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Imprecise or overuse of words enervates meaning and jettisons them to dry-bone heaps. In my perception, one such bloodletting happened to the word spirit, heard resounding through entertainment venues, pep clubs, airlines, even enmeshed with the word love: Its demise, related to evil’s persuasive manipulation that de-humanizes and frustrates psycho-social growth—all fostered by social media and corrupt leaders.

Even more drastic is the evisceration of the Holy Spirit from the Triune presence that stirs the history of creation, depicted in the Old and New Testaments, and the evolution of humankind recorded in history.

Yet, today some Christians, with full hearts, will observe Pentecost, the gift of the Holy Spirit, as narrated in the Acts of the Apostles: Seven weeks from Jesus’s passion, death, and resurrection, His disciples received this gift in tongues of fire, observable in glossolalia and universal language.

A parallel to this outpouring is found in Exodus, the Feast of Pentecost or Weeks that recounts the Israelites’ offering the first-fruits of their harvest to God, seven weeks after their arrival in the Promised Land and then, receiving the blessing.

Both stories focus upon the unobtrusive influence of the Holy Spirit, evidenced by humility and willingness to serve.

Yet, half-emptied churches scar what used to be enthusiastic milieus for worship. One pastor noted: the lack of deep listening and the failure to believe in the Holy Spirit underlay this malaise. No matter—the Fire-Power is still operating and inspiring the likes of me as I move through each twenty-four hours with other believers.