Pentecost Sunday, May 23, 2021 - by Jim Tharp

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1-4, NKJV)

Before Jesus was crucified, He told His disciples that the Holy Spirit would come after Him. Jesus said: And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you (John 14:16-18).

Jesus remained on earth for 40 days after His resurrection from the dead. Just before He ascended to His Father in heaven, He commanded His apostles and other believers not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father (Acts 1:4). And then in Acts 1:8, He added, You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. After Jesus had spoken those words, He ascended to heaven.

About 120 believers, including the apostles, obeyed Jesus’ command, returned to Jerusalem, and went to the upper room where they prayed earnestly with one accord. After 10 days, the Holy Spirit came upon those believers giving them the power to preach the gospel. Chapter 2 of Acts gives the account of the Day of Pentecost.

National Day of Prayer - Thursday, May 6, 2021 - by Jim Tharp

The theme for this year’s National Day of Prayer is “LORD pour out Your LOVE, LIFE, and LIBERTY.” A law proclaiming a day of prayer for our nation was signed in 1952; for 69 years we have observed this special day! Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ considered prayer to be of utmost importance. He was a perfect example of worshiping His Heavenly Father. The twelve disciples whom He chose to train to spread His message realized in their three years under His influence just how important prayer was to our Lord.

Nothing would please God more than for millions of Americans to approach Him in prayer, confess their sins, and surrender their lives to Him. God would have His believers experience a rekindling of the Holy Spirit in their lives and get back to fervent, believing, sacrificial prayer. As stated in James 5:16 (KJV), “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous person availeth much.”