Northern Plains Anglican

 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. (John 14:26)

In the week before Pentecost, the Holy Spirit nudged me to be more attentive to notes I’d taken while receiving counsel from another Christian. I was moved to confess that I’d neglected the warning sounded by the Apostle James:

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. (James 1:23-24)

I’d listened to my friend’s good guidance from Scripture, written it down, and then let it gather dust. The prompting of the Spirit got me back to practicing – doing – the word, and fruitful things began to happen.

To be responsive to the Spirit’s promptings, we need to be regular in reading and hearing Scripture. We won’t always understand it. We won’t always feel something while reading the Bible. But the fact that we are letting the Word of God bounce around in our minds makes it available for the Holy Spirit to bring to remembrance all that Jesus said and to help us understand and apply it.

I’ll leave you with some reflection questions:

1. How are you doing when it comes to reading and/or hearing the Bible? If the word is not part of your life, consider praying to the Holy Spirit, your promised Helper to – to prompt you to read and to guide you to a starting place.
2. Are you experiencing any promptings of the Spirit? (Hint – they will be thoughts that turn you toward Jesus.) Jesus said, But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. (John 15:26)
3. Are you doing the word? What are some Biblical passages you are seeking to apply in your life?