“He Will Convict You of Sin”

How the Holy Spirit works to transform us from the inside out.

Jane ran into her old friend Mary at the grocery store where they used to work together ten years earlier. Both women thought it was a happy coincidence. Just when Francine knew she needed to talk to a friend, her phone rang, and on the other end was Margaret, the one woman who knew her best and could help her out of any jam. Francine was grateful for her good fortune. Martin was born on Christmas Day, 1954. Thirty years later, his daughter, Christine, was born on Christmas Day. Martin and his wife thought the two birthdates were coincidental.

At different points in our lives, we all encounter coincidences, both large and small. We tend to smile at the small ones and wonder at the large ones. “How can this be?” we ask ourselves. “Is it fate? Luck of the draw? Or can it possibly be part of God’s goodness?”

These coincidences become even more mysterious when we examine spiritual happenings. Was the disciples’ meeting of Jesus on the road to Emmaus preordained or just a lucky coincidence (Luke 24:13-31)? Was Jesus’ encounter with the blind man in Jerusalem predetermined, or did they both just happen to be in the Temple on the same day at the same time (John 9)? As for us, we might ask questions like, “Was this favor I asked of the Lord something he answered, or did it just work out that way on…

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