What does the Holy Spirit do for you?

Where would we be without the Holy Spirit? Well for a start, the chances are that you would not be reading this in church or at home. Having just celebrated Pentecost, I wonder if without the Holy Spirit the Good News of Jesus would have remained in a locked room, a well kept secret to a few leaderless people, in fear of their lives.

The experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit can be dramatic as in Pentecost, and we read that the disciples’ experience was not attributed to the hand of God by some of the crowd, some thought they were drunk. However, when we read Acts, we have to acknowledge that somehow the Holy Spirit turned a few scared people into strong and courageous evangelists and that through the Holy Spirit, the church, as we know it, has come to be.

The life of the church is linked to the work of the Holy Spirit within us, the church grows when the body (that is you and me) are open to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are not just for the individual but for the benefit of the whole church and any kind of spiritual growth at St. Martin’s is down to the Holy Spirit gently nudging individuals, who probably felt inadequate at the time but were willing to listen, to use their gifts and take that step of faith.

Your experience of the Holy Spirit working in a very real and tangible way maybe something that is not seen very often and when it does happen, it is to somebody else. For some, this may be a comfort for others it raises lots of questions. My experience, is that being open to the Holy Spirit is very rarely dramatic but a very gentle process, something that has been echoed by others I have talked to. If you desire more of the Spirit then I believe St. Martin’s should be the place where you can be continually filled with Him through prayer. If this is something that you would like to happen, then just ask.

Whatever your thoughts are on the Holy Spirit, we should all be grateful and praise God for the way He has worked, is working and will continue to work, with people like you and me, in order to bring us all closer to the love of God, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. All Christians throughout the world draw strength, guidance and inspiration from listening to Him. The same Spirit that was given at Pentecost, that encouraged the church to grow and pass on the message of God’s love down through the ages, is here and now, freely available to us. Praise God!

Yours in Christ

Martin