Pentecost
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. There appeared to them tongues as of fire, being distributed and resting on each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.
– Acts 2:1-4
Today is the Christian observance of Pentecost. Because Jewish festivals are observed according to the lunar cycle and Christian observances are set by the Gregorian calendar, Shavuot and Pentecost rarely fall on the same date.
The day’s significance, however, does not change. It still commemorates when the Holy Spirit was poured out for the purpose of empowering the body of Christ. On Pentecost, God spoke life to the church in much the same way He spoke at creation. When God speaks to us, His Spirit reverberates in our human spirit. We can then speak the oracles of God and allow His message to reverberate in the hearts and spirits of others.
Holy Spirit, rain on us and reign in us.
Further Reading
- 1 Samuel 26:1-28:25
- John 11:1-54
- Psalm 117:1-2
- Proverbs 15:22-23
