Dear friends,
June 9, 2019 is Pentecost Day in the Christian calendar. This date of course coincides with the Feast of Shavuot or Pentecost Day in the New Testament times or even in modern Israel. This is an agricultural harvest celebration for the Israelites but has a another meaning for Christians — the harvest of believers that became the birth of the Christian Church.
What can we learn from Acts 2? What happened in that Pentecost Day a few days after the ascension of Jesus?
First, we should continue in worshipping God together. The disciples were together when they were filled by Holy Spirit.
We must fight the temptation of not coming to church or having fellowship with fellow believers.
Second, we should believe that the Holy Spirit will continue to empower us so that we can use the gifts that God has given us. In the case of the disciples, they were first empowered by the Holy Spirit to speak in different tongues so that the people will understand them.
We must identify our God-given gifts, dedicate it to be used by God, and pray that the Holy Spirit will empower us.
Third, we should have the courage to share the Good News of Salvation in Jesus even if it is uncomfortable or in unfamiliar places. Peter was a fisherman and from Galilee. Although he was not trained in public speaking and from another place, he courageously stood up and preached the Gospel in the religious center of Israel.
Let us not we wait to be in familiar and comfortable places to share the Gospel!
Sincerely,
Rev. Francis Neil G. Jalando-on