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Aylmer Christian Reformed Church is blessed to have John Moelker in our midst as a summer intern pastor from Calvin Seminary. We wholeheartedly welcome John and his family and pray that he will be a blessing to us and we will be a blessing to him. Below is a short note from John and his family:
“Greetings, brothers and sisters in Christ. My wife Debora and I and our three girls (Lexa, Paige, Erin) arrived safely on June 5th and received a warm Aylmer welcome. We look forward to serving you and worshiping with you this summer. Even after a few days, we have been blessed by the body of Christ here and we thank you for that. A special thanks to the Board of Administration for putting us up in a “sweet” house in the country. It will be difficult to go back to Grand Rapids in the fall! Email: jmoelke5@calvinseminary.edu. God’s blessings, John, Debora, Lexa, Paige & Erin”
You may have heard the phrase said from one person to another: “You are in good spirits!”. We live in a very spiritual society, although it doesn’t seem very apparent at first glance. Many people when asked do believe in a spirit, or that some sort of spiritual life exists. Some people believe in spirits that cause human harm (perhaps they call them demons) and some people believe in spirits that do good (many call them angels). Other people believe, mistakenly, you can communicate with dead people through spirits. Most religions have views on the spirit. We should turn to the Bible to clear our thoughts and find the truth concerning spirits.
The Bible says that spirits exist. Numerous places in the Bible mention angels helping real people and demons seriously affecting the lives of real people. The Bible also tells us about the Spirit of God very very early in the book Genesis and throughout the Bible. The Bible tells us that the Spirit of God was hovering over the earth, giving it life.
The Holy Spirit is one of three parts of the Trinity. Sometimes the idea of the Trinity confuses people. The Apostle’s Creed helps us understand this fundamental idea of the Christian Faith and is a very powerful summary of our Christian Faith:
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic* church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
*that is, the true Christian church of all times and all places
It is God’s Spirit, The Holy Spirit, that was poured out over His Church on Pentecost that was celebrated a couple of weeks ago. It is God’s Holy Spirit “that is the presence and power of God with us here and now, leading the church, uniting God’s people, applying God’s forgiveness to our broken lives, speaking to us, and spurring us individually and communally to godly living” -CRCNA.
It is comforting to know that God’s Holy Spirit is with His Church today, empowering all who believe to do His Will on this earth and continually supporting His children in all their trials, hardships, and joyful times. Let us pray.
Lord Jesus, grant me a vision of your gracious spirit. Please speak to me words of hope, life, grace, forgiveness and eternal life. Amen.
-Rev. deJong
Rev. deJong is a retired CRC minister. He resides in the Aylmer area and attends church at Aylmer Christian Reformed Chruch.
