Pentecost

[sjdean]

Does anything special happen for new Christians at Pentecost if they were baptised (with water) say three months earlier?

I still struggle with various bits of sin and I keep lifting them to God and asking for his help. For whatever reason, Im not getting that help, as I keep drifting back to old ways.

 

[Sketcher]

Not particularly. Pentecost was the first day the Holy Spirit came, but when he came, he came to stay. The only other time when he made a similar splash was at Cornelius's house, to show that Gentiles could become Christians too. He doesn't especially favor a certain day to show up and do what he does. If you're a believer, you received him - and he could do something in you at ANY given time.

 

[salida]

Do u pray daily and read the bible? Its spiritual food. We can't this on human effort alone as one needs God power-the holy spirit. Water baptism is symbolic for Christs death, burial and resurrection. And its to be done to show a good conscience towards God, 1 Peter 3:21.

 

[heron]

There is a timeless Pentecost, reflecting what happened to the believers on the day when people spoke the gospel in the tongues of the visitors. The Holy Spirit dwells within us when we submit ourselves to God.

The Holy Spirit is what helps you with your struggles and things that bind you. There are different paths that people find freedom through Christ, from destructive habits. For some, it is a sudden release. For others, fasting and long-term prayer. For others, faith in God's ability and willingness to help.

You are an individual, and God works with you as an individual. When things are not easy, it does not mean He is not working in you.

School was not easy, but hard work brought knowledge. Learning a musical instrument, excelling at a sport... these things take practice. Maybe God is asking you to be patient with yourself, and accept that you are human first. Take charge of your changes.

The scripture reading mentioned above really will help, more than you think. Most of us don't completely trust that God wants to do things in our lives, so hearing His words and good intents helps anchor that in.

About the Holy Spirit - you might enjoy reading some books by John Sherrill, Jack Hayford, Don Basham.

 

[Johnnz]

Imperfections are part of us all. Those who are working through them are Christians. We are all together on that journey.

John
NZ

 

[Dan7]

I still struggle with various bits of sin and I keep lifting them to God and asking for his help. For whatever reason, Im not getting that help, as I keep drifting back to old ways.

There is a poem that basically says: If I keep doing the same thing, I will keep getting the same results. It is like anything else in life.

My sin issues have been the same without prayer and reading the Bible. Like anyone else, as Johnnz writes.

 

[oi_antz]

For me, my spiritual baptism came 9 years after my water baptism. Meanwhile I had been possessed by various evil spirits including the antichrist, but God always had His hand on me. When my time came I was given the opportunity to pluck the fruit of choice from the tree of life and got life eternal granted in the richest form I could dream of. It's been a marvellous experience since, to see Christ manifested in various people at various times and its a thrill to witness conversions as He uses me for His instrument, especially when someone accepts Jesus in their life and they respond with joy to thank you because they were going to commit suicide this week. I've always been a bit ignorant by nature but it's so beautiful now to see miracles happening in everyday life - the pentecost is the most precious gift of Love and life manifested!

As for sin, you may be confusing addiction for sin - Christ will rebuke you if you sin, you might be confusing your definition of sin with ideas of righteous behaviour. Christ has shown me that holiness is a righteousness in the heart - not in outwardly appearance. As long as you keep your mind pure and ensure that evil thoughts are corrected immediately you will be dwelling on good thoughts and maintaining a pure temple of the mind. Remember holiness and repentance are matters of the mind, not so much the body.

Mark 7
17After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18"Are you so dull?" he asked. "Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him 'unclean'? 19For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body."

20He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' 21For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' "

Every thought manifested is evidence of your heart - maintain purity in the mind and it will become apparent as others observe you. Spirituality is a matter of identifying personalities - origins of thoughts in your inner dialogue. You can learn to identify the personality of Jesus, The Father and anyone else you meet in the eternal realm, we're all friends in eternity and humanity is on the same side as God. Regardless who actually knows it or not, our fundamental goals as a people are unity, love and peace. There are people who have other goals such as greed, selfishness, dictatorship etc - these are the attributes that describe God's enemy and they are the ones you must work on through repentance as you train your mind to become Holy.