Nearly 2000 years ago at this time of year a miracle occurred when the New Testament church was born. God poured out the holy spirit on the disciples.

That holy spirit makes it possible for us to become like Jesus Christ. Through the spirit the same power is available to us that dwelled in Christ. That power was not only available to Jesus and His apostles – it is available to all members of the body of Christ, and we are to utilize it. The apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome: "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13).

We see in the Bible that the holy spirit and the power of God are synonyms. Paul also told the Romans what they were "capable of" via that spirit: "Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another" (verse 14).

Jesus said that the holy spirit would teach his disciples "all things". He called it the "spirit of Truth". But that did not happen all at once, but over many years. Like those disciples we also learn things over time and understand things that we did not understand previously.

But it takes time! It took years before Christ's disciples realized that salvation is also available to the Gentiles and that they can be a part of God's kingdom. Then more years went by before they understood that circumcision is not a prerequisite for salvation for the Gentiles. Again a number of years passed before they saw that Christ was not going to return during their lifetime. They never knew when He would return, but they did understand that He will return and that we must be spiritually prepared for that time.

God's spirit taught them all these things, and that process of learning continues today in us. We, too, don't understand everything all at once. It is important for us to grow in understanding – in our understanding of the Bible and concerning our personal relationship with God. The holy spirit makes it possible.

With these thoughts I wish everyone a rewarding Sabbath and a meaningful Feast of Pentecost!