CREDIT: AsteroidComet
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We pride ourselves on our independence and rugged individualism. But we individuals all need help at times. When I was a student struggling with math, I needed help to get through calculus. As much as my independent, rugged individualistic self hated it, I was lost. I needed a helper. So, I went to a tutor, who helped me understand “math with no numbers” – calculus.
There are times when our life of faith is a bit like that calculus class. It can be hard to understand what God is up to. In fact, it’s impossible to do so on our own. And God our Father knows this; so, He has sent us “the Helper, the Holy Spirit … (to) teach us all things and bring to (our) remembrance all that (Jesus has) said to you” (John 14:26). And just as Jesus promised, the Helper, the Holy Spirit, came on Pentecost, enabling many thousands to hear God’s word from Peter and to believe in Jesus’ saving work on the Cross (Acts 2). The same Holy Spirit, alive and active today, enables us to believe in Jesus also.
In Luther’s Small Catechism (LSC), on the basis of God’s word, we learn that the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, enables us believe and understand the incredible gift our Father has given to all of us in His Son, Jesus Christ who suffered and died on the Cross – that we might receive forgiveness of sins; and rose from the dead – that we might also receive eternal life (LSC, Explanation of the Creed, Articles 2 and 3).
The Holy Spirit continues to bring many to understand all Jesus did and said. Because of the Holy Spirit, you and I have come to saving faith in Jesus. Because of Him we can also tell others about Jesus that they too can come to believe – also receiving forgiveness and eternal life. This is ONLY possible because of the Helper, the Holy Spirit. Without Him, we’d be lost. Thanks be to God for sending Him!
In Christ’s Love,
Pastor Jim