Acts 2:21

Act 2:21  And it shall be that everyone who shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Interpretation:
       Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved?  what does this mean exactly?  Well whoever means whoever that is pretty simple.  But call upon the name of the Lord is a little more tricky.  We have lost the meaning of these words over time.  Because what we see is that all I have to do is call on the name of the Lord?  Do you mean just say His name? Shout His name? or just to Ask Him things?
      To "call upon"....  the Greek word is epikaleomai (have fun trying to say that :)   the definition is "to entitle; by implication to invoke (for aid, worship, testimony, decision, etc.)"  so you see that it is in essence to worship Him.  Calling out to Jesus not just with your mouth but with your life.  And it is not a one time thing... it is a continual thing.  A lot of people say the pray and that is it... no more God in their life until they get hurt or lose something, isn't that sad?  It is not only sad it is scary!  Because that is not a relationship, and that is what Jesus came and died for is a relationship.  Do you have a relationship?  or just a conscience appeasing prayer that you said at one time, or many times?  Jesus is real and we need to act like it.

Application:
       I pray that everyday I would get more real with Jesus.  And more real for Jesus.  I want to practically be intentional about having the qualities of Jesus in every way.  Jesus please give me the wisdom to do this.

Act 2:18

Act 2:18  And in those days I will pour out My Spirit upon My slaves and My slave women, and they shall prophesy.

Interpretation:
       In those days (the last days, from Jesus' resurrection til He comes back)  He is pouring out His Spirit.. but on who?...  SLAVES???  What is that?  Well the amazing thing about the Bible is that it is definately more than meets the eye.  The Bible is a 3D book... it is not just words on a page... the words have some depth to them.  So you can read this and go "slaves?  what, we don't have slaves now.... and on top of that, it is wrong to have slaves"   Well take a look at the word for slave, it is "DOULOS" which means bond servant.  In simple terms it means that the slave willfully chose to be a slave!  The slave loved the Master so much that he willingly chose to be His slave!
       It is not a harsh master-slave relationship.  I know when I hear Slave I think beating them into doing what you want them to do or else.  But that is not the case of this slave.   The slave is you and me!  If we chose to follow Jesus we give up our lives for His sake.  We look on and say "I want to be totally yours!  I was created for You!  I want to know you and be more like you!"  We see that He loves us and is a loving protective Father not a taskmaster.  So be His slave... not a slave to sin (selfish desires and passions)

Application:
       Practically I am going to try to be mindful of the fact that I am not my own, I want to be God's, and to practically choose Him and His ways over my own.   God I choose to be yours, and please help me daily to choose that!  I want to be so close to you, and hear your voice and your heart.  To be your bond servant, and to become more like you everyday. 

Act 2:17

Act 2:17  "And it shall be in the last days, says God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh. And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.

Interpretation:
      So Peter goes on to tell what Joel said..  In the last days... of what?  from what I gather "the last days" means the period of time from Jesus' death and resurrection, to His return.  And now Jesus' Spirit is available to anyone that believes in Jesus (who He is "God in the flesh" and what He has done "took our sins to make a way to be reunited us with Himself")  
    Sons and daughters shall prophesy (to speak the truth of God's Word into someones life) 
     Young men see visions?  Old men dream dreams?  I do not really understand this fully but I believe it because it is scripture and I maybe one day I will see a vision, or dream a dream, up til now it has not happened that I know of.  But God is still God and I just stand upon Jesus' words "Blessed are those who believe and don't see"  So even if i don't see something I will just keep on believing!

Application:
       Practically what I gather from this is that Jesus is coming back soon so I want to live like that is true, and that believing is not seeing.  Jesus is real and with us every second of the day TALK TO HIM!  That is what He died on the cross for... so that we could have fellowship with Him without a mediator.  He has died for our sins and washed us clean if we believe it and cling to Him!

Acts 2:16

Act 2:16  But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel:

Interpretation:
      Peter goes on to explain what is happening, to the people that thought the disciples were drunk.  He used scripture to defend himself and the others, which reminds me of someone else... Jesus!  When Jesus was in the wilderness and satan was tempting Him, everything that satan tempted Him with, Jesus came back with scripture!  The thing about scripture is first of all you have to know it to use it!  SO if you don't know it well enough to use it you need to make a point to study it personally.  And secondly as you can see with Jesus and satan, when Jesus used the WORD of GOD satan couldn't say or do anything.  It is kind of a trump card if you use it in the right context, and the right situation, for the right reason!!!  Do all things in love and not a spirit of "I am going to prove you wrong"

Application:
       I want to make a point first of all to study more, and to use the Word against temptations and also to use the Word more in my everyday life to encourage and teach others about Jesus and how Good He is!  So I pray for a pure heart and the boldness to share the Word with people in what ever situation with a sincere motive and love.

Acts 2:15

Act 2:15  For these are not drunk as you suppose, for it is the third hour of the day.

Interpretation:
       So Peter stands up and boldly get the mockers attention to make a point.  The point is on a practical level...  he just lets them know that they are not drunk.. it is to early for someone to be drunk.  Which makes me wonder what did they hear the disciples saying?  Did they not hear in their own language the works of God?  Maybe they didn't?  Maybe they just heard mumbling... maybe their hearts were too hard to hear what God was trying to say?  So maybe that is why they accused them of being drunk?  I don't know if that was the case but I do know that a hard heart can keep you from hearing God.  There have been times where my heart has been hard and when I hear a pastor or someone speaking about God it sounded like mumbling... because I heard it but wasn't listening!

Application:
      I pray that God would help me to guard my heart from coldness and hardening, that I would be able to hear and listen to what He has to say.

Acts 2:14

Act 2:14  But Peter, standing up with the Eleven, lifted up his voice and said to them, Men, Jews, and all who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words.

Interpretation:
       Because of all the mocking that was going on about them being accused of being drunk.  Peter stands up for the truth of what is going on.  He boldly captured everyone's attention so that every man could hear this for himself.  Now I guess by this time Peter is just speaking the common language not in another tongue, but either way if he was or not everyone heard it.  He emphasizes to the people to "let this be known to you, and to listen to his words!"  So that they would know that he was serious about what he was going to say.

Application:
      There are many times that I wish that I would stand up for the truth.. but sadly many times I shrink back... why?  because of fear of men, and pride.  It is crazy to me that those things can paralyze us from speaking up.  I mean really what are they going to do?... give us a mean or hateful look?... or talk about us in ways that we don't want them to?...   we do not live in a country where people actually act out and do us harm if we speak up!  there are plenty of places that do that.. and they still speak up!  It makes me sad to think how fearful I am.  God please give me the boldness to speak up for you and others when I need to.  To be able to speak the truth and grace like Jesus did, doing all things in love.

Acts 2:13

Act 2:13  But others mocking said, These men are full of sweet wine.

Interpretation:
     In verse 12 we saw how doubt and questions are not all the time bad.  Here in verse 13 we see the bad doubt and questioning.  So what is the difference?  Verse 12 they were questioning the validity of what they just heard and saw, in other words trying to find out if it was truth.  Verse 13 is a totally different kind of questioning.. it is a mocking, sarcastic way of trying to discredit what they heard and saw.  And they crazy thing is... the people that were mocking were religious!  You would think that they would be on board but they were stuck in there own ways so much so that, they would not accept the fact that God can work in different ways.  So their excuse was that the men were just drunk.. don't listen to them.  Isn't that sad.

Application:
      I pray that I would never put God in a box of what way I think He works.  I know that it is not hard to fall into a rut of thinking that way.  God help me to be open to what you are doing and want to do in and around my life.

Act 2:12

Act 2:12  And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying to one another, What does this mean?

Interpretation:
       All of the people that heard the disciples were is shock and amazement, but at the same time they were full of questions and doubt.  Doubt and questioning are not all the time bad...  God actually tells us to test the spirits and see if it is from Him.  So I think this group had sincere questions about the subject that the disciples spoke about, which was God and the works of God.  They were "seeking" if you would.  
     But doubt and questions can be a bad or unhealthy thing too, if you don't watch it.  Because as a Christian there are certain points were we have to just have childlike faith.  I heard a man say "If you can totally understand or wrap you mind around God, He wouldn't be big enough to worship!"  The Bible also says to stay away from endless discussions and idle talk, basically meaning there are certain things that we can't grasp and if we set and try to we will either come up with some whacked out reason, or we will just short circuit :)
      Ultimately Do you believe in God?  And do you think He is Good?  Then just follow hard after Him and don't worry about the rest... Keep the Main Thing, The MAIN Thing!

Application:
      Practically I am going to do everything I can to surround myself with Godly things, to keep my mind focused on Him.  We were created for Jesus and I want to be consumed with Him, Because He is the MAIN THING!!!

Act 2:9-11

 9  Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,       
10  Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya around Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,       
11  Cretans and Arabians, we hear them speaking the great things of God in our own languages.      

Interpretation:
       First we see how many different nations were there at Pentecost and how many different languages must have been spoken.  We also see here that they were not just speaking just to be speaking, they were speaking of the great things of God!  That is the key issue... God and the things of God!  We were created for Him and one of the purposes that we are here is to Praise Him.  That is... to declare how awesome He is and proclaim the great things He has done. 

Application:
      CONVICTING!!!  I know what God is saying to me... "SPEAK UP"  I know for a while I have been silent concerning Jesus.  I pray for the boldness to speak up and the passion for Jesus like never before.  God you are real and I want to let the world know it! 

Act 2:8

Act 2:8  and how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?

Interpretation:
        Here we see specifically what the shock factor was...  Every man heard the disciples speaking in their native tongue.   And they just could not believe it.  It is possible that these men hadn't spoken their native language in years, and  here are some uneducated common folk speaking clearly their native language.  So the question is there "How do they know how to speak our language?"  I have found that when God uses you, He will often times give you something to relate to the person you are relating to.  And I believe that this is one of the reasons for this act of God. 

Application:
       I have found when you can relate to someone in some way that the door begins to open for you to share with or to help in someway in Jesus' name.  I pray that God would give me the ability to see when these doors are opening, and that I would take the opportunity to do what it is that God calls me to do in that moment.

Acts 2:7

Act 2:7  And they were all amazed and marveled saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans?

Interpretation:
       Apparently the Galileans were not seen as people that would know and be able to speak different languages.  Because the people were amazed and marveled.  That is pretty serious words used, amazed and marveled.   That means that they were absolutely blown away and could not believe what they were seeing and hearing.  Which is probably why God chose these men to use because He is strengthened in our weakness.  If He would have chosen a group of smart people that would have been expect to speak in different languages, it probably wouldn't of had the same shock factor.  Although God can and does use people everyday doing common everyday things.  But hear He chose to shock them.

Application:
       It is comforting to know that God can use me despite my background, education, and abilities.  I just pray that I would be open and obedient like the apostles were to God, and not let my insecurities stop or get in the way of being used by God.

    Act 2:6  Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because  that every man heard them speak in his own language.

Interpretation:
       So after some time passes by, there were a lot of people that heard them speaking... and all the people were blown away because they heard these men speaking in their own language, but not just speaking anything.  They were speaking of the God and His Glory!  Probably speaking some things that no one else would know except the people listening.  This was the factor that caught their attention and opened them up to receiving from these men in the upper room. 

Application:
      Practically if they would have just been speaking of nothing, even if it was in a different language it would not have done any good.  The fact that they were speaking of God had the most impact.  I pray that my speech would be more intentional and lead by God.  I want to speak truth in love and share about Jesus more... I am making a point to share something about Jesus or the Word to at least one person every day.

Acts 2:5

Act 2:5  And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

Interpretation:
        I don't know if the disciples knew it but there were a lot of devout (religious) men that were nearby.  And they were out of every nation under heaven.  It is neat to think how these men got there, and how God orchestrated the men's lives so that they would end up there that day.  God is so awesome!  So apparently they spoke different languages, because that was the thing that God used to grab them.  The uneducated disciples spoke in their native language declaring the Glory of God.
       For some reason I always have to stop and think about these things practically because it is not a bedtime story, it was real!       
     So when I really play it out in my mind...  The disciples must have been talking in these languages for awhile.  Cause I don't think that the whole multitude was standing right there waiting for them.  Some probably heard and told others, and others heard while walking by, and others may have been curious and came to see what all the commotion was all about.  But little did they know that God had orchestrated all these things to be in place.


Application:
         I pray that I would be obedient to the Spirit of God.   Because you never know the outcome of your obedience.  I will bet that the disciples had no clue, that day they would speak in different languages, and soon after 3000 people would be saved.  Just think if they didn't listen!!!

Acts 2:4

2:4    And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Interpretation:
      They were all filled with the Spirit, and the Spirit took over.  And gave them the ability to speak the languages of the people that were in listening distance.  Not only how to speak the language, but what to say.  Now they already had the Spirit in them because earlier Jesus breathed on them and said "Receive the Holy Spirit"  so what does it mean they were filled with the Spirit.  Well  it means to "Come Upon" someone.  The Spirit Came upon them to empower them to do the works of God.

Application:
     I want to be filled with the Spirit, not to speak other languages but to speak for God.  So practically i am praying that God would fill me and the Holy Spirit would empower me to do the works of God, and I would be obedient to what the Spirit says to do. And right now that is to continue what I am doing... praying, reading, sharing and Spending time with Jesus.