Category: Devotions

As Jesus closed His prayer, His focus expanded past His disciples and spread across time and the globe. Jesus knew these men were going to execute the spread of the message of salvation to all of the known world.  He also knew that the gospel would be timeless and change lives for thousands of years to come.  Still, Jesus was also aware that the spiritual war that raged from the time of Adam and Eve would not relent and would only intensify as the church expanded.

His prayer for the church focused upon mission, on unity, and upon keeping these empowered and safe until His return. Jesus asked the Father to sanctify and empower His chosen just as He was sanctified and empowered. Jesus knew that the equipping of the saints was the critical part of spreading the Gospel. The enemy would not relent. So, as the battle raged, the army would need to have the same wisdom, power, and protection that He was granted.

Separation from the world had always been the goal.  Israel was to be a nation kept holy and separate. They were not separated from the world to destroy the world, but instead to draw the world back into relationship with the Father. Christ’s sacrifice made all believers part of that original mission. Jesus asked the Father to sanctify the believers which means to transform believers into the image of Christ.  As believers, we need to be transformed so we can do what Jesus did. 

He next asked to unify believers. A house divided cannot stand.  Jesus prayed that the enemy would not be able to divide and conquer the chosen. The Church’s darkest hours through the ages have been the times when they were divided. Satan knows that when the people of the world can witness the family of God bickering and fighting among themselves, he does not have to raise a finger to neutralize the spread of the Gospel. That is why God’s call for unity is as relevant today as it was during Jesus’ final prayer.

Finally, Jesus called on the Father to open our eyes to see Him in His glory.  Jesus is not simply a good teacher, a magician, or even a great prophet of God. He is God. We have to see Him in all of His glory so that we can share in that glory and lead others there as well. So, Jesus closes the prayer with the final request that they share in all that Jesus shared with the Father.  

We now enjoy the transformation, the unity, power, and glory held by our Lord. Since we are so equipped, we are called to carry out our mission – the mission to share the truth of Christ with anyone that will listen. We are blessed with His word to teach us all that the disciples were taught and even more.  We have been given the Holy Spirit to guide and comfort us in the battle. Finally, we are a part of God’s glory as was the Lord.  In that glory, we are granted everything He was granted. As we focus on spreading the gospel and ministering to the needs of people, we continue the work of reconciling all things to Him.

God Bless You

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¹³ But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. ¹⁴ I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them ^[d]from ^[e]the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. ¹⁸ As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.

²⁰ “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; ²¹ that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may ^[f]believe that You sent Me.

Their Future Glory

²² The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; ²³ I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected ^[g]in unity, so that the world may ^[h]know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. ²⁴ Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

²⁵ “O righteous Father, ^[i]although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; ²⁶ and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

Jesus’ extreme emotion and love for the Apostles can be felt through the words of this prayer. I sometimes wonder what mix of emotions Jesus felt as He readied these men for the creation and expansion of His church. John gave us a little glimpse into the complexity of emotion when he related the experience of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. We learn there that even though  Jesus fully knew the outcome of that exchange, still he felt the anguish of the sisters, the scorn of the Jewish elite, and the confusion of the Apostles.  John tells us Jesus wept.

Now Jesus was praying for his closest friends. They were chosen from the start. They were a part of every miracle, confrontation, and discussion about the character of God and the coming sacrifice. While they did not always realize it, Jesus was always protecting, preparing, and providing for these men. 

The Lord knew, however, that things were about to change. Once He was crucified, these disciples would have direct access to the Father.  Jesus was now interceding to His Father on their behalf. In effect, Jesus builds the case.  “These guys were yours, Father!” He continues with the words, “You handed them over to me and they have exceeded all expectations.  They listened, they obeyed, and they followed. Most importantly, they stuck it out, with the exception of the son of perdition. So now, Father, I am returning them to you better prepared than I received them.  So, you now must protect, prepare, and provide for them as they directly seek you!” 

What a great reminder of who and Whose we are.  We are called to fully trust and follow the Lord; He, in turn, will do the heavy lifting in preparing us to fulfill our mission.  That process, according to Paul, begins at our receiving Christ and continues until it is completed on the day of our Lord’s return.  (Phil 1:6.)  In addition, Paul promises us that He who calls us is faithful and He will do it! (I Thes 5:24.) We, like Jesus’ first disciples, are held to a simple standard of trusting and following Him.  He will do the rest.  

God Bless You   

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⁶ “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. ⁷ Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; ⁸ for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. ⁹ I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; ¹⁰ and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. ¹¹ I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. ¹² While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the ^[c]son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.

Jesus starts His prayer with the declaration that He is God. Jesus’ authority was established, tested, and now complete.  With complete authority, Jesus was ready to sacrifice it all. So, His first request was simply, “Glorify Me, so that I can glorifyYou!” In short, Jesus was asking the Father that all that they had accomplished not be done in vain.  The coming sacrifice need not be remembered in any other way than God demonstrating His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us! Romans 5:8.  

Jesus had not missed a step, nor had he taken any glory for Himself.  Instead, in His ministry, Jesus was careful to demonstrate God’s true character. He showed God’s deep desire to love people right where they were. God was not concerned with heritage, social standing, or even race, sex, or life circumstance.  Instead, Jesus demonstrated that God healed the sick, lifted the ones that had fallen, cleansed the lepers, freed the demon possessed, and even raised the dead.

Now, Jesus was asking that this mission would not be be marginalized or worse – forgotten. Instead, Jesus prayed that His sacrifice would accomplish the restoration between God and man – the return to the personal relationship the Father had always desired and intended to be in place.  Jesus was asking the Almighty to give people eternal life. There would be no more sacrifices, no more waiting in the arms of Abraham’s bosom. Men would again be able to have direct and eternal access to their creator and Heavenly Father.

What a shame it is for anyone that hears the message of salvation to walk away from God’s gift. The truest expression of God’s loving and selfless nature is this – Jesus became a man, demonstrated the true character of God, and now was laying down His life so that God and men could again walk together. Jesus was calling on God to highlight the truth of the mission.

God Bless You

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Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, ² even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. ³ This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. ⁴ I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. ⁵ Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

⁶ “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. ⁷ Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; ⁸ for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. ⁹ I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; ¹⁰ and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. ¹¹ I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. ¹² While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.

From time immemorial the world has recited the “Lord’s prayer” as a model or a ritual to assure itself it was “praying the right way.”  In truth, the title should be “The Lord’s Template for Prayer”. Jesus intended to teach His disciples early on to consider the following in our prayers: adoration or praise (hallowed be your name), confession  (forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors), and supplication (give us our daily bread, deliver us from evil).

In truth, however, John 17 seems as  though it should be more appropriately named “The Lord’s Prayer”. The closing of the conversation that started in John 13 is the most sincere and heartfelt prayer our Lord publicly prayed to the Father.  It really gripped John as he was recounting the last time the Apostles would be together with the Master prior to His death.  Each word was etched into the memory of this beloved friend of God.  

In the prayer, Christ was clear about His position as God, His focus to successfully and finally complete His mission, His desire to commission His disciples, and finally, His adamant commitment to pass all that He had received from the Father to us.  There were no wasted words or thoughts, because, for Jesus, this  was “zero hour”. 

For the next few days, we will consider this prayer; not as a model to follow, but as a true dying declaration of Christ’s love and commitment to His Father and His chosen.  At the same time, we should also consider our comittment to the journey God has set before us. Then, we can strip away anything in our lives that draws our focus away from God. Like the Messiah, we need to consider ourselves on mission and drawing closer to “zero hour”.

God Bless You

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Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, ² even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to ^[a]all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. ³ This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. ⁴ I glorified You on the earth, ^[b]having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. ⁵ Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

⁶ “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. ⁷ Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; ⁸ for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. ⁹ I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; ¹⁰ and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. ¹¹ I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. ¹² While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the ^[c]son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.

The Disciples in the World

¹³ But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. ¹⁴ I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them ^[d]from ^[e]the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. ¹⁸ As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.

²⁰ “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; ²¹ that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may ^[f]believe that You sent Me.

Their Future Glory

²² The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; ²³ I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected ^[g]in unity, so that the world may ^[h]know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. ²⁴ Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

²⁵ “O righteous Father, ^[i]although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; ²⁶ and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

It was time to wrap up. The night of celebration was closing. As Jesus looked out over the faces of His companions, He did not see bright, cheery graduates ready to go forward with their calling.  Instead, Jesus saw a bunch of men that were sad and confused. After all, Jesus was being celebrated, right? They saw the crowds hailing Him King of the Jews. 

Now, they heard their Messiah tell them He was leaving.  Jesus was talking about grief and abandonment and then sending a helper. None of this celebration rang with good news, or so they thought. Therefore, Jesus leaves His men with two major promises. 

The first promise was that their relationship with God would be personal. Jesus reminded them they always came to Him when they had questions or needs and then He would ask the Father.  He told them from now on they could ask the Father themselves. He promised that if they asked in His name, they would receive their answer directly from the Father and their joy would be complete. The days of a middleman were over and the relationship with God, blocked by sin, would be restored.

In response, the disciples acknowledged that they understood that He was from God and that they believed in Him.  Then Jesus makes the second promise.  Simply put, He promised them they would soon scatter and abandon Him. He assured them, however, that though they were leaving Him alone, He would, in fact, not be alone.  The Father would be with Him and soon He would return and be with the Father.

Jesus closed with the truest and most important take away for the men.  This thought would carry them in the coming days and years. It was so powerful that it still encourages believers across the globe. “In this world you will have trouble”, Jesus said, “But take heart, I have overcome the world!”

Life will not always make sense.  It will not be easy, and our faith will be tested.  Like these men, we will wake up on some days both confused and frustrated.  On those days, spiritual platitudes will not always raise our spirits, and frankly, they often make matters worse. This final thought from the Lord was never intended to be a refrigerator magnet for the soul. Instead, this was the Lord grieving with His friends. He knew the outcome, but still felt the pain of humanity for His disciples and for Himself.

This last promise is the crux of the matter. In our lives as His chosen, we would love to have it easy and smooth.  We would love for God to simply take away the poverty, the sickness, the evil that is mankind.  We would love for our worship to be all about the blessings and joys each day brings.  

Jesus was clear – life has trouble. Our relationship with the Father no more grants us immunity from life’s trouble than it did Jesus, the Apostles, or any of the hosts that have come before. The great news is that while there will be trouble, we can take heart because Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, has overcome the world!

God Bless You

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Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? ²⁰ Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. ²¹ A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born, she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. ²² So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. ²³ In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. ²⁴ Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

²⁵ “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. ²⁶ In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. ²⁷ No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. ²⁸ I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

²⁹ Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. ³⁰ Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.”

³¹ “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. ³² “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.

³³ “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

As Jesus was wrapping up His conversation with the Apostles, He gave another promise.  He was going back to the Father.  His death and return were absolutely vital to the continuing of restoration of men to God.  He was going to release the Holy Spirit to the world so that the Holy Spirit could convey the truth of the Gospel to people across the globe.

At this point, there was no way to sugar coat the battle that faced these men.  The attacks upon them would be from the very people that should be thrilled to hear the truth.  Instead, they would actually believe that the persecution of the Apostles was doing God a favor. Jesus wanted the troop to know, however, that the Spirit would provide all that they needed to both spread the truth, and keep the communication between Jesus and them alive.

Jesus promised them that what the Spirit taught them would be the actual lessons from God the Father and from Jesus, Himself.  As they moved forward, they would be glorifying God by simply following the lead that the Spirit provided. The Spirit would be their reminder that Jesus was always with them.

That same promise remains with us today. As with the Apostles, when we surrender our lives to the Lord, the Spirit comes and lives within us. He will comfort, teach, and guide us through our personal journey with the Lord.  We can remain confident as we walk in submission to God’s lead, that the Spirit will reveal His truth to us and will stand with us through the great times and the difficult times. 

In addition, the Spirit will lead us to share the truth of the Gospel with others and He will draw them to the Lord.  He will actually stir people’s hearts to a saving knowledge of Christ.  Our responsibility will simply be to go where He leads and speak the truth of Christ in love. We can rest assured that everything else will be provided. 

We know now that the mission of Jesus was only the beginning of the restoration, so while the days ahead were dark for these men, they would soon become extremely bright. That brightness would spread from them to the ends of the earth and provide light that would change the world.

God Bless You

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“These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. ² They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. ³ These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. ⁴ But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.

The Holy Spirit Promised

⁵ “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ ⁶ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. ⁷ But 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. ⁸ And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; ⁹ concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰ and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; ¹¹ and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

¹² “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. ¹⁵ All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore, I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.

Jesus now begins to talk about love.  He began His love speech with a command.  That’s right!  He gave a command they were to love one another. While it seems simple enough, in just a few days, they would be on their own in a world that hated them and their leader.  With feelings of being abandoned and feeling like they were sorely mistaken about the master they followed, each man would naturally lose trust in the others.  Finger pointing would begin and ultimately the bunch would fall apart resentful and hating the rest.

Jesus knew that, so he told the guys to love each other, just as they had been loved. Jesus truly loved them. He taught them everything He received from the Father.  He not only discipled them, He befriended them.  They had been living as God’s BFF’s for the last three years. 

So, Jesus told them plainly to love each other, just as they had been loved by the Father and by Him. Sadly, He was about to show them the extent of His love.  He was headed to His death and that death came on their behalf.  Jesus said it plainly, “Greater love has no one but that they would lay down their life for their friends.”  So, when He told these men to love one another, the love required would be sacrificial.

Ironically, the entire initial group was martyred because of their faith.  John was the only one that remained.  His life was also demanded of Him, but when dropped into boiling oil, it did not affect him. God’s plan for John was not yet complete. 

Through the years, these men would live their lives loving each in their world-wide mission for Jesus.  Still, despite their selfless ministry, they were universally hated for their message. As they spread the Gospel, they would be beaten, stoned, hung, crucified, and executed in a number of ways. Jesus told these men that their mission was a collision course with the spiritual forces of darkness on the earth.  As they hated Jesus and His message, they would hate anyone else carrying that message.

Still, despite the world’s hatred of them, the message of the Gospel did spread and all would know that they were loved by God.  As Paul would later write in Romans 5:8, “God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us!” We are still called to deliver that message.  We are also called and commanded to love one another. What we have to grasp is that such love requires a focus upon others and not on ourselves.

Jesus was commanding these disciples and commanding us to keep our focus on Him and on others. We must choose Christ over any and all earthly affections.  That choice is not only difficult, but it causes unregenerate humanity to hate us and want to be rid of us. We are blessed to live in a country that allows the free worship of God. We know, as we scan the globe, that that freedom is not guaranteed. As Jesus reminded the Apostles, the world will not stop hating Him and it will not stop hating us.  It is our responsibility to love each other, no matter the cost!

God Bless You

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 12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that one lays down his life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. 17 This I command you, that you love one another.

Disciples’ Relation to the World

¹⁸ “If the world hates you, ^[e]you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. ²¹ But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. ²² If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have ^[f]sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³ He who hates Me hates My Father also. ²⁴ If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have ^[g]sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. ²⁵ But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’

John continues to expound on his retelling of the discussion between Christ and His Apostles. Jesus, as the master crafter of word pictures, begins to drive home their need to remain connected to the faith and to each other. When Jesus used a vineyard as the backdrop, these men could picture the many vineyards throughout Israel. The vinedressers were considered true artisans and the quality of the wine was legendary.

The disciples could easily imagine the painstaking work of the vinedresser carefully attending each plant.  The dry and dying branches would be cut and cleared and the other branches always pruned and cleaned for maximum production. The process would seem harsh to the untrained eye, but in tasting a handful of those golden grapes, one would realize that careful labor produced the richest and most flavorful wine in the land.

In the same way, our Father takes great pains to prune us spiritually so we will grow into the best image bearers we can be, producing good and plentiful fruit. Jesus tells the men He is the vine and they are the branches.  We serve a God that is exclusive.  He is clear that God is not dressing other vines or branches entangled among other plants. Those types of plants are harmful to the vineyard and must be cut down and burned.  

Next, the vinedresser is looking at production.  Branches that are fruitless take nutrients from the healthy and productive branches.  Gardening parlance calls them sucker branches and they can destroy or at least reduce the growth and health of the rest of the healthy branches.  An experienced gardener knows to eliminate them ASAP, no matter how leafy and pretty they are. 

As God’s chosen, we are called to produce.  We are called to produce the fruit of the spirit, produce a godly life, and produce disciples. If we fail to produce and are simply attending church to take all we can and produce nothing, we are no better than sucker branches. The vinedresser demands more and will clear the vineyard of sucker branches. While it seems harsh,  it is the only way to help the vineyard be its best and healthiest. 

Finally, Jesus addresses the healthy branches. He tells the guys that even the healthy branches get pruned.  Getting pruned is not easy. However, it is very helpful for continued growth and maximum production. One cannot become complacent with the blooms that have appeared.  God will continue to develop each of us through trials.  It is never pleasant, but it is always what we need to be the branches that are yielding the best fruit.

God Bless You

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“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He ^[a]prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. ³ You are already ^[b]clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit ^[c]of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. ⁷ If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so ^[d]prove to be My disciples. ⁹ Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. ¹⁰ 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. ¹¹ These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

John continues his mind-blowing recounting of  the last night together.  He remembers Judas’ (not Iscariot) question as a catalyst to this big answer –  “What’s changed that now you are revealing yourself to us and no longer to the world?”  Jesus knew He was going back to be with the Father. That, for Christ, was a great thing! Boom!  Mission accomplished!

Still, it was a difficult, bittersweet moment for Christ because He loved them so. Jesus was about to unlock the door that had separated God and mankind since the fall of Adam. Jesus revealed eternal truths to these men.  The things He revealed to them, the world did not have the capacity to know. So, when hit full on with the cares of the world and problems of life, these guys would rightfully fear that they would forget what Jesus taught them or at least screw it up. 

First, Jesus comforted them with the truth that the Holy Spirit would be sent. He was cause them to recall what Christ had taught them as well as teach them all they needed to know going forward.  As the world and its problems pressed in on them, they would have everything they needed to spread the good news of salvation. The Holy Spirit would comfort, teach, and empower them! It was a gift the unregenerate world could not enjoy.  

Next, the Spirit would grant them the peace they needed to carry on – not a transient and circumstantial peace. This would be the peace of God. This was the peace demonstrated on the lake during a violent storm as their boat was about to sink and one sentence from the mouth of the Lord changed the waves to a dead calm – “Peace, be still!”

What these men were about to face would be a worldwind of transformation and change.  There would be great victories in Christ’s resurrection, Pentecost, and the spread of the Gospel across the known world.  There would also be great persecution and death. Tradition would fall to the grace and restoration of the salvation offered by the Father. That turmoil and change would be a peace-draining enterprise. 

There would be tension from the temple, tension from Rome, and tension among the family of believers, but the Holy Spirit would intervene! Jesus promised His guys that, as on the lake, it would be complete calm in the midst of the storm. As these times came and events rolled out, the apostles would remember these promises and cling to them. That peace would be the game changer. It would allow all the attacks from men and from the enemy to fall short.

Today, as we continue the journey, that same peace and knowledge remains available to us. We have His word to guide us and His Spirit to grant peace in the storm.  Like the apostles, as our lives play out, we must cling to these promises as they did! We have to walk in confidence that He will provide what we need when we need it!

God Bless You

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²² Judas (not Iscariot) *said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?” ²³ Jesus answered and said to 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 abode with him. ²⁴ He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.

²⁵ “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. ²⁶ 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 said to you. ²⁷ Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. ²⁸ You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. ²⁹ Now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe. ³⁰ I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me; ³¹ but so that the world may know that I love the Father, ^[d]I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here.

Jesus next turned to the triune nature of God and its importance to the mission of redemption.  He wanted the truth to penetrate their minds. One can picture the piercing eyes of our Lord as He looked at each of these men who would become the ambassadors for the Father.  These young students spent three years walking in step with Jesus.  Twice He sent them out to take on ministry by faith. Not only had they watched Him carry out all manner of restoration and healing; but, they too healed the sick, cast out demons, and cleansed lepers.

This room was filled people that knew none of Jesus’ ministry was staged.  So, armed with the truth and faith that comes from doing life together, Jesus told these men to examine their doubts. If they were unable to accept the inevitable link between Jesus and the Father, then they should at least trust in the works they witnessed the Father do through Jesus and through them! Why was this so urgent?  In short, it was urgent because they had not seen anything yet!

Jesus promised these men that they would have His ability to execute the Father’s plan. “Ask anything in my name! I will do it,” Jesus promised.  What’s more, Jesus promised The Helper once He left. The Helper – God’s spirit who had always served as a transactional steward to prophets, priests, and kings! That same Spirit would now indwell all who would believe and abide in Jesus. The Holy Spirit would comfort, lead, empower, and marshal God’s plan in the lives of anyone willing to receive Christ and follow Him.

Jesus wanted the apostles to know without a doubt that He loved them.  As they trusted and followed the Lord, their lives were proof that they too loved Jesus! He saw that, the Father saw that and built the eternal bond that transcended beyond the disciples to all who believe and abide in the Lord. The Holy Spirit reveals truth to those who follow the Lord.  These truths seem like nonsense to the world and its culture because they are not connected to the Father.

We, through Christ, experience the love of the Father, the redemption of the Son, and the care and leadership of the Spirit.  That was what Jesus wanted these men to understand.  They are surrounded by the whole trio, not just the Father, the Son, OR the Spirit.  They could move forward with confidence, knowing that they were redeemed, restored, and routed through life to fulfill their missions. They would never be alone, nor would they be abandoned.  

Now, thousands of years later, we can walk with the same confidence, due to the continued grace of the Father, the sacrifice and resurrection of the Son, and the leadership and comfort of the Spirit. Help me, Lord, to never question or doubt the triune nature that makes Your plan work flawlessly in my very flawed and fragile life.

God Bless You

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¹⁰ 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 initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. ¹¹ Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves. ¹² Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. ¹³ Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

¹⁵ “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

¹⁶ I will ask the Father, and He will give you another ^[b]Helper, that He may be with you forever; ¹⁷ that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you…

¹⁸ “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ^19 [c]After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. ²⁰ In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. ²¹ He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.