|
Advocate vs. Adversary
by Dennis Miranda Ever have trouble hearing God's voice because there are way too many little ones vociferously vying for your attention? I'm not talking about the joyful chatter our delightful children bring into our lives, but rather those distracting voices which constantly try to derail us from following Christ. You know the ones that tear down our soul with reminders about our past mistakes? And where uplifting words once took up residence in our ears they have now been replaced by ones of shame such as: "You fool!" and "That'll cost you!" for each and every new blunder that is made. It's amazing how many times we fall for the same old tired lies despite having been forgiven of our sins and cleansed from our past by the blood of Christ. Myself included! Nevertheless, although this may sound obvious to some, there is a way to distinguish between the Voice of Truth over the father of lies. In John 14 Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to His disciples a short while after disclosing to them His destiny with the cross. Listen to the assurance in verse 26 that our Savior provides as a comfort to His inner circle: "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you". I love the use of the word 'Advocate' here in describing the Holy Spirit. But what is an advocate and how does He help those who follow after Christ? A quick check of the Thesaurus reveals that an advocate is a supporter, backer, promoter, believer, activist, campaigner, and sponsor. While all these wonderful expressions can be used to describe the Holy Spirit, the opposite can be said of Satan as well. Listen to the way the Apostle Peter describes public enemy number one to the early Christian church. Peter charges every believer to: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8 KJV). Make no mistake the Devil is no friend to a man or woman of God. The word usage here in 1 Peter appropriately describes him as an opponent, challenger, rival, enemy, foe, antagonist, and our ultimate opposition in trying to block us from receiving the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here are a few questions we can ask ourselves that will help us to better determine which voice we are to allow permission to speak into our lives. Would you describe this voice as Supportive or in direct opposition to God's promises for your life? Providing moral support or challenging your every move? Promoting or working against your walk with Christ? Campaigning for or rivaling against your recovery efforts? Activist? or antagonist? Friend? or foe? Once we have trained our ears to discern the lion's roar from the still small voice, we can then know that the Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts words that tell us we are children of God (Romans 8:16 NLT). With that said it may be easier now for you to be able to distinguish between the voices of our greatest Benefactor over that of our most formidable foe. So the next time you find yourself having difficulty in differentiating among the many competing declarations surrounding your ears, stop for a moment and simply ask Jesus to reveal to you the Advocate over the adversary. Run to win, Den Contact me at: [email protected] Dennis Miranda is a stumbling soul saved by grace, married to his best friend, daddy of three, blogger, and retired Marine. Blog: www.runningtowin-pgh.com/write Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |