How I Discovered the Holy Spirit Is Still on the Move

Welcome to Christianity.com. My name is Margaret Feinberg. I'm the author of The God You Need to Know and the accompanying Bible study—and I’m a Christian. Here’s why.

My parents came to Christ in two completely different ways—yet on the exact same weekend. That’s where my story begins.

My Jewish father was running a longboard manufacturing company on the East Coast, back when longboards were first becoming a trend. One day, while delivering boards to a shop, he met a beautiful woman, invited her to dinner, and soon they were married. This was the late 1960s and early ’70s, a time of searching and spiritual openness.

At that time, customers began visiting my dad’s surf shop, telling him about one man: Jesus. Frustrated by the constant chatter about faith, my father took a New Testament with him on a turkey hunting trip. Out in the woods, he read it cover to cover. By the end, he believed. Jesus had lived, died, and been resurrected to give us eternal life, for free. That weekend, he gave his life to Christ.

That same weekend, my mom—on her own—was reading The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey. At the end of the book, she found an invitation to accept Christ. She prayed, and immediately felt the Holy Spirit cleanse and fill her with joy.

When they reunited later that weekend, both were nervous to share their experiences. But when they did, they were amazed and overjoyed to discover that God had met them both, separately but simultaneously.

They had been trying to have children for eight years. Within a month of their conversions, I was conceived.

I was raised in a home that blended Jewish heritage and Christian faith. That upbringing gave me a deep hunger for the Old Testament. I grew up going to church, but like many kids raised in the faith, I eventually hit a crossroads. In college, I partied hard and lived far from God—earning A’s in class and B’s in everything else: boys, beer, and Ben & Jerry’s.

But one night, I felt the Holy Spirit grab me by the scruff of the neck. “You are my child. I have called you by name. Come back to me.” I returned to Christ and began studying the New Testament in depth. That season changed everything.

Over nearly three decades, I’ve shared stories of God’s faithfulness—not just in my life, but across generations and around the world. One part of my faith I’ve struggled with, however, is understanding the Holy Spirit. Maybe you have too.

I’ve attended every kind of church: Southern Baptist, Methodist, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Charismatic, and more. Each had different answers when I asked about the Holy Spirit. But I wanted to know: Is the Spirit still active today? Does He still move in power?

During one college semester, I studied every view I could find. Some said miracles had ceased. Others said they were still happening. In my exhaustion and desperation, I cried out to God. One night, I woke up with Joel 2 burning in my mind: “In the last days, I will pour out my Spirit…” I knew then—yes, the Holy Spirit is still alive and active.

But I still struggled to see the Acts 2-style miracles in my everyday life. That led me to dig deeper—not just into the New Testament, but all the way back to Genesis, where the Spirit hovered over the waters. I began to see the Spirit at work throughout the entire Bible: in Joseph’s dreams, in Bezalel’s artistry, in Ezekiel’s visions. Pentecost wasn’t the beginning—it was a culmination.

The Spirit is a person of the Trinity. He is still present, still working, still revealing the kindness and power of God. Miracles are simply the kindness of God on display. And if we look closely, we’ll start to see those divine markers: we are loved, seen, heard, and held by a God who never changes.

I hope you’ll pick up The God You Need to Know and awaken to the power and presence of the Holy Spirit today.

Thank you for reading. Great to meet you. Be blessed.

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