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Message from our Superintendent Rev Faith Nyota Dear Friends, In my devotions I have been reflecting on `Talking of God`, And part of these reflections has been thinking on how GOD shapes us through our experiences and how God can use these experiences/testimonies to help others. This has led me to reflect on two things which I suggest we reflect on this summer. First, is Wesley day on 24th May, a very special day for the people called Methodists. On this day, in 1738, John Wesley had a spiritual experience which he described as God working in his heart through the faith in Christ. Wesley himself described in his journal how he felt his heart ‘strangely warmed’ at a meeting held in Aldersgate Street in London. This experience gave his life a new sense of purpose and direction. After years of wandering in the spiritual wilderness, he now set his heart on the unique nationwide mission that was to capture the hearts of thousands and lead eventually to the founding of the world-wide Methodist Church.
Secondly, Pentecost Sunday, this year was on 28th May when we celebrated a birthday which has worldwide significance. The birthday of the Christian Church. It is the day that the Spirit, which Jesus promised His disciples, comes to earth. Not just to earth, but to our hearts and souls. So, we have all the reason to celebrate. And as we celebrate, it’s good to recall how simply the Christian Church began - with just a group of ordinary people who had no property, no buildings, but who had an openness and willingness to depend on God and trust Him to provide the gifts they needed. At Pentecost, we read how God gave the gift of the Holy Spirit as a source of great energy and power and in that power, the apostles immediately went out to proclaim Christ (Acts 2: 1 – 11).
In a society where the Church’s contribution to life is often disregarded or ignored, it’s not surprising that the Christian Church often lacks the courage and the boldness to take the good news of Jesus Christ outside its walls. Maybe at times we rely a bit too much on human power rather than on the divine.
Wesley day and Pentecost Sunday is about conversion, change and transformation- new beginnings. Sometimes we live our daily lives with the old familiar, trials and weaknesses and crosses not allowing God to shape us through our experiences and allowing him to use these experiences/testimonies to help others.
Pentecost proclaims that God’s Spirit is available to anyone, anywhere, any time. What we need is a deep, passionate longing for God, more than anything or anyone. And God will come and breathe His life into us all, and the effects will show. May we echo the words of Charles Wesley who wrote the following verses:
‘O for a heart to praise my God, A heart from sin set free, Thy nature, gracious Lord, impart; Come quickly from above,
May God grant us an ever-increasing experience of His heart-warming and life-changing love. Grace and Peace Faith |