Matt Maher - All The People Said AmenPavyzdys

Burning In My Soul

People often forget that the apostles were gathered together at Pentecost out of fear of persecution. But God used that time of fear, of doubt. In a sense, He was building a foundation of faith that He would set on fire at Pentecost – so the fire burning would be a slow burn, and not just kindling. So they were afraid yes, but they were still together. They were unified in their need for God and for connection with each other; and with Judas replaced by Mathias, they were in a sense complete and ready. Ready to be sent. But before they were sent, they needed what Jesus promised…they needed the paraclete. They needed the Holy Spirit – not just for the power to proclaim good news, but also for the courage to live it. The courage to testify to the fire that now burned inside of them.

I can imagine that as they lived in the days of "Acts 2," that they witnessed the transforming power of God. The other 11 watched Peter give discourses in the public square that maybe he would have stammered over only a year earlier; they watched miracles happen through the ministry of their hands, but Jesus was no longer with them. They watched His promises of seeing "greater things" come to life in a way that must have helped "stoke the flames" within them. But this was done out of necessity – that is, they were compelled to share the reason for their faith and their hope; they could not help themselves. May this be so of the Church in our time. May we be not driven by pride, or ego, or the sense of self-importance. Let’s only be driven by the fact of what we have witness God's Spirit do in our hearts… let’s us not stop talking about it. We cannot hide the light inside of us, we can only testify to it. 

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