John 3:31-36
He who comes from
above is above all; he who is of the earth belongs to the earth, and of the
earth he speaks; he who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness
to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony; he who
receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God
has sent utters the words of God, for it is not by measure that he gives the
Spirit; the Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. He
who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall
not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him.
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Do you hunger for the
true life which God offers through the gift of his Holy Spirit? The Jews
understood that God gave a certain portion of his Spirit to his prophets. When
Elijah was about to depart for heaven, his servant Elisha asked for a double
portion of the Spirit. Jesus tells his disciples that they can believe the
words he speaks because God the Father has poured his Spirit on him in full
measure, without keeping anything back. The function of the Holy Spirit is to
reveal God's truth to us. When we receive the Holy Spirit he enables us to
recognize and understand God's truth. Jesus is the Word of God and he gives us
his Holy Spirit so that we can recognize his truth and live according to it.
God's truth has
consequences and he gives us the freedom to choose how we will respond. The
choice he gives us has eternal consequences – everlasting life or everlasting
death. God challenged his people in the Old Covenant: "See I have set
before you this day life and good, death and evil. ...I call heaven and earth to
witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death,
blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you may live, loving the Lord
your God, obeying his voice, and cleaving to him." And he issues the
same challenge to the people of the New Covenant today. Do you weigh the
consequences of your choices? Do they lead you towards life or towards death?
If you choose to obey God's voice and to do his will, then you will know and
experience that life which comes from God himself. If you choose to follow your
own way apart from God and his will, then you choose for death – a spiritual
death which poisons and then kills the soul until there is nothing left but an
empty person devoid of love, truth, goodness, purity, peace, and joy. Do your
choices lead you towards God or away from God?
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"Lord Jesus
Christ, let your Holy Spirit fill me and transform my heart and mind that I may
choose life – abundant life in you and with you. And give me the courage and
strength to always discern good from evil and to reject everything that is
false and contrary to your holy will."
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