Today we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost. The word Pentecost conjures up images of fire, sound and power for me. However as I asked the Lord to show me what to reflect on today He asked me to reflect on what this day means – the reality of the Holy Spirit living inside me.

The first day of Pentecost that we remember and celebrate today found the disciples gathered in the upper room and united in prayer for this very purpose. To receive the Holy Spirit promised by Jesus. And when He came – He did not disappoint. He came as a big fire in the middle of them which then separated into tongues of fire and rested upon then. The Word of God says that they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. We may not have received Him in the same way, we may not have had tongues of fire resting upon us but this is still the reality of every Christian who has been baptised in the Holy Spirit. We too are filled with the Holy Spirit – God does not give the Holy Spirit in tiny increments. When He comes, He fills us. It is we who get to determine how much of Him we want manifested in our lives. The word filled indicates being poured until overflow. Being filled with the Holy Spirit to the measure that we overflow is our inheritance as children of God. I still remember the day when I was baptised in the Holy Spirit.

I remember that my tongue took off speaking words that I did not understand. But even as my mind freaked out that there was something wrong with me, my heart was joyful because there was such a sense that I was coming home. I did not understand the words that were coming out of my mouth but there was an undeniable feeling that I had done all of this before – that this was not a new thing but rather I was coming home. Being baptised in the Holy Spirit marked me for good. It changed my life forever. It was not just a phase or it was not something just for retreats – when the Holy Spirit comes, He comes to stay for all time. In John 14:26, our Lord Jesus promises His disciples the Holy Spirit just after explaining that He will be ascending back to heaven. The word Jesus uses for the Holy Spirit can be understood to mean comforter, intercessor, counsellor, strengthener and standby – the Holy Spirit living within us is all of this and more. I can honestly tes- tify that over the last few years, the Holy Spirit has been all of this

and more to me. The reality of His Presence with and within me has been the sweetest comfort. No matter what chaos raged around me, no matter what mess I found myself in, no matter how loud the anxiety was pounding inside of me, the One Who lives inside of me finds a way to breakthrough. And He always restores my peace first and foremost. His voice cuts through the loudest storm. And once the noise settles down and He has calmed my fears He speaks His truth. He speaks His wisdom. He speaks His answers. The Holy Spirit living within me reminds me of the promises of Jesus. He reminds me of my heavenly inheritance.

Whenever I face temptation, it is the Holy Spirit that rises up giving me the rhema word that I need to battle and defeat the enemy that I face. The Greek word Paracletos means the one called alongside to help. And this is what He is to us. He comes alongside us, He helps us, He lifts us up. The reality of the Holy Spirit living inside us and working through us is for every believer. We do not need to achieve a certain level of holiness or do a certain number of years in ministry. It is not for a select few. This idea that only a certain type or number of people can be filled with the Holy Spirit is a lie of the enemy. We need to recognise it for what it is and banish it from our minds. Jesus paid the ultimate price so we can live the ultimate life – a life lived with the Holy Spirit living with us. And there is no ministry too small for Him. There is no situation too ordinary for Him to act in. There is no problem too small for Him to intervene in. At home with my children, I experience His Presence to a degree that I have never experienced Him before. It is not just in the weekly meetings or the retreats that He turn up. He does not want me to pray for an hour and beg and plead for Him to come. The Holy Spirit lives inside of me and He speaks just as clearly into my heart as I clean up after my toddlers in the middle of a very messy playroom as He does in the middle of the sweetest worship service. St Stephen, a man who was filled with the Holy Spirit was initially chosen to serve in the food distribution. The reality of what we celebrate today is this – Holy Spirit living inside of us. The disciples were in the upper room, hungering and praying for Him when they received Him. How hungry are we for His presence today? How much do we want Him involved in our everyday lives? Because He takes the ordinary and turns it into the extraordinary.

Prayer: Abba Father, I thank you for the most precious gift of the Holy Spirit. God I want to yield more and more to You and to walk this life in the reality of You. Amen