Paul and Barnabas’s report to the church in Antioch on their return from their first missionary journey included the news that God ‘had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.’ (Acts 14:27) This news was one which caused many to rejoice and which ultimately causes all of us who are not Jewish to rejoice even now! The good news of the gospel is that God’s grace is available to us all and therefore His righteousness can be ours by faith: ‘But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.  God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith.’ (Rom 3:21-25)

The door of faith is the only way we enter God’s kingdom. We can’t enter by our own righteousness or good works (Isaiah tells us our righteous acts are as filthy rags, Is 64:6); we can’t earn God’s favour or deserve His grace. We can only put on His righteousness instead of our own as we trust in all Jesus has done for us. Justification comes freely by God’s grace through the redemption provided by Jesus: ‘Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.’ (Rom 3:24, The Message)

Holman Hunt’s painting ‘The Light of the World’ pictures Jesus carrying a light, knocking on a door (based on Revelation 3:20 where Jesus is depicted as standing at the door and knocking.) It’s often been said that there is no handle on the outside of the door; the handle is on the inside, that only we can open that door to let Jesus in to our lives. That’s true, but it’s also true that God is the God who opens doors (and closes them – see Rev 3:7). He was the one who opened the door of faith to the Gentiles; what we now have to do is walk through that door into the fulness of life which God freely offers us.

Acts 14:21-28 shows us the end of the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas as the two men returned to Antioch in Syria via the churches they had founded on their journeying. At Derbe, Lystra, Iconium and Pisidian Antioch, we are told they spent time ‘strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith.’ (Acts 14:22) This remains one of the core tasks of churches, for it is easy for us all to stumble and fall. Both words can be found in other places in Acts (e.g. Acts 9:31, Acts 15:32), showing us the importance of strengthening and encouraging.

To strengthen means to establish alongside, to make something stronger or firmer; to encourage literally means to give courage to someone, to support them. Encouragement is listed as a gift from God (Rom 12:8) and Barnabas (the ‘son of encouragement’) was clearly gifted in this area. God Himself encourages us and gives us hope (Rom 15:5, 2 Thess 2:16), but this encouragement does not exclude warning (Paul and Barnabas reminded the believers that they would have hardships to face in their Christian journey. (Acts 14:22)) We don’t know exactly how Paul and Barnabas strengthened and encouraged the believers to remain true to the faith, but from Paul’s letters, we get clues: how he focussed attention on God and on His redemptive work in Jesus Christ, how he placed our individual stories within the bigger picture of God’s story and thus gave meaning and purpose to our lives and how he made connections constantly between present hardships and eternal glory.

Part of the work of the Holy Spirit is to strengthen and encourage us, but we too can help others by our words and actions. Paul says to the Thessalonians, ‘Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.’ (1 Thess 5:11) and he urges the Corinthians to seek the spiritual gifts which ‘build up the church.’ (1 Cor 14:12) As we work to strengthen and encourage each other, we can then remain true to the faith and stand firm, no matter what. The writer to the Hebrews says, ‘And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.’ (Heb 10:24-25) May this be our goal as we interact with each other.

In the UK there used to be a TV quiz show called ‘Catchphrase’, which itself had the catchphrase ‘Say what you see’. The idea of the game was to show animations which represented a well-known saying or phrase and the participant had to guess what the saying or phrase was.

As we think about the Day of Pentecost, we see that the Holy Spirit came so that we could be witnesses to Jesus (Acts 1:8), so that we can ‘say what we have seen.’ Ali Herbert writes, ‘For the disciples it was simply a matter of saying what they had seen. What they had seen of Jesus’ life, heard from his teaching, experienced of his miracles – but more than that, what they experienced of his presence with them and his love. Peter paints a beautiful picture of the Trinity nature of God: Jesus raised from death, the giving nature of the Father and the Spirit poured out so that everyone can see with their own eyes. God is three persons to express relationship and community – a community that each of us are invited into.’

We can often get a bit ‘hung-up’ on what the arrival of the Holy Spirit and the baptism of the Holy Spirit mean, especially when we read about the sound of a rushing wind, tongues of fire seeming to rest on people’s heads and speaking in other languages. (Acts 2:1-4) But fundamentally, the Holy Spirit comes to give us the boldness to speak about Jesus: how we met Him, how we first encountered Him and what He has done in our lives, how He continues to speak to us and lead us. These stories are where our evangelism comes from, because we too are witnesses of Jesus Christ.  Our personal stories are what people need to hear as we share the wonderful things God has done for us!

I’ve read quite a few things recently about clothes and how these can influence our moods and actions. Holding meetings by Zoom or on Google Hangout or watching services on Facebook Live may have changed how we view getting dressed: is there any point, or can we just stay in pyjamas?! If we’re working from home, do we have to wear our usual work clothes or uniforms, or can we be just as effective in casual clothes?

So often, what we wear is tailored to what we are doing (I’ve been on quite a few walks by rivers recently and in the end decided to buy a pair of wellies as I wanted to be able to walk in the rivers!) It’s definitely easier psychologically at times to wear clothes which fit what we are doing; if I am dressed ‘professionally’, I feel more ‘professional.’

Col 3:12-14 urges us to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, teaching us to bear with each other, forgive each other and put on love, which binds all those virtues together in perfect unity. These are the ‘clothes’ we’re commanded to wear each day (not just on special occasions.) Such clothes help us to get along with each other and to live together as God’s chosen people. They never get old or tatty and never need replacing by other attitudes; they are always relevant and beautiful.

One of the beauties of walking in the countryside is the many woods and rivers close to us which provide us with the opportunity to savour and examine God’s wonderful creation. There are so many different trees, so many wildflowers and so many creatures to examine that it is truly mind-blowing.

When it’s hot, we tend to wilt a little, and the little streams and brooks, not to mention the fast-flowing rivers and waterfalls found in many valleys, become sources of refreshment. Ps 23:2 talks about God leading us beside ‘quiet waters’; Ps 68:9 talks of being refreshed by God’s abundant showers. The Bible often speaks of water in this way: as the source of refreshment, cooling, and life. Trees planted by water tend to thrive and not wither (Ps 1:3):

Jeremiah speaks of God leading us beside streams of water on level ground so that we do not stumble (Jer 31:9):

All of us feel like wilting and withering at times as the ‘heat’ of life drains us and saps us. If we are to thrive like the trees planted by streams of water, we need to drink daily from God and allow His living water to flow from within us, refreshing our weariness and providing life-giving water not only to us but to those around us. (John 7:37-38)

As we prepare our hearts to celebrate Pentecost this coming Sunday and continue to pray for people to come to know the Lord as part of the ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ prayer initiative, my daily readings today looked at John 16, where Jesus prepares His disciples for His death and for the arrival of the Holy Spirit. As with so many conversations with Jesus, the disciples were slow to understand (as are we!) They felt grief, sorrow and confusion (as we so often do), but Jesus said, ‘But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.’ (John 16:7)

The Holy Spirit is known by many names: advocate, counsellor, comforter, consoler, and encourager all being ways to translate the Greek word ‘parakletos‘, which literally means someone who is called alongside us. The Holy Spirit’s role is to demonstrate to the world truths about sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8-11) and to dwell inside the believer, giving us assurance of our adoption into God’s family (Rom 8:15-16) and giving us the power we need to be witnesses to Jesus Christ. (Acts 1:8) One of the most amazing truths we learn about the Holy Spirit is that He intercedes for us through wordless groans (Rom 8:26). No matter how helpless and frustrated we feel, we can be encouraged to know that the Holy Spirit lifts us before the throne of grace and comes to us to guide us into all truth.