Throughout the Easter Season, the daily devotions have been written by members of Faith Lutheran Church. Today’s writer is Denise Adams.
“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” Acts 2:1-4
What a miracle! Imagine that you are in that room and suddenly you (and all those around you) are able to communicate and understand using all different languages. Now, imagine you are three years old and you just moved away from your home to a new city, state, or country, and your parents are bringing you to a new school where you don’t understand the language and you can’t communicate your wants and needs. Sounds frightening, doesn’t it? The miracle in this situation is that in only a few weeks, this child is understanding and speaking a new language! I absolutely know that God is here with this child.
Sometimes I think about the story of Pentecost when I welcome the new, non-English-speaking children to the Day School. Right away, they start learning about God when they attend our school. Even though the stories are not told in their language, soon enough the Holy Spirit comes to them in the language of love. Perhaps the people in that room long ago may have had some of the same trepidation as our new students until the Holy Spirit came upon them.
In both scenarios, God has sent the Holy Spirit to be among us, comforting, encouraging and teaching us all to spread the message of God’s love.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for your gift of the Holy Spirit. Please help us to recognize the many glimpses of You that surround us. Amen.
Daily Devotions 
April 9, 2018 at 7:37 am |
Let us sing Hymn #225 from The Lutheran Hymnal
1. Come, Holy Spirit, Come!
Let Thy bright beams arise;
Dispel the sorrow from our minds,
The darkness from our eyes.
2. Revive our drooping faith,
Our doubts and fears remove,
And kindle in our breasts the flame
Of never-dying love.
3. Convince us of our sin,
Then lead to Jesus’ blood,
And to our wondering view reveal
The mercies of our God.
4. ‘Tis Thine to cleanse the heart,
To sanctify the soul,
To pour fresh life into each part,
And new-create the whole.
5. Dwell, therefore, in our hearts;
Our minds from bondage free;
Then shall we know and praise and love
The Father, Son, and Thee.
Denise, I liked your comparison of your non-English-speaking students to the ancient Pentecostal people who though “speaking in tongues” of many languages all understood each other because the Holy Spirit was with them. Amen to that.