My family loves to camp. We don’t do it very often, but we love it. In fact, maybe I should say that we love to think about camping because in reality we have only camped once. But we own all the right stuff, including a multi-room tent, which has been used more times as a Vacation Bible School prop than it has been used to sleep in.
Last summer we were able to finally use it with some good friends of ours. They invited us to camp on the beautiful Oregon Coast. We were jazzed and our loaded truck spoke volumes about this excitement. We took everything! And I do mean everything! The truck was so full of stuff from our garage that I had to put wooden side rails on so nothing would fall out.
It was absolutely ridiculous…and hilarious….it was a scene straight from the Beverly Hill Billies. The only thing we didn’t have was Granny’s rocker.
After we set up camp I discovered something, which I guess I always knew, but didn’t really think about. Tents don’t come with plug-ins. Most everything we own (and use) requires electricty and needs to be plugged in regularly. However, in a tent that is not an option, eventually batteries run down and need recharged.
This coming weekend is Pentecost Sunday and in preparing for Sunday’s sermon I have reflected alot on this camping trip. Mainly because Pentecost Sunday is all about power and in preparing for my camping trip I didn’t think about needing a power source until it was too late.
Allow me to segue to the Early Church. They knew about power and they got it right. They knew they needed something and were told to wait for “it.” And “it” happened 50 days after the crucifixion – the baptism of the Spirit. They got plugged in and did some amazing things…and we can too. All we have to do is tap the same power source!
At Pentecost Christians were empowered to trust an invisible, guiding Presence. G.C. Jones puts it this way, “The Holy Spirit transforms us into more than we are, fills us with energy, and gives us purpose, direction, and stability.”
Now that’s something I want to stay plugged into!
Until next time…
Pastor Barry
Pastor Barry's Blog 