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Verse for Today

John 15:26

'But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.' 

Quote from Sunday

When I receive the work of His Holy Spirit in my life, he says, I will lead you into all truth. And not only that, I will also show you the things that are to come. Anxiety about the future does not have to be my reality. I have a Helper!

Word of Grace Today

Have you ever tried to assemble furniture without the instructions? You might get close, but something always seems off. The pieces don't quite fit together the way they should. Trust me, I've tried it with IKEA furniture I tried to put together. It looks simple and logical enough that I just need to match the screws and bolts to the holes in the wood sections. Eventually I discover there is one extra board or two screws missing. That's what happens when we try to understand God's Word without the Holy Spirit's help. The same Bible that transforms one person's life can leave another person cold and confused. The difference isn't intelligence, education, or even religious background. The difference is the work of the Holy Spirit. He's the one who takes these ancient words which were written to someone else and makes them come alive to us in our hearts today.

Jesus promised that the Spirit would lead us into all truth and show us things to come. This isn't just about understanding difficult passages or solving theological puzzles. It's about the Spirit revealing Jesus to us through every page of Scripture. Whether we're reading about Abraham's faith, David's psalms, Paul's letters (like the ones we are studying in lifegroups), Jesus' parables or laws from the Old Testament-- the Spirit is showing us what Jesus is like. Without the Spirit's work, we can easily get trapped in legalism - turning the Bible into a rule book that condemns rather than liberates. We might know all the right answers, quote all the right verses, but miss the heart of God entirely. The Spirit transforms our Bible reading from religious duty into life-giving encounter. This should give us great hope and humility. Hope, because the same Spirit who inspired these words is available to help us understand them. Humility, because we desperately need His help. We can't figure this out on our own, and that's exactly how God designed it.

Reflection question for today:

How often do you ask the Holy Spirit to help you hear His voice understand God's Word before you read or pray, and what difference might this make in your daily Bible study and times of worship and prayer?