Meditate. Have you counted out fifty days?
On the day of Pentecost all
the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound
from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house
where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared
and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy
Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this
ability. At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in
Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were
bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. Acts
2:1-6
Pentecost marks the beginning of the church. It falls on the Feast of Harvest, also called the Feast of Weeks, or in Hebrew—Shavuot. It is a festival seven weeks after Passover and is one of three festivals that required Jewish men to go to the Temple in Jerusalem.
Count off seven weeks from when you first begin to cut the
grain at the time of harvest. Then celebrate the Festival of Harvest to honor
the LORD your God. Bring him a voluntary offering in proportion to the
blessings you have received from him. This is a time to celebrate before the
LORD your God at the designated place of worship he will choose for his name to
be honored. Celebrate with your sons and daughters, your male and female servants,
the Levites from your towns, and the foreigners, orphans, and widows who live
among you. Deuteronomy 16:9-11
Each year every man in Israel must celebrate these three
festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Harvest,
and the Festival of Shelters. On each of these occasions, all men must appear
before the LORD your God at the place he chooses, but they must not appear
before the LORD without a gift for him. Deuteronomy 16:16 (Underlined for
emphasis.)
The Harvest considered with the
Feast of Weeks is a literal harvest of the wheat fields. The harvest considered
in Revelation is the harvest of the souls of men—as well as women and
children—who believe in Jesus as their Savior.
Then I saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was someone
like the Son of Man. He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his
hand. Then another angel came from the Temple and shouted to the one sitting on
the cloud, "Swing the sickle, for the time of harvest has come; the crop
on earth is ripe." So the one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over
the earth, and the whole earth was harvested. Revelation 14:14-16
(Underlined for emphasis.)
It was required for a devout Jew
to go to Jerusalem for the Feast of Harvest (Weeks), so it is no surprise that
there were people from all over the known world gathered in Jerusalem. It was a
surprise that when the Holy Spirit came on them that they could speak and hear
the message of the Gospel in their own specific language. Amazing! Our God is
an awesome God with an equally wonderous plan. From Jerusalem those people took
the Gospel message out to the four corners of the world. The first
missionaries—well maybe not the first since Jesus had sent His disciples out
earlier as sort of missionaries to tell people in the towns of Galilee to turn
to God.
And he called his twelve disciples together and began
sending them out two by two, giving them authority to cast out evil spirits. He told
them to take nothing for their journey except a walking stick--no food, no
traveler's bag, no money. He allowed them to wear sandals but not to take a
change of clothes. "Wherever you go," he said, "stay in the same
house until you leave town. But if any place refuses to welcome you or listen
to you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have
abandoned those people to their fate." So the disciples went out, telling
everyone they met to repent of their sins and turn to God. And they cast out
many demons and healed many sick people, anointing them with olive oil.
Mark 6:7-13
So…that is what we need to do even today. Tell others about God…to repent. Are you prepared to heal others…to tell them to repent and to return to God? For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13
Prayer ~ Lord God, just as You filled those in Jerusalem at the time of Pentecost and in Antioch when Paul preached…fill me today with Your Holy Spirit and give me boldness to witness for You…to go into all the world at least via this blog. Bless those who read this that they too would seek You more each day and build their relationship with You.
Verses of Salvation ~ "When
God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the
righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our
sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously
poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his
grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit
eternal life." Titus 3:4-7
Zanderman—You can do anything—You can!
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