“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.” Acts 2:1-2

Animation

I heard a sermon the other day at the annual Interstate Church of God Softball Tournament in Roanoke, Va., and the pastor used an analogy I really liked.

He picked up a baseball bat and acted like he was stepping up to the plate. He gripped the bat but left a big gap between his hands. He stood at the plate and acted as if someone was standing behind him, wrapping his arms around him, putting his hands in between his hands on the bat, and helping him swing. He was illustrating the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The Spirit animates us.

At the beginning of Acts 2, “a mighty rushing wind” came from the heavens and filled the upper room at Pentecost, where Jesus’ disciples gathered. Just as God breathed life into Adam before the fall in Genesis, God does the same here, breathing the Holy Spirit upon the apostles in a new and powerful way.

I’m learning to walk by the Spirit, as Galatians 5:16 talks about. My faith walk becomes more than a relationship because I’m in perfect union with the triune God, as He becomes small enough and loving enough to animate my tiny self.

— STEPHEN COPELAND

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