John 16:33

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Encouraging Words

Once again, Jesus tells us how to have peace in our lives. It does not come from our job, or even the positions that we hold in our church. Not from all the stuff that we accumulate throughout life. Not from our health, even if we work out all the time and have a chiseled body. Peace comes from a relationship with Him. If we proclaim to be His follower and yet do not have His peace in our lives, then we must question if we really do have a relationship with Him. His peace will not eliminate the trials and tribulations that we will have in life, but it will alter how we make it through them. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner and thank you for a peace that passes all understanding.

John 16:23-24

“And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

Encouraging Words

What day is Jesus referring to when He says, “In that day”? Jesus has just informed His disciples that He would soon be leaving them, referring to His death on the cross. He is telling them, and us, that after His departure, His ascension into heaven, that our petitions to the Father will be answered by the Father, if we pray in the name of Jesus, our intercessor. Jesus has also inferred that if we are following Him as our Lord then our petitions will be similar to His and that they will be answered. Glory be to God!

John 16:13

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

Encouraging Words

We have been promised the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, to be our guide through life into all truth, God’s truth. As Christians we have no excuse for being wrapped up in the falsehoods of this world, and especially our local society. In order to live in this world we must first thwart the Holy Spirit and ignore His guidance in our lives. I, for one, do not want to stand before my Lord and have to defend why I chose to ignore the guidance provided to me. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

John 15:19

If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

Personal Challenge

Have you ever been confronted because of your relationship with Jesus? Do you find yourself at odds with the politics of this world, not able to agree or side with any party or platform? Do you feel out of sorts with the world around you because you long for the “Promised Laud”? Jesus told His followers, and us, that if we are following Him, living the way that He wants us to live, then all of these things will be true because through Him, we are no longer residents in this world. He has brought us into His Kingdom and the world around us hates us for this. As Christians we should be uncomfortable in this earthly realm. We should be at odds with the things of this earth. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

John 15:15-17

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another.

Encouraging Words

Jesus tells us that if we are following Him and loving our neighbor then we are no longer His servants but His friends. Friends get invited to the banquet table, servants cater to those friends. Friends get to hang out together while the servants observe from afar. Friends get to share in the details of each others lives. Jesus wants us to be close to Him and to do His work, which is loving one another. Glory be to God!

John 15:12-14

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

Personal Challenge

Immediately following Jesus’ explanation about how our lives can be full of joy, He gives us the command to love one another. This is a very important part of being a true follower of Him. Today we have the opportunity to both see and participate in the practical application of laying down our life for one another. Our world is being ravaged by a pandemic. Whether people believe it is real or not, thousands of people are dying because of it. We all have the opportunity to be vaccinated against it and be inconvenienced by wearing masks so that we can prevent its spread. Do we make the choice to follow these practical and readily available options out of our love for one another or stomp our feet in defiance and refuse on the grounds that our personal freedom is being infringed upon? At what point does our worship of our personal freedom betray our love for Jesus Christ? Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

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.”

Encouraging Words

Jesus loves us. The Father loves us. These are undeniable truths. If we abide, or live, in the midst of this love, believing it, cherishing it, and sharing it, then we will have the joy of Jesus within us. This is a promise from our Lord. If we do not see this fullness of joy in our lives then it is time to see where we are in our relationship with Jesus. His truth is absolute truth and He will fill us with His absolute joy. 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.”

Encouraging Words

I am so thankful that I grew up in an agricultural environment. There is so much in the scriptures that uses agricultural pictures to explain our relationship with God through Jesus. When we become followers of Christ we are grafted into His vine. This vine supplies all of the life blood and nutrients that we need to survive. Without the vine as our connection to God we will wither and die. As we stay connected to the vine we will begin to produce fruit. If we are not seeing this fruit in our lives then we should be running to Jesus to see what is restricting His life in us. Glory be to God!