Jesus
said to them… "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon
you…" (Acts 1:8)
Yesterday
I arrived at church to find that the power was out as a result of planned
changeover for our air-conditioning project. The building was dark; the
computers were blank; the phones were silent, and the coffee was cold. By mid-afternoon
the power was restored and we went on with 'business' as usual.
In
our traditional worship services we sing, "Only Thou art holy; there is
none beside Thee, perfect in power, in love and purity." And in our
contemporary service we sing, "More love, more power, more of You in my
life." The outage made me wonder what would happen if the power of the
Holy Spirit were to be temporarily cut off from our lives, from our churches. Would
we notice any difference?
How
much do we rely on the power of the Spirit to deal with our personal problems
and worries? How much do we rely on the power of the Spirit to accomplish
ministry in and through us? How much do we rely on the power of the Spirit to
witness to the Father's love demonstrated in the Son's sacrifice? Or are we
simply relying on our own strength, our own wisdom, and our words?
This coming Sunday we celebrate Pentecost -- the
commemoration of the coming of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus' followers following
His ascension. Pentecost is considered the "birthday" of the church.
(Acts 2:1-11) Pentecost is a good time to wrestle with these questions.
-- Rev. David T.
Wilkinson
#3659
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