Where There’s Blayze

I didn’t become a Christian by going to church.

I started going out of what I’d now call spiritual insurance. You know, just in case. I figured if I clocked in enough Sunday hours, maybe I’d earn some favour at the pearly gates. Like St. Peter would be standing there with a clipboard going, “Alright Blayze… not the holiest life, but we see you put in the hours. Come on in.”

Church, for me at the time, was less about transformation and more about cover.

Shopping for Comfort

When I first started attending church properly, I wasn’t searching for God, I was searching for comfort. I’d try out a church, and if it didn’t suit my vibe, I’d move on.

One week, I went to an Anglican church. Lovely place. No one spoke to me.

Now, I’m a social guy, so that silence was loud. It felt like everyone was part of a club I hadn’t been invited to. Not ideal.

The week after, I tried a church from the “New Life” tradition, charismatic evangelical, very Holy Spirit-focused. Let me tell you, it was lively. People shouting “Amen!” mid-sermon, dancing during worship, the whole works. They even did a sketch where Elvis and Jesus answered questions to see who was the real King of Kings. (Spoiler alert: Jesus won.)

It was intense, slightly baffling, and honestly? Hilarious. But I didn’t go back.

I was still chasing comfort, not conviction.

From Attendance to Encounter

Eventually, something shifted. I stopped hedging my bets and started actually following Jesus. Genuinely. From the heart.

That shift led me to Bible college. There, I read about the Holy Spirit, not just as a theological idea, but as a real, active presence. I learned about revivals, spiritual gifts, prophecy, healing… all things I rarely saw in the churches I’d been part of. I started to wonder: Why don’t we experience this now? Did God stop moving after Pentecost?

Spoiler: He didn’t.

Chasing the Spirit (Literally)

I later served in a Methodist church and heard of a group called Aldersgate Renewal Ministries. They ran Spirit-focused weekends with prayer, teaching, and opportunities to receive. I thought, Sign me up!

During the weekend, there were multiple prayer sessions where you could receive prayer from ministry teams. I had one goal: encounter the Holy Spirit. And if I was honest, I also kind of wanted to fall over, what they call “resting in the Spirit” (used to be “slain in the Spirit,” but that apparently sounded too dramatic… Elvis wouldn’t have approved).

I prayed, approached prayer team after prayer team, hoping for that moment. Nothing happened.

Until finally, one of the last teams available included a young lad from my own congregation. I hesitated, it’s always awkward being vulnerable in front of someone who sees you every Sunday. But I went forward.

They laid hands on me. I wobbled. This time, I didn’t fight it. I stopped trying to analyse it and just let go.

And I fell. I didn’t realise it though. I just felt hands on my back holding me as they guided me down. I didn’t realise I had fallen until I was lying on the hard church floor.

But more than that, I felt something, Someone. A surge of divine power rushing through me. It was like being electrocuted with joy. My breath quickened. My body shook. My heart burned.

It wasn’t just emotional. It was encounter. And it was unmistakably real.

Pentecost Power Today

Many Christians read Acts 2—the story of Pentecost—and think of it as history. But Pentecost isn’t just a moment in time; it’s the birth of a movement. It’s the outpouring of a Person, the Holy Spirit, meant for us today.

When the Spirit came like wind and fire, it wasn’t just a divine fireworks show. It was fulfilment.

Peter, explaining the event, quotes Joel 2:28–32:

“In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people…”

This was a bold theological claim. In Joel’s original prophecy, the phrase was, “Afterwards…” Peter changes it to “In the last days.” Why?

Because something new had begun.

Peter’s point was clear: The “last days” had started. The age of the Spirit had arrived. God was no longer distant. His fire had moved from mountaintops to hearts. The Spirit was no longer just for prophets and priests, but for everyone.

Moses once longed for this in Numbers 11:29 when he said:

“Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!”

At Pentecost, that wish came true.

The Fire Is for You

If you’re a believer today, Pentecost is your inheritance.

The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead (Romans 8:11) is in you. He empowers you to witness, to pray, to speak truth, to serve, and to love like Christ.

Tongues of fire rested on each disciple, not above them, not beside them, but on them. God’s presence was no longer outside but within.

We’re not called to just be warmed by God’s Spirit. We’re called to burn. To burn so brightly with His presence that people around us feel the heat. That our lives become signs and wonders pointing to the living Christ.

My Prayer

My prayer is that you don’t settle for attendance without encounter. That you would hunger for more. That you would let God move in ways that are real, even if they’re uncomfortable, unpredictable, or unexplainable.

We are people of Pentecost.

Let’s live like it.

Let’s burn.

Have you ever had an encounter with the Holy Spirit? Curious about what it means to be filled with the Spirit?

If you want to be filled or are curious to know more then seek out someone who can talk to you on this subject, even pray for you. Or even comment under this blog. I would love to hear from you, with your questions or experiences.

Scripture References:

Acts 2:1–21 | Joel 2:28–32 | Numbers 11:29 | Romans 8:11 | Revelation 21