The Work of the Holy Spirit

When I read the Apostle's Creed I confess that I believe in the Holy Spirit, but who is the Holy Spirit and what does he do? With the apostles we believe that the Holy Spirit is God.  Both the Old and New Testaments testify to the divinity of the Holy Spirit.  He is not merely a force of God, as the Jehovah Witnesses believe, but He is God Himself. His presence is felt from the first chapter of Genesis to the last chapter of Revelations. He knows all things and dwells in those who believe. He convicts us of sin. He intercedes for us, searches our hearts and talks to us; teaching us all things. He closes and opens doors in Missions and the gifts we receive as Christians are ' of one and the same Spirit,....he gives them to each one, just as he determines.' ( 1 Cor. 12 : 11 )  I can go on and on about the Holy Spirit......You can read it for yourself in the Creeds.

I also believe that the Holy Spirit leads us in ' mysterious ways His wonders to perform ', bringing us into contact with people He wants us to meet according to His eternal purpose. That's my next story. 

In early January I visited a ship with a Turkish crew. I was in a hurry. My father in- law had passed away and that afternoon was the funeral. I entered the ship's office introducing myself to a young third officer  telling him that I had Christmas presents for the crew in my car and that the Seafarer's Center would be open at 2.00 PM.

" Can you please come with me to my car and take three bags of presents with you?" was my request. He called two crew members to assist him and with the four of us we walked towards my car. Suddenly he mentioned something in Turkish to the two men. They kept walking and he asked me to stop. " I have to ask you something," he said. My first thought when seafarers ask me something privately is; problems on board the ship or with their family at home. " Do you have a Bible for me? ", he asked.  Much surprised, I said, " Of course ". The next day I brought him a Bible, a 'Question and Answers about the Christian faith', and some Jesus DVDs. I did not want to take any chances so I hid the material in some toques. When he showed up  and accepted the ' gift ' he had a big smile on his face. We said goodbye and we most likely will never see each other again.

So what's the point of the story? First of all, I didn't present the Gospel at all. All I did was visit the ship and introduce myself to the crew. Secondly, why would he ask me for a Bible? Was he a Muslim, most Turkish people are. Was he a Christian or was he still searching? I don't know and I will never find out. " God moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform " is the title of a famous hymn. I believe the Holy Spirit led me to that ship that morning because this Turkish seafarer needed a Bible! The Holy Spirit leads people to Christ through people like me, who, in this situation, didn't even talk about Jesus. Amazing isn't it? He is in full control. One thing we have to do however, is to live 'expectantly' knowing that God will send people across our path.  Knowing that conversion is God's work, is comforting for us because we often feel so inadequate as witnesses for Christ. And so, again I say, I believe in the Holy Spirit.  I can only imagine what the eternal results will be after my visit to that Turkish ship.