Focus

Let yourself become open to God and the knowledge that comes from the Word. Ask God for peace at this time.

Read

John 14:25-26 (NRSV)

“I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.”

Reflect

When I share some great parental wisdom with my sons, I wish that they would immediately follow it, never forgetting their father’s sage advice. I have no doubt my mother and father wished the same of me, too. That’s the way of parenting. If only children listened the first time, life would be a lot easier.

Children don’t, though. You can prove it by every parent who has gone hoarse from repeating the same things over and over again. We humans need a lot of reminding. Thankfully, God knows this. God knew that we would forget what Jesus said we should do if we there wasn’t some follow up.

So, God sent the Holy Spirit to us to remind us how to be faithful to Jesus’ teachings. We don’t have to rely on the world’s understandings or even our own. Our job isn’t to cross our fingers and just hope we get it right. Instead, we are to be receptive to God’s Spirit, no different than those who were to be receptive to Jesus. We are to feel and hear the Spirit’s movements, teaching us through scripture, prayer, meditation, service, and more.

God’s Spirit is still with us today, reminding us of all that Jesus taught. We simply must listen.

Pray

God of Inspiration, remind us of what we need to know. Evil does its best to drown you out so that we don’t hear you calling. Bless us with the Holy Spirit, teaching us again what is right and good. We want to be reminded, because we want more than anything to follow you. Amen.

Go with God.