40 Days of Pentecost by Mayada Naami
After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
(Acts 1:3, NIV)
Last week the Lord placed 40 days on my heart and I blogged about the significance of the number 40 in the Bible. On Sunday, I attended a class and the leader was teaching about Pentecost and the forty days between Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension. Thousands of years later we are still called to follow Him and be disciples of Christ. Like the first followers, Jesus can take frightened men and women of today and turn them into world changers. The period of Pentecost calls us to go into the the world and preach the Gospel—the Good News.
“Preach the Good News. Be ready at all times, and tell people what they need to do. Tell them when they are wrong. Encourage them with great patience and careful teaching, because the time will come when people will not listen to the true teaching but will find many more teachers who please them by saying the things they want to hear. They will stop listening to the truth and will begin to follow false stories. But you should control yourself at all times, accept troubles, do the work of telling the Good News, and complete all the duties of a servant of God.”
(2 Timothy 4:2-5, NIV)
As followers and disciples of Christ, we are called to spread the Good News. After Jesus was resurrected, He appeared to Mary Magdalene in the garden and asked that she report about His resurrection to the disciples. He wants us to go into the world, preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations. As disciples of Christ, we are to baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Matthew 28:20, we are instructed to teach them to observe all things that Jesus has commanded us. We are beneficiaries of the Holy Spirit’s power through God’s promise.
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”
(1 Peter 2:24, NIV)