“This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Because on this day, we begin to understand the gifts of Easter. And on this day, we receive the greatest gift, the Holy Spirit!
I love celebrating, especially birthdays. This past Sunday, we celebrated what is considered to be the birth of the church. That is what Pentecost is, the arrival of the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ ascension.
In Acts 1:4-5, Paul recants Jesus’ instructions to the disciples, “ On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
That is exactly what they did, they waited. They waited until the day Jesus had promised and everything changed for them and us as well.
Happy Birthday church!
Acts 2:1-4 reads,
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit…”
This is the power of the Holy Spirit living within us. With the indwelling of this spark, God turns our lives into a flame and gives our life purpose.
As I googled the word ‘spark,’ it took me to the phrase “divine spark,” which reads, “the divine spark is the portion of God that resides within each human being. The purpose of life is to enable the Divine Spark to be released from its captivity in matter and reestablish its connection with, or simply return to, God, who is perceived as being the source of the Divine Light.”
It went on to say,
“All human beings contain God’s holy spark. Each person is special because God can see his holy image in each of us, and we, in turn, can see our image in him. ”
When the Holy Spirit came on the scene, back in Acts Chapter 2, everything changes for us. Jesus came to model what our relationship with God the Father can be. But the Holy Spirit living and breathing within us, gives power and meaning. The Spirit enables us to live the life God planned for us to live.
God’s image lives and breathes within you.
Our purpose is to embrace our relationship with God, to look to Jesus to show us the way and to understand the Holy Spirit, this divine spark, this piece of God Himself, lives within us. Wow! How amazing is that!
Once you understand the gifts of Easter, and realize you were created to be in relationship with God, to learn from Jesus, and embrace the Holy Spirit living within you, you can begin to understand the power God has given us to do the work He has prepared us to do. Jesus said, “we will do even greater things” than him. We cannot do those things without the Holy Spirit. Thanks be to God that we already have that spirit within us!
Let us pray,
Holy Spirit, you are welcome here. Turn our Divine Spark into a raging fire. Let us be consumed by your love and experience You in a brand new way. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
P.S. Take time to listen to the YouTube below. If you cannot see it, open this message from your browser. Leave me a comment below because I love hearing from you. Forward this message to a friend or family member and ask then to subscribe to my website. Post on Facebook and tag me in it. Until next time, celebrate the Holy Spirit living and working within you. -M
One thought on “Understanding the gifts of Easter – week 7”
We can do all things through the Christ who lives within us! Praise God 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏