Word for the Day - Christian Education Forum - August - 16
Gift of the spirit
“And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” ( 32)
This is the great and awesome promise of the Lord. The promise of the Lord is that he will pour out his spirit upon all humankind. In this passage the prophet Joel is clearly looking toward the day of the Pentecost. He sees the spirit being poured out, and he sees the tongues of fire. On Pentecost, God began to fulfill what he spoke through Prophet Joel.
Verse 29 states “and afterward I will pour out my spirit on all people, your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old man will dream dreams, and your young man will see visions. That far it sounds like what happened on the day of Pentecost, but there is more going on. Joel speaks of wonders in the sky, and natural occurrences in verse 30 it states I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon to blood before the Lord before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Pentecost was the beginning of the Christian church; It was on that day when Jesus sent the spirit publicly. We know that the Holy Spirit was even before the Pentecost, and the believers had the Holy Spirit even before the Pentecost, because faith doesn't happen without the Holy Spirit.
Verse 32 states that “Everyone who calls upon his name will be saved.”
Jesus came and borne our sins to the cross, and died in our place, and risen from the dead in testimony that we are redeemed by Christ from all our sins. The gift of the spirit was another promise kept for our comfort and help in the faith. , We have the assurance of his presence, and of our deliverance in every time of need. “Everyone who calls upon his name will be delivered.” it is the true excitement , salvation is not something to look forward to. It is ours today. We need to have faith.
In summary prophet Joel promised a time when the Holy Spirit would be made available for everybody. We were made to know God, we were designed to have a relationship with him, Adam and Eve had a relationship with him. But sin broke that relationship, but because of Jesus death, because of his resurrection, a way was made for all Gods people. For all of God's people to see vision, to dream dreams, And to hear from God is a wonderful promise, it was fulfilled in Acts 2:32.
Sometimes we forget that the Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force, the Bible describes him as God, He is present everywhere (Psalms 139:7) He knows all things, And he has infinite power. He gives life (Romans 8:2) He is equal in every way with the other person of the trinity- the Father and the Son.
The Holy Spirit is a person who engages in personal ways with us. He grieves when we sin (eph.4:30) He teaches us and prays for us (Romans 8:26) guides us (John 16:13) Gives us spiritual gifts. And assures us of our salvation (Romans 8:16). The Holy Spirit indwells us if we have received forgiveness of sins through Jesus.
Prayer: Father, give us your Holy spirit and help us to review your words, so your spirit can renew our minds. Let the power and presence of Christ remains with us through the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Thought for the day: “We are God's workmanship. But the Master craftsmanship is the Holy Spirit, who chips away at flaws in our character to make each of us like Jesus.”
Hebsee Maruthelil, Bethany MTC, New York
Theme of the week: The gifts of the Spirit