Daily Devotion – May 24, 2021 – Pastor Brian Hansen

Acts 2:1-21 

2When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. 

5Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.” 

14But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 17‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. 18Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. 19And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. 20The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. 21Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ 

This past Sunday we celebrated Pentecost. A day when nothing is predictable. Nothing is set in stone. Nothing is certain. Which makes it a day full of hope.  A day in which God surprises us by entering into the world in new and unexpected ways creating possibilities we never dreamed existed.

The story of Pentecost and the season of Pentecost remind us that the Spirit of God is alive and active and unpredictable.  The story of Pentecost reminds us that God is at work in our world breathing new hope and new possibilities into our lives and the lives of those around us.  This Sunday and this season remind us that we are a people called together to share our faith and to grow in the hope and the promise of God’s creative and redeeming work in the world.

The hope and the promise of God’s active life-giving Spirit at work in our lives and in the world should send us rushing out into the places that God calls us like a violent wind. Because the message of Pentecost is that the Spirit moves so that those touched by God’s call might go entrusted, empowered, and renewed to seek and bring about God’s mission.

A kingdom where bread is broken and the hungry are fed.
A kingdom where the sick are prayed over and cared for.
A kingdom where joy and life can blossom in places overrun with rot and decay.

This week I want to invite you to consider how the Holy Spirit is alive and active and at work guiding you in your life.  This week I want you to take a moment or two to sit in silence and to listen to see if God is calling you to follow in ways you may have never expected.

Let us pray:  God of life-giving breath, breathe into us the hope of new life in you.  Guide our lives and lead us by your life-giving spirit, that we might discover new callings and new possibilities of where your love may lead us.  AMEN