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A man that hath friends must shew
himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a
brother. (Proverbs 18:24)
I
have many friends whom I love and consider very close; however, my good and
faithful friend who came to me this morning at the dawning of the day is the
very best and most cherished friend that I have ever chanced to claim. He is
with me as I write this devotion, and with you as you read with understanding. His
presence is warm and cordial, and He never leaves the object of His affection.
He is the Holy Ghost who brings to our remembrance all that is spoken of Christ
in the Holy Scriptures. He is a Spirit who can be present at all times and all
places, and His teaching always points to the Lord Jesus Christ. 26 But the Comforter, which
is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach
you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have
said unto you. (John 14:26)
All
who believe are recipients of the blessings of the Holy Ghost; but there is a
qualifier, a priori, that must be met. That qualifier is LOVE. It
was a requisite laid down by our Lord Jesus Christ: 15 If ye love me, keep my
commandments. (John 14:15) Many scholars read
this verse with emphasis only on the first phrase – If ye love me. They forebear to
attach a significance to the evidentiary clause: keep my commandments. It is easy to speak
the term ‘LOVE’ but altogether more challenging to prove that love by our
obedience to God and His Commandments. If we are called and chosen by God, we
can meet this evidence of love for, although we may fail in obedience due to
our fleshly weakness, we may perfectly obey in the intentions of a heart ruled
by that Spirit. If we do so meet that standard, I will pray the
Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for
ever; Even 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 14:16-17)
This
devotion is not intended to be a comprehensive theological study of the Holy
Ghost, but rather a reminder of His love and presence with the believer. The
workings of the Holy Ghost are mysterious and shrouded in the soft membranes
and sinews of the heart. It is a Light of Guidance that is eclipsed by the faded
pleasures and rusting metals of the world. He cannot be comprehended by
darkened hearts – there must be a Great Light focused on Him to reveal His
Voice – that Light is Jesus Christ of whom the Holy Ghost witnesses and
testifies. The Holy Ghost casts the bright beams of inspiring Light on the
minds and hearts of great Musicians, Artists, Scientists, and scholars, and
draws the curtain over the minds of the wicked.
We
are often intrigued at the inability of the world to understand the deep seas
of God’s Word. They are unable to fathom those depths for their plummet lines
cannot reach. True science itself is the product of the knowledge of the
Natural Laws of God. The great sciences of the world were conceived by men of
faith. It was not until our modern day that men began to question God and to
foment theories that, when considered apart from the confusing language in
which they are ensconced, are purely foolishness and reveals the wickedness
that prevails in the imaginations of men’s minds. The staggering advances in
the biological sciences has revealed a pattern for each human being born into
the world which determines every trait and characteristic of their being (DNA).
The genetic chain is a perfect pattern for who we are. It was a pattern created
by our Maker before our very conception. The enormity of inter-stellar space
that defines the Universe is further evidence of a great MIND that has planned,
programmed and created every heavenly body and set it on its course. But the
world would rather attach their faith and fortune on empty fantasies of
impossible chance rather than the Word of God.
Furthermore,
with the aid of the Hubble Telescope, from the vantage of space beyond the haze
of our atmosphere, has determined the red-light shift observed from stars to
suggest that they are moving at a far greater velocity away from the common
center than previously believed only a few years ago. This would indicate they
have not been traveling for an extended period of millions of years, but rather
numbered in thousands.
But
man has always preferred a lie to the truth of God. That preference has only
accelerated in our time. If man accepts the reality of God, it means that there
is a great power to which the world and Universe must conform. That
necessitates, as well, the conformance of the will of man to that great Will
and Law of God. So the term ‘atheist’ came into vogue to define those who
secretly know there is a God, but refuse to admit it. They will go to any extremes
to muzzle any voice proclaiming the Word and Reality of God.
The
Holy Ghost is that small, still Voice that speaks in the ears keen to hear His
Voice. We read of that Voice which spoke to Elijah at Mount Horeb (the Mountain
of God). Like many of us have often felt in our zeal for the Lord, it may have
seemed that we stood alone against the wickedness of the world, yet God was
with us all along. Let us examine the ordeal of Elijah: 9 And he came
thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to
him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? 10 And he said, I
have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel
have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets
with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life,
to take it away. 11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the
mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong
wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the
LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the
LORD was not in the earthquake: 12 And after the
earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and
after the fire a still small voice. 13 And it was so,
when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went
out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a
voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? 14 And he said, I
have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of
Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy
prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek
my life, to take it away. 15 And the LORD
said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when
thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: 16 And Jehu the
son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha
the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in
thy room. 17 And it shall come to pass, that him
that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from
the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. 18 Yet I have
left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed
unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him. (1 Kings 19:9-18)
Wherever
we hear the Voice of the Holy Ghost, it is the Voice of God, and of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Though they are distinctly Three Persons, they are One in Purpose
and Will. If we heed continually the Voice of the Holy Ghost, we, too, shall
become One with the Father, and with the Son, and with the Holy Ghost. Read
some of the Words of our Lord in His petition to the Father offered in
Gethsemane:
11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I
come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast
given me, that they may be one, as we are. 12 While I was with them
in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept,
and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be
fulfilled. 13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak
in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given
them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the
world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I pray not that thou
shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from
the evil.16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the
world.
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 18 As thou hast sent me
into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I
sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall
believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be
one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be
one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which
thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 23 I in them, and thou in
me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou
hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be
with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me:
for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father,
the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that
thou hast sent me. 26 And I have declared
unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast
loved me may be in them, and I in them. (John
17:11-26)
Remember: this prayer was for you, and for me, and for the legions
of believers past, yet living, and yet to come. It bears the force of the
Sovereign of Sovereigns and Lord of Lords.
