Tag Archives: John 14:15-17

Do What Jesus Said: Accept the Spirit

Jesus said, “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.” John 14:15-17

If I could go back and change one thing in my life, I would have discovered and pursued a relationship with the Holy Spirit much sooner. Instead of huffing and puffing my way through self effort and limited knowledge I would have sought the perfect help Jesus offered. Instead of getting to know God primarily intellectually, I would have accepted His free hand to come know Him more intimately. (It is a process even now.)

If there is one thing missing in the lives of Christians and in too many churches today it is the absence of the power of the Holy Spirit. This free gift, the absolute representation of Jesus Christ is available to all who call upon Him. Imagine being able to receive perfect counsel every time you ask, the exact comfort you need every time you turn to Him, and real power to overcome the difficulties of life at your fingertips. I’m pretty sure if the Holy Spirit were into the stock market or the knowledge of picking the correct lotto ticket we would all pursue Him avidly!

But we largely ignore the Holy Spirit, maybe because the idea seems so spooky. After all, we referred to Him as the Holy Ghost when I was growing up. Maybe we just have difficulty with the concept of talking directly to a loving God we don’t see with our eyes. Maybe we are just too busy. Maybe we just think we can do just as well on our own.

But we don’t. We read the bible, we listen to sermons, we take notes and try to apply them to our lives. We work hard to be better and better when we have time. But we don’t get very far before we realize it is a lot of effort without much results. THAT is why Jesus gave us His Spirit, because we can’t be Christ’s disciples in our own power. It is like shadow boxing: we wear ourselves out beating at the air.

Asking Jesus to be Lord of your life comes with not only the gift of eternal life later but real power now. And that power is the power of the gospel revealed to us by the Holy Spirit…at work, at home, in the marketplace, and in all arenas of Our lives. Do what Jesus said: receive the Holy Spirit and nurture a relationship with Him. It will transform your life.