Pentecost

Here is a little enlightenment as to what Pentecost is about.

Father God, I pray that this information is representing the Word truly as it was recorded and that no heart or mind reads this and is mislead from the purpose which is to spread the gospel as far as it can be spread throughout this world, in Jesus name I pray.

JOHN 20:19-23
In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors
were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the
Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, 'Peace be unto
you,' and, after saying this, He showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord, and He said to
them again, 'Peace be with you. 'As the Father sent me, so am I
sending you.' After saying this He breathed on them and said: Receive
the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven; if
you retain anyone's sins, they are retained.

Sunday, May 22, 2010,we are celebrating this day the feast of Pentecost.

On that first Pentecost over 2,000 years ago, the Holy Spirit descended upon the
disciples and transformed them in the most remarkable way imaginable.
They were filled with a Spirit that radiated from them and swept
across the world like a tidal wave. On that first Pentecost the Holy
Spirit transformed the disciples into the Body of Christ. On that
first Pentecost the Church was born.

Something else happened that first Pentecost. The Holy Spirit not only
changed the disciples into the Body of Christ but also breathed into
them the mind of Christ. A story illustrates how remarkable their new
understanding was.

A newspaper reporter once asked a biblical expert: if a film crew got
into a time machine, flew back into history, and recorded on film the
complete life of Jesus would he exchange the Gospels for that film?
Without a moment's hesitation, the biblical expert said "No," Then he
explained that even the disciples did not always an understanding of everything
that Jesus said and did. It was only after Jesus rose from the dead
and sent the Holy Spirit that they understood everything fully.

For example, Jesus said to them; "The Son of Man is to be handed over
to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death he will
rise." St. Mark then adds, "But they did not understand the saying,
and they were afraid to question him." Likewise, after describing how
Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, St. John says, "His
disciples did not understand this at first, but when Jesus had been
glorified, they remembered that these things were written about him."
And finally, once Jesus told Jewish authorities in Jerusalem: "Destroy
this temple and in three days I will raise it up." John then adds,
"But He was speaking aboutthe temple of His body. Therefore when He
was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that He had said
this, and they came to believe the scripture and the word Jesus had
spoken."

What happened to the disciples of Jesus to help them understand these
things? Exactly what Jesus said would happen: "The Holy Spirit that
the Father will send in my name - he will teach you everything and
remind you of all that I told you." In other words what makes the
Gospel so valuable is that they were written in the light of the Holy
Spirit's coming on Pentecost. The Holy Spirit gave Jesus' followers a
new understanding of the teaching of Jesus. It is this understanding
that is recorded in the Gospels. And so, on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit
not only formed Jesus' disciples into the Body of Christ but also
breathed into them the mind of Christ. They became the Church, the
body and mind of Christ extended into space and time. They became a
whole new creation. And that is what we celebrate today.

We celebrate the birthday of the Church; we celebrate the birthday of
the Body of Christ. It was into this body that we were baptized and
confirmed. Through baptism and confirmation we received the Holy
Spirit just as fully as did the disciples on Pentecost. Like them, we
received from the Holy Spirit the mission to continue the work that
Jesus began. We received the mission to complete God's kingdom on
earth. This is our mission; this is our calling; this is what we
celebrate today.

Acts Chapter 2, Verses 1 through 41 speaks about the event and what transpired that glorious day!

Jesus made the apostle Thomas, Did,y-mus a believer on that day also!
Will you become a believer? If you are already a believer, pray for the Holy Comforter, whom Jesus and the Father have sent to help you open your mind and increase your personal faith to a level that will bring joy to your heart and help you to also spread the good news, that Jesus Christ,2000 something years ago died in your place on that cross at Golgotha so that you could be free from the sin burden and death.