Monday Morning Encouragement -- The Spirit of Truth

 

"even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor know Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you." John 14:17

In the last decade there has been a rapid decline in the teaching of sound doctrine in some of our churches and seminaries. Not all, of course, but enough to begin the descent of true Christianity as taught in the Bible, and the ascension of blasphemous versions such as "Chrislam", which is a blending of elements of Christianity and Islam, with the supposed purpose of promoting religious unity. (For more information about Chrislam, read this excellent article on Biblehub. Here's the link:   https://biblehub.com/q/what_is_chrislam.htm)

It's clear to me that those who buy into such teachings have no relationship with the Holy Spirit. They have not received Him, nor do they know Him. They look at all matters of faith through the lens of worldly desires. Satan has blinded them to the truth, and he's able to do so because the Holy Spirit is not present to lead them to the truth. 

To those who have received Jesus Christ as their Savior, and have placed their trust in Him for eternal salvation, Jesus promised He would ask the Father to give them another "Helper" to be with them forever, "even the Spirit of truth." The Holy Spirit -- the third person of the Trinity -- indwells true believers, and His role is to comfort, guide and empower us. As we yield our hearts and minds to Him, He opens up the scriptures to us, in order that we may understand what is written and apply it to our lives. He gives us discernment, so that we recognize false teaching, and power to proclaim the truth. 

Now more than ever we need to be grounded in our faith, convinced that Jesus Christ is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. We cannot let down our guard for a moment, for "our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8) We don't need to fret and worry about these things, but rather invite the Holy Spirit to comfort us with the words of truth from the Bible. Scripture is one of the most powerful tools we have in our arsenal of spiritual weapons. The devil will flee when we quote it, so we must allow the Holy Spirit to implant biblical truth into our minds.

Today's music video John 14:15-18 Song (NKJV) "The Spirit of Truth - I Will Not Leave You Orphans" (Esther Mui) is scripture put to music. May it encourage you in your walk with the Holy Spirit.

I love you, I'm thinking of you, and I'm praying for you.