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