Spirit of Truth

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
Isaiah 11:1-2 (ESV)

"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—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 14:16-17 (NIV)

"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock ... But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
Matthew 7:24,26-27 (NKJV)

Common excuses for failing to live by God's Word are that it is difficult to understand or is interpreted too differently by various people. The Spirit upon Jesus, the Branch, is the same Spirit in us. Having become Christ's, we have His Spirit of Truth to rely upon for wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, fear of the Lord.

The Spirit of Truth speaks with a firm yet gentle voice. It is not the voice of emotion or human reasoning. While the Spirit is fluid like fire, air and water—readily flowing and filling with diverse messages and gifts—He is also a reliable Counselor, stable and unyielding to human will or the winds of change.

In our age of relativism the world says truth is not absolute, but rather whatever you need it to be. Such shifting sands collapse in storms, resulting in great destruction. God's Word is a sure foundation. But unless we implement it by the Spirit of Truth, we do not build our lives upon it.

Beautiful Jesus, You are Truth and Wisdom and the Word of God personified. Your Spirit is good and gracious and too easy for us to push aside in the din of other voices. Please help us seek out the quiet place, and push aside will, emotion, and preconceptions so we hear Your Spirit clearly. Please give us courage to do as You challenge.

Feedback invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2008, Anne Lang Bundy