Who's Your Guide

Well, I must say that I am not trying to keep up with Terri on the blog for February. Matter of fact, I just noticed that this is my 100th blog since starting this thing a few years ago and Terri will easily do 100 in the first year. So with that said, today is just one of those postings that is just stuff on my mind. Sometimes blog thoughts take a while to develop and sometimes - mostly in the middle of the night I have these profound thoughts that seem to dissapear with the rising of the sun. This thought "Who Is Your Guide" is one that I think about often. I have taught several series of classes over the years on the words of Jesus in the book of John - the words that he spoke in the hours just before he went to the Garden to pray and hours before he was arrested and sent to the cross for us. I love this study because every time I teach it, it reminds me of how worried Jesus was about his friends. He reminds them (and us) how much he loves them. He tells them the truth - that following him won't be easy, it will even be painful at times, it will mean that you are different and seperated from the world. His words offer promises and he assures his followers that he will not be seperated from them. One of his promises is that he will send a "Counselor" to be with us. In John 16:12 Jesus calls this Counselor a "Guide". Of course, as we study theses verses and move on into Acts, we know that Jesus is refering to the Holy Spirit. I really like this reference to the Holy Spirit as a guide, and when you think about it, you too may like this concept too. For my whole life, I have enjoyed things that are on the edge and I like adventure. It has never really bothered me to move to a new place because it is just part of the adventure of the life that God has given me. Taking chances - no problem. Once Terri and the kids and I left for a 3 week vacation without even knowing anything more than a general direction where we were going. We ended up driving more than 5000 miles and putting our feet in all 5 of the great lakes - it wat by far the best vacation we have ever had - because it was an adventure. There is one thing that all of our adventures have had in common - at least most of them - when we have moved (except for the move here), we have always had many people that have taken us by the hand and led us to neighborhoods, schools, churches, etc. Our guides helped us get settled into our new home as simply as possible. On our trip to the lakes, we had maps and Terri bought "guide books" to lead us around the lakes and that made our adventure an amazing trip.
So - what's all this got to do with the guide reference that Jesus makes in John. Well here are my "profound" thoughts.
1. If you are going somewhere that you have already been or doing something that you have already done - it is likely that you don't need anyone to take you there or show you how to do it!
2. You only need a guide to take you where you have never been or to show you how to do things that you have never done.
If you have never viewed the Holy Spirit as a guide then maybe you aren't going to any new places. If you ask in your prayers for the Holy Spirit to lead you to new places then don't be surprised when He does. And yes - we should be praying in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18).
Be a blessing to somebody today,
Marc