AuburnChick's Adventures

Did you go to church yesterday?

I did, and the sermon I heard was so very convicting and powerful that I wanted to give you the gist of it.

Tom, one of my church’s pastors, preached from John 14:15-26…

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

¹⁵ “If you love me, keep my commands. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— ¹⁷ 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. ¹⁸ I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ¹⁹ Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. ²⁰ On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. ²¹Whoever 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.”

²² Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

²³ 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. ²⁴ 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.

²⁵ “All this I have spoken while still with you. ²⁶ 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.

Tom spoke about how, after he became a Christian, he discovered that a few of his closest friends were Christians already.  This surprised him for a couple of reasons.  First, they had never told him anything about Jesus.  Being a new Christian, Tom couldn’t wait to tell people about God’s redeeming love.  Another reason why he was surprised was that his friends’ lives were not reflecting the fact that they were Christians.  They were doing things that were not exactly Christ-like.

Thus, even though Tom was new in his faith, he felt a pull, confused with what he felt was true with what he was seeing acted out.

As he spoke, I thought about how many people I see, on a daily basis, who are Christians (or claim to be) yet live in ways that go contrary to the Lord’s teachings.

Then, I thought about myself.  What are the things that I do that confuse people.  Yes, I am a Christian, but what about the times when I get angry and yell?  What about the times I allow crass or profane language to exit my mouth (rare, but it does occasionally happen when I speak with close friends and am frustrated about something).

The question begs to be asked:  What evidence of Christ is there in a Christian’s life?

In the above verses, Jesus connects love with persistent obedience to his commands.  A lack of obedience indicates a lack of love.

Tough, eh?

Here’s the thing.  When you encounter Christ, you don’t get to walk away and live life as before.

We always hear sermons about God’s love for us and how He demonstrates that, but how often do we really hear about the role we should actively take in the relationship?

Staying obedient to God can be tough though…especially given that there’s no physical “presence” to hold us accountable.

It’s like being a parent or some other adult in authority who holds a child accountable.  An adult’s presence is sometimes enough to keep a child’s behavior in check.

However, before Jesus departed the earth, He told his disciples that He would be leaving another, the Holy Spirit, who would be a counselor…someone to walk beside us.

So, in reality, we DO have God with us, watching us, desiring that obedience, and watching closely as our decisions play out.  When you think you’re alone, you’re NOT!

That’s a convicting thought.

When I’m frustrated with my students and raise my voice, the Holy Spirit is there with me.

Sigh.

When I fuss at my own children or get angry with a stupid driver and throw my hands up in frustration, the Holy Spirit is there.

Sigh.

Genuine Christians have the Holy Spirit.  You receive Him as soon as you give your life over to Christ.

Hard but needed truths were spoken today.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to get to heaven one day and be accused of paying lip service to God’s love.

What about you?

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