Jn16

The conviction of the Holy Spirit is on all of us.  Some of us are actually listening.  Learn to listen and obey.

It will never be easy to follow Jesus.  It would be impossible without the help of the Holy Spirit.  I love the daily conviction of God's Spirit in my life.  It is often hard to obey, but I pray it never becomes difficult to hear.

Without the conviction of the Holy Spirit, I would be lost.  He daily guides my life and leads me to act in a manner more compliant with His will.  After 3 decades of listening and obeying, I would hope that I would be way better than I am.  Unfortunately, it is still a daily struggle to follow Jesus.  Fortunately, it is a daily struggle.

I love the conviction of the Holy Spirit in my life.  He truly is the "Helper & Comforter" that Jesus promised!

Jn15

God's desire for our lives is that we would be connected to Him in such a way that our lives would reflect His character.  There is no way for this to happen apart from an intentional effort on our part to stay connected to Jesus and His word.

Stay intentionally connected!

Jn14

If you were to describe the Holy Spirit in one word, what would it be? Jesus chose Spirit of "truth".  He primarily referred to the Holy Spirit as another Counselor, but He used "truth" to describe what He is.  I find that interesting.

In chapter one we hear John's description of Jesus.  He says that Jesus was "full of grace and truth."  In this chapter Jesus says, "I am the Way, the Truth and the LIfe."  Later John will write about Jesus' desire that his disciples are sanctified by truth, referring to God's word as "truth".

As believers, "truth" should be a primary way in which the Holy Spirit is evident in our lives.  We should speak, act and have a reputation of being full of the Holy Spirit.  That necessarily means that we would be full of truth.

It is crazy to me the number of men and women who actually believe that compromising "truth" is somehow acceptable to God.  In my opinion, God works with broken tools, but He always works with tools who are willing to speak, act and live by the "truth". It is living by the Spirit.

I hate lying!  I am confident God hates it as well.  

Jn13

"A new command I give to you: Love one another. Just as I have loved you." The command to love was not new.  The command to love as Jesus loved was quite new!  No one had ever loved like Jesus loved and no one will ever love like Him again.  This is a fact.

How then can Jesus command us to "love, just as I have loved"?  Wouldn't that be like saying, "Walk on water, like I walked on water."  Even if I wanted to and was willing to try, would I ever be able to walk on water like Jesus did?  NOPE!  I could not.  If that is a fact, how can Jesus command us to "love like Him"?

When Jesus said "like Him" He was not referring to "exactly like" Him.  He was using "like" in the same way that we use it.  The command was to love in a manner that put other's desires and needs above mine.  It was a command to be humble and to serve.  Jesus' example was not a lesson on "how to be God", it was a lesson on how to love like God loves.

Whenever we choose to act and behave toward others in a manner that truly has their best interest in mind, we are loving "just like Jesus".  It is the way of love.  Jesus set a new standard that He commands us to follow.

Tough challenge

Jn12

Many did not believe in Jesus because they loved approval from men more than approval from God! (vs. 43) Wow.  I have never seen that verse so clearly as today.  Right in John 12 we have an example as to why people were rejecting Jesus.  They knew to follow Christ would give them less value before men.  They desired the approval of man more than the approval of God!

It convicts me about how I truly live.  Who's approval do I hope to get today?  Is it man's or is it God's.  

I pray it is the latter.

Jn11

Have you ever thought about what makes Jesus angry?  Twice in this chapter John records, "Jesus was angry."  At what? Why?  It is also in the middle of these two accounts of Jesus' anger that we have the shortest verse in the bible, "Jesus wept."

Generally, when we think about Jesus being angry we think about the "cleansing of the temple."  In this case, His friend Lazarus had died and it was a response to his sister Mary crying and the Jews coming with her crying.  In both verses that describe Jesus' emotion of anger, it also describes how he kept that anger within Himself.  His anger was not apparent to those around him.  In fact, what others saw was Jesus weeping.

But why was he mad?  John doesn't give any commentary on this.  He only states it as a fact.  I believe He was angry at sin and death!  He never created man to sin and He never desired for us to taste the ugliness of death.  Death was a result to sin.  Death was the enemy Jesus came to destroy!  He destroyed death through His resurrection, but when He encountered it in His lifetime, it made him angry.

Death was not a part of God's original plan.  Jesus came to give life!

Jn10

Anyone who claims that Jesus did not claim to be God has never read the bible!  If Jesus is not God, then He is a liar and no one should follow any of His words.  Since He is who He claimed to be, we are fools to not obey His commands!

Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice and they follow me."  Are we hearing and following the voice of Jesus today?