Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

 The Holy Spirit - The Gift 

Acts: 2:1-21
Vs 21: Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved
 
A gift is something that is given willingly and is to be received wholeheartedly. The Holy Spirit is a gift given by God that is received only through accepting Jesus Christ wholeheartedly. In order to receive the power of the Holy Spirit, we need to form a strong relationship with God. A farmer’s aspiration is to receive its fruit from their crop. However, the farmer knows that they need to tend to the plant in order to produce good fruit. The farmer takes care of the plant daily by providing it with water and light while waiting for the fruit to blossom. The farmer knows the importance of the crop and understands that there will be no fruit if there was no plant. In the same way, we need to tend to our relationship with God daily in order to receive the fruit of the Holy Spirit. 

This bible passage is divided into 2 parts where the first part is related to the coming of the Holy Spirit and the second part is the beginning of Peter’s speech addressed to the crowd. 
Acts chapter 2 talks about the day of Pentecost. The meaning of Pentecost is fifty and is celebrated fifty days after the festival of Passover. Pentecost is a significant event because it signifies the birth of the church. It is an important event because it shows how the Holy Spirit works in building our Christian communities. 

So, what is the role of the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is responsible for unifying the church. We can see this on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit ascended onto the disciples and gave them the ability to speak in different tongues. This ability was given to the disciples in order to spread the Word of God to people of different nations. In order to bring all people of various backgrounds together as one in Christ. Peter addresses the crowd which was spoken through prophet Joel stating, “Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.” We can see that God makes available the gift of the Holy Spirit to everyone. No matter the age, gender or class, the Holy Spirit is a promised gift to every believer in Christ and to all the future generations to come. The gift of the Holy Spirit helps us affirm that through diversity all will be unified as one with Christ. 

Verses 19-20 state, “And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.” These verses pertain to the glorious wonders the Holy Spirit is enabled to do. However, the greatest miracle is the Holy Spirit's power to change our lives through our hearts. In John Chapter 3 verse 5 it states, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” From this verse, we learn that in order to enter the Kingdom of God we need to become a new person through Christ. 

Because of the gift of the Holy Spirit, every nation and tongue will rejoice in Jesus’ name. We are able to proclaim Jesus Christ as our savior and because we know his name and call upon him we will be saved. 


 
Prayer
Heavenly Father, through your love you gave us your only son. Father, we thank you and pray that through our faith in Jesus we will be saved. We pray that you shower us with your Holy Spirit and fill our hearts to respect diversity and be empowered in unity for your ministry. In Jesus’ most precious name we pray. Amen.
Thought of the day
“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Freedom.”
2 Corinthians 3:17 

 
Ria Roy 
Epiphany MTC, New York 

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