As a very young Christian, I was part of a charismatic community that valued the work of the Holy Spirit, and especially the gift of prophesy. Since Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians was to earnestly desire this gift, I prayed and asked God for some kind of wisdom in exercising this gift that would also help me to avoid making a fool of myself or worse yet, be revealed as a public heretic. Read more »
Many ARC churches connected to the Ten Days Before Pentecost prayer focus with a mind toward opening to the influence of the Holy Spirit’s power in our lives. At the conference in April, I highlighted Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost and his reference to the prophecy of Joel (Acts 2:17-18):
17 ”‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
Opportunities are available for Christian men, women, and married couples to teach English in Tamura, Japan. This program was begun by Mr. Kosuke Maki in 1988. Mr. Maki is the pastor of a local church and also principal of a private English school.