I will pour out My Spirit on the house of Israel. Ezekiel 39:29
My devotional this morning made an interesting point: on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples in the upper room of an ordinary house. Had this happened while they were in the Temple, perhaps we would have associated that the Holy Spirit was limited to sacred places. After all, that is the way it had been under the Old Testament system. You see, up to that time the people relied on the priests to petition God on their behalf. It was the priests who offered sacrifices provided by the people for atonement of sins. It was only a selected priest who could enter the Holy of Holies.
However, all of this changed the moment Jesus Christ came into the world. God sent His beloved Son, His ONLY Son to be born into the most ordinary and simple of families. Christ grew up with an ordinary childhood as the earthly son of a carpentar. When He began His ministry on earth, He picked ordinary guys - fishermen, commoners, tax collectors - some not well educated, others hated by society. These guys were living an ordinary life until their lives intersected with Jesus Christ. Jesus took these ordinary men and they became extraordinary through Christ!
Though Jesus did preach and teach in the synagogues and in the Temple, He was mostly found among the ordinary people - healing the sick, lame, blind, and deaf - teaching them the things of God. His message was rejected by those who considered themselves 'sacred.' Jesus made it clear that His message wasn't for the elite few, but that He came to rescue ALL men and women, offering Himself as a sacrifice for their sins! And on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit wasn't reserved as a spiritual luxury for the outwardly pious elite - but was poured out on ordinary people, His followers, who were in the Upper Room of a most ordinary house.
On that day, the extraordinary came to the ordinary!
With God, it's not about location, location, location. It's about our personal relationship with Him. He takes us just as we are - no matter our past. Once we turn to Christ, He sends His Holy Spirit to live in our hearts. We have the promise that His Holy Spirit will NEVER leave us! He is with us everywhere and in every moment!
Today, invite the extraordinary to permeate the ordinary of your life. Tune in to the Holy Spirit even in the most mundane moments of your day. Know that He is always with you!
Grace and peace, friends!
In His Love, Cathy
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