“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.” – Acts 2:1-3

In this moment, on the day of Pentecost, everything changed! God poured out His Holy Spirit upon all who believed in Jesus and the church was born. The once tiny group of Christ’s disciples rapidly became an unstoppable movement that turned the world upside down!

None of that happened because of the early church’s great skills, talents, credentials, or wealth. They didn’t have much of those. It all happened because the Spirit of God came to live within them, to transform and empower them, to convict and comfort them, to teach them, and preach through them. The Book of Acts is the story of how God’s Spirit took the church outward from Jerusalem to the end of the earth.

That story continues to unfold today and the Holy Spirit remains our animating power. Every Christian receives the Holy Spirit when we believe in Jesus. When churches and Christians have forgotten the power of the Holy Spirit, we have stagnated. When we have studied Scripture and understood His dynamic power, learning to walk in step with Him, He has changed the world through us. That promise is still true today!

As followers of Jesus, don’t quench the Holy Spirit. Don’t ignore Him. Don’t neglect Him. Don’t try to override Him. Nurture the Spirit. Use of His gifts. Draw near to God and walk with Him in prayer, in Bible study and meditation, in worship, and in ministry. The Holy Spirit is our power to accomplish anything of lasting importance and we must not waste our lives and gifts by settling for anything less than His power at work in and through us!

“And said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.'” – Acts 1:11

As followers of Jesus, this verse highlights three key truths that should completely change how we live every aspect of our lives. Jesus is alive. Jesus is currently ruling the universe from heaven. Jesus will return one day. That third truth was particularly emphasized to the disciples as they kept staring up toward heaven after Christ’s ascension.

As Christians, we must never forget that Jesus is presently ruling and reigning in heaven. That’s a tremendous comfort in dark and confusing times. However, we can’t live with our gaze permanently fixed toward heaven. Rather, we must live here on earth in the knowledge that we have important work to do as we eagerly anticipate the victorious return of Jesus. That was the underlying message delivered by the angels that day.

God has given us His Holy Spirit so that we will be witnesses to Jesus everywhere we go. Jesus has promised to be with us constantly as we make disciples. We are empowered and called to work for the advance of Christ’s Kingdom with urgency, because we know that one day, Jesus will return.

We don’t know if He’ll return today or thousands of years from now. But He will return and every follower of Jesus has critically important work to do between now and then. We’ve been given a mission and purpose for our lives and we need to work hard even as we long for the day when our Savior will return!

“He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.’” – John 21:17 

This is such a profoundly beautiful moment! The resurrected Jesus speaks directly to Peter, who had failed Him so badly. Overwhelmed by fear, Peter had denied even knowing Jesus three times on the night of his arrest. Three times, Peter had lied and insisted he didn’t know His Lord! 

Yet rather than throw that history of failure and betrayal in Peter’s face, Jesus instead gave him the opportunity to re-affirm his love. Three times Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?” Three times. One for each denial. Peter, not fully understanding and frustrated at being asked, nonetheless confessed his love for Jesus three times. Then, three times, Jesus affirmed the work He still had prepared for Peter to do as a leader of His church – to feed and tend the precious flock of Christ. 

This is a powerful reminder that there is no failure that God’s grace that’s extended through Christ can’t overcome. There is no rejection of Jesus that His love can’t forgive when someone later embraces Him. Mistakes and failures don’t permanently bar us from usefulness in Christ’s Kingdom. We are reminded, once again, that the Gospel isn’t just a one time saving truth, but it is the continuously forgiving, reconciling, and restoring reality we all need and experience in Christ. 

If there is a guilt or shame in your past that prevents you from fully serving Jesus Christ, confess it to Him now. Ask His forgiveness and be restored! 

“Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,  
but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.”  
– Proverbs 14:4 

There is messiness and cost required to accomplish what is truly important and ultimately good. There is ongoing expense and effort necessary to do what’s best for others and for ourselves. We must be willing to embrace that, even as our culture preaches messages of short-sighted, self-centered simplicity and false frugality. 

Today we’ve often embraced a false economy around keeping things in our lives simple. While simplicity can be a virtue, it can also be an excuse to avoid engaging in what matters most! Avoiding hard and messy things might make us happy in the near-term, but leave us starving – physically, emotionally or spiritually – in the long term.  

Likewise we (individually and as churches) can be penny-wise and pound-foolish in pursuing false economies built on doing nothing. We certainly may find near-term savings of either money or effort, but true productivity and fruitfulness generally requires some messiness, some up-front expense, and some ongoing effort. We must be willing to embrace that if we want to experience the abundant fruitfulness God desires for us. 

We must be willing to let go of small short-term benefits and economies (like a clean, elegant, and cost-free food trough) to pursue long-term abundance and fruitfulness (by investing our energy and resources in true productivity). We must be willing to pay near-term costs for long-term Kingdom gains and embrace the messiness of ministry to enjoy eventual abundant fruitfulness for God’s Kingdom.