January 14 - God’s Spirit Is Our Teacher And Our Guide
Jesus - “When the Father sends the Advocate as My representative - that is, the Holy Spirit - He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” (John 14:26)
Devotional Thought: We’ve learned this week that the Holy Spirit comes into our lives at the moment of salvation, when we receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord. So, what do we learn from John 14:26 the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives?
John 14:26 tells us that the Holy Spirit will teach us how to live and what to do in our lives. Are there some things that you need and want the Holy Spirit to teach you? Do you want or need Him to teach you how to understand the Scriptures? Do you want or need Him to teach you how to treat others? Do you want or need Him to teach you how to overcome obstacles and opponents? Do you want or need Him to teach you how to share your faith with others? Do you want or need Him to teach you how to walk with Him in greater ways and live a victorious life? According to Jesus, the Holy Spirit will teach us all of the things we need to know if we will just turn to Him and learn from Him.
Jesus also said, “He will remind you of everything I have told you.” Have you ever thought, “I wish I could have been one of Jesus’ disciples, learning from Him personally? I wish I could have been there when Jesus healed the sick, calmed the storm, and performed all of his miracles.” Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would teach us everything those first century disciples learned as they observed the life, ministry and teachings of Jesus.
One of the big keys to living a successful Christian life is learning how to listen to and learn from the Holy Spirit as we pray and study God’s Word. Life is filled with all kinds of small and big decisions. We already know how to make the right choices for many of those decisions based on the principles and practices we see in God’s Word. But, as we learned last week, the Bible doesn’t tell us where to live, what college or career to pursue, what Church to belong to, or what person we should date or marry. Those are really important decisions to make in our lives.Thank God we have God’s Spirit to help us in making those decisions. And He will give us the wisdom we need to make the right decisions when we ask Him to do so.
Prayer Focus: Holy Spirit, speak to me today and in the coming days through God’s Word, through godly teachers, through mature Christians and in my spirit - so that I might know Your will for my life and choose to live by it. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Follow-Up Activity: We can increase our sensitivity to God’s Spirit by having a daily time to read God’s Word and pray to Him and listen to Him. It’s also helpful to keep a journal, writing down what we hear God’s Spirit say to us through His Word and in our spirit.
