Pentecost and the Church

Pentecost occurs this year on May 31. It occurs the seventh Sunday or fifty days after Easter Sunday.

The first Pentecost is documented in the books of Acts, Chapters 1-2. Jesus told the apostles to not leave Jerusalem, and to wait for the Father for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. They gathered together all with one mind, praying. When the God ordained day came, a mighty wind rushed into their abode, and they saw tongues of fire deposited on their heads. They spoke in languages that they did not understand, but others in the group did.

God separated mankind with the Tower of Babel, separating them through their languages. Here he gives them supernatural ability to speak to one another, known as speaking in tongues and interpretation of those tongues. Uniting them through Him, not in their own man-made wisdom.

President Trump has sent out an executive order that churches are essential. After our modern day version of waiting in our homes for God to deliver us from evil, He empowers us to go forth in our daily lives once again. Prayer is essential. Our nation was built on Christian values, and they have been and are being forcibly ejected from society.

I do believe that the churches are going to be on fire once again, bringing our Christian roots home to roost once again. I believe the timing of this year’s Pentecost and the President’s decree is no accident. It is God’s timing.

There are those of us who have been shut out of the Church. Some have walked away. I kept church-hopping, looking for the power of the the Holy Spirit. I had it once in the church I attended many years ago, and was spoiled for this. No more church-as-usual. To no avail, I finally walked away from it all.

Yesterday, I heavily skimmed a declassified document. One senator’s opinion, regarding the intelligence agencies using the clergy or missionaries abroad, said this relaxing of protocol “prostitutes the church.” One missionary states how they could not evangelize because of the suspicion that they encountered, even if they were not involved. In my opinion, I think these agencies through these tactics have been involved in the thwarting of the gospel going out into the world.

There is no separation of church and state, except from the point of view of the state getting involved in the Church. (This fallacy was based on a misinterpretation of a letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists.) Yet, through 501(c)3 designations, the state has been able to dictate what pastors can and can’t do. I see the President rectifying this as much as he can, giving us back our first amendment rights.

Prayer is my life’s blood. I depend on it, daily. For those of us who do not belong to a church when the Holy Spirit rains down tongues of fire: where two or more are gathered, you are having church (Matthew 18:20). Anywhere, anytime. And for those in the four walls, walk outside the front door and become the new mission field.