"And I will ask the Father,
and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth."
John 14:16
"When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth . . . "
John 16:13
Parents have a tough job helping their children learn the difference between using their healthy, active imaginations and, well, lying. Unchecked imagination leads to trouble (especially in October) yet squelching a child's imagination leads to a lack of humor and creativity. Jesus used parables to teach truth because He knows we all love and learn from a good story. He used humor in His illustrations to make certain truths clear.
"How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?" (Matt. 7:4)
The Holy Spirit breathes in our lives to continue Jesus' teaching tradition. The Spirit teaches us truth through the humor, frustrations, and burdens in our daily lives and underscores certain lessons we need to hear "one more time." He highlights comfort and grace when we forget those are meant for us in every failure and circumstance. And, His rebukes grow just a little stronger each time we pretend He's not serious because He's always serious about "guiding us into all truth." Believers can't escape the truth: we deceive ourselves if we imagine we can.
"-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you."
John 14:17
"If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness,
we lie and do not live by the truth."
1 John 1:6
"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."
1 John 1:8
Lord, You are the Father of Truth and Satan reigns over lies and deceit. I don't want anything to do with him or his appeals to my pride. May You guard my heart from imagining I'm any better than anyone else or that my sin doesn't break Your Holy Heart as much as the next person's. Fill us with Your Light of Truth. Unlock our hold on fantasy and fiction hindering Your sanctification in our lives. Give us grace to handle Truth and to hear where we need to get back on track. May we, as Your children, find the delightful balance of hearing and speaking the truth in love because truth without love can be harsh and love without truth leads to dangerous places. Rid us of the logs in our eyes and make us less anxious to tell others about their specks.
In the Name of Jesus, the Truth Who sent the Spirit of Truth to us!
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