Being open to the Spirit

‘I have told you this while I am still with you. The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and make you remember all that I have told you.’     (verses 25,26)

Read John 14:23-29

Do you remember how hard it was to learn for tests at school, especially if it was left to the night before? There was always something we couldn’t remember.

Jesus knows what we are like. So he gives us someone to help us remember the things that are really important in life: his own teachings.

Part of the Spirit’s work is to make us remember what Jesus did for us and what he taught us. If he is to do this for us, we have to let him. The best way to let the Holy Spirit help us remember what Jesus taught is to use God’s word, often.

Too many of us remember our confirmation as something it isn’t. It wasn’t a graduation from Christian education. It wasn’t the end of all study. Rather, it was the beginning of a new chapter in our relationship with God; it helped equip us for Bible study that would be vital in the future.

If we deny the need for Bible study, we are closing the door on one of the major ways the Holy Spirit speaks to us. We miss so much comfort, we leave ourselves open to teachings that ‘sound good’, and we are not feeding our faith. Being open to Scripture allows the Holy Spirit to keep us certain of eternal life.

Father. always keep my heart open to all the Spirit wants to teach me and do for me, so that my faith is always strong. Amen.

by Robert Turnbull, in ‘Renewed Hope for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2000)

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