Posts with the category “john”

Joy is a heavily recurring theme for me in my study of Scripture. Not only do I see joy brought up all throughout Scripture, I se that joy is something that should rule over circumstances for the beli...  Read More

The heart that Jesus has in this lesson is that His people would not lose hope. Persecution can certainly bring people down. As we have already looked at the disciples' reactions to persecution in Act...  Read More

Hindsight is 20/20 and that is certainly the case for the disciples in this passage. It is made clear that the disciples really weren't sure what Jesus has been getting at with this departing language...  Read More

In this passage, the disciples are discussing amongst themselves concerning what Jesus says about His departing. Knowing they sought to ask Him about it, He gives way for them to discuss it with Him. ...  Read More

16 “A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father.”17 Then some of His disciples said among themselves, “What is this that He says ...  Read More

I encourage you to pray that you would see truth. Pray that the Spirit of Truth would guide you into truth in light of your current circumstances. If you are facing trials, tribulations, persecution o...  Read More

Certainly it is my responsibility to make sure I am not deceived. Certainly I need to be certain I confront lies in my life. Certainly it is wholly my responsibility to keep me from the falsehoods the...  Read More

A question continues to press on me as I have gone through these recent passages, and it is this: Do I trust in the Holy Spirit? There are a lot of things I find that I rely on myself for. When it com...  Read More

“These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.”-John 16:1The lesson that John is stressing is the message Jesus is stressing. He does not want the disciples to be caught o...  Read More

The broad scope that this passage is dealing with is the promise of persecution to the church. The purpose of John writing this gospel account is to lead those who read it into belief. Faith is a cent...  Read More

Jesus continues His teaching toward His disciples and prepares them for the future of persecution that will take place. He makes His intentions clear with sharing all of this. He does not want the dis...  Read More

“These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God serv...  Read More

Meditate on the relationship you have with the Lord and the relationship you have with the world. Prayerfully consider the attitude of God towards you and the attitude of the world towards you. Whose ...  Read More

The pressures of this world often make us have valuation errors. Certain things that are incredibly valuable lose their value to things that simply are not valuable in the slightest. Modern marketing ...  Read More

This passage often comes with a degree of conviction for me. Like most people in this world, I like to be liked. If someone does not like me, I have that desire to try to fix things so that I would be...  Read More

Greatness of love is a theme that stands out for the believer. Let's take a look at the words Jesus spoke to His disciples concerning the love that He has for them and they ought to have for one anoth...  Read More

If we take a look at the surrounding context, there is a very important lesson here. Let us step back and take a look at the whole of the dialogue we are in the middle of. John 13 places us in the upp...  Read More

There are ultimately two modes of the believer that are being discussed here. There is the relationship with the believer and other believers, and then there is the relationship with believers to thos...  Read More

12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I ...  Read More

Pray that the Lord would teach you to abide. Pray that He would teach you to depend on Him for everything in your life. Give thanks that you have a vinedresser Who desires to see you be as fruitful as...  Read More

When it comes to making a battle plan toward abiding in the Lord, we have to ask what it means even to abide. It is easy to talk around abiding in the Lord but it becomes more difficult to ascertain w...  Read More

I have found a temptation that sits deep within me that has been a common motivation for me in my walk with the Lord. It is that I think I have something worth bringing to the table. I think I have so...  Read More

As the lesson of the disciples not being able to do anything to please God in it of themselves, Jesus is showing them how to become pleasing to the Lord. In modern audiences, we have this strange beli...  Read More

There has been a lot of emphasis of imitation from Jesus to His disciples. As Jesus prepares to depart, He is reinforcing them with what they must do in order to continue Jesus' mission of bringing th...  Read More

The image Jesus draws in this passage is a clear one. He is still in conversation with His disciples, which is an important thing given some of what Jesus is saying here. Many people believe that Scri...  Read More

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are ...  Read More

I encourage you to pray for the Lord's peace. Accept what He desires to give to you. Lay your anxieties before Him. Call them out by name and rejoice in the Lord. Acknowledge by faith that the Lord de...  Read More

As I shared in yesterday's devotion, fear and focus go hand in hand. I have found for myself that those times of anxiety are most dominant when my focus is off of the Lord. Even worse, I find it thriv...  Read More

Scripture deals with a lot of difficult moments throughout time. We see wars, persecutions, famines, and the like. We also see the Lord wanting to protect His people and encourage them. We see Him giv...  Read More

The lesson for the original audience comes out of the question that Judas is asking."Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?"-John 14:22The response is two-fold to...  Read More

Similar to the previous week, there is an overarching theme throughout the book of John that emphasizes belief, love, and obedience. All of these are still present here. Something that I find to be in...  Read More

22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My ...  Read More

Pray for an increase of a measure of faith and trust in the Lord. Pray that the Lord would send His Holy Spirit to you. Pray for wisdom and strength to walk out His commands. Take this time with the L...  Read More

So we have discussed both the cycle of faith -> love -> obedience. We have also discussed the need of the Holy Spirit and the benefit Jesus sees in sending the Holy Spirit. The action plan of these le...  Read More

Depending on who you talk to, the Holy Spirit takes one of two roles. Either He is the most neglected person of the Trinity, or He is the most overly emphasized person of the Trinity. In my more recen...  Read More

Aside from the nature of the Holy Spirit, the original audience would pick up on the three things that Jesus is instructing them in. Believe. Love. Obey. Our minds tend to be more formulaic whereas th...  Read More

There are many connections to be found throughout this passage, but I want to zero in on Whom Jesus says will come after Him. I want to address a larger biblical theme and then also address the role t...  Read More

Philip grabs ahold of what Jesus was saying. The goal is the Father and Jesus is the way. He asks then for Jesus to show them the Father and that it would be sufficient for them. This leads to a bit o...  Read More

8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the...  Read More

Let us enjoy communion with the Father. Take some time and read through Psalm 119. See how the Psalmist simply enjoys God through His word. Enjoy Him and delight in Him. Prayerfully commit that you wo...  Read More