In preparation for Pentecost, May 27
While the day of Pentecost was running its course they were all together
in one place, when suddenly there came from the sky a noise like that
of a strong driving wind, which filled the whole house where they were sitting.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit ... (Acts 2:1-2, 4 RSV).
“The Holy Spirit is the presence of God in our lives,
carrying on the work of Jesus.”
(Max Lucado, When God Whispers Your Name)
 Those of us who live in the wind-prone areas along the front range of the Rocky Mountains know something about wind. There are times when it rushes down over the mountains with great force, rattling windows and ruffling shingles. It blows away anything that is not rooted down securely. But it also blows the impurities in the air away and when the temperatures in the spring rise sufficiently, we actually open the windows of our homes to let the wind in with its refreshing cleanness. It cleanses and invigorates the winter stuffiness within the rooms and makes us smile with its freshness. The wind not only has great force, but also great cleansing power.
This experience of getting rid of the accumulations of staleness from the winter days might be compared to what happens in our lives, through God’s grace and mercy, when we receive Jesus as our Savior. The wind of the Spirit comes into us and helps get rid of the things which burden and keep us weak and ineffective in our Christian walk. Jesus told his disciples, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the
end of the earth” (Acts 1:8 NKJ). We need to remember that when the Holy Spirit comes to us as first-time believers, it is an incarnation, because Jesus now lives within us as an abiding Presence, giving us power and changing us forever as we let Him work in our lives.
With this gift of the Holy Spirit, we can be like Peter, who earlier denied that he even knew the Lord, but when the Holy Spirit blew into his life, preached such a powerful sermon that three thousand persons became believers! Just think what we could accomplish if we just let the Holy Spirit take hold of our lives, “blow” the dross away and truly give us the power that is promised to believers!
Something extraordinary happened to the disciples that Pentecost day when the “noise from the sky like a great wind” came to their ears and the Holy Spirit entered their lives, changing them through and through. The Spirit blew out all the fear, timidity, and uncertainty within them and sent them forth to share Jesus with the whole world. We as Christians have that power, too. There is much for us to do in our world which is so filled with fear and evil and sin. We need to remember what Paul told Timothy in his second letter (chapter 1:7), “For God has not given us a Spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind.” That same power which raised Jesus Christ from the dead is within us with the presence of the Holy Spirit. How can we possibly fail?
May the refreshing wind of the Spirit stir our lives, give us God’s power, and change us completely!
Prayer: O Sovereign God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, cleanse and empower us to share You with the world so it may be changed forever! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Beth Sullivan
Laywoman
and Secretary of the Region Board
First Baptist Church
Cheyenne, WY |
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