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[Jesus said,] "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter
(Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever." John 14:16, Amplified Bible
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Once when I was attending to a grieving family, we gathered around the bedside of the loved one, held hands tightly and prayed mightily. There were about a dozen of us in the circle, and we intentionally offered words of blessing and encouragement for the withered person in the middle to seek peace in God's immediate presence and to leave behind his spent, earthbound body. There were tears, as you would expect, and a chorus of "I love yous" as the time for saying final goodbyes inevitably arrived.
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A little bit later on, as I sat on a bench in the hospital hallway next to one of the teenaged grandchildren who had been part of the circle, she said, "You know something happened back there, don't you?"
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"What do you mean," I asked.
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"Back in the room when we were praying for Grandpa. You felt it, didn't you?"
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"What do you mean,' I asked again, my curiosity growing stronger.
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She glanced around furtively; making sure no one else was in hearing distance. "This isn't the way I normally think about things, so don't get the impression I'm weird or anything, okay? And don't tell anyone I said this, either."
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She took one more sweeping glance of the corridor. "When we were praying back then, I swear I felt a presence come into the room and stand behind me. I even looked over my shoulder to see who it was, but I couldn't see anyone standing there. But still, I felt it."
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From the flatness in her voice I couldn't guess whether or not she had experienced this as a good thing, so I asked her to say more. She paused for a reflective moment before saying. "It wasn't scary. I guess you could say it was... comforting."
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I'm pretty sure that was the Holy Spirit. What do you think? As we come into the Season of Pentecost (in which we Christocentric believers let the Holy Spirit have a moment in the spotlight)...
Be Comforted, |
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Pastor Chris |