When the Signal Finally Reached Everyone

On January 13, 2018, a false missile alert went out across Hawaii. Every phone on every island buzzed simultaneously with the same terrifying message: "BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL." For thirty-eight agonizing minutes, 1.4 million people shared the same urgent reality. Language barriers dissolved. Strangers held each other. Families called loved ones they hadn't spoken to in years. The message cut through every distraction, every grudge, every ordinary Tuesday morning routine.

Now imagine that same sudden, universal urgency — but instead of terror, it carried fire and hope.

That is what happened at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit did not arrive as a whisper for a select few. He came as wind that shook the house and flames that rested on every head. And when the disciples spilled into the streets of Jerusalem, visitors from Rome to Arabia heard the mighty works of God in their own languages. No translator needed. No seminary degree required to understand. The message was too important, too alive, too urgent to be bottled up in one tongue or one tradition.

Peter stood and declared that this was exactly what the prophet Joel had promised — that God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh. Not some flesh. All flesh. Sons and daughters. Young and old. The Spirit's broadcast has no dead zones.

The signal has reached you, too. The only question is whether you will answer.