Thoughts From the Bible

Read John 17: 13-19 Jesus continued to pray. Even Jesus showed us we need to continue to pray regardless of the situation. Much of this was recorded for us. Again, Jesus providing us an example of how we should live a grounded life in Him. Jesus’ prayer in verse 17 was one we should pray for ourselves every day, “Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.” This is where the secular world has problems with Christianity. The truth of the Bible stops a lot of behavior the world doesn’t want to control themselves. It doesn’t matter if the behavior has bad consequences. The world doesn’t want its bad behavior checked because that would make them feel bad. As this short passage states, we have been sent to live a principled life and that is done because Jesus paid the ultimate price for us. We need to do whatever we need to do to never forget that. (18) Just as you sent me into the world , I am sending them into the world. (19) And I give myself as a...

Read John 17: 9- 12 - We have heard that we should pray as Jesus prayed in the Lord’s Prayer. That is not wrong. I do think it interesting though in verse 11, Jesus prays for the protection of those who have followed them. “ Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so they will be united just as we are.” Jesus was praying for the disciples knowing the coming days would test their resolve about Jesus, but He also prayed they would stay united. Jesus wanted the disciples to be united as He was with God. I cannot imagine a greater example of unity other than the Trinity, but Jesus actually prayed the disciple would experience the same level of unity. Are we willing to pray that prayer for ourselves and those around us. That level of unity would require such a oneness of spirit and principle. There are so many in the world who want to march to...

Read  John 17: 6-8 - Here is another basic lesson for us. Jesus is praying and thanking God for the disciples. How often do we thank God for the people He has allowed and brought into our lives? Some of our lives would never be the same without key people being in our lives and helping us to live our best lives. Jesus said in verse 7, “Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, (8) for I have passed on to them the message you gave. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.” This is such a strong word of affirmation to the disciples and Jesus recognizing this in His prayers shows us how we should pray to God. A lesson in knowing how to affirm and acknowledge before God in prayer. This is a heart of thanksgiving for people and God’s message.

Read  John 17: 1- 5- Jesus says so much in these five verses. I think the first thing that is dominant to me is that Jesus prays to God at this critical time. Even though Jesus knew He was of God, He still showed us what we should be doing in a time of need. We should pray to God for His Hand to rest on our situation. That can mean a multitude of things, many beyond our comprehension but the prayer opens our hearts and minds to what God can do. Jesus set the example. Prayer. The next thing Jesus shares in His prayer is that it is time for Him to honor God with His life so God can show who He is in a tremendous way. This is all designed so we can know who God is. In verse 1 through 2, “After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so He can give glory back to you. In verse two, Jesus notes where His ultimate authority originates, and this is our way to eternal life. Jesus also knew where He started. “No...

Read John 16: 31- 33 - The world can be a challenging place. It can be a troubling place. Some people cannot see any hope in their lives, and they struggle to make it through each day. There are times in our lives when all of us feel like we might not survive our circumstances in the best way we can. Jesus knew people would feel this way. The chapter finishes with Jesus’ words, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. We can pray. Jesus can provide us the peace we need when things seem to be unfolding all around us. He lived a horrible time resulting in His death but rose again. Jesus can help us rise through our problems too. We need to believe, and we need to pray for His peace.

Read  John 16: 29- 30- Are you dense? Sometimes we must be hit between the eyes with a two by four to see what is going on. The disciples were a little this way. With everything Jesus did and said, it was still sometimes difficult for them to see the big picture, the reality of who Jesus really was.   Stories help to paint a picture of a situation or add emphasis to a situation. We need to always know who we are talking to, however. In our day and age, it is usually best to make our conversation with others clear and easy to understand. We don’t want anyone to miss out on what we are trying to say. In verse 30, the disciples said this, “Now we are sure that You know all things and have no need that anyone should question You. By this we believe You came forth from God.”   It is so important today that our conversations about Jesus be clear to understand and from our hearts. Our hearts of conviction and caring.

Read  John 16: 16- 28- In our evangelical churches, we have heard there is power in the name of Jesus. In this passage in John 16 we see why this is taught. Jesus is telling the disciples He is going to die but He will return. At that point, all will understand the power in the name of Jesus. Jesus is telling the disciples, to use His name, “At that time you won’t need to ask Me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and He will grant your request because you use My name.” God wants us to pray in the name of Jesus. We don’t fully understand the power that rests in the name of Jesus, but I also think we’ve forgotten the power that rests in God. We need to be careful we don’t let changing societal opinions and norms distract us from the reality of who God is and the absolute power God has. This is one of the truths we get from the Bible. We need to remember it. We need to hold on to it.

Read John 16: 12- 15 - How does the Holy Spirit work?  Jesus told the disciples what the Holy Spirit will do for them in verse 13, “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth.  He will not speak on His own but will tell you what He has heard.  He will tell you about the future.”  The Holy Spirit is the convicting power of God in the world today.  Jesus did not leave the world without His presence.  The Holy Spirit is God’s Spirit.  The Holy Spirit shows us through impressions our spirits and through our growing knowledge of God, how we should live our lives.  The Holy Spirit may use someone else to impress on our spirit’s what we should be doing.  We have a responsibility.  We need to consciously decide we are going to listen and look for the impressions and messages the Holy Spirit has for us.  We do this through prayer.  We do this through reading the Bible.  We do this by listening to other truste...

  Read  John 16: 5-11- If you step back and look at God’s plan for humanity it should stagger our thinking. I really think if a person were to read the Bible from beginning to end, there would be no way someone could deny there is a God and a God who loves us. Take in consideration how God guided the prophets. God then became Man to save all of us from our sins. Then God sent the Holy Spirit. Verse 7 and 8, “But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t , the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send Him to you. (8) And when He comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.” God made accommodations for us all throughout history. We should simply recognize how elaborate yet simple created all of this for us. His love for us goes beyond our ability to imagine.

Read  John 16: 1- 4- Jesus was speaking to the disciples, “I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith. (2) For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God.” All the people involved in these conversations were Jews. Jesus knew what the next few days in their lives would be and He wanted the disciples to be prepared and know that God was still in control of the events that would happen. The Jewish religious leaders were against the person of Jesus because so many people were following Him and talking about Him in a spiritual sense. The Jewish leadership became afraid of Him, or they were intent on not allowing someone not in the circle of spiritual leadership to be able to steal their influence with the people. Jesus came to earth to influence people. He came to first atone for our sins. He then came to influence. That should be our goal too. We should be w...

Read John 15: 25- 27- We have a responsibility. While addressing His disciples, Jesus gave them a responsibility. They were to testify to people that Jesus was God. They were to share His message and the greatest commandment of love to others. Jesus said, “And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.” Jesus lived a very striking life, and we don’t know about all He did . We have the same responsibility the disciples had . We must continue to live the life Jesus wants us to live for our testimonies to be valid .

Read  John 15: 18- 25 - Jesus knew there were people coming after Him. The disciples knew this, and Jesus began His teaching of how they needed to be prepared for the hatred that would be coming their way because they believed in Jesus. The world is not much different today. Other religions are given some deference but when it comes to Christianity, it is even someone what fashionable to cast aspirations toward Christians just simply for being Christians. The disciples were told, and the world needs to understand Jesus’ words written in verse 23, “Anyone who hates me also hates my Father.” It is interesting to see how Jesus was continuing to teach the disciples. It is also interesting to see this lesson come right after Jesus gave the great commandment requiring them to love others. The challenge of this was laid directly before them. It is laid directly before us too. We need to not lose focus on what Jesus commands us in the face of ridicule and hatred. It is a ch...

Read  John 15: 12-17- Jesus gave us the new commandment to love each other. He told the disciples and us to love us as He loves us. Jesus then emphasizes the whole concept of love. Verse 12 and 13, “This is commandment, love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Jesus wants us to take the whole concept of love so seriously we would die for someone else. Jesus was preparing himself to do that very thing. We need to understand Jesus wants us to convey love to people and to know it is His greatest commandment for us. That is not always what we as people find easy to do so we have our commandment, and we need to purpose to work in that direction.

Read John 15: 9-12 - There is a lot of conflict in our society today. Our extreme society is now telling us that if we disagree, then you certainly don’t like the other person and some immediately jump to hating the other individual. Our society is teaching people to embrace extremes. Jesus told the disciples something totally different. In verse 12, “This is my commandment; love each other the same way I have loved you.” There were no qualifiers in what Jesus was saying. The real question is this; can we follow this commandment? Our society is not teaching us how to love each other. It teaches us how to obsess over each other or over things that have no lasting value. Too many think they will only “love” someone when the other person meets some random checklist. Jesus didn’t give us any qualifiers. I admit, I have work to do to meet this commandment consistently. The key for us mere humans is to continue working at it.