Friendship with Christ

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another” (John 15: 12-17).

Right after He exhorted His disciples to stay closely connected Him, like a branch that bears healthy fruit by being deeply rooted in a vine, Jesus commanded them to stay connected to each other. He taught that the glue that would hold them together was love. But it was not any ordinary kind of love. They were to… “Love one another as I have loved you”. The love that binds disciples together, empowers them to bear abiding spiritual fruit, and guarantees an answer to their prayers is a special kind of love. Jesus described two unique characteristics of this precious, powerful love. He said it is the love of friends and it requires sacrifice. Then, Jesus welcomed these obedient disciples into an intimate and profound friendship with Christ.

Wow! Don’t you wish you were there? How cool would it be to see Jesus open His arms and call you His friend? He is the same today…  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). His invitation to friendship is the same today. Talk about having friends in high places! Consider the benefits of having well connected friends. How often have you seen that getting that special job, joining that unique club, or even just being accepted by others is all about who you know? Jesus calls followers to become disciples, and one of the primary blessings of maturing discipleship is becoming His friend! But today, our Teacher, the Holy Spirit highlights for truth seekers the requirement and responsibility of true friendship with Christ.

Jesus is clear about the requirement for friendship with Him… “You are my friends if you do what I command you”. The friends of Christ love and obey His commandments. They earnestly seek His voice and hunger for the truth of His word. The friends of Christ have a heart that is fallow ground, eager to receive His truth like an implanted seed because they have experienced the blessed fruit that it produces… “Therefore… receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21). This is not a new thing. Jesus had recently taught His disciples about the relationship between keeping His word and intimacy with Him… “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love” (John 15:10).

Jesus is equally clear about the responsibility of friendship with Him. Just before He said… “You are my friends” He said a real friend is willing to… “Lay down his life for His friends”. The primary responsibility of friendship with Christ is a willingness to lay down our lives for Him. The Greek word translated “lay down” here is tithēmi and it means give up, place in a lowly posture, set aside, ordain to, or appoint to a particular task or purpose. Jesus called His friends to surrender their lives and to live for Him. He called His friends to imitate Him by dying to self and living for Him… “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25). Then He used the same word, translated “appointed” here as He called His friends to humbly live for and love each other in the same way. John remembered and reminded disciples of this responsibility in His letter to the church… “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:11-12).

As we grow up into Christ obeying His word, living for Him, and loving others, we’ll enjoy a growing…

Friendship with Christ.

Proof of Our Discipleship

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15: 4-11).

Jesus used the illustration of a branch and a vine to describe the kind of relationship he wanted His disciples to experience after His physical departure from this earth. Jesus wants maturing disciples to bear much fruit, glorify God, abide in His love, and be full of joy. This is a tall order considering the stresses and trials of this temporal world, yet Jesus calls us to experience and nurture the kind of Christ-filled life that presents undeniable proof of our discipleship.

One of the primary lessons I learned in the course of my doctoral studies was the value of self-reflecting. When I was first introduced to the practice of self-reflecting I was resistant. After all, I was a disciple of Jesus Christ and I believed my focus should always be on Him and never on myself. By the end of this precious learning experience I had produced a 211 page self-reflecting dissertation that helped me better understand servant leadership, how others perceived me as a servant leader, and most important, how close I actually came to my goal of daily reflecting the servant leadership of Jesus Christ to others. Jesus calls us to some self- reflecting today. How would we honestly describe our attitude in recent days? Who has been getting the recognition and acknowledgement for our achievements recently? Where do we go to get affirmation, acceptance, and love? How would we describe our emotional state through the most recent trials of life? Would Jesus be able say with confidence that we “prove to be my disciples”?

Whenever Jesus issued a command, like He does today with the words… “Abide in me, and I in you” He always gives clear instructions for us to follow in order to obey. Today is no different. Just as the fruit born by a branch is the result of dependence on nourishment delivered through a vine, so to the fruit-bearing and God glorifying life of true disciples is dependent on nourishment delivered through Christ. Our responsibility is nurturing and maintaining a healthy connection to Christ. Jesus called this abiding in Him and he taught that it comes through two important spiritual disciplines.

First, we must let His word abide in us. He repeats a pervious command here… “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples” (John 8:31). The Greek word translated abide here is menō and it means to tarry, stay, remain, continue, dwell, and endure. You see, we are tempted to listen to the word in church or at Bible study, but then to live according to the empty words of the world the rest of the week. Proven disciples live in God’s word. It shapes our worldview and is our final authority, and it is undeniable proof that Jesus Christ is our Master.

Second, we must abide in the love of Christ. We all desperately want to be loved. We long for the love and acceptance of parents, family, friends, and others. But the imperfect love of imperfect people is bound to let us down from time to time and often leads us away from the love of Christ. Earnest disciples have one heart-consuming, first love… “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). Jesus said when our heart, soul, mind, and strength are consumed by His love we will obey His commandments and prove to the world that we are His disciples.

As we grow up into Christ and learn to abide in Him, He works in us to develop undeniable…

Proof of Our Discipleship.

Firmly Rooted in Christ

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you” (John 15: 1-3).

Jesus prepared His disciples for His departure with an admonition to love Him and obey His word. He prepared His disciples for life in this temporal world with the promise of the Holy Spirit to remind and teach them from His word. Today we read about how Jesus prepared His disciples for the kingdom-building work they were to begin upon His departure. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, John the Evangelist recorded Jesus’ words to teach disciples in every age how to be part of God’s kingdom-building work. We note that Jesus did not give them a blueprint for building the Church. He did not give them a four spiritual laws plan of evangelism, a ten step process for becoming a disciple, or a twelve step program for overcoming the temptations of the world. The first step in being connected to the work of God is to be firmly rooted in Christ.

When you wake up in the morning, what is it that occupies your thoughts? When you lay your head on the pillow at night what is the pressing emotion in your heart? These two quiet times of the day are good places to reflect and discern what consumes your attention, controls your behavior, and has captured the focus of your heart. Whatever is in control at these two quiet times of the day certainly exercises even more influence on you in the much busier times of the day. If you are willing, do a little inventory of your heart and mind at the beginning and end of the day. If you discover that anything else besides Jesus Christ is in control there, take action. It’s not hard to empty your heart of distractions and reinstall Jesus on the throne where He belongs. Then you’ll be securely reconnected to Him and ready to discern and pursue His perfect will and be part of His kingdom-building work every day.

Jesus knows that with the relentless hostility of the adversary and the business of the world pressing against disciples, it is too easy to lose our focus on Him. He invites us to consider where our roots are. His Spirit resides in our hearts… “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Galatians 4:6). But the cares and concerns of everyday life reside there too… “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23). Every day we are tempted to place our roots, to seek affirmation, fulfillment, peace, and more from the things of this world. Jesus taught that he Father wants us to be rooted in nothing else besides Christ… “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up” (Matthew 15:13). The Teacher affirms this truth through the pen of the apostle Paul… “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:6-7).

In today’s text Jesus taught that if we are rooted in Him we will bear fruit. If we begin and end our day with anxiety, anger, doubt, fear, or some other negative emotion, then we are not rooted in Christ and we will not bear fruit. In fact, if this sickened heart condition continues, we will die spiritually, because we are cut off from Christ. But if we refocus our heart and mind on Him, we begin to wake up in peace beyond our circumstances and faith beyond our trials. We begin and end the day filled to overflowing with the fruit of the Spirit… “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). Jesus promised that His Father will prune (Greek: kathairō; cleanse, purge, expiate) disciples who stay rooted in His Son so that we might bear even more fruit, and thus be part of advancing His kingdom here on the earth. The Jesus added the important truth that it’s His word that cleanses or prunes our rooted-in-Christ hearts… “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word” (Psalm 119:9).

As we grow up into Christ planted in Him and His word pruning our heart, we bear fruit as we stay…

Firmly rooted in Christ.

No Room for Trouble in a Faith-Filled Heart

“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. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here” (John 14: 25-31).

The work of the Son of Man on the earth was nearly completed. A major part of the divine plan was gathering and preparing the apostles who would become the foundation of His Church… “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:19-22). He lived with them, taught them, sent them, prayed for them, and now He prepared them to build His Kingdom in a hostile world… “For the ruler of this world is coming”. They were to live for and advance the Kingdom of God in the face of relentless opposition from the adversary, Satan, whom the unbelieving world blindly followed as its ruler… “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). Jesus wanted them to have peace in the midst of the coming trouble. It would not be easy. It would be costly. It would require a determined and maturing faith because there is no room for trouble in a faith-filled heart.

All true disciples, earnestly seeking to live for and advance the Kingdom have experienced the opposition of the adversary either directly, through his spiritual armies of fallen angels and demons, or through people who either intentionally or unintentionally follow his lead. He could not touch the perfect Son of God… “He has no claim on me” but he is relentless in his harassment of Christ’s disciples… “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Today Jesus encourages His disciples with truth that will give us victory over the enemy and success in advancing the Kingdom of God in this rebellious world.

First, Jesus calls us to remember and trust the words He has spoken to us while He was with us. Jesus calls us here to a regular, devoted, sacred time in His presence and word. In the daily sacred place Jesus speaks to our hearts through the written word of God and He prepares our spirits for the trials that are coming… “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him” (Proverbs 30:5). Without daily meeting with Jesus and immersing ourselves in His word, we are vulnerable and exposed to the enemies of His Kingdom.

Next, Jesus promised the Holy Spirit will… “Teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you”. Notice how the Holy Spirit works. He teaches us by revealing the truth of the words Jesus has spoken into our hearts… “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak” (John 16:13). Christ’s words produce faith… “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). If we do not fill our hearts with God’s word, the Holy Spirit has nothing to work with. He does not speak on His own. He interprets God’s word and seals its truth into our hearts. As He fills our hearts with growing faith, He replaces the trouble produced by a troubled world with the peace of God which is not of this world… “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).

As we grow up into Christ our daily time with Him and His word strengthens our faith and we learn there is…

No room for trouble in a faith-filled heart.

His Abiding Presence

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me” (John 14: 18-24).

Behold the depth of this marvelous promise! Jesus promised that He would not leave His disciples as orphans when He returned to the Father. He affirmed two indispensable truths here. First, by using the term “orphans” He reaffirmed the salvation of His disciples and the precious relationship they had with Him… “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13). Second, He promised them a very real and personal presence that would comfort, encourage, and keep them in the trying days that were to come and give them hope beyond the trials of this temporary life… “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God” (Galatians 4:6-7). But the promise was for those who truly loved Him. For any who might be unsure, Jesus offered a clear measure of love for Him… “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word”. For those who are compelled by the love of Christ to keep His word, Jesus promises His abiding presence.

If we’re honest we’ve all had moments when we feel so alone it feels like God has forsaken us. Like David, we may occasionally feel abandoned by God… “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Psalm 13:1). While true disciples may sometimes feel God has deserted them, we know in truth that He is always near… “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). What might be going on in times like these? It could be that our focus has become misdirected. It may be that we’ve become subtly absorbed by something other than Jesus and His word.

The word used by Jesus and translated “keep” here is tēreō and it means to guard, hold fast, keep, preserve, and watch over. The implication is that if we really Love Jesus, we will cherish His word in our hearts. We will long for it. We will prize it above all other words. If we love Jesus more than anything or anyone else we will have a hunger in our hearts that can be satisfied by nothing other than His word… “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). If we truly love Jesus we will value God’s word above the foolishness of the world’s words, traditions, and philosophies… “For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, ‘He catches the wise in their craftiness,’ and again, ‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile’” (1 Corinthians 3:19-20). If we love Jesus more than anything else, His word will be our rule for living and the authority for every decision… “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). If we truly love Jesus more than anything else, we will prize and pass His word on to our children like the indispensable family treasure we believe it to be… “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7). In the eyes of our Savior devotion to His word is a direct reflection of our devotion to Him.

As we grow up into Christ our maturing devotion to Him and His word increases our awareness of…

His abiding presence.

The Comfort and Power of the Helper

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 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: 15-17).

Jesus knew it would be difficult to love and obey Him in this rebellious world, especially when He went home to His Father. He promised His disciples a “Helper” that would actually live in them. The Greek word translated “Helper” here is paraklētos and it means intercessor, consoler, advocate, and comforter. But Jesus presented a condition for His disciples if they wanted to experience the full blessing of the Helper in their lives. Jesus taught that the fullness of the Helper, the Holy Spirit, was theirs if they loved Him and kept His commandments… “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper”. The Holy Spirit is a very personal and precious part of the Trinity. He is the person of God that actually… “Dwells with you and will be in you”. The Spirit inspired Paul to teach that the home of the Helper is our heart… “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Galatians 4:6). Unless our hearts are fully committed to loving and obeying Christ, there is no room within for the comfort and power of the Helper.

Where is it that you need comfort today? Are you facing a trial so overwhelming you just wish somebody else knew what you were going through? Do you need someone to advocate or act on your behalf? Do you need someone to intercede or to speak for you? All Christ followers and disciples have moments like these. If we look to the Holy Spirit during our trials we will find comfort, encouragement and so much more. Jesus promises today that the Helper, whom He called the Spirit of truth, will also show us the truth about the people and circumstances we are facing. He will enable and empower us to love Jesus and obey His commandments through trials like these, and as we do, Christ gets all the glory.

 Jesus promised to send the Helper to enable and empower His disciples to set their hearts on the goal of loving and obeying Him… “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). Jesus further identified the Helper as “The Spirit of truth”. Every decision to love and obey Christ is a choice between believing truth or deception, and the Holy Spirit leads us into truth… “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come” (John 16:13). Even more, the Spirit glorifies the Son as He interprets and reveals the truth God has inscribed in His word… “He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:14).

Hence, truth is the connection Jesus makes between loving Him and experiencing the full indwelling of the Holy Spirit. He says if we love His truth more than anything else, His Spirit will reveal His truth to us. The Spirit inspired Paul to prophecy that in the last days many would succumb to the deception of antichrist and perish because they do not love the truth… “The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12). Jesus wants our love for Him to grow even through the trials of this difficult earthly life. He wants us to know and seek His truth in every situation, so He has given His children the Helper to empower and enable us to abide in the Father through any trial... “Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us” (1 John 3:24).

As we grow up into Christ, loving Him and His truth and obeying His commandments, we enjoy…

The comfort and power of the Helper.

Knowing the Father Requires Knowing the Son

“If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. “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: 7-14).

Jesus was a master of didactic learning. His answers to questions often led the student to learn more by asking more questions. Jesus described and invited His disciples to enter the most peaceful and powerful place that existed, the very presence of God. He gave them directions to this wonderful place… “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). He added a very important truth about finding the way to the Father. It was through knowing the Son. Philip asked for a short cut. Instead of making the investment to know the Son, Philip asked Jesus to simply… “Show us the Father”. Jesus responded with a question that revealed that aside from knowing Him, there are no shortcuts into the presence of the Father… “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me?” Jesus taught clearly that knowing the Father requires knowing the Son.

How long have you been a Christian? Would you consider yourself a Christ follower or a disciple? Would you describe your walk with Christ as maturing, or stagnant? Are there evidences in your life that you know the Father better today than in the recent or distant past? If we accept the truth that we are on a journey through this temporal life toward a final destination of eternity with the Father, then we should see progress toward increased understanding and communion with God in our lives. In His conversation with Philip Jesus revealed precious truth for disciples that want to move on to increasing levels of intimacy and knowledge of God.

First, Jesus taught that knowing the Father requires knowing the Son. The word knowing is very important here. The Greek word translated know here is ginōskō. Its meaning includes be absolutely aware of, be sure of, understand. It means much more than being acquainted with something or someone. To be sure or certain of someone, or to truly understand someone requires the investment of time, attention, and listening in order to discover what is important to them, what makes them happy, sad, pleased, or angry. This is the way a husband is supposed to know his wife. In today’s text Jesus taught that to know Him required two steps.

Jesus taught His disciples that to know Him and in turn, to know the Father, they must listen closely to His words… “The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority”. The words He spoke were the Father’s words. He exhorted disciples to search the Father’s word diligently to get to know the Son… “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39). He also taught the disciples that to know Him and His Father they should be doing the Father’s work… “The Father who dwells in me does his works”. He exhorted them to pursue the Father’s work because it confirmed the divinity of the Son… “The works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me” (John 5:36). To know the Son and experience intimacy with the Father, we must be immersed in the word and work of God.

As we grow up into Christ we study His word and pursue His work to know Him better because…

Knowing the Father Requires Knowing the Son.

The Place of Perfect Peace

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14: 1-6).

Jesus issued some tough orders to His disciples from time to time. He commanded them to love one another, love their enemies, pursue holiness, and much more. But this command… “Let not your hearts be troubled” may be one of the toughest to obey. It seems as long as we live as imperfect disciples in this inhospitable and hostile world, there is increasing trouble on every side. Our Comforter, the Holy Spirit, assures us that Jesus is aware of the trouble that will come to His New Testament children of promise (see Galatians 4:28) on their journey to their land of promise (see Hebrews 13:14). He amended His command with an exhortation and a promise. He exhorted His disciples to replace doubt with increasing faith in God and to closely follow Him toward deeper intimacy with His Father, where He promised they would enjoy a place personally prepared for them, the place of perfect peace.

What troubles your heart today? What consumes your thoughts? What is draining away your energy and stealing your joy? While it may be very real and overwhelming to you, it is not outside of the attention of God. Your trouble may be caused by the hurtful or neglectful actions of others. It may be the result of words you’ve misspoken or things you’ve done that you long to take back. Your trouble may be the result of misunderstanding, outstanding offenses, the evil motivations of others, or it may be the work of the Adversary himself. Your trouble may simply be the result of trying to live righteously in an unrighteous world. The odds are what’s troubling your heart today is outside of your control, for if you could only do something about it, you would achieve some measure of peace. The disciples were troubled by Jesus’ prediction of His soon departure. He offered comfort for their troubled hearts. He told them of a place of perfect peace and He showed them exactly how to get there.

The first step in replacing trouble with rest in the heart is to “Believe in God”. That is to evaluate the cause and search the scriptures to discover and apply God’s truth to the root of the problem… “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:11-12). The next step is draw closer to Jesus… “I am the way, and the truth, and the life”.

Jesus is the way to victory over anything that might trouble your heart… “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). Jesus offers the truth that can set you free from what’s troubling you… “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). Jesus promises the life that is abundant and free from the controlling trouble of the enemy and of this temporal world… “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).

In short, Jesus promised a final destination, a place free of trouble and filled with peace. But I also believe He was offering His disciples a mobile, always near place of comfort, rest, and peace during their journey through this temporal life. Just like Moses pointed Old Testament children of promise to the wilderness tabernacle, Jesus points us New Testament children of promise to a place of peace in times of trouble. The best thing about the wilderness tabernacle was the presence and glory of God. In the same way, Jesus promises to meet us and to tabernacle with us when we turn to Him in our times of trouble… “Where I am you may be also”.

As we grow up into Christ we learn to allow trouble to drive us closer to Jesus and…

The Place of Perfect Peace.

Lay it All Down

Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times” (John 13: 36-38).

Jesus just explained that He was about to glorify His Father… “When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him’” (John 13:31). He was going to the cross, the grave, and beyond and no one could come with Him now… “Where I am going you cannot come” (John 13:33). But He gave a clue that His disciples might follow Him later. Jesus invited His disciples to follow Him along the way to where He was going via the pathway of sacrificial love… “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:34). Peter was the first disciple touched by this important truth. His declaration revealed a deep desire to imitate Christ’s sacrificial love… “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you” (John 13:37). Jesus’ response is full of revelation about the nature of sacrificial love and the call for His disciples to learn to lay it all down.

The Christian life can be described in many ways. We are becoming like Christ, we are living for Jesus, and we are answering the question, what would Jesus do? In all if these descriptions there is a golden thread. There is the call to an exchange. It is a call to the exchange of lives. We are to exchange our life for His life. The Holy Spirit teaches that what makes Christianity unique is the mystery of Christ living in us… “To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).Christ calls us to surrender our life and let Him live His life in and through us.

Jesus taught that to truly follow Him, Peter would have to make a great exchange. As we mature as disciples, we are to surrender our life to make room for the life of Christ to fill us… “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25). Christ revealed to Peter that he was not there yet. He was not ready to place Christ above everything else in his life. Christ’s revelation to Peter is a sobering challenge to those of us who would be growing disciples today. Are there areas of our lives that are more important than Christ? Are there people, places, and things that we cling to and control rather than trust to Christ? Are there places in our hearts that consume our love more than Christ? Do we still have some not thy will but my will be done strongholds in our lives?

The good news is that Peter matured as a disciple and one day He did make the great exchange of his life for Christ’s life and he did follow Him completely… “’Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.’ (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, ’Follow me’” (John 21:18-19). Peter gave a clear testimony that he had let go of his life and accepted the life and death Christ planned for him as an encouragement for disciples to follow him as he followed Christ… “I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me” (2 Peter 1:13-14).

Where do you need to make an exchange today? Do you have to let go of family... “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37). Do you have to lay down a church, a ministry or a job... “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:22-23). Jesus called Peter and He calls us to radical discipleship today. He exhorts us to lay our lives down at His cross. There is no better place make the great exchange!

As we grow up into Christ we overflow with His abundant life when we come to the cross to…

Lay it All Down.

Marked by the Radical Love of Christ

Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13: 33-35).

The Father and His Son were about to be glorified. He was pointing to Calvary but His disciples did not yet grasp the full meaning of the cross. He described their growing but immature understanding by calling them “little children”. Jesus encouraged the disciples to be steadfast in seeking Him after He was gone physically. He urged them to earnestly seek the truth behind the cross. He told them they could not hope to go with Him to the cross, but in the truth of the cross they would discover a way they could imitate Him. He gave them a new commandment, to love one another. But He added depth to the meaning of love by calling them to love one another “just as I have loved you”. Although Jesus had revealed glimpses of this kind of love, its fullest revelation would come in Calvary’s cross. He had not fully revealed this peculiar kind of love yet, but very soon Jesus would demonstrate and call His disciples to imitate a love so profound the world would notice. The Savior promised that as earnest disciples seek after Him and embrace His truth they will discover a love worth sharing with each other, and they will be forever marked by the radical love of Christ.

Do others know you are a disciple of Christ? How do they know? Is it because you go to church, Bible study, or fellowship with other Christians? To be honest, both Christ followers and disciples do these things and they are indistinguishable by such activities. Remember, Jesus did not call us to make followers. He called us to make disciples… “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Remember too, Jesus challenged followers to become disciples by being immersed in His word and by embracing His truth… “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’” (John 8:31-32). In today’s text Jesus teaches that real disciples love one another in the same way that He loved them. Our Teacher leads us to truth that challenges us to ask the self-reflective question, am I a follower or a real disciple of Christ? The Spirit of Truth compels us to ask, am I reflecting the kind of love that identifies me to others as Christ’s disciple? Finally, what kind of love marks us as Christ’s disciples?

God does not keep His love hidden from the world. He actually came into His world to show us His love… “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9). So for a real disciple love is not just a personal thing. A disciple is always eager to show the love of God to others. We believe the world must see the love of God in order to see God… “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:12). Christ’s true disciples are known for their eagerness to show the world His love, much more than for their church attendance, preaching, or witnessing. How then do we show the kind of love that reveals Christ to the world and marks us as His disciples?

Jesus is the best example of God’s radical love. God’s radical love is the reason the Word became flesh and dwelt among us… “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The clearest demonstration of God’s radical love came at the cross… “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). True disciples are compelled by God’s radical love consuming their hearts to die to self and live for Him… “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died;  and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). God’s radical love takes over our hearts and moves us to love others more than ourselves.

As we grow up into Christ His radical love compels us to love one another radically as we are…

Marked by the Radical Love of Christ.

God Gets All the Glory All the Time

When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once (John 13: 31-32).

Jesus pronounced the initiation of the sequence of events that began with betrayal and ended in glory. Jesus makes it clear in today’s text that His chief aim was to glorify God. He does not talk about the frightful details of the approaching crucifixion. He does not discuss the emotional stress that is consuming His heart. His focus is on glorifying God through the impending events that lead to the cross and beyond. He used the title Son of Man to show that God was to be glorified in every part of His passion, from the betrayal that was taking place right now through the resurrection that was to come. He taught that the goal of the Son was the same as the goal of the Father, and that goal was to glorify God. In these two brief sentences Jesus revealed important truth about the glory of God and He taught His disciples that no matter what we’re going through God gets all the glory all the time.

The Holy Spirit inspired John to record the words of Christ very carefully. He wants disciples like you and me to understand that our primary goal as we journey through this temporal world toward our permanent home in heaven should be the same as His. Disciples of Christ should live and die for the glory of God. Too often we fall prey to the deception that God only gets glory in the great victories of life. We often believe the lie that if we fail or if things go wrong, we must be sinning and God is not pleased with us. How could God be part of something that is less than perfect? We often judge the amount of glory God gets by the measure of our success. A bigger church or ministry must give more glory to God than a smaller or struggling one. Doesn’t God get more glory from a healing miracle than from a lifetime struggle with disease or the apparent victory of death? When Jesus said… “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him” He challenged His disciples to grasp the truth that God’s glory was soon to be revealed in betrayal, humiliation, abuse, and crucifixion as well as in the resurrection. And He was preparing His disciples to glorify God in their own lives as they endured similar trials and victories.

How do we successfully glorify God in everything we do? We begin by trusting in the sovereignty of God. Jesus showed that God was in control of the betrayal by Judas. He identified the betrayer and commissioned Him with an offer of bread… “Jesus answered, ‘It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.’ So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot” (John 13:26). We remember that Jesus used bread as an illustration of His life… “I am the bread of life” (John 6:48). Therefore, in giving a morsel of bread to His betrayer, Jesus made the point that no one was taking His life. Rather, He was freely laying down His life… “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father” (John 10:17-18). Jesus showed that the first step in glorifying God is acknowledging and trusting His authority and sovereignty in every situation. Maturing disciples believe God rules and is at work at all times.

Glorifying God in all things requires surrendering to God’s perfect will. The Son of Man was also the Son of God, who may do whatever He pleases… “Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps” (Psalm 135:6). Jesus showed us in the Garden of Gethsemane how to exchange our will for the will of our Father… “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). He would soon teach His disciples directly that pursuing God’s will and doing God’s work will glorify God… “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do” (John 17:4).

As we grow up into Christ we learn to trust His sovereignty and surrender to His will so that no matter what comes our way…

God Gets All the Glory All the Time.