JESUS SPEAKING
“I still have numerous things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of Truth has come, He will guide you in all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify me, for He will take of what is mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are mine. Therefore I said that He will take of mine and declare it to you” (John 16: 12-15.)
INSPIRED THOUGHTS
Shortly before Jesus was crucified, he foretold of the arrival of a mysterious entity known as the ‘Holy Spirit;’ after the resurrection he ascended in to heaven and fulfilled his promise to every believer by sending “the Spirit of Truth.” For nearly 2000 years, Jesus has been seated in glory at the right hand of God; and for 2000 years there have been countless genuine confessions of faith. With every confession received, a gift has been given; the faithful obtain the indwelling of the fullness of God’s Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit, the desires of Christ become intuition; his path becomes transparent; evil is exposed by the divine light of the living God. Finally able to distinguish the truth from the lies, the newborn child of God recognizes counterfeit prophets and artificial religions; the inner Spirit also boldly declares the authority and authenticity of a single book; the Holy Bible. Ignorance is no longer an excuse, as God Himself directs the steps of His Faithful followers.
Many years ago, a friend invited me to attend a church service. Near the end of the service, there was an opportunity to approach the stage and publicly profess a faith in Jesus Christ; I chose to accept the invitation. Afterwards, I was given a bible; however I was afraid that the church might be a cult. Therefore I didn’t trust the accuracy of the bible they had given me. So I made my way to the local bookstore and asked one of the employees where I could find the “original bible.” With a confused look she replied, ‘Let me get another employee who’s a Christian; she’ll know more about this than I will.’ When the Christian girl returned, I explained my situation to her; “I want the original bible.” She replied, ‘Well it doesn’t really work that way. The original bible is in a different language’ (a language I did not understand.) [Note: She did impress upon me that the English translations were very accurate.] After our discussion I had one of my first experiences with the Holy Spirit. A voice suddenly spoke from my heart; a voice I didn’t hear with my ears; and yet my mind clearly comprehended what was said; the voice said, “You’ve always been too smart for your own good; just read the bible I gave you.” God had communicated with me through the Holy Spirit. I began reading the bible He wanted me to read; the bible I had received at my conversion (being easy to read and understand, it proved to be exactly what I needed.) With every flip of the page I grew closer to God. Without the Holy Spirit I might have fallen victim to my own arrogant pride.
The Holy Spirit is an essential component of our faith; without it we are blind, ignorant and lost. But God, in His great wisdom has said, “I will not leave you orphans.” The Spirit proclaims God’s desires on this earth; He testifies of what is true and helps us to choose what is good and avoid what is evil. Believe in Jesus Christ, and you will enter in to fellowship with the living God. Receive His Holy Spirit and you as well can share in the knowledge, power, and love of your Eternal Father, and His only begotten Son.
“Lord Heavenly Father, we love You, and we thank You for sending the Holy Spirit. Continue to speak to us and to guide us in the ways of righteousness. With every breath, may we draw nearer to You. Lead us, that we might do Your will in this place, and bring glory and honor to You and to Your Son. We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things, according to Your will, in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.” God bless all of you.
Jesus Speaks 