“Advocate”
“If you love me, keep my
commands. And I will ask the
Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you
forever— the Spirit of
truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to
you. Before long, the world
will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will
live. On that day you will
realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
Whoever has my commands
and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by
my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
Then
Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself
to us and not to the world?”
Jesus
replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My
Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.
Anyone who does not love me will not obey
my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who
sent me.
“All this I
have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my
name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said
to you. Peace I leave with
you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let
your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14:15-27
Where do we get courage from?
Does it come from within us, or is it provided by God, when He deems that we
need it? You know the answer deep down inside. Courage does not come from us, it comes from the Holy Spirit within us. The Holy Spirit
is our Advocate.
The night before Jesus was
crucified, Jesus promised that He would not abandon us but would send His
Spirit to be with us and in us.
In a world filled with despair
and trouble, we can take courage. The Holy Spirit lives within us, providing us
with His peace and comfort.
The Spirit within us guarantees
we are never alone.
Our Daily Bread –