Category Archives: Devotions

Reflections on John 18:25-40: Who Is Your King?

Posted on by
Reply

During His arrest and trial, Jesus could have fought back. He had all the power and position to do that. He was innocent and without sin. He was and still is KING!

As Jesus stood before Pilate, the Roman governor, Pilate wanted to know what charges Jesus had against Him. The leaders simply said that they wouldn’t bring Him to Pilate if He wasn’t a criminal. They wanted the permission only granted by the Romans to execute Jesus. Pilate then stands face to face with Jesus and he asks Jesus a profound question, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

Pilate stood as many of us stand today, uncertain of what to do with Jesus. If Jesus is who He claims to be, that requires a response on our part. It required a response on Pilate’s part. No one comes in contact with Jesus without having to make a decision. The decision is whether or not to accept His kingship. Since Jesus is King (Sovereign, Supreme Authority), we encounter Him as King just as Pilate did, this is where the decision is made. Whose King is He? We can know He is a King. We can know He is over all. But do we live with Him as our own King? As ruler of all of our lives? Exactly who is Jesus king over?

Pilate rejected Jesus’s kingship. Pilate missed His face to face opportunity to finally know the truth, God. Do we reject that same opportunity given to us when we come to the question above?

Exactly who is Jesus King over? Is He King over you?

Reflections on John 18:1-23: I Am He

Posted on by
Reply

This chapter records the beginning of the events that led up to Jesus’ crucifixion. When the soldiers came to arrest Him and they told Jesus who they were looking for, “Jesus of Nazareth”, Jesus spoke the words, “I am He.” John records the reaction of the soldiers. “They drew back and fell to the ground.” Why would they react in such a way? They were men carrying weapons who had come with authority and power.

The soldiers had come in contact with the King of Heaven, who had ultimate power and ultimate authority. His words were spoken centuries before when He told Moses, “I AM has sent me to you.” (Exodus 3:14) It was understood by the Jews of Jesus time that God was “The Great I Am.” Jesus spoke the same declaration, “I Am.” When encountered with Jesus’ words declaring Himself God, they “fell to the ground” at the power of Jesus’ words.

Jesus could have stopped the events to follow at any time. His words were powerful enough to cause big burly soldiers to fall down. BUT He did not stop what would happen. He was determined to follow through with total submission and total obedience to His Father’s will knowing exactly what He would suffer.

What love! And What an example to us who desire to follow Him with all our hearts! May we follow Him with total submission and total obedience to His will and His plan for our lives as well!

Reflections on John 17:13-26: That They All May be One

Posted on by
Reply

We really don’t know what it means to live in unity, oneness. Back in the garden when Adam and Eve sinned, separation became all we knew and still is all we know. Sin separates us from God and others. Death separates us from loved ones. We live our lives very familiar with being separated from the ones we were meant to be in unity/ oneness with here and now. It may be physical separation, emotional separation, or spiritual separation. We know nothing but separation, but Jesus came to end separation.

In this section of scripture, Jesus is praying to the Father and speaks of something that as a sinful human being seems impossible, even scandalous to believe.

“that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” John 17:21 ESV

Jesus speaks of Himself being one with the Father and being “in” Him. Then He prays that we are in them, the Father and the Son. We are invited into a life where separation from God is no more. We are invited to participate in His nature and to be His representative here on earth. We are invited to such closeness to God that we are one with Him: Having His mind, the mind of Christ, Having His Spirit, the Holy Spirit connecting us to Him. It is all about relationship with God, which is fellowship or friendship.

We settle for far less than we were intended to have by living after ourselves (our flesh) and not God. We want our own ways and to follow our own paths. YET We have the greatest invitation of all, to be united in oneness with God and to go with Him.

Jesus longs for us to be in Him and to experience Him fully. May our hearts cry be the same!

Reflections on John 17:1-12 : To Know God

Posted on by
Reply 
“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”John 17:3 ESV

Jesus tells us what eternal life is. It is to know the Father and the Son! Jesus came to reveal the Father to us so we are able to know Him. Our job is to accept what Jesus said, to know He came from God He is His God’s Son, and believe it. We are to hope with confidence and expect Him to do what what He said He would do save us from our sins and enable us to walk in relationship with Him.

It is an easy thing to know “about” Jesus. Many have spoken words whether truth or not about Him. Knowing “about” Jesus does not make us a Christian- one who is in relationship with Jesus, one of God’s children.

We cannot ride along on the coattails of our parents or grandparents relationship with God either. They may have known Jesus when they were living or know Him now and experience Him in their lives. That is their relationship with God. Each person must have their own. To be in relationship with God, you must “know” Jesus. You must be intimately acquainted with Him.

The past month we have explored all the awesome deeds Jesus did as recorded in the book of John. We have seen how He has revealed to us what our Heavenly Father is like. The question now lingers… what holds me back from truly knowing God and experiencing His eternal life?

Jesus has provided all we need to “know” Him and the Father. May we take what He has given and hunger to know Him more and more each day!

Reflections on John 16:16-33: Never Separated Again!

Posted on by
Reply

Separation is hard. It can often be unbearable. Jesus is trying to prepare His disciples for the coming separation they will experience from Him. He tells them of the sorrow they will feel when He dies and then how all that sorrow will be erased when they see Him again when He resurrects from the grave.

“When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” John 16:21-22 ESV

For those of us who are women, we know how painful it is to go through childbirth. But all is forgotten when we hold the precious newborn. It was painful for the disciples to go though seeing Jesus beaten and crucified. But all that was only a memory after encountering the glory of the risen Lord!!!

This gives me hope in another area of my life as well. There is great sadness in losing someone you love in death. BUT all that will be erased when we are once again united in Heaven! Never to be separated again.

The joy of a mother holding a new born baby, the joy of seeing The Risen Savior, the joy of being reunited with the ones we have been separated from by death… that is what Jesus wants us to experience. That is why He has overcome the world!

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”” John 16:33 ESV

Reflections on John 16:1-15: Our Helper Declares

Posted on by
Reply

We settle for far less than what the Father has given to us. We live like paupers when we are children of the King! We are offered intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father through the presence of the Holy Spirit inside of us, but do we truly experience that relationship?

Jesus once again tells us about our Helper, the Holy Spirit. He says something that would seem so odd to a group of disciples that had walked with Jesus, talked to Him face to face, touched Him in warm embraces, been His friends. However, Jesus tells them and He also tells us: 

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” John 16:7 ESV

It is to our advantage that Jesus is not physically walking the earth, but instead the Holy Spirit is here inside of us! Jesus goes on to tell us more about what the Holy Spirit does for us.

“All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” John 16:15 ESV

Everything the Father has is Jesus’s, and the Holy Spirit will take what is Jesus’s and declare it to us. What Jesus received from the Father is made known to us by the Holy Spirit. In other words, we can KNOW and EXPERIENCE God!

Our time in prayer is an invitation to sit with God in conversation, not a formulated script or a few words we repeat at certain times of the day. Our time in prayer can be never ending as we walk and talk with our Heavenly Father experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit ALL DAY LONG! We have an ever present Helper living in us who desires for us to know an Intimate relationship with our God not a surface one. Our God is awesome!

Reflections on John 15:18-27: The Helper in the World that Hates

Posted on by
Reply

In this section of scriptures, Jesus teaches His disciples about how the world, the carnal state or corruption of the earth… evil, hates Him. As His disciples, we are to come out of that corruption. He chose us! He pulled us out of its grip. When we agree with Jesus and do as He does, the world will hate us. They won’t want to see us walking free from sin, because they do not want to be free from their sin. The light in us, God’s light, exposes the darkness for what it is… empty and vain. We are not left alone to stand against the evil of the world.

Here is where Jesus gives us a precious promise:

““But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.” John 15:26-27 ESV

The Holy Spirit is our Helper. He is the Spirit of truth. He helps us to bear witness to the truth. We can rely on Him to help us in persecution and hatred that may come against us. Remember, the world hated Jesus it did not know Him intimately. It continues to hate Him now because it still does not know Him. But we have our Helper so we can tell the World about Him so they may know Him too!

Reflections on John 15:1-17: Apart From Me You Can Do Nothing

Posted on by
Reply 
“…apart from me you can do nothing”—Jesus

Do I really live like I believe what He said?

In this section of scripture (John 15:1-17), Jesus compared us to a branch that hangs down off a vine. That vine provides the very life flow of nutrients to the branch. The branch’s responsibility is to receive what is given to it and to bear fruit by staying connected to the vine. The branch has to stay connected, “remain in the vine.”

I have lived as a rebellious vine more than once. I was convinced that I could do things my own way, live without seeking to absorb the Vine’s nutrients- His living water, His Word (The Bible). I have thought I was ok disconnected and on my own. Living for me…

The truth is NO BRANCH prospers when it is disconnected from the VINE! You and I are the Branches. Jesus is the Vine! May we examine ourselves today. Are we trying to live our lives without being fully connected to Jesus? Do we come to Him in prayer and search for Him in His Word knowing it is THE VERY LIFE OF GOD that flows into us if we only open ourselves to it’s flow? Jesus spoke words that are soooo true, do we hear them? “…apart from Me you can do nothing!”

If life seems to be far from His peace, His joy, and His love, check your connection. He longs for us to be closely connected to Him for our good and His glory!

Reflections on John 14:15-31: Knowing the Holy Spirit

Posted on by
Reply 
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 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.” John 14:16-17 ESV

Never underestimate the value of having relationship with the Holy Spirit. He is our Helper, the Spirit of Truth, our Teacher, and so much more. He is with us forever.

““These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 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.” John 14:25-26 ESV

Jesus says we will know the Holy Spirit. To know is to “take, receive or hold” or “to not be a stranger with or to be familiar with.” Knowing the Holy Spirit is be intimate with Him. The Holy Spirit desires to be relational with us or to put it simply in relationship with us. We can talk to Him in prayer, and He loves to speak to us. We can ask Him for help to understand God’s truth. He longs to teach us God’s ways if we only listen to His still small voice. He continually draws us in closer and closer to Jesus and the Father.

Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you every time you open the scripture (the Bible) and begin to read. He will! Ask the Holy Spirit to give you power to live as God designed for you to live. He will! Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you to overflowing with Himself. He will!

Reflections on John 14:1-15: Greater Works Than These…Doing the Stuff!

Posted on by
Reply

This section of scripture is the explanation of why I believe it is so important to immerse myself in “knowing” Jesus. I want to know Him with not only a head knowledge but intimately.

We were created to know God or to walk and talk with Him in intimate relationship. Jesus tells us that He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. He says that the Father does His works through Jesus. Knowing Jesus is knowing the Father.

When we read the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), we are reading the accounts of what Jesus did while here on earth over 2000 years ago. All His works were incredible! Jesus healed the sick, cast out demons, forgave those trapped in sin, etc. He displayed the Father’s great love! Jesus is still at work in and through our lives! He did not stop!

We have this precious promise;

““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. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” John 14:12-14 ESV

Jesus in us, through the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is the assurance that we continue His work here and now! In fact, He promises us “greater works”.

John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard Churches, read the same accounts we have been reading in the gospels, as a young believer during the time of the Jesus Movement in the 60’s. He asked a pastor after attending church, “So when do we do the stuff?… You know, the stuff in the Bible, like healing the sick and casting out demons. The stuff!”

May we know Him more so we “Do the stuff” that Jesus did and still does in our day and time through the power of the Holy Spirit living in us! All this to bring glory to our Loving Heavenly Father. May we know Him and make Him known!