The Holy Spirit comes
Acts 2:1-13
1 On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
5 At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. 6 When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.
7 They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, 8 and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! 9 Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” 12 They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other.
13 But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!”
What I find profound in this passage is that “all the believers were meeting together in one place … there was a sound from heaven” – the Holy Spirit comes – comes in power – to a group of people – they were filled – people spoke in other tongues.
There is such power in “meeting together”. For those who say you can be a Christian without being part of a Church and walking with a community (spiritual family) are wrong. Despite all the flaws, there is more power in us walking together than in being apart.
We were never meant to walk this life alone. Jesus Himself chose to walk on earth with a group of people – His disciples both men and women. He needed them to fulfil the scriptures.
To pray with Him, to take His body down from the cross, to bring the spices and the burial cloths, to find Him an unused tomb.
We are all part of God’s story on earth. We all have a part to play. Look for what joins us together, rather than what separates us. When we fully grasp unity, family, love for one another, we become an unstoppable force on the face of the earth.
Lord, help us to walk in unity and love for one another. Help us as the Church to walk as you walked, to love as you loved. We want to be known before we need to speak. In Jesus’ name. Amen
Written by Ps. Sue Botta
You may also like this video about Pentecost and the first seven chapters of Acts from Bible Project, at https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/gospel-acts-1/