"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you." Acts 1:8

"I'm Spiderman!" proclaimed the fierce looking pre-schooler, as he struck an heroic pose for little Barbara, Sandy's (our church secretary's) daughter at the playground. "Mommy, what's my name? asked Barbara. "You're Wonderwoman!" and off they went Spiderman and Wonderwoman, rescuing helpless toddlers with their superpowers from various fates-worse-than-death that plagued the park.

Spidey mania has swept the country, and I'll readily admit I was among the millions that collectively shelled out $116 million last weekend to see "The Adventures of the Amazing Spiderman." Spiderman was my favorite comic book super hero growing up. Ordinary, somewhat nerdy (like me) Peter Parker is bitten by a genetically engineered superspider and suddenly he has superhuman powers. And there he was, on the big screen! just as I had imagined him- spider sense tingling when the lovely M.J. was in danger, swinging recklessly from cranes and light poles through sky-scraper canyons and into threatening back alleys to rescue helpless citizens; and finally, battling the evil supervillain Green Goblin in the sky above the city.

It's not just toddlers at playgrounds who imagine themselves being Spiderman or some other superhero. So much of our lives are frustratingly ordinary, especially when we face the "Powers" of this world, the forces of reality (or evil) that we seem helpless to overcome or change or even withstand. And truthfully, not all of those forces are outside of ourselves.

But here's the amazing thing: the Christian life isn't supposed to be ordinary! I won't claim that we can have superpowers, but it is accurate to say that the Christian life is not natural, it's supernatural. That's what Pentecost is all about. Jesus promised his disciples, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you." Shortly afterwards, on the day of Pentecost, the whole church, every one of Jesus' followers experienced the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel, given centuries earlier."In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams"  (Acts 2:17). And what followed in the early church was nothing short of a supernatural witness, miracles, healings, faith, and faithfulness from previously ordinary women and men. 

Do we live with an awareness of that power that is available to us through the Holy Spirit? The Apostle Paul, who was no stranger to "signs and wonders" reminded his young disciple Timothy, "for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline" (2 Timothy 1:7).

If we're fully devoted followers of Christ, that applies to us as well, and that's what I want us to be reminded of as we gather for worship this Pentecost Sunday.  By the way, are you praying for a supernatural move of the Holy Spirit through the upcoming Billy Graham?
Mission Daily prayer guides are available at the church, and Sunday June 2, FDFC (you should know what that means by now) will be gathering at Paul Brown stadium for an evening of prayer. It will be powerful! Together, we can accomplish even more than Spiderman could!

Following Christ with you,

Pastor Erwin