October 5: John 14:15-21
 
Key Verse: John 14:16
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you for ever
 
Devotion:
Although this passage begins with the words “If you love me, keep my commands...” Jesus is not laying down an ultimatum to say we have no hope if we cannot keep the commandments! If this were so, then none of us would ever be able to get to Heaven because we have all done at least something wrong in our lives. This is Jesus saying, if you love me, then you should try your very best to keep my commands...
 
Jesus wants us to obey Him but knows we cannot fully obey Him because of our sinful nature and the sin in the world around us too. Therefore, He promises to give us an advocate who will stand up for us and defend us from judgement! This advocate was going to be in the form of the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit. Just like Jesus, the Holy Spirit is part of God and cannot lie either.  
 
The Holy Spirit will try to guide us through every decision of every day and if we were to listen intently to Him, we would be able to avoid sin in our lives! Unfortunately, we are surrounded by a whole lot of noise and a lot of sin! We don’t have much of a chance at listening solely to Him because of these temptations surrounding us all the time... But, no matter how bad things get, Christ is going to be with us all the time in the form of the Holy Spirit!
 
Stop and take a breath. Stop and tune out the world. Stop and listen for the instructions from the Holy Spirit. We will find it easier to keep God’s commands, easier to walk with Him and much easier to avoid sin in our lives. All this because God allowed His Son to come down to be our Saviour and the Holy Spirit to be our Advocate. The best team in the world!
 
Points to Ponder:
Do you find it hard to avoid trouble?
 
Will your try to stop and listen to God today?