May 23, 2012
Focus Reading: Acts 2:1-21
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On more than one occasion I have been asked what the purpose of the Holy Spirit is. Put simply the purpose of the Spirit is to connect us to the power and love of God. The way most of the writers of the New Testament seem to have understood it is that God (the Father) and Jesus are in heaven, but we are connected to them by the Spirit. Paul describes the Spirit as being the way that God’s love is poured into our lives. In John’s gospel Jesus describes the Spirit as the one who stands beside us as our guide or counsellor. Jesus also says that the role of the Spirit is to bring Jesus and his teaching to mind. Paul also says that it was the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead and that same power is alive in us.
To see how the Spirit is meant to work in someone’s life we only have to look at Peter. Within a couple of months of Jesus death Peter was transformed from a person who denied he even knew Jesus and ran away, into a powerful preacher of the gospel. The message of Pentecost is that the Spirit is poured out on all believers: - Young and Old, Men and Women. Like Peter – our lives can be transformed.
Questions for thought or discussion
How have you experienced the transforming power of God in your life? What has been your experience of God in difficult times? What do you understand the Holy Spirit to be?
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