Tuesday 8 May 2012

Tuesday Reading: John 15:26-27

Key Verse: John 15:26
26  But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

Devotion:
When Jesus spoke of leaving a Comforter to be with us, it was not just on one occasion but a few times and each time He made sure that we knew just what sort of role He would fulfil. Yesterday we were reminded that the Comforter would be ever-lasting and that He would never leave us. Today we are reminded that the Comforter would be an advocate for Christ. In other words, just because Christ would no longer be physically walking with the disciples on the earth, it did not mean that God would not be walking with them or us. The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, is here to stay with us and comes directly from God because of what Jesus did.

Just as Jesus Himself came from God the Father as being His Son, The Holy Spirit comes from God the Father as being our comforter and daily guide. It is The Holy Spirit who continually reminds us that Jesus was here on earth and that Jesus is the Son of God and that He will return. Yes we have the bible and it reminds us in words, but the Spirit reminds us spiritually, from the inside, that we have God with us. The Spirit upholds the deity of Christ and reminds us daily of all that Jesus has accomplished on our behalf.

The disciples were there with Christ and have written all the words that we have in our bibles to remind us of much that Christ did whilst on earth. They were the ones who had to do as much preaching and sharing of the truth as they could before they too were taken to be with God; they were the eye-witnesses. Just as it is important in law nowadays to have reliable witnesses that will stand up to cross-examination, the disciples were taught what they needed by God so that they would stand up to any questions that they may be asked.

Even though Christ knew that the disciples would have their moments of doubt and denial, such as Thomas and Peter, He continued to make sure that they knew the truth so that they could be our witnesses – witnesses to the rest of the world. Just the same, we will have our moments of doubt but we must also remain as witnesses to God’s Truth through Jesus and with the help of The Holy Spirit within us. Christ had disciples with Him as witnesses from the beginning of His ministry. The people around us should be able to be witnesses of our dedication to our Lord.

Points to Ponder:
What do you think others think of you?

Do you think they think of you as a good witness for God?