Good afternoon! I hope you are well. It has been busy here the last couple of weeks and once again I have to apologise for missing last weeks blog. Sorry!
The weeks are going fast and the year in Eston is winding up very nicely. It is still busy and there is still plenty of work to be done. This includes The Grid! I thought I would give you an update on how this is going. For those who don't know The Grid is the name of the Youth Group that Eston Salvation Army has began in which I had the privilege to help establish. We had 7 young people attend in our second week and the best thing of all is that it is the young people that are inviting their friends to come along! It has been a real blessing this year to work with these young people and to get to know them as individuals. Throughout this year there has been an emphasis on work with the 11-14 year old age group, whether that be in Eston or at events like Spring Harvest, and I really think God has expanded my mind and has led me into that ministry. I thank God for that ministry, I thank God for all the young people I have worked with this year and I thank God for the lessons that they have taught me!
A couple of Sundays ago it was one of my favourite events in the Christian calendar,(behind Easter!) Pentecost. I love Pentecost, the story excites me and it really challenges me. The day the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples and breathed life into what we call today the Church. But there are certain things that always hit me when I read the account of the "first" Pentecost. Firstly, it says in Acts that the disciples "were all together in one place". You can read that literally and simply say that they were all in the same room, but I think it means more than that. The disciples were one. They were one in mind and yet many, how can the Church have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us if we are not united? We must be one body of Christ with one aim and one message and through us may the Holy Spirit work wonders. Secondly, how scary must it have been when the Holy Spirit came!? There was a violent wind blowing through the house, fire dancing on people's head and people speaking in tongues! I think in this day of age that if there was fire in a Church it would be a health and safety hazard, but from the outside it must have been terrifying. Even speaking in tongues must have been a bit weird for them, but the I don't think the disciples were afraid. I reckon the disciples just revelled in the infilling of the Spirit. Oh I want to have that fearlessness, the fearlessness to completely trust in the Power of God even if that means having flames above my head. Lastly, the Spirit came and that day "3000 were added to their number". Think about it, 3000! Put it into perspective, in your Church or Corps, what a huge difference it would make to the place if 30 people walked through the doors and were saved, now times that by a hundred! The thing is this miraculous event of 3000 people coming to Jesus can still happen today. The Holy Spirit has changed so the only thing stopping it happening must be ourselves! What a challenge. All these thoughts come from one event that changed the World because imagine the world without the Church, I wouldn't be here! But more importantly imagine the World without the Holy Spirit, without God's promised presence. It probably isn't worth imagining.
I hope you have enjoyed reading the blog, have a good week and make sure you get in touch.
God Bless
@peggo36
pegg.j@hotmail.co.uk
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