MY GRANDCHILDREN have been staying with me and like many people they struggle to believe in God. Equally, I struggle
to find ways of helping them to know God and Jesus.
The disciples were struggling to know what came next after the resurrection. Jesus by then was back in heaven and they were left waiting for the Holy Spirit. Waiting is part of life; it can be anxious or exciting; when and how will it end? Fifty days after the resurrection, on the festival of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit arrived - and what an entrance it was.
The Bible tells us that the house was filled with a violent wind and that divided tongues, like fire, rested on every one who was there.
My grandson would love that drama, better than some of his computer games; but unlike a game, the gift of the Holy Spirit has not ended and cannot be deleted. We are told that three thousand people believed and received the Holy Spirit on that day and so the church was born - which is why Christians call Pentecost the birthday of the church.
God goes on giving the fullness of his Holy Spirit to live in all who believe in Jesus. This gift teaches us about God; it frees us from destructive inward selfishness; it grows in us the fruit of God’s blessings. The Holy Spirit transforms life, I tell my grandchildren, but you have to take the first step of wanting to believe and asking God to help you.
The Rev Pauline West, member of Hawkshead Hill Baptist Church
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