John 14:16-17 (NIV)
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
Luke 24:49 (ESV)
And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.
Acts 1:8 (ESV)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Our Scriptures this week highlight the promise that Jesus made to send the Holy Spirit to his followers. We celebrate the fulfillment of that promise at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit is a helper who will be with us always, the Spirit of truth filling us with power from on high.
What does this empowerment look like to a child born into poverty? What role does the Holy Spirit as helper play in the life of the child whose world and opportunities can seem so hopeless? What truths do the Spirit reveal to children whose circumstances communicate lies to them about their identities?
Poverty is a form of powerlessness, which is intensified in the lives of the vulnerable, especially children. For children who are born into poverty, it is difficult to imagine a future that is distinct from the reality in which they live. This powerlessness produces hopelessness, which results in children who are unable to realize the potential with which they have been created.
However the gift of Pentecost — the Holy Spirit as helper and one who empowers — plays a vital role in the lives of these children. The Spirit speaks truth to these children and empowers them to realize the potential with which God created them.
The ministry of ChildHope is a compassionate and intentional response to the needs of poor children providing not only quality education but Spirit-empowered transformation. The empowerment of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the ChildHope students is experienced in very practical way. It is the empowerment of the Holy Spirit which enables these children to see themselves differently and create a future of hope. It is because of this Spirit-empowerment that these children are able to overcome the obstacles of their communities and succeed.
Today this same Holy Spirit is empowering thousands of ChildHope children throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
Mary Kathleen Mahon, Ph.D.
President, ChildHope
See other devotionals in this series.
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™