Jesus is our pal

‘When the day of Pentecost had come they were all together in one place.

A sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind.

They were all filled with the

Holy Spirit (Acts 2.1-4).

No Christian doctrine, nay more experience, has been so poorly understood and experienced than the power of God the Holy Spirit.

So, let us return to base camp and remember what Jesus promised on the night when he was betrayed.

‘When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, He will glorify me. For he will take what is mine and declare it to you’(John 16.12-15).

There is the work and office of the Holy Spirit,‘to take what belongs to Jesus and explain it to us.

As John Calvin wrote,‘The Holy Spirit takes us by the hand and leads us to Jesus’.

Jesus had a smashing way of speaking simply to people.

He said,‘If you love and trust me then my Father and I will come to you and make our home with you’ (John 14.23).

That is the Holy Spirit. We are made aware of Jesus and our Father God.

Just as intimate and simple as Jesus staying in our house and God coming to visit us.

So let us return to Acts 2.1-4 and put it into simple words.

‘When Pentecost came they were all together suddenly, although they did not see him, Jesus came to them and they all became like Jesus’.

That is the Holy Spirit. We are embraced by Jesus and become like Jesus.

The birth of the Early Church took place through the two dynamic events of Easter and Pentecost.

We can properly appreciate the courageous emergence of the church when we see its birth against the back drop of the restless Jewish society.

We can trace their discontent through the career of Pontius Pilate.

Because, during his rule, tensions between the Jews and the Romans reached breaking point.

Pilate ruled as governor from 26-36 AD.

A governor was the most inferior rank of Roman management.

We have seen how he slaughtered the Galilean worshippers (Luke 13.1) and noted his dubious conduct during Jesus’trial.

He engineered other provocative incidents.

He deliberately goaded the Jewish people by parading through Jerusalem his military standards with busts of the emperor.

He was eventually dismissed after he ambushed and killed a group of Samaritans going to

Mount Gerasim their holy mountain.

This simmering unrest among the Jewish people eventually led to the outbreak of the First Jewish Revolt in 66 AD

Into this toxic and warring society emerged the church, born from the womb of God’s love and cradled in the manger of peace. Remember what Jesus promised, ‘The Holy Spirit will take what is mine and give it to you.’

So, whatever Jesus was for the people, then Jesus is the same now for you.

Jesus steps out from the pages of the four gospels and greets you with a warm smile and a firm hug

We hear Jesus addressing us ‘You are my light in the world’.

Jesus continues‘Go on shining my light into the lives of others, then people will really come to know God’(Matthew 5.14-16)

We meet Jesus at the street corner as they did in Galilee. But there is more. We realise what Peter and the others did when they left their nets and followed Jesus.

Then we hear Jesus say the same to us,‘Follow me’(Mark 1.16-19).

The finger of Jesus traces the lines of Scripture as He tells us what they mean.

All that and a great deal more as Jesus comes into your life through the Spirit.

Put very simply, Jesus is your pal.

‘My Father and I will come and make our home with you (John 14.23).

A Prayer for nighttime Gentle Father God. Watch over us during the night when we feel alone and the shadows are filled with our anxious thoughts.

Assure us that you see us through the darkness.

Give us gentle feelings to still our restless minds that we may sleep under your blessings fashioned in heaven.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen