I have wrestled over this one, big time, because the importance of it is so great! I desire for fellow Christians to "get this" so much!! Personally, when I began to understand this one, my life changed.
Truth #4 - You have a Guide.
John 16:13 says,
"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come."
A sad fact that I have heard over and over again is that many Christians feel scared of God, thinking that their faith hinges on their ability to "be good"...to keep all of the commandments, and therefore, not anger God. Of course, when those Christians fail, as we all do, they seem to give over to the fact that they cannot be perfect, but feel happy enough with a "fire insurance" type of faith, thinking they are saved from hell. Being a "good person" and not committing any "big" sins pacifies them and mere church attendance seems like enough to keep an "angry God" off of their backs. Many, many Christians live like that is all there is to Christianity...filling a church pew and trying, at least, to be a "good" person (giving to the poor, not cussing, loving their families, etc).
Let me be absolutely clear - that is not all there is!!!!
God did not tug on your heart and gloriously save your soul so that you would then go out and try, in vain, to live a "good" life and not anger Him.
The whole point of God, through the person of the Holy Spirit, living on the inside of you is for relationship. He wants to be your Guide, your Counselor, your Father, your Best Friend, your Lover, your King, your Everything...the One you turn to, every moment of every day. You were created to have a close, personal, and very intimate relationship with your Creator!
The question is...have you taken the time to learn to listen to His voice? When you do hear it, do you submit and obey?
I didn't really grow up in Christ until I started waiting in His presence and learning to listen. As things He would speak to me (in my mind/heart) were confirmed in obvious ways, as I compared what I was hearing to the Word, and as I watched things I somehow "knew" were going happen take place...I started to understand that I could TRUST Him to lead me through this life. Most importantly, I learned how sweet and beautiful and pure and loving and intimate He was. Soaking in His presence and being with Him became my desire and my delight...much different from my silly attempts to follow a list of do's and don'ts!!
I learned to live life in Him and through Him, similar to these passages -
"For in Him we live and move and have our being." Acts 17:28a
and
"Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." Gal 5:25
Now, I literally commune with the Holy Spirit at any time and at any point in my day, because I've learned His voice. (My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. Jn 10:27) I know He will lead me, step by step, and that I can trust His heart. I know His plans are for good and not for evil, even when there's pain involved. I didn't learn any of this in church...there I only learned about God. I had to get to know Him personally...on my own...by myself.
My prayer today is that if you don't have this kind of intimate relationship with God, you'll start running to get alone in His presence every chance you get! I can assure you that He wants to teach you more about Himself, that He wants to love on you, and that He wants to guide you, as the verse says, into all truth! Ask Him to reveal the depths of His heart and His character to you. Tell Him you don't want mere religion, but you want a relationship that overflows into every aspect of your life!!!
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