Acts 2:1-11 (click to view Scripture below)
Reading this passage never gets old for me. Each time I read this account of such a pivotal moment in the redemptive love of God towards all of us, I am amazed. I often say that the guarantee of the Day of Pentecost is that Jesus will continue to do exactly today what He did in the accounts of His ministry in the Gospels (first four books of the New testament). In our Bible reading today, we see a powerful display of the Holy Spirit coming on “all flesh” — men and women, young and old. This powerful event is witnessed by people from many “regions beyond” who have come to Jerusalem for the important feasts and festivals in Jewish life. Little did they know that on this trip they would be present for such an extraordinary season of fulfillment.
One of the “regions beyond” noted in verse 9 is Cappadocia. It is a region in present day Turkey that literally looks like the back side of the moon with its numerous caves. The hotel I stayed at in Cappadocia was actually a cave. It is where early Christianity weathered incredible persecution but yielded some of its most amazing leaders. Today, it would be rare to find one Christian in the region.
On this Pentecost Sunday, we are reminded that we are empowered to give witness to the entire world of the good news of Jesus Christ. The growth of vibrant Christian faith is most vigorous where it is most resisted and least accessible. But let’s also keep in mind … there are some places where Christianity once thrived, but it is now weak or even non-existent (like Cappadocia in Turkey). But the promise of Pentecost is that the Jesus of the Gospels is doing the same thing today as He did 2,100 year ago. I am praying that the seeds of faith that once grew strong in places like Cappadocia will spring forth again in powerful and obvious ways. The ever-renewing Holy Spirit is what we can believe will send the Gospel to the regions beyond and rekindle the fires in the places it once burned brightly.
Vice President, ChildHope
Prayer: Lord, fill our ChildHope schools with Holy Ghost power. We pray that students will hear the call to go where the Gospel is most resisted and least accessible!
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Acts 2:1-11 (ESV)
1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”
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Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.