As Jesus was talking to the disciples before He left this earth He was giving them encouragement. He told them the Holy Spirit would always be with them even when He was not physically with them. He was trying to get them to understand they didn't have to worry about things of this world but instead needed to rely on the help of the Holy Spirit. John 14:15-27 reads…
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[c] 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. 21 Whoever 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. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
We can learn so much from this passage. We can have His peace when we abide in Him. That doesn't mean we won't have problems in this life. But it means we will have peace through the problems when we live in His presence. The Holy Spirit will bless us through the issues. He will never leave us. Verse twenty-seven is the key verse to me in this passage. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. These words are so encouraging.
I'm so grateful for this reminder this morning. There are some things that are troubling right now with some people. It's like I heard Doc say last night, "It's hard to see people who you've invested so much time falling away from the Lord." It hurts. It drives me crazy and makes me ask myself, "What did I do wrong? Was there something I could have done different?" I'm so grateful for the way the Lord gave me words through Adavee a few weeks ago. He knew I would need them in the weeks to come and I am so grateful for them. People make their own choices. It is not up to me to save them. It is only up to me to be a beacon of light for the Lord and pray for them.
I must stay in His presence in order to do that. I cannot allow people to pull me down. I cannot allow the enemy to get me through people. I must stand against being agitated, disturbed or intimidated by them. I must stand against allowing people's circumstances to make me feel intimidated, fearful, cowardly or unsettled.
The Lord's presence in my life is a gift He has given me. Through the opening of that gift I have received peace, strength, comfort, blessing, His direction and motivation to continue on even in tough times. I have a choice to make in this world. I can either open this gift and allow the Holy Spirit to work through me or I can sit this gift up on a shelf and admire it being pretty. We are all given that choice. Then once we open the gift we must choose whether we are going to experience it or just use it whenever it is convenient for us.
Dear Jesus,
I thank You for this reminder this morning. Father, enable me to accept every aspect of You as I live in Your Presence. Give me the strength to stand up against the enemy when he tries to pull me down through people. Father, I pray for those who are falling away from You. I pray for them to have Your strength so they will not give into the world. I pray for people to realize You are the gift to be opened and enjoyed. Father, I also pray for Your strength in my humanness so that I don't fall prey to the elements that can come upon me as I deal with these people. Lord, thank You for giving Adavee words for me a few weeks ago. What a blessing! You are so cool in how You take care of me. Thank You Jesus for being My Gift. Amen.
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