Assured Peace

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

ASSURED PEACE

John 14:22-27

22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?" 23 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. 25 "All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

NIV

Having considered the idea that because we love him we will obey his teaching, and in addition, we looked at just what that teaching might have been. We have to conclude that we have obeyed his teaching as we know that Jesus and the Father have come to us and made their home with us. We also can conclude that it is true because we have received the Counselor, the Holy Spirit. He has been teaching us all things for we know that in and of ourselves we know nothing. Without the working of the Holy Spirit within us, first of all, we would have never left our life of sin and crossed over that great chasm to a life in Christ. No one would make that choice without the urging of the Holy Spirit. Without the Spirit, we are trapped and powerless to leave that life controlled by our sinful nature. However, because we did, we are assured it is because of the Spirit and thus we can be confident we obeyed his teaching as well. For since the day the Spirit revealed our sin and prompted us to repent and accept Jesus, He has been dwelling within us teaching us all truth. He has also been manifesting His power, his gifts, and his fruit within us, transforming our very nature so that we are becoming more like who we should be. We also know that His work is constant, that we are a work in progress and that we are always in a state of transforming as we will never be fully transformed until the day Jesus returns to take us home. We also know our transformation has not been complete because we have those moments of relapse. Sometimes it seems we take four steps forward and then one backward and have to retrace that step again. Still, we are always aware of His presence and his leading us into all truth. We also know without a doubt that he does remind us, which is part of his work within, of what Jesus said. The Spirit has also confirmed within our hearts that we do not have anything to be afraid of. Our heart is not troubled, we are not anxious or in commotion regarding our relationship with Him. We have absolute confidence that we have eternal life, and that all things that happen in our life are for our good because we also know without a doubt that we have been called according to his purpose. That is not to be confused with our specific calling or task as a member of the body of Christ. This being called according to his purpose is the calling to follow Jesus, to yield to the prompting of the Spirit and repent and be saved. That is the purpose of God, to redeem his people. That is the whole reason Jesus came, to die for us, to take our sin, and thus restore us to our rightful place as children of God. That is His purpose and it has been fulfilled within us. Nevertheless, we also live our daily life without fear and full of the peace of Christ. This Greek word that is translated peace carries the meaning of a state of tranquility, but also it has been given a meaning particular to Christianity as the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ and thus fearing nothing from God and content with its earthy lot, whatsoever that is. That is us.  This world can never give us that peace, or calm delight. The world is always in chaos and turmoil without ever being at peace. How can it offer any kind of peace of mind or spirit? The world can only cause us anxiety and unrest, discontentment, envy, jealously, lust for things, and a path that leads straight to hell. Jesus, on the other hand, offers us total peace of mind and spirit. He offers us a way to live content and unafraid, both of this world, and from God. He gives us the assurance every morning as the sun rises in the east and sets in the West, that He has everything under his authority and that we are in the palm of His hand. Being afraid or having peace. We take peace.

If Anyone Loves Me

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

IF ANYONE LOVES ME

John 14:22-27

22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?"

23 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. 25 "All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

NIV

After Jesus told them he would show himself to them, but the world would not be able to see him, the other Judas asks why? It seems Jesus does not answer his question directly but goes on to tell them and us that if we love him, we will obey his teaching. Now, this begs the question, just what did Jesus teach them and thus us? To answer this question it would seem it could take a book. In fact, it already did. But if we were to try to summarize the teaching of Jesus it would start with some of the “I AM’s”.  “I am the bread of life”, “I am the way the truth and the life”, “I am the resurrection”, “I am the light of the world”, “I am the Good Shepherd”, “I am the door for the sheep”, “I am the true vine”. Although these are considered the seven “I Am” statements or what his teachings to his disciples about himself and the Father, there is one more, which would be the eighth “I AM”. This is also in this Gospel account John wrote. Jesus told them, that before Abraham, “I AM”. He didn’t just say what he was as, He is the light, or truth or door. He said he is the “I AM”. He is God. If we love him we will obey his teachings. Well, he taught who he is. We obey the fact that Jesus is God. Now there are a few other things he mentioned about us, the fact that if we are without sin, we have the right to condemn someone. He taught that in order to get into the kingdom of God, we have to be born again. But the greatest of his teachings for us to obey is to love God with all our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We suppose we could get into making a big long list of things we are supposed to do, all the good works we think we have to do, and a list of all the things we think we are not supposed to do. We also could find other teachings in the other accounts such as all his said in what we call the Sermon on the Mount, like the beatitudes. Those are in fact ways in which we can be blessed if we have those kinds of attitudes. They may not be considered a teaching to obey, but more of one that would benefit our state of mind, and spirit. The point seems to be that Jesus did not make up a list of things we need to obey. He was teaching about the condition of our hearts. If we love him, then we will live accordingly. Our hearts will be bent toward Him rather than toward the world. Our focus will be on the matter of our hearts. Of course, our heart is just a muscle and it does not think, so when we say heart, it means our mind, the central core of our being. We know that as we think, so are we. That is how we think, or what we think about causes how we act or behave. That is why Jesus taught the attitudes of the heart, or our thoughts that he did. How do we think? What do we think about? Here is where the rubber meets the road. Are our thoughts centered on loving Jesus, or on our actions in the world? We can even make being spiritual a worldly matter, or we should say, being worldly a spiritual matter. We can turn our desires of worldly affairs to have spiritual overtones, so we can justify our thoughts of worldly matters. If we love Jesus, we will obey his teachings regarding the condition of our hearts. What is the condition of our hearts? What is the condition of our thoughts? How do we think? Have we brought our thoughts in submission to Jesus? We would if we love him. Does that mean we would never have a stray thought? No, there are plenty of things in the world that strive to grab our attention and cause thoughts that are not subject to Jesus. But what do we do with them? Do we allow them to dwell within, or reject them? If we love him then we know what to do. Does this mean we cannot enjoy some of then things in this world? No, God has blessed us with many physical things, he has provided for our needs. We can even have fun, enjoy play or relaxation, happiness, and joy. The point is our life is always seeing God, not the world, in all things, because we love him.

Living in God

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

LIVING IN GOD

John 14:15-21

15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." 

NIV

Although we considered this loving and obeying his command, and considering that command was to ask him for anything in his name, we also have to look a little closer at the Spirit of truth, as well as Jesus leaving and coming back. It is also interesting that only those who love him will see him. Jesus is surely speaking about the fact that he is going to the cross and then the grave, but also about his resurrection and ascension. He is going to leave the earth, return to Heaven and send the Holy Spirit to be with us, within us, until He returns to retrieve us and take us to where He is. So when he says the world will not see Him, but we will, what exactly or when exactly is he speaking about? Maybe he was talking about the days before His ascension. That he was going to reveal himself to his disciples, that they would see him, but as far as that rest of the world, such as the Pharisees and chief priests who were instrumental in his crucifixion would not see him. As far as they were concerned he was still dead, and that his disciples had stolen his body and hide it somewhere. That might work, except for the fact he also said that because he lives we will live also. Now, maybe he was only speaking of his resurrection. Because he is resurrected to life, after death, we too will be resurrected after death. The world will not be resurrected, they will not see him, but we will. After we are resurrected we will, without doubt, see for ourselves, not just by faith, but with our eyes, that Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Jesus and that Jesus is in us. But there can also be another seeing which might also be applied. Jesus could be talking about the day he will send the Spirit of truth. On that day we will be able to see the truth. We will be able to know that Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Jesus and Jesus is in us. The Spirit will reveal and as we know, he has revealed all this truth to us. The world does not accept this Spirit of truth, they reject him, in fact. They do not believe in what we call a Spirit-filled life. But because we love Jesus, we have received the Spirit with all his power, all his gifts, all his fruit in fullness. He is at work within us growing us, helping us to continually grow in both our faith and knowledge of his wisdom. He will help us grow in his power and mighty strength. There is so much more for us, then we may even imagine because of the work of the Spirit within us. Maybe we have hampered his efforts by trying to do so much in our own abilities. It is possible if we let go, if we do not look to our works, the Spirit will have more accessibility to our spirit and we will actually have more truth, more power, more might, because it will be His, then we could ever imagine. Maybe we look too much at our education, our degrees, our study, our knowledge, our faith, then we should. Instead, we should set aside all our self and totally rely on the Spirit of truth. There have been some negative comments made toward those who were called revelation knowledge preachers. These were and are people who may not have had a formal education in some denominational seminary, but have great knowledge that has been revealed to them by the Spirit of truth. Having the Spirit of truth dwelling within us, we surely are able to see Jesus, and we surely are able to see the truth of Jesus being in the Father and the Father in Jesus and that Jesus is in us because God is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Therefore we have God in his fullness within, and we should live like it, living in his fullness, in his power, in his might, in his knowledge and wisdom, in his life. Oh, how we could go on and on about this. The fact is we do live in God, and He lives in us.

If You Love Me

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

IF YOU LOVE ME

John 14:15-21

15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." 

NIV

Again, we have to take these words of Jesus within the context of what he has already said. Sometimes, it is easier to take something out of context and make some rule or fit a doctrine or interpretation we want, instead of seeing want is meant. Jesus had just made that statement that we could ask him anything and in his name and he would do it in order to bring glory to the Father. Now, if we love him, we will obey want he commands or we will ask him as he told us to. Now there is this area where we could take that command to every aspect of our lives. That is every command that he ever gave, such as love the Lord our God will all our heart, our mind, our soul, and our strength and love our neighbor as ourselves, we would have to obey if we love him. Then we would have to get into every little nuance of the word, looking for all things which would be interpreted as a command. The problem is if we need to obey every single one, such as the Pharisees tried to obey all the law, we would always fail, as they did. Then because we fail, Jesus would never ask the Father and the Father would never send the Counselor to be with us forever. If the sending of the Holy Spirit is dependent on us being one hundred percent in compliance with his commands, we would be totally without the Spirit. Now, that does not mean we should not obey his commands. What does that look like? Again, loving God and loving our neighbor are the two greatest commands Jesus gave us. But it would seem that turning from the world and turning to Jesus is the proof of our love. This idea of denying self and taking up our cross and following Jesus carries the meaning of being willing to do the will of the Father. As children, we wanted to please our parents so we do what they asked us to do, at least which is supposed to be the normal way of family behavior. There are always those children who are defiant and that usually brings some form of discipline. So we want to do that which pleases our Lord. The one thing which pleases him which just preceded what he is now saying is ask him anything. Somehow, we must be doing something right, for we have the Holy Spirit, The Father did send the Counselor and He has been with us since that day of Pentecost when he arrived with power. The evidence of this Spirit within us is shown in many ways. Of course, he has brought his gifts with him and his fruit. If we have the Spirit within us, then there should be evidence of him. That is we should be exhibiting his gifts. Here is where it gets a little dicey. We want, according to our sense of interpretation, to determine which gifts no longer apply and which gifts still apply. We also want to decide as to which fruit we want to show in our lives. If then we want to make those choices, would that be in some way limiting, or squelching the Spirit, which we are commanded not to do? If then we are doing that, we then are not obeying his command, which then would lead us to say we do not love him. That would be the logic that would follow. So then how do we deal with all this? The fact remains, the Spirit does dwell within us, and we need to allow his power to be unlimited in our lives. We say we love Jesus, so then we must be willing to do his will and that would include the Spirit dwelling within us. So the question we have to answer is, do we love him.

Ask

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

ASK

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.

The Way

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

THE WAY

John 14:1-7

14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going."  5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." 

NIV

It is unfortunate that Thomas has gotten a bad rap from so many. He has been labeled by some as the doubting Thomas. That all stems from the time after Jesus was resurrected and appeared to his disciples in a room, and Thomas missed it. We will get to all that later, but here Thomas is also the one who appears to not be able to get exactly what Jesus is talking about. Again, most likely he is thinking in his human mind about human things. It is difficult to comprehend the spiritual when he is so stuck in the physical. What kind of place is Jesus going to prepare for him? Where is Jesus going to go to prepare this place? If he is coming back for him, why would he need to know the way there? Where are all these rooms, if they are in His Father’s house? How can the Father, who has to be God, have a house with a lot of rooms? These might have been some of the thoughts of Thomas, as well as some people today. We have heard people say there are many paths to God. We cannot agree with that, but then it is also nearly impossible to convince them they are wrong. The question Thomas asked seemed to imply he was not sure what path was the right one. For years and years, the Jews felt the path to God was through the Law. Thomas has had the opportunity to be with Jesus for the last three or so years and at least knows him as Lord. Thomas may understand that Jesus is the Christ, but still thinking in terms that the Christ would come and rescue the Jews from their oppressors, in this case, the Romans. Jesus makes it clear that He is the way. He not only has the truth, He is the truth and He is the life. He is the road that leads to the Father. In order to get to God, in order to live in the truth, in order to have life, we must follow Jesus. He is the only way. There is no other way. Why would we ever want to explore other ways? Why would we want to make up conditions or rules in order to have one of those rooms in our Father’s house? We understand that in an effort to follow Jesus, some people think he placed those conditions on us for following him. If anything those conditions are in the attitude of our hearts, and not in complying with a list do’s and don’ts. Granted if some are in that mode of thinking, we who have the freedom to follow Jesus without making up those lists, should not be offensive to those who have the lists, although sometimes they offend us by insisting if are Christian, we would not do those things on their list. The point is salvation, not trying to live a perfect life, based on what we think the truth is. There are surely multiply opinions of what the truth is, but the fact remains, salvation is based on Jesus. If we want to have a room in the Father’s house, all we need is Jesus. We are saved by faith, not works, lest anyone boast. Do we try to live rightly? Absolutely! Do we want to live in a manner that pleases the Lord? Most assuredly! However, the only way to really please God is by accepting His Son as Lord and Savior. Jesus is the way, he is the road, the path, the only way to the Father. Nothing else counts. Nothing else will make a difference. Nothing else can get us there. No amount of right living, no amount of good deeds will make us holy and blameless in the sight of God, but Jesus does. It is not a matter of following him to the place he has prepared for us. It is only a matter of being in Him. He said he would come back and take us there, not lead us there. Jesus is the way.

The Place

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

THE PLACE

John 14:1-7

14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going."  5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." 

NIV

As we spent the whole of our last time on these words of Jesus looking at having a troubled heart or rather not having a heart of commotion, we need to consider all these rooms. There is a song that speaks of us having a mansion just over the hilltop, but that must have been taken from the KJV, as it translates the Greek word for residence or abode or staying place as a mansion. This word, rooms, seems to fit the meaning of the Greek word better. Jesus said that he is going to prepare a place for us. Again the Greek word translated as a place means a place, but also properly any portion or space marked off, as it were, from surrounding space. It also is used as an inhabited place, a city, town, village, or district. So it would seem appropriate to think of the new city of Jerusalem as this place Jesus has prepared for us. This is where he will be spending all eternity as the Light for that city, at least according to the revelation he also gave to John later. However, the point is that wherever Jesus is, we will be also. Because we can trust him, and trust the Father, we know, without any doubt, that Jesus has prepared a place for us and he is also coming back someday to take us there. In all reality, it does not matter what that place looks like, as we will be with Jesus. Still, on the other hand, when we consider the way he is coming back, as it is described for us, the place he has prepared for us has to be majestic. When Jesus entered the first city of Jerusalem he rode upon a donkey, the colt of a donkey, signifying a humble king, coming in peace. The description of his return as given to us in the Revelation as well as other references of God with Moses and the psalmists foreshadowing, as well as the very words of Jesus as recorded in Matthews gospel, are all about riding on dark clouds, thunder, lightning, hail,  and the earth-shaking.  Of course, Jesus will also be riding a white horse, signifying a conquering King, for He has conquered death. This is all about the power and majesty of God, of Jesus, and His glory and power are being shown for all to see. We can just imagine being there, being alive when all this happens, when He comes for us. But then, even if does not happen in our lifetime, we will not miss it, for in whatever state we are in, we are already in his presence, but when that moment in time happens, our bodies will come out of the grave and we will somehow be united with this new immortal body, so as to be able to live in this place prepared for us which is the new city of Jerusalem. For now, we are content to be living in a new creation, the kingdom of God, the eternal life he has already given us. So, next on the agenda is getting to that place.