"In the Last Days..."
Monday, May 31, 2004
In the Last Days Bible Study Calendar
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, the miracle of Pentecost meant that the door to receiving the Good News was opened to all people everywhere. I thank You for giving me the opportunity to know Jesus, and to receive Him as my Savior and Lord. I pray that You will continue to open doors near and far that ALL people may hear the Good News and have the opportunity to respond to Jesus in this generation. I pray that You will fill me with the Holy Spirit that I may live my life in such a way as to be a winsome witness to every person with whom I come into contact today, tomorrow and throughout my life! Use me to bring You glory and honor. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God's Word For Me Today
Acts 2:5-13
5Godly Jews from many nations were living in Jerusalem at that time. 6When they heard this sound, they came running to see what it was all about, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.
7They were beside themselves with wonder. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, 8and yet we hear them speaking the languages of the lands where we were born! 9Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, 10Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya toward Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), 11Cretans, and Arabians. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” 12They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other. 13But others in the crowd were mocking. “They’re drunk, that’s all!” they said.
Reflecting on God’s Word
How do you think you would respond if you were in a situation where no one spoke English, and someone walked up to you speaking English and telling you about Jesus?
A Deeper Exploration of God’s Word
What caused the people to go to where the believers were sharing the Good News of Jesus? (2:5-6)
What was the initial response of the crowd when they heard people sharing the Gospel in their own language? (2:7-12)
What other response did people in the crowd have? (2:13)
Understanding God’s Purpose
What do we learn about God’s purpose for humanity through the events in today’s Scripture?
What do we learn about people through the two radically different responses to the believers speaking to them in various languages?
Applying God’s Word to Our Lives
What does today’s Scripture call us to DO right now?
Thoughts...Wonder or Derision...
How differently the members of the crowd responded to the miraculous event they saw and heard unfolding before them! Some in the crowd were beside themselves with wonder that they heard Galileans speaking to them in their native languages, while others mocked and said, “They’re drunk!” This will always be the case when God works His will in our lives. Some will believe and some will scoff. Some look to the heavens and see the amazing work of the hand of God. Others see a purposeless accident. How can people experiencing the same events and situations respond so differently? How can some see, hear and believe, while others see, hear and mock? In one sense the answer to that is God’s providence. God offers the gift of life and discernment to us as His children. Some receive it and some reject it, just as some children reject the love offered them by their parents while others receive it. God gives us the opportunity to respond to His love for us or reject it. Otherwise, we would be robots rather than humans. For each of us the opportunities comes to be amazed by God or reject Him.