling very depressed and angry when at home. My life has become a living hell. You and my daughter are my only hope and courage to continue living. I pray for faith, love, courage and the wisdom to make the right decisions for the good of all. My wish is to continue walking in Your ways as a family. I pray to You help me in making it through the storm, this great test and find Your light at the end of the long tunnel. Amen.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 1 to 4)
I can only imagine the surprise of the apostles on the experiencing the mighty power of Your Holy Spirit. In my my mind I compare it to a scene from superman when the people ask each other 'Was that a bird? No it was Superman!
When I had my first mountaintop experience with You oh God I also experienced the same feeling of a strong wind that filled the room. I was also amazed by the experience. Today many years after I am praying to You to make an action replay of that wonderful experience. Currently my heart is filled with feelings of hurt and anger that only You can heal. For some reason that is beyond me I am feeling the negative effects of the emotional abuse that I had experienced way back in my childhood. For now I am not a fertile grounds for You to dwell in. Were it not for these moments of prayer I would be desperate. With alot of support from You by means of my group leader I am being guided on how to forgive those who hurt me, so that I can then receive forgiveness from You. This has been a major blockage in my life that has even caused me severe chest pains, because my body was responding to my emotional state. I wish to thank You oh Jesus for all the support both online and offline that You are giving me. I greatly desire Your healing power and grace because the hurts are many and You are my only hope!
You are able to manifest Yourself in many different forms. In verses 1 to 4 You first appeared as a strong gust of wind, then you appeared as a tongue of fire that divided itself among the apostles. Moreover You then manifested Yourself in knowledge that enabled the apostles to speak in different languages. Oh Jesus how great You are. All this encourages me more and continues to strengthen my belief and faith that You will also give me the gift of forgiveness for others particularly my father and even others, so that I can be freed from my bondage and be open to the presence of Your Holy Spirit!
I invite you all to join me in this prayer to the Holy Spirit of God:-
Come Holy Spirit
5. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 5 to 6)
When these devout Jews witnessed the strong sound of the Holy Spirit who came in the form of a strong wind they felt bewildered. Although we believe in You oh Jesus, when making a direct experience of You we question if this is real and true or not. Even though we witness enough evidence to convince us of Your presence it still seems to good to be true. The reason is that we may believe in You oh Jesus as a person who existed during the times of the Apostles, however not during our times. Either through ignorance or simply unbelief we are not convinced of the existence of Your Holy Spirit until we make a personal experience of Your Holy Spirit. Renee Descartes argued that he thinks therefore he is, therefore his existence depended on his rationality while others reason that feeling is believing. However when I experienced the presence of God during a dream I was not conscious of what was going up until I was suddenly aroused by the strength of the voice of Your voice that left me trembling and in a state of shock. Therefore feeling is not always a reliable source in order to enforce our belief system, but faith in You by means of the power of the Holy Spirit of God. It is you oh Jesus who makes the first step and not us.
7. Amazed and astonished they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8. And how is it that we hear each of us, in our native language? 9. Parthians, Medes, 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, both Jews and proselytes, 11. Cretans and Arabs-in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power."12. All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another. 'What does this mean? 13.But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine".
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 7 to 13)
When the Holy Spirit of God takes control of our lives and uses us people will notice the change in us. Some might admire the new person that we have become, others might be jealous, and others may totally disagree with us because what we say and how we live goes against their values and or makes them guilty of the way they are living. When reading this chapter, if you happen to know me you might also have many things about me. Is this the same Vince who was going to be a monk and quitted, is this the same Vince who graduated as a social worker and because of the abuse he had incurred he quitted or maybe he did not have the guts to be a social worker and is still putting the blame on his past. Is this the same Vince whose parents have separated and had their marriage anulled and almost had his own marriage separated. Shame on You Vince! You really have the nerve to pray on the Good News of God!
However God thinks otherwise. Oh Jesus thank You for my past. I thank You for my unfaithful father, he did not have the skills to make good choices and he hurt me, because he himself was hurt. Thanks for not permitting me to continue in the role of social worker. My intestines became irritated in the process and were it not for Your healing grace I would have been chronically ill and or maybe even worse. Thanks for my past because were it not for my past I cannot understand and thank You for the present and others who may have experienced a similar childhood. Thanks Jesus I pray to You!
14. But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'cklock in the morning. 16. No, this what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 14 to 16)
Oh Jesus by means of the power of Your Holy Spirit, You want us to break down the barriers of our lives, go against what others may think and say about us and give testimony of Your love, Your faith in us more than our faith in You and confirm the old prophecies of the old Testament by means of the new prophecies that are fulfilled in Your Good News and moreover also in the testament of our daily lives. Every day of my life is another page of my testament in which You are still active writing on each page of my life Your Divine will that I do not always understand (almost never!) but still my life is a living testimony of Your will even though I am still a sinful person.
17. 'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon 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 upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. 20. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day. 21. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 17 to 21)
Oh Jesus I totally believe in Your Good News. I do not wish to be misunderstood that the ends of the world are on the doorstep. I do not wish to alarm people however the facts speak by themselves however it is only God who is competent to know the day and the hour and not the sciences. I invite you to click on the following link:-
Signs of the end of times
22. "You that are Israelites," listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and sign that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know- 23 this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. 24. But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 22 to 24)
Oh Jesus how limited a portrayal Peter is projecting of You when declaring that You were a 'man'. You were more than a man You were the Son of God and God Himself. At times even those who are close to You may have a somewhat distorted perception of You, or maybe for some reason in particular sometimes may project an image that others can understand according to their knowledge. This could have been Peter's situation. On knowing that the people of Israel may have accepted You as Jesus the man who performs miracles and not as the Son of God who is one with God, this may have compelled Peter to speak in this way.
I pray oh Jesus that in whatever circumstances I find myself in the truth about You in my testimony of You will always reflect You and Your Good News even if I am surrounded by unbelievers. I believe to be crucified for my belief in You than for declaring a half truth about You and be the cause that others may be misled in their faith.
25. For David says concerning him, 'I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken; 26. therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will live in hope. 27. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One experience corruption. 28 You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.'
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 25 to 28)
Oh Jesus these verses are very positive and encouraging. As in the case of David I can say with conviction that You are always before me. This means that any situation that I am currently experiencing or will face in the future, You have handled it already and therefore half of the problem is already solved. All I need is to place my trust in You and Your intervention and dedicate myself to the remaining percentage of the problem in which God will surely be by my side. Therefore on knowing that I have You on my right side I need not be afraid or discouraged for You are with me and I am fully convinced that You will never abandon me. If David believed in You with such a great faith and was still prone to sin, whom am I who is also a sinner to be afraid in placing my trust in you. Therefore I encourage You the reader as scripture has encouraged me, to place 100% percent trust in God, He is always before You. No situation is greater than God. He is greater than all our problems and He will never abandon or forsake you!
29. 'Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. 31. Forseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying, 'He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh experience corruption.'
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 29 to 31)
It can be said that although David was convinced of his faith in You he still experienced death, however although David died in his heart he had the promise that even on dying God will be with him and guide his soul on its way to His heavenly father. Even though our situations may appear to be morbid up to the point of death our faith in You oh Jesus is to remain firm and solid to withstand all the tribulations of our lives.
32. This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verse 32)
It is clearly written in plain black and white lettering 'We are witnesses'. As witnesses as in a court of law we are required to give our testimony. When we find ourselves in environments where negativity starts flowing like drainage, when it starts being accepted by all the members of the group or those making part of that environment we are to speak up and refuse to accept the negativity by proclaiming all the good things acts and graces that God has shared with you. This is necessary to challenge the negative current. In return we might be confronted with another wave of negativity however the final victory is of God. The Holy Spirit on seeing that we are ready to give testimony and witness will give us words of wisdom based on the Good News and other sources so that we can with love and humility refute the negative arguments that are being presented as evidence. Therefore let us pray to the Holy Spirit of God to make us good and worthy witnesses.
I would like to share with you all this moving experience where this woman gave witness of her faith in God to a man who was about to steal her money and in ten minutes this man repented and was deeply moved by the witness of his victim so much that this man decided to go home and pray to God. Please click on the following link:-
Witness in action
33. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit he has poured out this that you both see and hear.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verse 33)
Oh Jesus thank You for always keeping your promises especially that of giving us the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is the gift of all gifts. As in the case of the youth in whom you placed your finger in his ear and loosened the restrictions on his ability to speak, the power of Your Holy Spirit also gives us the ability of seeing beyond what is commonly seen and even interpreting beyond what is commonly heard for instance as in the case of interpreting words of knowledge given by the Holy Spirit and even the interpretation of dreams and tongues as they are being proclaimed.
34. For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, 35. until I make your enemies your footstool! 36. Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both LORD and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified."
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 34 to 36)
Oh Jesus you are my refuge and protection. You are the avenger I need not feel feelings of revenge or harbour grudge because You are at my right side and are a certain and reliable means of protection. In a nice and loving way you turn the situations in our favour if we obey and place our trust in You.
37. Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles. "Brothers," what should we do?" 38. Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 37 to 38)
I pray oh Jesus that when we are made aware, of the fact that it was due to our sins that Your Son was to be crucified in order to atone for our sins, we also feel guilty and experience the need to repent from our ways. Some of us may say that they were not even born during that time, however oh Jesus You did not only die for the sins of the Pharisees and the Jews of this period but even for the sins that were yet to be done up to the end of time.
39. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are fare away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him."
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verse 39)
And everyone means everyone according to God's dictionary. Everyone means that repentance along with the baptism of the Holy Spirit is available for all at our request. One might say "oh I am not worthy! No! the Good News says everyone! this is without exception. We are all open to being called by God to make that great leap of faith and make that big "U" turn in our life.
40. And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, " Save yourselves from this corrupt generation."
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verse 40)
Today during our times God is also asking us to place our trust in Him and not on the corrupt values of this world. Our decision is to be firm and based on prayer and not just on social bias so as not to become social outcasts if we do not believe in other values and beliefs. Jesus wants us to follow Him because we are convinced that we want to follow Him having true believers even though we are sinners.
41. So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verse 41)
When I reflect on this verse oh Jesus I remember the time when You prompted me to begin praying on Your Word and sharing it online. In the beginning I was sharing people the blog with six people. Today I have been invited and accepted by 717 people in the blog of the Old Testament, New Testament and another 717 following the new blog 'The Acts of the Apostles".
42. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verse 42)
A new Christian community was born that was based on the apostles teaching of the Good News and the celebration of the breaking of bread in the sacrament of the Eucharist. These were the two basic foods offered to these new members of the body of Christ which was still in an early stage of development. As in the development of human relationships these new members as in our case where still in their honeymoon phase of their relationship with You oh God.
43. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verse 43)
Once we open our hearts to welcome the presence of Your Holy Spirit, as individuals and even more on a group level the Holy Spirit can do more than wonders. He uses us as channels of transmitting God's message to us, healing powers, words of knowledge among other acts. His power is unlimited, so strong that even today The Holy Spirit is still at work in the management of the world and its people especially those who are receptive to Your Spirit oh God.
44. All who believed were together and had all things in common; 45. they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all as any had need.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 44 to 45)
The believers were bound together because they were united by the Holy Spirit of God, in which they all believed. The Holy Spirit instilled in them a strong sense of unity and community, so much that they all used their means to cater for the need of the common good. The self was sacrificed for the whole, which goes directly against the laws of human nature which implies that we be avaricious and cater for our own needs before those of others and only when our needs are met in abundance then and only then we may choose or even think if we are to help others or not. Oh Jesus You desire of us to make this great leap of faith and generosity and think of others and their needs before thinking about our own needs. Due to the fact that this new group of Christians the Church in an early state of development reached out to cater for others needs God continued to provide them with enough resources to even meet their ow needs.
46. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, 47. praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. and day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
(Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 46 to 47)
The members of the new Christian Community that was formed were bound together by the Holy Spirit that kept them together as one family. They were free from the limitations of worldly possessions because they distributed all their resources according to who happened to be in need. They had their time of prayer and communion and You oh God blessed their unity by adding more members to the group of believers. This is the difference oh God between a family that prays together in a spirit of love and generosity and another family like my own where barriers have started to be erected and personal interest takes priority over the needs of the family thus disrupting the daily interaction of the family and creating a strong feeling of distrust and disunity leading to the breakdown of that family.
I pray to You oh God with a heavy heart to spread Your protective wings over my family, for the evil one is trying to wreck havoc in my family. I pray oh God that You breed in us feelings of sincere love and trust in each other. May You be our cornerstone. I feel that everybody is against me, my wife declares that she hates me, and state that she wishes to leave home. I am feeling very depressed and angry when at home. My life has become a living hell. You and my daughter are my only hope and courage to continue living. I pray for faith, love, courage and the wisdom to make the right decisions for the good of all. My wish is to continue walking in Your ways as a family. I pray to You help me in making it through the storm, this great test and find Your light at the end of the long tunnel. Amen.
