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DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

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John 14:8-14

8 Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."

9 Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10 Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

NIV

It seems this is really straight forward. Jesus says that He and the Father are one. That He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. Whatever Jesus says it is not really Jesus saying it, but the Father living in Him. Jesus tells Philip even if he cannot understand or believe the Father is in Him, look at the miracles He has done. It is not that some human being has done all those miracles, it is the Father doing them through or in Him. Even though Philip as well as the other disciples knew Jesus was the Christ, they still were looking at a man. Jesus was telling them even as a man, the evidence the Father was in him were all the miracles he had done. Now here comes the rub. Jesus tells Philip and everyone else for that matter, that anyone who has faith in Jesus will do what He has been doing. But that is not all. He said we would do even greater things than these miracles He has been doing. How can we do more the Jesus did? How can we do greater things than Jesus did? Is that true? It has to be, because He said so. Jesus said that we could ask Him anything and He would do it, so He could bring glory to the Father. He repeats it just in case we missed it. We may ask Him for anything in His name and He will do it. Now the question is, do we really believe that? Did Jesus put any stipulations on what he said? Matthew records the very same words of Jesus. But the point is Jesus intended us to have the power of God working in us. So then, why are we not availing ourselves of this power? Why do we live what seems a weakened powerless life? Do we just make excuses and say that what we asked for must not have been in the Father’s will? Ah, we are quick to quote that verse that says “You have not because you ask not, or you asked amiss, or with wrong motives”. Are we the ones which put that qualifier of having to be in the will of God on asking for anything in the name of Jesus? Even if that is so, we know what the will of the Father is, It is to have faith in the one He sent. Jesus also says next that if we love him we will obey what he commands. Well, what did He just command? To ask Him anything in His name and He will do it. To have faith in Him? It could be possible that we have complicated this far more than it needs to be. We put so many restrictions on having whatever we ask for that it may well become impossible for us to have anything from the hand of God. So we just live under the impression we are believers, but in reality, we may not actually believe what Jesus says. That has to stop right now. From now on we are going to take Jesus at his word. We are going to ask for what is needed in our life. We want the power from on high to be at work in us. We want to see people healed, we want to be healed. We want people to receive their sight, to be able to see the truth, Jesus. We want people to receive their hearing, so they can hear the truth, Jesus. We want the lame, the people crippled by sin, to get up and take their mat and walk. So they can jump and leap and praise the Lord. We want people to be healed just by our shadow as we walk by them. There is so much more we can ask for. Why shouldn’t we ask for all that? We know it is the will of God. So then, let’s live with the power of God. All we have to do is, ask.