December 29 Daily Devotional

Bible Readings:

John 14:16-17, King James Version:
¹⁶And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
¹⁷Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

John 15:26, KJV:
²⁶But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me....

John 16:13-14, KJV:
¹³Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
¹⁴He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

Romans 8:14-16, KJV:
¹⁴For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
¹⁵For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
¹⁶The Spirit [himself] beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

Romans 8:26, KJV:
²⁶Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit [himself] maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17, KJV:
¹⁶Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
¹⁷If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Galatians 6:4-6, KJV:
⁴But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
⁵To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
⁶And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

Devotional:

The Chistian who regulates his conduct by the Word of God, the Bible, is the Spirit-filled person. How much harm is done to the cause of the Gospel by those who claim guidance by the Holy Spirit apart from the Wordl Spiritual experiences in which we feel most closely drawn to the Saviour are never conscious dealngs with the Holy Spirit, for He works with us subconsciously. This is true in the new birth and in our subsequent sanctification. And on every occasion when we have sought to do God's will and have been in an imperfect measure successful we may ascribe the victory to the grace of the Holy Spirit who has united us to Christ, our Great Head and source of life. For strengthening in our spiritual life, prayer for the filling of the Spirit is indispensable. Jesus said, "If ye then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?" But the evidence that we have been given the Spirit and that He is working in us to do of His good pleasure is our obedience to the revealed will of God, the Bible. The Spirit of truth does not lead us to do that which denies the truth of God. He opens our eyes, shines in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jcsus Christ, enables us to see truth and to pursue it. Calm endeavor to trust Christ and to obey His commandments will assure us that we have the Holy Spirit. So we pray with the hymn writer,

Spirit of God, descend upon my heart;
   Wean it from earth; through all its pulses move;
Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art,
   And make me love Thee as I ought to love.

I ask no dream, no prophet ecstasies,
   No sudden rending of the veil of clay,
No angel-visitant, no opening skies,
   But take the dimness of my soul away.

May we live, however, without a recognition of the Spirit's presence with us? May we not count on His nearness in our daily tasks? May we do service for Christ oblivious to the fact that the Third Person of the Trinity is saving us? Hear Paul's answer, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defite the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are" (1 Corinthians 3:16, 17). As we are aware of the Holy Spirit's presence with us we shall respect His temple. We are told to count upon the fact that we have received the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father. "Likewise, the Spirit also helpcth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit [himself] maketh intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered" (Romans 8:26). Never are we to ascribe any action of ours to the Spirit if that action is not approved by the Word, and on the other hand, never arc we to lose sight of the fact that His Spirit leads every son of God by that Word. Abraham Kuyper sums up what should be our attitude toward the Comforter when he writes, "Blessed is the man to whom has been given a taste of the work of the Holy Spirit in bis own experience.... Blessed is he who, constrained to love by the love of the Holy Spirit, has opened his heart in thanks, praise and adoration, not only to the Father who from eternity has chosen, and called him, and to the Son who has bought and redeemed him, but also to the Third Person in the Holy Trinity, who has kindled in him the light and keeps it burning in the inward darkness; to whom, therefore, with the Father and the Son, belongs forever the sacrifice of love and devotion of all the Church of God."

So, then, let our meditation upon the Scriptures, our soul's sincere desire in prayer, our witnessing to truth, our daily labor, and every activity be done in the Spirit.

We are very happy to make available to you this month these devotionals by the late Rev. LeRoy B. Oliver. They originally appeared in The Presbyerian Guardian during the late 1940's.

The description of his "Your Family Altar" page in The Presbyterian Guardian also fits this Web page: "The page is designed for both private and family use, whichever is most convenient in your case. If you do not have family worship in your home, we hope you will begin, and suggest using these readings. They should not, however, take the place of reading books of the Bible, or the Bible itself, through in regular course." It is those who abide (continue) in the Word who are truly Christ's disciples, who know the truth, and who experience freedom in Him (John 8:31-32). May these devotionals be used for the building up of God's people and to the glory of God.