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Scripture
Our verse for today comes from Acts 2:2-3, ” And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. “
Background & Application
As followers of Jesus, we all should share certain characteristics. We should have a love for each other that flows from God’s sacrificial love for us. We should desire to come together and fellowship and worship with each other. We should have a distaste for the sin in our lives and a desire to follow the words and commands of Jesus. And like C.S. Lewis says, being a Christian may not make us the nicest person in the world, but it sure should make us a lot nicer than we were without Him. Now, Luke writes that on Pentecost, some amazing things happened. As Jesus promised, the apostles were baptized with the Holy Spirit, receiving the power that enabled them to do greater things than even He had done. And in receiving the Holy Spirit, we see two more traits that should mark a follower of Jesus.
The first one is the sound. A mighty wind blew through the whole house, so much so that the crowds outside heard it and came to see what was happening. Likewise, we believers should sound different from the rest of the world. And not just in the church language that we all become familiar with. No, we should talk about different things, avoid talking about others, and respond differently to the trials and successes that come our way. There should be a sound from heaven in our speech that brings people together, that points them to our Savior.
The other characteristic is our appearance. The apostles saw the tongues of fire sitting on each other, a visible manifestation of what was occurring inside of them. So also should we reflect outwardly what has happened to us on the inside. We should be serving others with the servant heart that has been given to us. We should use our time and talents and possessions to honor Him and reach out to the lost. We should reflect the reality that we are just passing through this place, on our way to our true home. So when someone hears or sees you today, let them hear and see what’s inside of you.
Charge
As we seek Him today, remember what God saved you from and what He made you into. Let your words and actions give a picture of the Holy Spirit that lives within you.
