Read Joel 1
Highlights:
Joel's warnings and call to repentance; future day of the Lord; outpouring of the Holy Spirit; restoration of Israel and judgment upon nations.
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions (Joel 2:28).
After the Lord Jesus' Ascension, the day of Pentecost, after they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter said: This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel (Acts 2:16). The next verse (17) repeats the Word of the Lord as a given to Joel which is a great end times prophecy. We are going to experience a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the latter days. God is going to pour out His anointing in a huge way on His obedient servants. If you want to be part of this, it is important to follow after the Word of God.
Later Peter said: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust (II Pet. 1:4).
Here, the two streams of life are contrasted: The corruption in the world through lust, and the divine nature which is in the world through the Spirit-filled life.
We receive the Adam-life by natural birth, and the Christ-life by spiritual birth. The believer has experienced two births in his life. The first birth comes to every human being that has ever lived. Our fleshly birth into this world is the Adam birth that is spoken of here. Jesus spoke to Nicodemus of a second birth. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3). This second birth that Jesus was speaking of was a spiritual birth. Nicodemus was confused at first asking: How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter a second time into his mother's womb, and be born? (3:4). Many in the world today are just as confused. They don't understand what being born again means. Jesus explained to him: Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the spirit is spirit (3:5-6). We as believers must help them to understand through the Word of God that by repentance and faith in Jesus, we gain this second birth and we obtain eternal life.
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God (I Pet. 1:23).
Thought for Today:
We cannot afford to neglect God's Word, it is the Master Plan for building our lives according to His design.
Christ Revealed:
As the One who said: I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh (people) (Joel 2:28) — fulfilled in part on the Day of Pentecost and still being fulfilled today (Acts 2:16-18).
Word Studies:
1:12 languisheth, withers away; 1:16 meat, food; 1:17 garners, storehouses, granaries; 2:6 gather blackness, turn pale with terror.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for International Broadcasts sponsored by Harry J. Dennison • Staff: Gina Lesnefsky • Government Official: Gov. Steve L. Beshear (KY) • Country: Tunisia (10 million) in North Africa • Major languages: Arabic and French • Islamic state — no open ministry for Christ is permitted; strict surveillance of all Christian activities • 99+% Muslim; .3% Christian • Prayer Suggestion: Ask for understanding of the Word of God so you can share it with others (Ps. 119:27).
Memory Verse for the Week: James 1:5