December 1 I Thursday

Ezekiel 40-41

2 Peter 3

 

 

“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 14:26

 

When I first came to faith at the age of 23, I was coming out of a pretty rough background. Yet, I knew when I got saved, it was real because the Holy Spirit was working in my life. Although I was attending church and did not pick up the Bible during the first three months of being a Christian, the Holy Spirit came into my life and started to change my appetites. 

       I found, after coming to faith, that when I started to make some choices that I had formerly been making, all of a sudden, the Holy Spirit would pop up and say, “Red alert! Red alert! That is not what God has for you!” It was not an external conviction but an internal conviction. This was happening while I was not reading Scripture, so I did not have a list of behaviours that I knew were sinful. But the Holy Spirit, because He is Holy, was protecting and guiding me. It was like the lights were turned on and I could see all the pitfalls and traps that were set for me in our world around us. The reason the Holy Spirit was doing that is because He is our Guide, our Helper, our Tutor and our Teacher. He reminds us of everything that is contained in Scripture.

       We can tell that we have entered into Christ when our appetites have changed and things that formerly brought us joy no longer bring us joy. The reality is that when we come to Christ, we do not like sinning, because we are not made for sin. The Holy Spirit lives in us and sin is no longer our default mode. It is like the factory default setting of our life starts to change and a whole new operating software has been uploaded onto us that transforms how we see the world and how we behave. We start to express righteousness not because we are righteous, but because of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our life. 

       Paul tells us, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). In other words, as we go through our days, the Holy Spirit is always pouring into us, “Walk this way, do this, follow Me, walk with Me, don’t run ahead of Me, don’t tardy behind Me, stay with Me.” In a present continuous way, the Holy Spirit is the power behind the Christian life. As we listen and depend on His wisdom, the harvest that manifests itself on the outside of our lives is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Prayer: Dear God, thank You that I am not alone in my journey as a Christian. You have given me Your Holy Spirit to be my Helper, my Counselor and my Guide—the power behind the Christian life. Praise You! 


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