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Girlfriends in God - July 13, 2009

July 13, 2009 
The Advocate 
Sharon Jaynes

Today’s Truth 
“And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16).

Friend To Friend 
During Jesus’ last supper discourse, He reassured the disciples that He would not leave them as orphans. “And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth” (John 14:15).  The Greek word, which is also translated Helper (NASB) and Comforter (KJV), is parakletos and means a “person summoned to one’s aid.” Originally it was a term used in a court of justice to denote a legal assistant, counsel for the defense, an advocate; then, generally, one who pleas another’s cause, an intercessor, an advocate.

I love the image of being in a court of law. In the Bible, Satan is referred to as the “accuser of the brethren.”  (Revelation 12:10).  He points His gnarly finger in our faces and says things like, “You aren’t a very good Christian,” “Jesus doesn’t really love you,” “You were a mistake when you were born,” “You’ve really blown it this time,”  “What makes you any different now than before you accepted Christ,”  “I don’t see much fruit in your life,”  “You’re a pitiful excuse as a wife, as a mother, as a child of God,” etc.

Now tell me, have you ever heard any of those statements before?  Perhaps you’ve always assumed these were your own musings. That’s exactly what Satan would have you believe.  However, I believe those accusatory statement are words from Satan that he whispers in our ears.  It sounds like us, it feels like us, but it’s from the accuser himself.  It is always amazing to me that while I might have trouble hearing God’s voice, Satan’s usually comes through loud and clear.  Why, we even think they are our thoughts.

On the other hand, the Holy Spirit is our counselor, our attorney, who comes along side us and repeats, “Not guilty!  Not guilty!  Not guilty!” He says, “You, God’s child, have been set free!”  The Holy Spirit is our advocate, empowers us, walks along side us, and helps us through life’s journey.

Let’s Pray 
Dear Lord, thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to be my parakletos: my Helper, my Comforter, my defender.  I know that through the power of the Holy Spirit living in me, I can do all things that You have called me to do.  As Paul directed in Ephesians 5:18, I pray for a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit today.

In Jesus’ name, 
Amen.

Now It’s Your Turn 
Turn to John chapter 15 and write down everything you learn about the Holy Spirit. 

Write down what He does in the life of a believer.

To comment on today’s devotion, visit Sharon’s blog at www.sharonjayes.com/blog

More From The Girlfriends 
Today’s devotion was taken from Sharon’s book, Becoming a Woman Who Listens to God.  To learn more, visit www.sharonjaynes.com. While you’re there, check out the summer resource sale – Building an Effective Women’s Ministry.  In it you’ll find everything you need to know to make your ministry powerfully purposeful! 

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