John 14:15 If you love me, you will
keep my commandments.
With these 9 words Jesus tells us that
true love will result in a willing obedience to Him. It is a
shocking statement for those of us who often do not keep His
commandments (which is all of us), since we could possibly surmise
that in not doing so we do not love Him. This is not the only place
where God promises to love those who keep His commandments, and it is
particularly seen throughout Deuteronomy, 10:12-13 for example, “And
now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear
the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the
Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep
the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you
today for your good?” Now that last part is interesting; these
commandments are for our own good. These are not just a bunch of
frivolous orders given by an ego-maniacal god to satisfy a sense of
self-importance, but rather more like the loving teachings of a
concerned parent, who is sorely grieved by our disobedience. If we
truly love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and
strength (which Jesus tells us is the greatest commandment), then it
will be our hearts desire to keep His commandments. Love your
neighbor as yourself, this is the other great commandment that should
regulate all of our interactions with other people in this world.
The only way to keep this commandment is to keep the first and truly
love God, without His love it is not possible to love others as we
have been called to do. I have taken a cue from others and wrote
Mark 12:29-31 on my hand as a reminder to love my God and love
others.
~Jeremy
~Jeremy
John 14:15 reads, “If you love Me,
you will keep My commandments.” Such a simple statement, yet it has
the power to change lives. The ramifications of this statement are
huge though. It is saying that If I truly love Christ, if I truly am
a servant and child of God then it should show. It also says that if
I don’t keep His commandments then I am not showing love towards
the one who outpoured all His love for me, a sinner. Christ adds on
to this in verse 21 by saying he will disclose himself to those who
keeps His commandments. He is saying that he will show us his glory
and reveal himself. 1 John 5:3 says that His commandments are not
even burdensome, that I should just simply walk in them. His
commandments go against the world and the desires of my flesh, and I
daily struggle with the ones that Christ said are the greatest. Love
God with ALL my heart, and love my neighbor as MYSELF. Yet it says
they are not burdensome. I need a change of heart. Realizing that if
Christ loved me to the point of death, then I can daily try to walk
in a way that loves God with ALL my heart, ALL my soul, ALL my mind,
and ALL my strength. That I can put others before myself. This short
verse really calls for a dying to self. I can’t do these things
without God’s strength. They are still a burden to me and a daily
struggle, but the first four words are my motivation. IF you love me.
I need to pray every morning to be filled with the Spirit, to have
God’s discernment and to reflect on what His love looks like so
that I have it more on the forefront of my mind. I want Romans 8:39
to go along with this reflection too though, that nothing can
separate me from the Love of God.
~Kristin
John 14:16 And I will ask the Father,
and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
What an amazing truth, Jesus our
intercessor petitioned the Father to send us the Holy Spirit, who
will remain with us forever. Later in verse 26 Jesus tells us, “But
the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he
will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I
have said to you.” This really identifies for us the purpose of
sending the Holy Spirit, He is the method by which we learn all
things and remember that which Christ has already taught us. Since
Jesus ascended to the Father we have needed the Holy Spirit to speak
to us on His behalf, just as Jesus speaks to the Father on our
behalf. I think of trying times where a comforting verse will come
to mind, either for myself or for someone else, and I feel that it
has been brought to mind by the Holy Spirit. This is one of the
reasons why He is called our “Helper”. Back in verse 12, Jesus
tells us, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will
also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do,
because I am going to the Father.” With the help of the Holy
Spirit, and really through His power entirely, we are to be able to
do great works here on earth. So my prayer is really that I submit
to the power of the Holy Spirit within me, so that He can work
through me to do the will of the Father. I want to empty myself and
be filled with Him.
~Jeremy
~Kristin
~Jeremy
I John 14:16 reads, “I will ask the
Father and He will give you another Helper that He may be with you
forever.” God chose not to leave use here on earth alone, from the
beginning of time He knew we needed the Spirit to stay within us to
guide us towards the truth. John 16 talks about how the Spirit will
disclose the truth to believers and that He will glorify God as he
guides us. When reflecting on gifts God has given me I often focus on
my salvation, talents, or my circumstances. I never think about the
gift of the Spirit and how it was God’s love poured out into my
heart. The Spirit is constantly doing work in me, helping me,
convicting me, and comforting me. Since reading Be Filled Now by Roy
Hession, I have found myself asking God for a fill of Himself, that I
would be less of me and more of Him. I would previously be frustrated
with myself and ask God for a change of circumstances, but now my
prayers are rather different. “God, would you fill me with your
Spirit, give me your discernment and walk with me in this challenging
time, I feel like I can’t do this, but I know you’re with me
every step of the way.” It is amazing to me that God would simply
give His Spirit to live within us, as a promise as what is to come
and a helper right now. I Thessalonians 5:19 talks about not
quenching the Spirit, but instead giving thanks and rejoicing in
every circumstance. An ungrateful or pessimistic heart sounds like it
smothers the Spirit within me. Asking God for a filling of His Spirit
has now become a regular part of my morning prayer to God because
it’s when I feel my most empty. I want to continue this and be more
thankful for the gift of the Spirit, seeing it as the love of God
poured out for me, living in me.
John 14:17 even the Spirit of truth,
whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows
him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
How tragic are the words, “whom the
world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him”?
If that is not motivation for our missionary mandate then I don't
know what is. Our strength and our Helper, the Spirit of truth, that
speaks deeply within our hearts conviction of sin and words of
encouragement, constantly leading us back to Calvary where our
victory is already won. I want to share this truth, and it is my
hearts desire that all other hearts would be filled with the Spirit,
that everyone I meet would see Him and know Him. As Jesus said in
the sermon on the mount, “You are the light of the world. A city
set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put
it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the
house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that
they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in
heaven.” Christ is our light and it is through the power of the
Holy Spirit that we shine for all the world to see. For too much of
my life I have been a light under a basket, rather than a lamp on a
stand, and I cannot imagine how much it grieves the Lord to hide that
which He has so graciously given me.
~Jeremy
~Kristin
~Jeremy
John 14:17 reads, “That is the Spirit
of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it does not see Him
or know Him, but you know Him because he abides with you and will be
in you.” Having the Spirit within me is evidence that I am a child
of God, and is a glimpse and promise of what is to come in eternity.
Because I have the Spirit abiding in me I need to walk in accordance
to the Spirit not according to my fleshly wants. Romans 8:13 words it
as “if you are living according to the flesh you must die but if by
the spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body you will
live.” The better life, and eternal life is with the walk of
Christ, putting to death the flesh. I have been going through
Colossians during On the Mount Time and chapter 3 has been very
convicting. I have the Spirit within me, I am a child of God, called
to put on a new self, and a heart of compassion, kindness, humility,
gentleness, and patience. I am to bear with one another and forgive
one another. I can continue to do these things having the Spirit of
truth within me, guiding me, and convicting me daily when I fail to
live this out. My practical application is to walk according to the
Spirit. A simple reminder of the word walk near my mirror will remind
me to walk in a way that is less of my flesh and more like Christ. If
my seal is that I am a child of God, then my words and actions should
be a display of this to the world.
John 14:18 I will not leave you as
orphans; I will come to you.
Praise the Lord for your wonderful
truth, that you will one day return for us. As you have told us
elsewhere in scripture, “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know
on what day your Lord is coming.” (Matt 24:42) and “For you
yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a
thief in the night.” (1 Thess 5:2) So we should always be ready
for your return. That means seeking first the Kingdom of God, and
worshiping You with prayer and fasting. Our goal is to strive to
build your kingdom through the spreading of your gospel, the good
news of your death and resurrection, your glorious sacrifice to save
sinners like me. I must see the urgency of this calling, since the
hourglass has been turned and I have no idea when it will run out.
For this reason my motto should be Semper Paratus, always prepared.
Always prepared to share the gospel when the opportunity presents
itself, always prepared to show the love the love of Christ whenever
possible, always prepared to die to myself in humble adoration of my
Lord. I will remember that I am not an orphan, because my Father is
in Heaven. For my application I am going to pray before I go out
into town and before kids club and really any time I might encounter
someone who does not know the Lord that He would give me an
opportunity to share His love through the gospel. Perhaps by doing
so I can see others join the body of Christ before He comes to us
again.
~Jeremy
~Kristin
~Jeremy
In Mark 10 we see Jesus teaching crowds
that gathered around him. People were bringing children to Jesus so
that he would touch them. Immediately the disciples start scolding
the crowd. Jesus had more important things to do than touch and be
with children. Jesus was indignant that his disciples would act this
way towards the children and begins to explain that in order for one
to receive the kingdom of God they must be like a child. Children are
under the rule of the father. They are to look to their father as an
example of how to live. When problems arise, a child goes to their
father for good advice. When needing food and clothing, the father
cares for the child and gives it what it needs. A child does not make
decisions as wise as its father and therefore will make many
mistakes. When a child disobeys it receives fair discipline and love
from the father. A child is not in charge of its life, but instead is
under the council of its father. I love how John 14:18 reads that we
are orphans without Christ and that Christ will come to us. I am
reminded that we are children. Christ refers to us as fatherless
without him. He could have said I will not leave you widows, or I
will not leave you by-yourself but He sees us as his children,
children that cannot live without him. It does not say I will not
leave you orphans, come to me. It says that Christ will
come to us. Like a father makes a promise to a child, saying I am
here for you, I will always be here for you. He will return. He even
comes to the disciples after his death to show them that he has not
completely left them as he promised. He tells us that we will have
his Spirit here with us as a comforter and as a guide through life
and that he will return to earth one day and is waiting for us when
we go to have eternal life with him. Hebrews 13:5 says that he will
never desert us or forsake us. He knows we need him, but do I always
acknowledge that I need him. Am I the rebellious teenager that looks
to the father saying,” You’ve taught me enough, just let me be, I
have been doing fine on my own so far, I’ll just come running back
to you when I mess up and need someone to fix my mistakes.” So
often I see myself doing this. Saying to God that I’ve got things
under control instead of seeking His face. My application of this
verse is to pray for friends, family, and loved ones who truly are
orphans in this life because they do not yet know Christ as their
father.
John 14:19 Yet a little while and the
world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you
also will live.
I am not sure if, in this passage,
Jesus was speaking directly regarding His appearances to the
disciples after the resurrection, or if He was referring to the time
following His ascension, or possibly both. However, I do see an
interesting correlation to the world today. After Jesus's death, the
world definitely did not see Him any more. He appeared only to His
disciples, and even today He seems to only be seen by those who
follow Him. I don't know if this is necessarily due to a
supernatural blindness to the way God moves in this world, or just
the world's refusal to acknowledge His work. Regardless, the world
does not know Jesus, and those in the world cannot see Him, but we
who are of the Lord can see Him. In fact, Jesus once scolded the
apostles saying, “Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your
hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you
not hear?” They should not have been questioning Jesus because they
had seen, and they were with Him. So often I have found myself
forgetting what Jesus looks like, when all I can see is the world.
When I am deep in the embrace of the world I am clinging to death,
attempting to resurrect my old self. In doing so I am forgetting the
cross, and forgetting that Christ lives, but He does live, and
because He lives I also will live. “Therefore, if anyone is in
Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the
new has come.” (2 Cor 5:17) Because He lives, I live, and I see
Him.
~Jeremy
John 14:19 reminds me of John 6 when
Christ calls himself the bread of life (John 6:35); that whoever eats
him will also live (John 6:57). Colossians 2 says that I was
circumcised with Christ, with the removal of the body of the flesh.
That I was buried with Him in baptism, and that I was raised up with
Him through faith. When I was dead in my flesh and sins, Christ made
me alive. All things were forgiven and all my decrees against me were
nailed to the cross. This passage makes the sacrifice of Christ so
personal. Because he lives, I also will live. Christ rescued me by
submitting to the nails, the nails that killed my flesh as His flesh
was killed. Jesus seemed to be giving exhortation to me and to the
disciples, saying get up and live. Do not be burdened by sins
that have been forgiven before they were even your thoughts. Be a
free man. Get up, be a follower for Me with zeal in your heart while
remembering that because I live, you will also live. I want to
memorize Acts 20:24, as a motivator when I feel the weight of this
world. “But none of these things move me, nor do I count my life
dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with Joy and the
ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the
gospel of the grace of God. The first part of John 14:19 is just as
personal as thinking about the latter part and the sacrifice of
Christ. I do see Christ, I have never felt so close with Him, and yet
the world no longer sees Him. They do not know the joy I feel daily,
the burden that is lifted from me when I contemplate over not
counting my life dear to myself. What other motivator do I really
need to share the truth with the world then this verse? 1) The world
does not see Him, and 2) I live because of Christ.
~Kristin
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