Establishment and Fruitfulness
‘As I began to speak,
the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning’
(Acts 11;15)
The Apostle Peter said these words after he had preached the gospel
of Jesus to the Gentiles for the first time. He was thinking back to the miracle of Pentecost
when he and the other Apostles were given the Holy Spirit as a blessing of the
new covenant which had come. Now the question was, would the non-Jewish peoples
of the world receive the same blessing, the same mark of acceptance by God?
And the answer was Yes! The Holy Spirit comes to all who put their faith in Christ.
What a wonderful gift from God.
Question for thought: How do I know that I have received the Holy Spirit?
Heavenly Father, we pray for the Women’s Fellowship in North and South India
which is affiliated with Mothers Union and especially the Dioceses of Agra and Karnataka.
We give thanks for their willingness to reach out to their local communities to care for
the vulnerable women and girls in your name. We pray too, for the
Diocese of Central Queensland (Rockhampton) and for Sue Witten as President.
Bless their times of fellowship and their ministry as they reach out
in the many aspects of parish and community life. Amen.