ACTS 2:17.

“‘In the last days, God says,

    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

    your young men will see visions,

    your old men will dream dreams.

TO PONDER:

It's an image I won't forget. The clouds rolled in quickly and in an instant, the sky turned black. The heavens turned on the tap and the rain came bucketing down in Cambodia al the Tang Krang centre where we were working. It was teeming, it was so hard that it was almost like a blanket of rain. As we looked out the window, the kids were laughing, playing in the rain; standing under the downpipes and getting even more drenched as they played in the mud with sheer delight, freedom and abandon. I will pour out my Spirit on all people, God says. Men, women, children, adults, educated and uneducated, wealthy and poor, prominent and forgotten. That drenching, that anointing of the Spirit is available for everyone.

The problem is that sometimes we don't want to get wet. We certainly don't want to get saturated! So we put up our umbrellas to keep ourselves fry! It could be the umbrella of busyness, unforgiveness, fear, destructive relationships, ritual or tradition, control. Every time we put up the umbrella, we miss out on receiving the gift of joy which the Spirit floods our lives with - the freedom to laugh, to play, to delight in God's unstoppable love, to feel his incredible power and experience his unending peace.

The day of Pentecost was just the beginning of a torrential downpour of the Spirit, that longs to drench everyone daily with power and boldness for living. It was just the beginning of a joy which could forever flood our lives. What umbrella's have you put up to stop you from getting wet? What would it take for you to let those umbrellas go and splash around today in delight, truly free! The kids in Cambodia showed me a glimpse of that life. May you experience it today too!

PRAYER

Spirit of the living God, drench me again today with the power of your love.

Take my imagination and flow through it–

Take my vision and help me grow through it

Fill me with boldness to envision the future as exceptionally as you do and the courage to live it.. 

Amen.