Character Makeover

Much of the world has been in lockdown since late March.  How many people have actually been working on their character makeover?  Seeing the unrest and turmoil in the world, I would guess very few have been working on their character makeover. The early church, initially consisting of 120 members experienced a character makeover when they assembled in the Upper Room for 10 days from Jesus' Ascension to the day of Pentecost.  The 120 were assembled in prayer during their lockdown.  This lockdown in prayer produced a character makeover. "13 and when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14 All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers." (Acts 1:13-14 RSV) The Church was born on the feast of Pentecost. This character makeover made room for the Holy Spirit to fill everyone that assembled in the Upper Room. "1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:1-4 RSV) This day wasn't the first Pentecost.  The first Pentecost occurred roughly 1,800 years prior to this day.  This was the day in which God spoke the 10 Commandments to the Israelites.  This was the day that Israel became a nation. "16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God; and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18 And Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain quaked greatly." (Exodus 19:16-18 RSV)​ The birth of the Church is the anniversary of Israel becoming a nation.  Pentecost is the Greek word for fiftieth.  In Hebrew, the feast is called Shavuot meaning Weeks.  Both the Church and Israel experienced a mighty character makeover to receive the power of God. We will scrutinize King David's life this week.  Why David?  It's because David was born and died during the feast of Shavuot.  His very life demonstrates that people can change for the better through a character makeover.  Can a person change?  Can a person that is set in his or her ways improve?  We will answer this question through an examination of David's life.  David is one of my favorite people in the Bible and you can experience a character makeover as your scrutinize your personality through the lens of David. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to attend Destined4Torah this Thursday evening for Character Makeover.  Your next stop, the Destined4Torah Zone! Regards, Dr. Sanjay Prajapati