It's a must....

John 15:26: "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning."
Jesus kept bringing it up: the Counselor, Comforter, Helper was coming.  It would bring so much: guidance, power, encouragement.  But His coming infers something else: He was coming to tell; therefore, we must tell.  Having him means having the commission to tell others about Christ.  Any other lifestyle is an abuse of that relationship, a misuse of this Gift God has given us.  It was part of the plan all along: The work of Christ, then the testimony about it by His followers.  But take heart, "Greater is He Who is in you." Through Him we can do this.

Having a memory...

 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 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 14:25-26 ESV)
We forget.  We forget our keys, our promises, even to pick up our kids from the nursery. The things we should remember, we forget.  That is a common problem, even among God's people. God always had to tell the people of Israel to remember - remember they had been slaves in Egypt, remember the Covenant He had with them, remember the Sabbath to keep it holy.  The Holy Spirit is worth having just for this reason alone (and so many more!) - He helps us remember God's word and will.  May we let Him do what He does so well today - Remind us of God's Presence, plan and power in our lives.

Who we need most...

John 14:15-17 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. 
Jesus promised us what we need most - the truth.  It is interesting that this is the first of the many blessings He promises - before comfort or power or anything else - we need the Truth. And that is the basic nature of the Holy Spirit, as opposed to the Father of all Lies, who speaks non-stop to the world around us.  How we need the Spirit of Truth to speak to and through us.

Loving like He loved...

 But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.
 I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
 (2 Corinthians 8:7-9 ESV)
The call to sacrificial love is sacred.  Christ demonstrated it through the greatest sacrifice ever.  If we seek to please the Lord, through our study, our zeal, our testimony and faithful lifestyle, why would we NOT seek to please Him through loving sacrifice.  We are so rich in His love. Why hoard it?

An Eternal Love

John 17:24-26 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” 
Christ came to show God's love, to share His love, and to impart His love to us.  He offers to bring us into this relationship which is eternal, which began before time, and will never end.  He loved us so much He wants us to experience that love.  Why would we ever refuse that?

Love that's worth it...

John 15:9-13 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 
Christ calls us, yes, commands us to love one another.  What can convince us that His command is worth following?  Besides that fact that He has proven over and over that what He says is truth, if we follow His commandment, we will have His joy.  Sleep through the storm on the sea kind of joy, unshaken by threats against your life kind of joy, not worrying about having a place to lay your head kind of joy, because you know the Father so well, you know He has it all under control.  His love, His joy.  A package deal.  An unbelievable deal.  It's more than worth it. Let us love one another.

Talk is cheap...

 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me. (John 14:21-24 ESV)
The four letter word fills the airwaves during midday and primetime.  Love.  "I love you." Never has a word been more overused and abused than it has in our society.  Love has become the free-for-all for however you feel.  Not so with Jesus. Love is like a Marine Sargent, requiring our obedience.  If we truly love Him, we will want to obey Him.  Our desire will be His pleasure.  We will show our love.