trying to find His way
“If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) What does it mean to remain (or abide, stay) in Jesus?Jesus adds “and my words remain in you” (v.7) to expand what He means.I think this describes the way an apprentice remains close…
“He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (John 15:2) Jesus describes Himself as God’s vine, and His followers as branches.If there is no evidence of the fruit of the Spirit, the branch is dead.But even…
“If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.” (John 14:28) If Jesus is God, then how can the Father be greater than Jesus?We need to distinguish between God as God is, and God as God relates to us.Essentially God is One, yet…
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.” (John 14:27) Jesus promises a new relationship with God, through Him, by the Spirit.The Spirit of God comes, and in this way the Father and Jesus come.Here again we see the threefold fullness of God – over, with and in us!And the result is restored understanding…
“I don’t care who you are. Atheist or Christian. MAGA or woke. Catholic or Protestant. Republican or Democrat. Trans or cis. Conservative or liberal. Evangelical or progressive. Or anything else you can think of. The world would be a better place if all of us were a drop more gracious than we are right now.”…
“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.” (John 14:21) Christians often stress that they need to obey the Bible.The Bible is filled with thousands of commands – do we obey them all?No Christian obeys them all, and each Christian has their preferred commands.We need to be honest about this pick…
“But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” (John 14:17) The Spirit of God is the personal presence and power of God, with us and in us.God breathed this Spirit in Adam and Eve when they were first created (Genesis 2:7).This was more than just physical breath, it was God’s own…
“I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:13) Reflecting God’s love (Exodus 34:6-7) is how we glorify God.God-like love produces the greatest of all works.As we freely have received God’s love, we freely share it.When we seek to love like this, Jesus is working…
“Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing.” (John 14:12) Jesus came to bring humanity back into its loving relationship with God.This is the ‘where’ that Jesus is going, and ‘where’ He is leading us.God comes to us through Jesus, in order to bring us back to God.When we see Jesus in…
“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:2) The disciples know that trouble is brewing, and they are worried.They are in Jerusalem where the temple, the house of God, is.There are barriers to getting in…