“You Know Him”

“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.

John 14:15-26

Jesus knew His followers would need support after He left the earth. When He told them about His upcoming absence, He said they would gain a new kind of connection with God through the Holy-Spirit. This Spirit would be a moment-by-moment helper – a teacher and guide who would not only live life with them also be in them.

The Spirit would provide Jesus’s disciples with internal help from God, which would enable them to endure what they couldn’t handle on their own as they fanned out to share the good news. In moments of struggle, the Spirit would remind them of everything Jesus said to them, In moments of struggle, the Spirit would remind them of everything Jesus said to them: “Do not let your hearts be troubled…Love one another…I am the resurrection and the life.”

Are you facing something that exceeds your own strength and ability? You can depend on the Spirit’s constant help. God’s Spirit working in you will bring Him the glory He deserves.

When it is a question of God’s almighty Spirit, never say, “I can’t.”

Our Daily Bread – November 24, 2018