his weekend we celebrate Pentecost and it made me think a little bit more about the Holy Spirit. Our God is a triune God. There is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. So many times as we talk about our faith we refer to God the Father or about Jesus, but the Holy Spirit kind of gets left along the wayside.
What is Pentecost? Pentecost is regarded as the birthday of the Christian church. Pentecost is the festival when Christians celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is celebrated on the Sunday 50 days after Easter (the name comes from the Greek pentekoste, “fiftieth”). Pentecost is regarded as the birthday of the Christian church, and the start of the church’s mission to the world. Pentecost comes from a Jewish harvest festival called Shavuot. The apostles were celebrating this festival when the Holy Spirit descended on them.
Acts 2:1-4 describes it this way. When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
The Holy Spirit gave them the power to speak other languages so that they could take the gospel of Christ to all areas of the world, regardless of the language that is spoken there. How does this apply to us today? I believe that I am filled with the Holy Spirit but I do not have the ability to speak any other language than my native tongue. Maybe we should look at it as having the power to communicate and witness to what God does in our lives through means that people will understand.
Some people learn from hearing things while others have to see it in action. Some are quick to learn and others not so much. We cannot present God’s message to everyone the same way. I use my writing as one way to communicate my faith to others. You may be involved in ministries to the sick and the poor. That is how the Holy Spirit has given you the power to share your faith. We show it all of the time through our actions.
The Holy Spirit is with us all of the time. I have had times that I felt led to do something for someone but had no idea what words to use when I saw them. I would pray for the words to come to me and they always did. I did a speech to a group of seniors and had note cards to keep me focused. I ended up not pulling the cards out of my pocket and just started speaking. My speech took a different path than I had rehearsed and I did not really know why until I had a lady come up to me afterwards and tell me that I had said just what she needed to hear that day. At that point, I knew that I was being moved by the Holy Spirit.
Take time to reflect on the impact that the Holy Spirit has in your life. Please share how and when you have felt His presence.
