This is my original photo I want to use for my book cover. I connected with a man on LinkedIn who is working up the actual cover for me.
In my soon-to-be-published book, Musings Along Life’s Journey, I am currently writing about my experiences with The Great Comforter Whom Jesus sent down to us on the day of Pentecost. I share some of what I am finding here. Keep up with my posts and I will give progress reports on my debut foray into the publishing world. I’ve hit the 50-page mark and in deciding what else to include, the Spirit impressed on me to flesh out the chapters/stories I already have in the manuscript. Of course, it’s a challenge going from a weekly blog snippet to a full chapter!
John 14:25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Before Jesus suffered and died, He told the disciples about the Helper, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father would send. This helper would teach and bring to remembrance what Jesus had said. The Helper would also be a strong comforter so hearts would not be troubled, and they would not be afraid.
John 20:21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
This verse was Jesus’ commissioning of the Believers after His resurrection. He breathed a portion of Holy Spirit on them at this point, then directed them to tarry until the fullness of the Spirit would come upon them. The 120 in the upper room did not know what day Jesus’ promise would be fulfilled, but they may have had an inkling. After Passover, the Jews would “count the Omer” for fifty days to the “First Fruits” celebration. This is what happened:
Acts 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
This is the event that changed the world, turning it upside down, as God’s Kingdom enablement came upon the Believers. Note that they were all in one accord, 120 people in the upper room. Amazing things will happen when we lay down our differences and come together in one accord, lifting up Jesus in our midst.
As you read on in Acts, there were people in Jerusalem from many different countries and languages. Each of them heard the Believers speaking in tongues but understood them in their own languages. About 3,000 came to believe in Jesus as Messiah that day. It was the fulfillment of God’s word which the Prophet Joel saw and spoke from the Spirit, which is still for us today!
Acts 2:16 “But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath:
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
21 And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be saved.’“
These are the basic Scriptures; in my book I will also share my own first experience with The Holy Spirit along with some testimonies. I leave you with another photo of God’s glory in the skies around Henderson, NY. May you all experience the comfort and communion of Holy Spirit and join with the Lord’s Body, rejoicing in His provision for us. Shalom, dear readers!
Notice this says “every morning”? It includes this morning in that promise and tomorrow. Let us continue to encourage each other with psalms, hymns, and songs of praise. If you don’t have a song of joy in your heart, ask Holy Spirit to provide one. This world is getting darker, but that means our light is growing brighter as we walk in Christ. Our salt is getting saltier as we share what God has done for us! How will others know of the goodness of God toward those He loves if we don’t share His goodness we’ve experienced? If we join in rehearsing all the problems and how the world is ‘going to hell in a handbasket’, we just add fuel to the funeral pyre that’s being built with words and chaos in our nation and around the world. I can see the forces of evil dancing with glee as we devour each other without them lifting a finger!
Notice the things that trip us up: carousing, drunkenness, cares of this life. Translate these to overeating, binge watching, lost in a video game… crisis or drama in your life fed by social media. 
Musings along life's journey 