Cats are funny creatures; they seem to have a mind of their own and are unusual to say the least!!! This little picture caught my attention because of the intensity of it. You can almost feel the cat in the room!!! And if you stare at it long enough, you begin to wonder what its thinking. Because of the contrast of the stare against the black background, it may be thinking about hunting, but that is just a guess; I really don't know. Sometimes, something gets your attention and you begin to think....huh?
Acts 2:1-42 (WEB)
1) Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2) Suddenly there came from the sky a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3) Tongues like fire appeared and were distributed to them, and one sat on each of them.
4) They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak.
5) Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under the sky.
6) When this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language.
7) They were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Behold, aren’t all these who speak Galileans?
8) How do we hear, everyone in our own native language?
9) Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia,
10) Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
11) Cretans and Arabians: we hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God!”
12) They were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying one to another, “What does this mean?”
13) Others, mocking, said, “They are filled with new wine.”
14) But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke out to them, “You men of Judea, and all you who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words.
15) For these aren’t drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is only the third hour of the day.
16) But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel:
17) ‘It will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams.
18) Yes, and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days, I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy.
19) I will show wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and billows of smoke.
20) The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.
21) It will be, that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
22) “Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, even as you yourselves know,
23) him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men, crucified and killed;
24) whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it.
25) For David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before my face, For he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved.
26) Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced. Moreover my flesh also will dwell in hope;
27) because you will not leave my soul in Hades, neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay.
28) You made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
29) “Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
30) Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,
31) he foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was his soul left in Hades, nor did his flesh see decay.
32) This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses.
33) Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this, which you now see and hear.
34) For David didn’t ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit by my right hand,
35) until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’
36) “Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
37) Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38) Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39) For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.”
40) With many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”
41) Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. There were added that day about three thousand souls.
42) They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayer.
1) Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2) Suddenly there came from the sky a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3) Tongues like fire appeared and were distributed to them, and one sat on each of them.
4) They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak.
5) Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under the sky.
6) When this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language.
7) They were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Behold, aren’t all these who speak Galileans?
8) How do we hear, everyone in our own native language?
9) Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia,
10) Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
11) Cretans and Arabians: we hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God!”
12) They were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying one to another, “What does this mean?”
13) Others, mocking, said, “They are filled with new wine.”
14) But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke out to them, “You men of Judea, and all you who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words.
15) For these aren’t drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is only the third hour of the day.
16) But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel:
17) ‘It will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams.
18) Yes, and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days, I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy.
19) I will show wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and billows of smoke.
20) The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.
21) It will be, that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
22) “Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, even as you yourselves know,
23) him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men, crucified and killed;
24) whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it.
25) For David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before my face, For he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved.
26) Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced. Moreover my flesh also will dwell in hope;
27) because you will not leave my soul in Hades, neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay.
28) You made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
29) “Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
30) Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,
31) he foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was his soul left in Hades, nor did his flesh see decay.
32) This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses.
33) Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this, which you now see and hear.
34) For David didn’t ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit by my right hand,
35) until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’
36) “Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
37) Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38) Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39) For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.”
40) With many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”
41) Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. There were added that day about three thousand souls.
42) They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayer.
Jews from all over came to Jerusalem to celebrate the festival of Pentecost and they saw something that attracted their attention; a miracle sent straight from God! Then Peter stood up and explained the miracle and proclaimed Jesus as the long awaited Messiah it and they understood it (verse 41). In the context of THIS PICTURE... THEY UNDERSTOOD CAT!!! How many of us go through life not understanding, pursuing whatever Earthly goal suits us, only to eventually realize that we are going to die and our goals are meaningless in light of what faces us next. But God, who loves us, made a way for us to advance from the concerns of this life into the next by a man, by the one who Peter talks about in Acts 2. Yet, we might hear it, but not hear it, because it is spoken in the language of faith. Now, for many of us, this is as strange as the language of "CAT", but, if we really concentrate we just might get it. Only our minds need to be clear and our hearts open to what God has to say. Wait a second, I think I understand a new sentence, but I am a little stuck on the first word... can anyone help me with "Meeeoooww"?
for Marge...