| Photo by Shereyash Amriwala on Unsplash
In John 14:15, Jesus starts teaching and showing us the need for the Holy Spirit in our daily lives.
John 14: 15-16; “If you love Me, obey My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.”
What a powerful promise that Jesus gave to the followers of Jesus then and still today! First, we need to recognize what we must do on our spiritual journey. “If you love Me, obey My commandments.” We can read that and think that I cannot or will not do this in my daily life. But how many know that if you love someone, you want to please them and express your love for them? You do not have to be commanded to love your mate, love your children, love your friends. Love is the motivation for wanting to obey the Lord. Loving Jesus is not about following all the rules, but loving Him from our heart, mind, soul, and strength.
The question is, “If you love Me? If there is no love for Him, then obeying Him is just a rule, a ritual. The real question is, do I really love Jesus?
If we love Him, He says, “I will ask the Father to send another Advocate (Paraclete).” Which means “One to come alongside you and help you in life.” We need the Holy Spirit to help us in life because we cannot handle life’s situations apart from Him. Why would we not desire and want the Holy Spirit to come into our lives and never leave us!
What a blessing that Jesus says – the “Father is going to send the Holy Spirit to do life with us! I am thankful that the Holy Spirit is with me in all my days, all my situations, all my seasons, and that He is My Advocate, My Comforter, My Strength, My Friend, My help in life!
Lord, come and fill me today with Your Holy Spirit!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Pastor Ronald Squibb has been the International Christian Center (ICC) Lead Senior Pastor at Staten Island, New York, since 2011. He draws on many experiences from his over 40 years as a pastor and from significant emotional experiences.
His new book, Following the Journey with Jesus, which he co-authored with Daniel McNaughton, was recently published and is receiving rave reviews. The daily devotion appears in this publication.
