“O Father, thank you for loving me at such great expense. Your gift of Jesus is absolutely amazing. I intentionally open my heart to the work of your Spirit to help me know Jesus and to be completely conformed to him. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

The Spirit is the very presence of God that he poured into our hearts when we came to Jesus in faith and baptism (Titus 3:5-6). The Spirit teaches us to build a home in our hearts for the truth of Jesus.

We live in a world of competing voices, many of them deceptive. How do we filter these voices and know the truth about Jesus? We know the truth because the Holy Spirit, who is the anointing we have received, teaches us the truth about Jesus.

The practical questions that arise out of this anointing are pretty simple:

• How much time am I spending with Jesus?
• Am I spending time in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) so I know the Lord’s teachings and see the way that the Lord ministered?
• Am I intentional about doing what I do to honor the Lord?
• And am I inviting the Holy Spirit into my daily conversation to help me know the truth about Jesus as I seek to “remain in him”?”

I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from [the Holy One] remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit — just as it has taught you, remain in him. — 1 John 2:26-27