Acts 2:1-4. When the day of Pentecost came, the apostles were still gathered in the upper room. Suddenly, a loud sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind that filled the entire house, and tongues of fire appeared, resting on each apostle. "And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

This is the birthday of the Church! This is the day Jesus told the apostles to wait for! Now that it has happened, it is so obvious that they would absolutely have known when it came - this was not a quiet whisper of God, this was a mighty wind! In my journal entry a few days ago, I talked about how if I were one of the apostles I would be confused about what I was waiting for, and wonder whether it had already happened, because sometimes God does speak in a quiet whisper, just ask Elijah! I would have been wondering if He had already spoken and I had missed it.

But sometimes, especially times when He is accomplishing the most important things, God speaks very loudly and very clearly. Pentecost was one of those times, and I can see how it really had to be. God was releasing quite a lot of power into the world here and bestowing it on these twelve men. He was going to make it very obvious to them that they had received the Holy Spirit, so they would be empowered to go out and preach, as they did. (Also, I wonder if maybe there is a reality to all of this. Maybe when God releases a substantial amount of power into this world, it necessarily looks and feels loud and obvious?)

(First published 12/16/2022)