Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

 The Holy Spirit - The Gift 

Psalms 42:7

"Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me." Psalms 42:7
 
God created mankind to have fellowship with Him, however through Adam's sin, we have lost His fellowship. God has made a way to reconcile His fellowship with mankind through Jesus’s death on the cross. Jesus assured his disciples before his ascension back to Heaven that he would send the Holy Spirit to be with them. In John 14:16-17, ”And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
On the day of Pentecost we remember God’s gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church and to the lives of individual believers. When the Spirit comes to us, He gives us the thirst for a genuine fellowship with our Creator. He will satisfy our desire to have a fellowship with God. Just like how our physical bodies require a constant supply of water to function properly, our spiritual well-being depends on our free-flowing connection with God. Jesus told the woman at the well that whoever drinks the water of life will never be thirsty again (John 4:14). Here, Jesus is referring to the Holy Spirit as water.
Psalms 42 was attributed to the sons of Korah. They were Levites who served as worshipers in God’s temple in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 20:19). God has judged Korah along with 250 leaders and they all died due to their rebellion against the leadership of Moses in the wilderness during the exodus from Egypt. But the sons of Korah were eventually spared (Numbers 26:11). Perhaps they were so grateful for God’s mercy that they became notable in Israel for praising God.
At the same time, many scholars believe that this Psalm was written by King David while he was driven from Jerusalem by his rebellious son, Absalom. (2 Samuel 15). As David and those faithful to him fled for their lives, they yearned to worship God in the Tabernacle at Jerusalem. He was facing unbearable circumstances, shame, and suffering. Psalms 42 Verses 1-2 “As the deer panteth for streams of water, so my soul panteth for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” Here we see that David was more thirsty for God’s presence than his physical needs. This is the reason God refers to David as “a man after my own heart.”(1 Samuel 13:14).  Even though he laments the apparent absence of God’s presence, he never doubts God’s faithfulness.  He personally knows the richness of God’s grace and has experienced God’s goodness in action in the past.  Throughout the Old Testament, God gave the Holy Spirit to select people to fulfill His purposes. David was one of them. We see his Psalms prophesying about the coming Messiah — Jesus.
As we face life’s challenges and go through these uncertain times, the Holy Spirit helps us to pray according to God’s will. Romans 8:26 says, ”In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” As we call out to God from the depths of our hearts, God will answer back from the depth — full of sufficient power — deep calls to deep. Let us depend completely on the Holy Spirit to help us live a Christ-centered life in this world.

 
Prayer
Dear Lord, I thank you that you have sent your Holy Spirit to be with me, comfort and guide me through my life’s journey. Please help me to demonstrate the fruit of your Holy Spirit through my life. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.
Thought of the day

"O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there Thy cheerful beams." - Saint Augustine
 
Glory Chacko
Epiphany MarThoma Church, NY

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