Thursday, September 26, 2024

Listen To The Tour Guide

"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come."
John 16:13 (NKJV)

When visiting some famous sight or place of interest, you might have a tour guide.  While the tour guide is there to help you, and tell you about the place you are visiting, if you do not stay with the tour guide, if you are wandering around on your own or were not listening, the tour guide might give you some information about the place you are visiting, but you would miss it.  And if you did not follow the tour guide, you might get lost and end up somewhere you should not be.  The best thing to do is to listen to the tour guide.

The Holy Spirit has been given to us to lead us, to teach us, and as it says in John 16:13, to guide us into the truth and tell us things to come.  The Holy Spirit is ready to lead us, teach us, and guide us into the truth, but if we are not listening to Him we are going to miss out on the help of the Holy Spirit that we need in life.  We need to listen to the Holy Spirit, by spending time in God's Word, and as we fellowship with God in prayer.  We have a choice in life, to trust the leading and teaching from the Holy Spirit, or to figure things out on our own.

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would guide us into the truth and show us things to come, but that means we need to listen to Him and follow His direction.  In the same way that a tour guide will show us important things and give us information about a place we are visiting, the Holy Spirit will guide us in life and give us the information we need to deal with problems, to answer our questions, and to show us what to do.  The Holy Spirit will speak to us through God's Word, and the Holy Spirit will lead us, but this requires us to listen to Him and follow His direction.

Thursday, September 19, 2024

Beautiful Music, Or Just Some Noise?

"But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.
And if they were all one member, where would the body be?

But now indeed there are many members, yet one body."
1 Corinthians 12:18-20 (NKJV)

During Middle School, I played drums in the school band.  Although I would not say I was the best musician, I was in the band, and I did my part.  Other people played flutes, trombones, trumpets, and other instruments.  We practiced songs that were later performed in a concert.  By everyone playing their specific part, we were able to make some "beautiful music."  If people tried to switch instruments, or just played whatever they wanted to play, instead of beautiful music, we would have just made a lot of noise.

Christians are a part of the Body of Christ.  We are all unique and different, but we all have an important part to play in fulfilling the will of God.  As it tells us in 1 Corinthians 12, God has set each of us, each part, in the Body of Christ.  The part we are in the Body of Christ is not the most important thing, but what is important is that we know what our part is, and we do it.  If we do not do our part in the Body of Christ, then something will be missing, and the entire Body of Christ will suffer.  We need to discover what our part is and then be faithful in doing that.

Just like everyone in a band or orchestra has their own unique part to play to make the right kind of music, each believer in the Body of Christ has a unique part to play to accomplish the will of God.  If someone is out of place, or just doing what they decide to do, then the band or orchestra will just be making noise, and the Body of Christ will not be as effective as it should be.  We need to learn who we are in Christ and what God has placed us in the Body to do.  With every believer taking their place and doing their part, the plan of God in the local and world-wide church can be accomplished.

Thursday, September 12, 2024

What Have You Seen And Heard?

"that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ."
1 John 1:3 (NKJV)

If someone was called into a courtroom to be a witness, they would be asked to talk about what they know concerning the court case, they would testify about what they had seen and heard.  If someone was asked what they knew about a certain topic, they would only be able to talk about what they have seen or heard, what they know.  If you had not seen or heard anything, you would not be able to talk about it.  It is the things we know, what we have seen and heard, that we can talk about.

When John wrote his first Epistle, he said he was writing about what he knew, what he had personally experienced, with Jesus.  John was not writing about what Peter had told him about Jesus, John was not just relaying second hand information.  John said he was declaring, he was announcing something he had seen and heard, something he had personally experienced.  In the same way, we can only share what we have seen and heard, we can only tell others about what it is we know.

God has a plan for each person and for the entire world.  God has already sent Jesus and the Holy Spirit, so now we need to do something.  However, there are limitations to what we are going to be able to do.  What have we seen and heard about God?  What do we personally know about God that we can declare and announce to others?  We cannot give away something we do not have and we cannot talk about what we do not know.  We need to know God's Word to do what God has called us to do, and to be able to share the truth with others.

Thursday, September 5, 2024

Part-Time Help, Or Full-Time?

"And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever -
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him or knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you."
John 14:16-17 (NKJV)

Over the years, I have had many jobs doing many different things.  While most of my jobs have been full-time work, I have had some part-time jobs too.  The main and obvious difference between a full-time job and part-time job is the amount of time you are doing your job.  And, if you are hired to work full-time, but you only show up for part of the day, or part of the time you are supposed to be working, that is not good.  Full-time work means you are there to do all the work required and not just part of the work.

When Jesus was physically present on the earth, He was with His disciples and He was available to help them.  Jesus taught His disciples and explained His teaching to them, and Jesus was their leader to show them where to go.  When Jesus told His disciples that He was going back to the Father, Jesus said it was better for Him to go away, so that He could send the Holy Spirit, and that the Holy Spirit would be with the disciples forever.  The Holy Spirit was sent to Christians to help us in the same way Jesus helped His disciples.

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would come to be with us, and be our Helper.  That is great news, but when we need help, do we turn to the Holy Spirit for His assistance?  The Holy Spirit is not a part-time Helper who only helps us sometimes with some big spiritual things, the Holy Spirit is a full-time Helper who is always ready to teach us, show us what to do, and guide us in our life. The Holy Spirit is our full-time Helper, He is always with us, and He can help us in every area of our lives.