July 2023 Monthly Letter
Dear Reconcilers,
This month’s letter is titled Holy Spirit Reconciliation by Tina Graham. We hope you enjoy her perspective.
Have you ever wondered if the Holy Spirit were to leave you, would you notice it? Jesus Christ said to His disciples: “Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12) That is a pretty amazing statement.
When Jesus ascended to the right-hand side of the Father, the power of the Holy Spirit was released in full force, described in the Greek language as “dynamite.” (Acts 2) On that epic occasion, Jews and Gentiles were gathered in unity and harmony, reconciled to God and one another, waiting for power to come from on High. And when the power of the Holy Spirit came and filled them, they were all able to hear and understand the message in their own language. They all joined together praising, prophesying and exalting God. The result? 3,000 new converts came to the faith and the gospel spread like wildfire. Only the Holy Spirit can bring true unity to diversity, both in nature and in His greatest Creation – human beings made in His image.
We see the antithesis of this when mankind functions under another spirit that tries to bring unity by its own power. The goal of these people is not to exalt and magnify God but themselves. The result is greater division and chaos, as we see in our present day. The same spirit has been influencing mankind throughout history, as illustrated by Biblical events such as the Tower of Babel (which means “confusion”), and the time when the Israelites created the golden calf. Their focus was on themselves, not on seeking the spirit that would bring blessings and harmony to their community.
Thankfully, God sent Jesus Christ to restore what man had destroyed. Jesus revealed what the power of the Holy Spirit was all about: Reconciliation.
When God created the heavens and earth through the power of His Spirit, He said it was “very good.” (Genesis 1, 2:1-3) But quickly, mankind strayed so far from God’s original purpose that He had to confuse their language to protect the people from destroying themselves. (Genesis 11) After Jesus paid the penalty of sin, God sent the Holy Spirit to reconcile mankind to Himself and to one another. Now the people were praising and exalting God in their own languages! (Acts 2)
During the days of Moses when the Israelites built the golden calf and worshipped it, everyone in the camp followed the spirit of division, adulterating themselves before the Lord. As a result, 3,000 of them perished. (Exodus 32:28-29) Thousands of years later on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out in full power upon the mixed multitude and 3,000 lives were reconciled back into God’s family. (Acts 2:41)
When you allow yourself to be filled with the Holy Spirit, in essence you become like an Ark of the Covenant in which God’s presence abides. Like Yeshua (Jesus’ Hebrew name which means “salvation”), you receive power to reconcile, transform and resurrect that which was spiritually dead back to life. You become a vessel for the Spirit to replace fear with faith, grant forgiveness for the unforgiven, and hope for the hopeless. It starts in your own backyard.
One day, my husband, Ned, was in the grocery store and saw one of the young employees whom he would always talk to. She was fully tattooed, had ear gauges, dyed hair and a pierced nose. On this particular day, he smiled, looked in her eyes and said, “I’m praying for you.” As he finished collecting his groceries, he noticed tears falling from her eyes. The Holy Spirit moved him to touch something deep within her. This is where reconciliation begins. The Holy Spirit will give you the power to reconcile the past to the present, heaven and earth, other people to you and others to Him. Start using this power today.