Power And Life

9 Jun

“When you strip it of everything else, Pentecost stands for power and life. That’s what came into the church when the Holy Spirit came down on the day of Pentecost.”
~ David Wilkerson, The Cross and the Switchblade

Power is something that can be both good and bad. Power used for the wrong reasons — personal gain, putting others down, leading others astray — can be quite harmful not only to others but to the one wielding it.  Power used for the right reasons — building others up, improving oneself in order to become a better servant — can be quite beneficial to all concerned.

Power is something that is sought from a very early age. If you watch young children, you will see them trying to exert power and influence over their parents. Children quickly learn how to take control of situations. A prolonged crying jag or a high decibel scream often gets them exactly what they want. While that might be fine for little children, we need to take a different approach to life as we get older.

We need to learn that power must be used for the benefit of others. If we use any power given to us for others, we will find that we gain from our actions as well.  Everyone becomes blessed.

Today is a day of power and life. Pentecost is the day that the power of the Holy Spirit was poured upon Mary and the Apostles in the Upper Room in Jerusalem. They had been assembled in fear. They knew that the Romans were looking for any followers of Jesus. They knew that their future would not be good if they were caught. So they allowed their fear to imprison them not only emotionally but in reality. They locked themselves away.

The power of God, through the Holy Spirit, freed them from their fear and from their imprisonment. The penalty for being a Christian remained the same; but, they no longer cared. The Holy Spirit had given them new life through the Gifts of the Spirit available to them.

To a certain extent, we still lock ourselves away in fear. We know that it is dangerous to be a follower of Christ in many parts of the world. We even might experience ridicule for attempting to live the faith among our own families, friends, and workmates.

Celebrate your freedom from fear today. Let the power of the Holy Spirit bring you to new life and inspire you to share the Good News with others.

FAITH ACTION:  Ask God to pour the gifts of the Holy Spirit into you so that you may serve Him with confidence and without fear.