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John 15:9-11

As the Father loved Me, I also have 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 remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

Personal Challenge

It is such a blessing, and a relief to know that no matter what we do, good or bad, God still loves us. Our life is so much more full and blessed when we keep His commandments, however, He also promises to forgive us of our sins when we return to Him after straying away. There is no judgment. There is no condemnation. There is no anger. But there is plenty of love and forgiveness. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Proverbs 27:17

Iron sharpens iron,
And a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

Encouraging Words

Our early church fathers taught that our salvation is worked out in our Christian communities We need one another in order to grow in our sanctification. This proverb reminds us that in our community we sharpen each other so that we can be better instruments for God’s use. Sometimes this sharpening is painful. Sometimes it is delightful. As we yield more to those in our lives that are there to sharpen us, the closer we come to being like Christ. Glory be to God!

John 15:5

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Personal Challenge

I am nothing without Christ. I can do nothing of eternal value without Christ. He is the lifeblood of His children just as the vine is the lifeblood of the branches and the source of life for the fruit that they bear. However, with Him, I can do great works and produce great fruit. Glory be to God!

Proverbs 25:4

Beat drossy silver,
And it will be made entirely clean.

Personal Challenge

It is too bad sometimes that we live in a society where we have limited or no exposure to how things worked in the days that the scriptures were written. This verse is an example of this. When working with silver it needs to be pounded and worked on to remove the dross from it. This is the same for us. God works in our lives in ways that are often uncomfortable and even painful by allowing us to live in the world. He helps us through our trials which are like the dross on the silver. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Personal Challenge

Why is it that there is so much unrest in the world? Even in our churches where so many claims Jesus to be their Lord, there is a lack of peace. Jesus promised us that we would have His peace. The key is that it is a heavenly peace and not a worldly peace. If we live our lives with our hearts and minds focused on the things and ways of the world then we will miss out on the heavenly peace that Jesus wants to give us. Once again, it becomes our choice to decide where we want to put our focus and Who we want to derive our peace from. Running to Jesus for this will soothe a troubled heart and eliminate fear from our lives. It is a choice followed by continued choices. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Psalms 147:3 (146:3 LXX)

He heals the brokenhearted
And He binds up all their wounds.

Encouraging Words

Jesus started off His earthly ministry quoting Isaiah, saying

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

By His own words, He proclaimed that our broken hearts, our sicknesses, our captivity were the reasons that He left heaven and became incarnate. Now that is truly a statement of God’s love for us. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Proverbs 23:18

For if you keep these words, you shall have offspring,
And your hope will not depart from you.

Encouraging words

We are encouraged by the author of the proverbs to hold on to the words that are given to us by Wisdom, our Lord. As we take these words, these teachings, into our hearts, they will produce fruit in the form of the virtues and our hope in the Lord will grow deeper. Glory be to God!

John 14:15-17
If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

Personal Challenge

Jesus promised to make the Holy Spirit, the Helper, available to each one of us that are baptized into Him. The Helper is within us and always present to guide us through our daily life, We can quench Him by ignoring Him and doing what our stubborn will tells us to do, but that does not remove Him from our lives. We can choose to listen to Him and yield our wills to His and we will see His greatness in our lives. Once again, God gives us the choice to yield to Him or to hold on to our earthly ways and live for us. As Jesus started off this passage, He reminds us that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments. Yielding to the Holy Spirit and following His leading is one of those commandments. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!