Good morning, brothers and sisters.
Our verse for today comes from Acts 2:12, “Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, ‘What does this mean?’”
As I put my daughters to bed last night, one of them asked me what a particular word meant. Fortunately for me, I knew the answer and could explain it to her in a way that she understood. Tougher would have been the answer to a question of what it might have meant when someone acted a certain way to her and she was in the dark as to what might have caused it. It’s not so cut and dry trying to speculate the motives and intents of someone as it is spouting off the simple definition of a word. And then there is the situation where the meaning is evident and plain when what was said or done is taken at face value, but hidden amongst the words or behind the actions are the real meanings of what is going on. That is a world where few of us excel, but far too many of us are drawn to. In fact, I believe we create most of the angst and discomfort we experience by spending so much time trying to figure out what someone “really” meant. And honestly, when we play that game of supposition, who among us is prone to end up assuming the best and granting the benefit of the doubt? But unfortunately, meaning does come in a multitude of levels. Sometimes, it may be necessary. But most often, our ulterior motives are less than pristine.
But for those present during the arrival of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, what they heard made so much sense that it didn’t make any sense. Strangers of a single tongue were speaking in tongues foreign to themselves, and there seemed no explanation for it. The travelers from all over knew what the words meant that reached their ears, but they then wondered, “What does it mean?” What did it mean for such a movement from God? What does it mean when He moves today? When you read His words, you know their meaning. But what do they mean? A dictionary won’t suffice for that answer. It goes much deeper than that. And it’s there that He intends to affect you, so do they mean anything to you?
As we seek Him today, count on God to mean what He said, and see if that means something to you.
Have a special Tuesday.
#4 Rich Holt
Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.
