Acts 2: 22-24 With Footnotes

Listen to these words, men of Israel! Jesus of Nazareth was a man whose divine mission was clearly shown to you by the miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through him; you yourselves know this, for it took place here among you.

I fall in love so easy

With everything that I see

That comes through the light of His love

Sets my soul to flight

As He woos me and makes me new

I hope you're falling in love, too

'Cause Jesus loves you, too

Let the Son keep shinin'

Let the Son keep shinin'

Let the Son keep shinin' through

Let the Son keep shinin'

Let the Son keep shinin'

Let the Son keep shinin' through

You

Lookin' at the Son don't bother me now

The darkness is gone out of me somehow

There's a brighter Light within me

I'll stand in the presence of my Lord

Knowin' I'm not guilty anymore

His Son took away my fears today

There's been a change done in me by Jesus

There's been a change done in me somehow

There's been a change done in me by Jesus

There's been a change done in me

Let the change come

Let it come, let it come

Let the change come

Lookin' at the Son don't bother me now

The darkness is gone out of me somehow

There's a brighter Light within

I'm free from sin, I'm clean within

The darkness has gone out of me now

"I fall in Love/Change"
©1974 Latter Rain Music and Word Music, Inc.

https://youtu.be/35gV9V54CP0

God, in his own will and knowledge, had already decided that Jesus would be handed over to you; and you killed him, by letting sinful men nail him to the cross. (At this point, the liner notes for 2nd Chapter of Acts' album, With Footnotes, put a footnote pointing readers to "Easter Song." But since we've already covered Keith Green's version of that song, let's move on.) But God raised him from the dead; he set him free from the pains of death, because it was impossible that death should hold him prisoner.

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Truth is...I'm not really sure why this song is referenced at this place in the chapter, other than giving a celebratory commentary on "it took place here among you." But you know what? I'm also not really sure why Jesus chooses to set me free and shine through me and makes me all that I can be.

Failure Is Not Optional, It's Expected

A musical group with one of the strangest names in recorded history (Chumbawamba) sang one of the most-oddly-named songs ever written ("Tubthumping"). It was the group's biggest hit, even though it reached Number 12 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 20 Most-Annoying Songs.

Having just read the complete lyric, I'm glad that all anybody really remembers is the endlessly repeated "I get knocked down, but I get up again." It's an empowering, energetic anthem of personal triumph.

It's also the normal turn of events when trying to do or learn anything. "If at first you don't succeed" is Standard Operating Procedure for humanity.

And I'm not the only one who thinks so:

• The semi-official mantra of the engineering department at Franklin Institute's nationally-recognized Science Leadership Academy is "Fail early. Fail often."
• "Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently."  -  Henry Ford
• "Each time you fail, you have eliminated another wrong option."  -  Thomas A. Edison
• "The awesome thing about failure is that it is only temporary. Embrace it, learn the lesson and come back blazing."  -  Joel Brown
• "Failure is another steppingstone to greatness."  -  Oprah Winfrey

Truth is...even the apostle Paul, who wrote a large chunk of the New Testament, can be added to the list. "Yet, my brothers, I do not consider myself to have 'arrived', spiritually, nor do I consider myself already perfect. But I keep going on, grasping ever more firmly that purpose for which Christ grasped me. My brothers, I do not consider myself to have fully grasped it even now. But I do concentrate on this: I leave the past behind and with hands outstretched to whatever lies ahead I go straight for the goal"  -  Philippians 3:12-14 (Phillips)

Gandhi on Jesus: Top 25 Jesus Quotes: #17

Mahatma Gandhi, though raised as a Hindu, spent significant time comparing religions. Today's Jesus quote was, no doubt, born of Gandhi's spiritual searching and may be the most discouraging quote on the list:

I like your Christ.

I do not like your Christians.

Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.

Truth is...the disparity between professing faith in Christ and living in a Christ-like manner has always stood as one of the greatest barriers between seeking Truth and falling in love with Jesus.

Lord, empower me to love like Jesus, pray like Jesus...indeed, to live like Jesus. May my life lift up Jesus so that all people will be drawn to Him.

Acts 2:14-21 With Footnotes

Then Peter stood up with the other eleven apostles, and in a loud voice began to speak to the crowd, "Fellow Jews, and all of you who live in Jerusalem, listen to me and let me tell you what this means. These men are not drunk, as you suppose; it is only nine o'clock in the morning. Rather, this is what the prophet Joel spoke about,

'This is what I will do in the last days, God says: I will pour out my Spirit upon all men. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy; your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. Yes, even on my slaves, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will perform miracles in the sky above, and marvels on the earth below. There will be blood, fire, and thick smoke, the sun will become dark, and the moon red as blood, before the great and glorious Day of the Lord arrives. And then, whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved'."

I heard the ocean say
I started so long ago

I received my first wave

From the hand of God I flow

And the Son comes over the hill

The Son comes over the hill

I heard the breeze at night
Saying I receive my flight

From the turning of His eyes

As they moved across the sky

And the Son comes over the hill

The Son comes over the hill

I heard the Word at night
Speak to darkness with His light

Not a shadow will return

For all darkness shall be burned

When the Son comes over the hill

When the Son comes over the hill

When the Son comes over the hill

"The Son Comes Over the Hill"

©1974 Latter Rain Music and Word Music, Inc.

https://youtu.be/A7rIseqegvo

Truth is...From that Pentecost through today, the Lord has been pouring out His Spirit on all men, and whoever calls on the name of the Lord has been saved, and we've been anticipating the Son coming over the hill.

Demonic Comic

Today's lesson on how temptation works is courtesy of Baby Blues, by Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott. (© Baby Blues Bros, LLC)

It begins by whetting the victim's appetite.

And then, a stretching of the truth.

Followed by a preposterous lie.

With the payoff of trying to reverse the sin by committing it even more.

Truth is..."Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." (James 1:14-15)

Fame and Faith: Top 25 Jesus Quotes: #18

Born in India in 1940, Harry Webb became a British rock star at the age of 18, recording what John Lennon called "the first British rock record."

With the stage name of Cliff Richard, Webb went on to become the United Kingdom's third-best-selling musical artist in history, behind the Beatles and Elvis.

From Wikipedia: "Over a career spanning 60 years, more than 130 of his singles, albums, and EPs have reached the UK Top 20, more than any other artist. Richard holds the record (with Elvis) as the only act to make the UK singles charts in all of its first six decades (1950s–2000s). He has achieved 14 UK number-one singles, and is the only singer to have had a number-one single in the UK in five consecutive decades."

Somewhere along the way, his popularity and success took second place to his relationship with the living God through Jesus Christ, even though the one never seems to have held back the other, as witnessed to by today's Jesus quote.

What other people think of me is becoming less and less important; what they think of Jesus because of me is critical.

Truth is...Fame and faith do not have to be enemies, as long as a person knows which one to grasp firmly.

Acts 2:1-13 With Footnotes

In this blog's ongoing effort to expose the masses to some of the seminal works of Jesus Music pioneers, we come to the first album by siblings Annie Herring, Nelly Greisen, and Matthew Ward...collectively known as 2nd Chapter of Acts.

Their tight, intricate harmonies and Annie's unique song-writing made 2nd Chapter stand out as originals in a sea of "if you like this secular artist, you might like this Christian artist."

Their debut album, With Footnotes, was released in 1974 and had a back cover that featured the text of the actual second chapter of Acts (from Today's English Version ©American Bible Society 1966, 70, 71) with footnotes referencing the different songs on the album.

I always wanted to (but never did) read the text and play the songs where they show up as footnotes (a different order for the songs than just putting the needle in the groove), so that's how we're going to experience the album here.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

When the day of Pentecost arrived, all the believers were gathered together in one place. Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire spreading out, and each person there was touched by a tongue. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

There were Jews living in Jerusalem, religious men who had come from every country in the world. When they heard this noise, a large crowd gathered. They were all excited because each one of them heard the believers talking in his own language. In amazement and wonder, they exclaimed, "These men who are talking like this  -  they are all Galileans! How is it, then, that all of us hear them speaking in our own native language? We are from Parthia, Media, and Elam; from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia; from Pontus and Asia, from Phrygia and Pamphylia, from Egypt and the regions of Libya near Cyrene; some of us are from Rome, both Jews and Gentiles converted to Judaism; and some of us are from Crete and Arabia  -  yet all of us hear them speaking in our own languages of the great things that God has done!" Amazed and confused they all kept asking each other, "What does this mean?"

But others made fun of the believers, saying, "These men are drunk!" (Acts 2:1-13)

Feel a feeling

Say a saying

But you'll still be lonely

If you think life is only for this moment

Do a doing

Mourn a mourning

Still won't get you off your sorrow

So go ahead and cry, but you

Can't pry a look at tomorrow

You don't know which way the wind blows

So how can you plan tomorrow

You don't know which way the wind blows

So how can you plan tomorrow

Run a running

Hide a hiding

Whenever you hear the truth

And when you ask for the proof

You won't listen

Listen

Praise a praising

Build a building

Trying to get peace into your life

And you don't even know wrong from right

Oh, where's your wisdom?

You don't know which way the wind blows

So how can you plan tomorrow

You don't know which way the wind blows

So how can you plan tomorrow

Die a dying

Resurrecting

By believing and receiving

Forgiveness from Jesus

Who took the sin from sinning

You don't know which way the wind blows

So how can you plan tomorrow

Jesus knows which way the wind blows

So give Him your tomorrow

Believe and receive

You don't know which way the wind blows

So how can you plan tomorrow

You don't know which way the wind blows

So how can you plan tomorrow

"Which Way the Wind Blows"

©1974 Latter Rain Music and Word Music, Inc.

https://youtu.be/1Q4s9BOfTVc

Truth is...we all come from our own separate backgrounds and, without Yahweh's help, are just as clueless as the crowds who heard the sound of the wind but didn't grasp that it came from God and was ushering in His Kingdom in a new, fresh way.

I believe. Help me receive.