Living in the Spirit
May 21, 2016

Scripture Reading: John 16:12-15

‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. –John 16:12-13

This scripture affirms the progression of faith from the first century forward. It seems to acknowledge both our need to grow into our faith and the need for our faith to grow into changing times and circumstances.

Paul talks about the infancy of faith in 1 Corinthians 3:2: I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready. The Holy Spirit is constantly at work honing us into the best that we can be when we invite the Spirit in and trust in the Spirits guidance. Paul often refers to athletes who must constantly work at perfecting their craft. We must work just as hard keeping in good spiritual shape. It does not mean we need to pray harder telling God what to do. It does mean we need to open our hearts and minds to God’s guidance even when it is uncomfortable. Think about the sore muscles we must endure as we get our bodies into optimum shape.

We should also not settle for our understanding of the word of God as being static. That would be like thinking the laps we ran in high school meets our exercise needs today. We must glean from the Bible the truths of God and, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, understandings of how those truths apply today.

Prayer: Lord help us to grow in your wisdom and truth and grant us the ability to incorporate your truths into our beings. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.