Calvin Synod Herald, 2017 (118. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

2017-05-01 / 5-6. szám

CALVIN SYNOD HERALD

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We need to be aware of the fact that if someone wants to receive the Holy Spirit, that person has to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. So the first step, the starting point to receive the Holy Spirit is to accept Christ into our lives. There are those who have decided to accept Jesus when they were little children. They received a religious upbringing from their parents, grandparents or godparents and later on, they decided to follow Jesus. There are also those who made the decision for Jesus in an evangelism event or through a personal conversation with a Christian family member or friend. The story of conversion is different for all of us. But if someone accepts Christ as his or her personal Savior and Lord, then that person also receives the Holy Spirit.

But why is the Holy Spirit’s presence important in our lives? we may ask. The Spirit is the one who continues the works of Jesus Christ in us. Jesus called the Spirit: parakletos. This is a Greek word and it means Counselor or Comforter.

Jesus says, “I will ask the Father and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever” (v.16.). We definitely need someone in our lives who counsels and comforts us. We especially need comfort and encouragement when we have difficulties and trials. Just remember when God comforted you when everything seemed hopeless or when you lost someone whom you dearly loved.

It is also good to know that the Holy Spirit prays and intercedes for us. What a great encouragement it is to know that God’s Spirit prays for you and me. Additionally, the Spirit of truth will guide us into all truth (Jn 16:13). He teaches you and me to walk in the truth and reminds us of everything that Jesus said and taught (Jn 14:26). In addition to this, the Holy Spirit gives gifts for us to enrich and build others and ourselves up in love and faith. So we may see how important the presence of the Holy Spirit is in our lives and in our congregations’ life.

Pentecost is about God’s presence and work in our lives through His Spirit. The Holy Spirit came to give us strength and guidance to live our lives and grow in our faith in Jesus Christ. Praise and thanks be to our Savior who sent us His Spirit. Amen.

Yours in Christ,

Rt. Rev. Dr. Csaba Krasznai Bishop

The Ascension of Jesus

In the life of our Savior there came a time when after He accomplished His work on this earth He was summoned back to God and the event is associated with His Ascension. We are all familiar with the scripture as the Gospel writers relate to us Jesus saying farewell/ goodbyes to His disciples.

Goodbyes aren’t easy. Especially if we or someone we love will be gone for a long time.

In this article we are going to talk about Jesus’ goodbye to His disciples - we know it as the Ascension.

The most important events in Jesus’ life certainly include His birth, baptism, temptation, transfiguration, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension.

It is interesting to me that not all of the Gospels record this event.

The Gospel of John says nothing about the ascension of Jesus. He ended his Gospel, saying, "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, / suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. ”

The Gospel of Matthew ended his Gospel with Jesus gathering with His disciples on a mountain in Galilee. He issued the Great Commission and then promised, “And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age. ” (Mt. 28:20)

The Gospel of Mark ended his Gospel with a speech similar to the Great Commission in Matthew, and then he wrote, “After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. ” (Mk. 16:19)

The Gospel of Luke the careful historian who gives the most ink to the ascension of Jesus.

Luke ended his Gospel, written especially for the most excellent Theophilus, “When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. ” (Lk. 24:50-52)

Then Luke opened volume two, saying, “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. ” (Acts 1:1-3)

Luke recorded Jesus’ instructions that they should not leave Jerusalem, but should wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them, and then they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.