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.
Acts 2:1-4
Today is Pentecost on the Christian calendar. (The Jewish calendar reckoned it on last Wednesday) Honestly, I don’t think the Church gives this day enough credence. After Jesus’ death-defying resurrection, he leaves, ascending from the Mount of Olives. Yet just over a week later, something new arrives: the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ death and resurrection redeemed us from our sins like Boaz redeemed Ruth and Naomi from their perilous situation in Ruth 4. But where would we be then? We would be forgiven yet still floundering as before. That’s what makes the Spirit’s coming so extraordinary! God empowers his people as his agents in this world. We can’t do this job on our own. We need the Spirit to be at work to transform our lives and others’). His actions bring results in ways we cannot imagine. They are new adventures.
This brings me to something more personal. I’m back in Jerusalem, the place where Spirit came down and a place near and dear to my heart. This trip has been months in the planning (years in some ways). One of the “assignments” I received when I was last here studying was that if I wanted to see all those amazing places we didn’t have time to visit as a group that I would have to do it on my own. So I pulled in a friend and we have a new adventure ahead of us to complete that assignment. I can’t help but wonder how God is going to use this new experience.
I won’t have much time to update this blog while I’m here because I’ll be packing in as much as I can each day (but no more than 72 hours per day). Expect to see a slew of new updates in the coming months as I document this new adventure. Watch out, Israel; here comes Brian!
