Read Acts 2:1-21
2
When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers were gathered together in one
place. 2Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a
strong wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3Then
they saw what looked like tongues of fire which spread out and touched each
person there. 4They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began
to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.
5 There were Jews living in
Jerusalem, religious people who had come from every country in the world. 6When
they heard this noise, a large crowd gathered. They were all excited, because
each one of them heard the believers speaking in his or her own language. 7In
amazement and wonder they exclaimed, “These people who are talking like this
are Galileans! 8How is it, then, that all of us hear them speaking
in our own native languages? 9We are from Parthia, Media, and Elam;
from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia; from Pontus and Asia, 10from
Phrygia and Pamphylia, from Egypt and the regions of Libya near Cyrene. Some of
us are from Rome, 11both Jews and Gentiles converted to Judaism, and
some of us are from Crete and Arabia—yet all of us hear them speaking in our
own languages about the great things that God has done!” 12Amazed
and confused, they kept asking each other, “What does this mean?”
13 But others made fun of the
believers, saying, “These people are drunk!”
14 Then Peter stood up with the
other eleven apostles and in a loud voice began to speak to the crowd:
“Fellow-Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, listen to me and let me tell
you what this means. 15These people are not drunk, as you suppose;
it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16Instead, this is what the
prophet Joel spoke about:
17 ‘This is what I will
do in the last days, God says:
I will pour out my Spirit on everyone.
Your sons and daughters will proclaim my message;
your young men will see visions,
and your old men will have dreams.
18 Yes, even on my
servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will proclaim my message.
19 I will perform
miracles in the sky above
and wonders on the earth below.
There will be blood, fire, and thick smoke;
20 the sun will
be darkened,
and the moon will turn red as blood,
before the great and glorious Day of the Lord comes.
21 And then, whoever
calls out to the Lord for help will be saved.’
Think
When
Jesus receives the Spirit at his Baptism, when the believers receive the Spirit
at Pentecost the Spirit is a real force that moves from the outside in; in
these cases visible in flames / like a dove.
The Spirit empowers Peter to preach; empowers the believers to speak in
languages that foreigners understand.
This real power produces real results.
Pray
Lord,
help me to remember that the power of your Holy Spirit is not imaginary, is not
'person driven' but is your real presence with me today. Your power to transform, renew and use me for
the sake of your Kingdom.
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