January 17, 2023 | Be On Mission
Joel's Prophecy Fulfilled
Scripture: Acts 2:14-21 (NIV)
14 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. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 “‘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.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Devotional
The Old Testament prophets had a tough job. They ministered at a time when the Jewish kings, priests, and people often turned away from the Lord and turned toward many forms of idolatry. Over 800 years before today’s reading from Acts, the prophet Joel was warning the people to repent, fast, and turn back to God. If they refused (which they did) they would be destroyed by an invading army (which they were). Even so, God never gives up on His people. In Joel 2:18, the prophet declares, “Then the Lord was jealous for his land and took pity on his people.”
God never gives up on His people.
That is a promise worth memorizing. When we have failed God, He never gives up on us. When others have failed us, God never gives up on us. When all seems lost, when everything is hard, when we want to give up, remember that God never gives up on His people.
These verses in Acts 2:17-21 are quoted from Joel 2:28-32. When Peter quotes them, he applies it to the spiritual bankruptcy of those around him. Remember that Peter is making this speech in Jerusalem, where Jesus had been crucified just over seven weeks earlier. The corruption of the Old Testament kings and priests had been replaced by the corruption of the Pharisees and Sadducees. And Jesus, who came offering a way to the heart of God, was put to death.
But, God never gives up on His people.
Read this passage again, claiming the promises made for yourself, your family, your community, and your world. What is God saying to you?
Poem
Stood To Stand
Acts 2: 14
I’ve laid to lay
My little head
To rest on downy pillow
I’ve sat to sit
Observe a fall
Beside a weeping willow
I’ve knelt to kneel
To beg a prayer
As agonizing mother
I’ve held to hold
A tear-stained hand
For sister and for brother
I’ve walked to walk
A mile or two
With friend in conversation
I’ve drawn to draw
A gift to give
Unique, special creation
I’ve hugged to hug
A loved one dear
Relationship to savor
I’ve stood to stand
Bear witness to
The grace of Christ, my Savior
