Today Our Daily Bread 3-4-05

Luke 24:44 -53
44 Then he said, "When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me by Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must all come true." 45 Then he opened their minds to understand these many Scriptures. 46 And he said, "Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah must suffer and die and rise again from the dead on the third day. 47 With my authority, take this message of repentance to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: 'There is forgiveness of sins for all who turn to me.' 48 You are witnesses of all these things.49 "And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven." 50 Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven. F121 52 They worshiped him and F122 then returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy. 53 And they spent all of their time in the Temple, praising God.
Acts 1:1-6
1 Dear Theophilus:In my first book F1 I told you about everything Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he ascended to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions from the Holy Spirit. 3 During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time and proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. On these occasions he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.4 In one of these meetings as he was eating a meal with them, he told them, "Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you what he promised. Remember, I have told you about this before. 5 John baptized with F2 water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." 6 When the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, "Lord, are you going to free Israel now and restore our kingdom?"

Acts 2:1-21
2:1 On the day of Pentecost, seven weeks after Jesus' resurrection, F6 the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them, and it filled the house where they were meeting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, F7 as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.5 Godly Jews from many nations were living in Jerusalem at that time. 6 When 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.7 They were beside themselves with wonder. "How can this be?" they exclaimed. "These people are all from Galilee, 8 and yet we hear them speaking the languages of the lands where we were born! 9 Here we are – Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya toward Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), 11 Cretans, and Arabians. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!" 12 They stood there amazed and perplexed. "What can this mean?" they asked each other. 13 But others in the crowd were mocking. "They're drunk, that's all!" they said.14 Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, "Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this.15 Some of you are saying these people are drunk. It isn't true! It's much too early for that. People don't get drunk by nine o'clock in the morning. 16 No, what you see this morning was predicted centuries ago by the prophet Joel:17 'In the last days, God said, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. 18 In those days I will pour out my Spirit upon all my servants, men and women alike, and they will prophesy. 19 And I will cause wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below – blood and fire and clouds of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon will turn bloodred, before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives. 21 And anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' F8
FOOTNOTES:F1: The reference is to the book of Luke. F2: Or in; also in 1:5b. F6: Greek When the day of Pentecost arrived. This annual celebration came 50 days after the Passover ceremonies. See Lev 23:16. F7: Or in other tongues. F8: Joel 2:28-32. F121: Some manuscripts add We would have judged him by our law, 7but Lysias, the commander of the garrison, came and took him violently away from us, 8commanding his accusers to come before you. F122: Greek Sanhedrin.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, NLTcopyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.