Jesus did not leave us alone

15"If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you. 18I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." (John 14:15-21)

If Jesus had stayed on earth, his physical presence would have limited the spread of the gospel, for physically he could be in only one place at a time. After his ascension, he would be spiritually present everywhere through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was sent so God would be with and within his followers after Jesus returned to heaven. His Spirit would comfort them, guide them to know his truth, remind them of Jesus' words, give them the right words to say, and fill them with power.
Jesus instructed his disciples to witness to people of all nations about him. But they were told to wait first for the Holy Spirit. God had important work for them to do for Him, but they had to wait until they were given the strength and wisdom by the power of his Spirit.
The Spirit marks the beginning of the Christian experience. We cannot belong to Christ without his Spirit; we cannot be united to Christ without his Spirit; we cannot be adopted as his children without his Spirit; we cannot be in the body of Christ except by baptism in the Spirit. The Spirit is the power of our new lives. He begins a lifelong process of change as we become more like Christ. When we receive Christ by faith, we begin a personal relationship with God. The Holy Spirit works in us to help us become more like Christ.

Peace and love,

Sue

"Be still and know that I am God"(Psalm 46:10)