John 21

 ¹Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: ²Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ³“I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
 ⁴Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
 ⁵He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
      ”No,” they answered.
 ⁶He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
 ⁷Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. ⁸The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.[b] ⁹When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
 ¹⁰Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”
 ¹¹Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, ¹⁵³, but even with so many the net was not torn. ¹²Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. ¹³Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. ¹⁴This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

 ¹⁵When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?”
      ”Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
      Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
 ¹⁶Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?”
      He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
      Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
 ¹⁷The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
      Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
 ¹⁸Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” ¹⁹Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
 ²⁰Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) ²¹When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
 ²²Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” ²³Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
 ²⁴This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.
 ²⁵Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

John 20

 ¹Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. ²So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
 ³So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. ⁸Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

 ¹⁰Then the disciples went back to their homes, ¹¹but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹²and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
 ¹³They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
   ”They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
 ¹⁵“Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
      Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
 ¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
      She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
 ¹⁷Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ “
 ¹⁸Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

 ¹⁹On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁰After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
 ²¹Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” ²²And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

 ²⁴Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
      But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”
 ²⁶A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁷Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
 ²⁸Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
 ²⁹Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
 ³⁰Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. ³¹But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John 18:28-19:42

It is Good Friday today. This is the day we remember the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. Today’s reading won’t have any points to ponder, or deeper reflection, or ways to pray. Instead, it’s just the passage starting with Jesus being taking before Pilate, and ending with his burial.

Today and tomorrow, take time to read through this passage, and reflect on Jesus’ love for us.

Today is the last day of the 40 Days of Love, and spend time today reflecting on the love of Christ, and what you might have learnt over these past 40 days. Jesus gave his everything, his whole life so that we might be saved. That is the ultimate testimony of his love for us. He endured hardship, suffering, but it would become the victory over sin and death in this world. John 3:16,17 says, “6″For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Today and tomorrow, read through this passage and meditate on Jesus’ actions for us. His was love in action.

On Sunday and Monday, I will put up the last two Chapters of John as we conclude these 40 (+3) Days of Love.

Jesus Before Pilate

²⁸Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. ²⁹So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”
³⁰“If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”
³¹Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”
“But we have no right to execute anyone,” the Jews objected. ³²This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.
³³Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
³⁴“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
³⁵“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
³⁶Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
³⁷“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
³⁸“What is truth?” Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. ³⁹But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”
⁴⁰They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion.

Jesus Sentenced to Be Crucified

¹⁹:¹Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. ²The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe ³and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they struck him in the face.
⁴Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” ⁵When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

⁶As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”

⁷The Jews insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”

⁸When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, ⁹and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰“Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

¹¹Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

¹²From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”

¹³When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). ¹⁴It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour.
“Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.

¹⁵But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”
“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.
“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.

¹⁶Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

The Crucifixion

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. ¹⁷Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). ¹⁸Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
¹⁹Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. ²⁰Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. ²¹The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”

²²Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

²³When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

²⁴“Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”
This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said,
“They divided my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing.”[a] So this is what the soldiers did.

²⁵Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” ²⁷and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

The Death of Jesus

²⁸Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” ²⁹A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. ³⁰When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
³¹Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. ³²The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. ³³But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. ³⁵The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. ³⁶These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,”[b] ³⁷and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”[c]

The Burial of Jesus

³⁸Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. ³⁹He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.[d] ⁴⁰Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. ⁴¹At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. ⁴²Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

John 18:1-27

¹When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it.
²Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. ³So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.
⁴Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”
⁵“Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.
“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) ⁶When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
⁷Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?”
And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”
⁸“I told you that I am he,” Jesus answered. “If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” ⁹This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”
¹⁰Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)
¹¹Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”
¹²Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him ¹³and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. ¹⁴Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be good if one man died for the people.

¹⁵Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, ¹⁶but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the girl on duty there and brought Peter in.
¹⁷“You are not one of his disciples, are you?” the girl at the door asked Peter.
He replied, “I am not.”
¹⁸It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.

¹⁹Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.
²⁰“I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. ²¹Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.”
²²When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded.
²³“If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, “testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” ²⁴Then Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.

²⁵As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?”
He denied it, saying, “I am not.”
²⁶One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the olive grove?” ²⁷Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.

Some Thoughts
Courage vs Cowardice
There’s an interesting contrast here between Jesus and Peter. As the men come looking for Jesus, he goes right up to them, and tells them “I am he.” There’s a confidence, and fearlessness. Even in knowing his innocence, the coming unfair trial, and death, he approaches the entire scenario with an amazing perspective.
Peter on the other hand, appears to stand firm in the beginning. With a bold move to strike someone. But the outward boldness is contrasted just a little bit later, in his fearfulness. Though he had given vows of courage and boldness in John 13:37, here he simply shys away in timidity.
Peter thought he was full of courage and boldness, but alone and pressured, he was no longer full of faith. Jesus, in the face of the officials, spoke nothing but the truth, in boldness and courage.

Deeper Reflection
Have you ever denied Christ? Like denied that you know him? Denied that you believe in Jesus? Every day we are faced with different opportunities to stand up for Christ – either through our words or through our actions. Do we convey God’s love in every circumstance? Do we speak encouragement to those who are without hope? Do we actively seek out what the Father is doing, and participate in that work? By forgetting that God is there, and what you live for, it’s easy to deny Christ.
Make a choice to live for Christ each day.
Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus.

Breakthrough
For Yourself
Pray for wisdom and boldness to live each day for God.

For Your Five
Pray that you will have the courage to share with them the truth about God.

For Our Church
Pray those in our church who are struggling with their faith. Maybe they feel accused or condemned in their schools or workplaces. Pray that they can be strengthened and encouraged by God during this time.

John 17

This is a prayer found in John 17, and taken from a paraphrase from the Bible called the Message. In another different twist to the reading this week, i’ll be putting inline comments in the reading as a blockquote. Just some observations as you read through the passage. I chose the Message version of this passage, to give a different flavour to something you might have read before. It brings a visceral aspect to the prayer.

John 17
^1-5 Jesus said these things. Then, raising his eyes in prayer, he said:

Father, it’s time.
Display the bright splendor of your Son
So the Son in turn may show your bright splendor.
You put him in charge of everything human
So he might give real and eternal life to all in his charge.
And this is the real and eternal life:

The age old question, how do you get a real and eternal life, is answered by Jesus here.

That they know you,
The one and only true God,
And Jesus Christ, whom you sent.
I glorified you on earth
By completing down to the last detail
What you assigned me to do.
And now, Father, glorify me with your very own splendor,
The very splendor I had in your presence
Before there was a world.

^6-12I spelled out your character in detail

In Jesus we see the very character of God. That’s the model that we are working towards, and being transformed into.

To the men and women you gave me.
They were yours in the first place;
Then you gave them to me,
And they have now done what you said.
They know now, beyond the shadow of a doubt,
That everything you gave me is firsthand from you,
For the message you gave me, I gave them;
And they took it, and were convinced
That I came from you.
They believed that you sent me.
I pray for them.
I’m not praying for the God-rejecting world
But for those you gave me,
For they are yours by right.
Everything mine is yours, and yours mine,
And my life is on display in them.
For I’m no longer going to be visible in the world;
They’ll continue in the world
While I return to you.
Holy Father, guard them as they pursue this life
That you conferred as a gift through me,
So they can be one heart and mind
As we are one heart and mind.

We should yearn for the same heart and mind of God – to have our very will to be the same as Jesus’, the same as the Father’s.

As long as I was with them, I guarded them
In the pursuit of the life you gave through me;
I even posted a night watch.
And not one of them got away,
Except for the rebel bent on destruction
(the exception that proved the rule of Scripture).

^13-19Now I’m returning to you.
I’m saying these things in the world’s hearing
So my people can experience
My joy completed in them.
I gave them your word;
The godless world hated them because of it,
Because they didn’t join the world’s ways,
Just as I didn’t join the world’s ways.
I’m not asking that you take them out of the world
But that you guard them from the Evil One.
They are no more defined by the world
Than I am defined by the world.

We, who follow Jesus, are not defined by this world. We live to the beat of a different drum.

Make them holy—consecrated—with the truth;
Your word is consecrating truth.
In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world,
I give them a mission in the world.
I’m consecrating myself for their sakes

So they’ll be truth-consecrated in their mission.
As Jesus was holy, living by the truth, so too does he pray that we are holy, kept pure for our mission – to be a witness for Christ in this world.

^20-23I’m praying not only for them
But also for those who will believe in me
Because of them and their witness about me.

This is our mission – our purpose – to be a witness for Christ.

The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—
Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
So they might be one heart and mind with us.
Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.
The same glory you gave me, I gave them,
So they’ll be as unified and together as we are—
I in them and you in me.
Then they’ll be mature in this oneness,
And give the godless world evidence
That you’ve sent me and loved them
In the same way you’ve loved me.

We need to show this lost world the truth about Jesus, the love that we’ve experienced from him, and the true love of the Father.

^24-26Father, I want those you gave me
To be with me, right where I am,
So they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me,
Having loved me
Long before there ever was a world.
Righteous Father, the world has never known you,
But I have known you, and these disciples know
That you sent me on this mission.
I have made your very being known to them—
Who you are and what you do—
And continue to make it known,
So that your love for me
Might be in them
Exactly as I am in them.

Jesus prays that we continue to know God deeper – knowing a complete love of God in our lives. That means he knows that we’re not perfect yet, but that there’s still more of God to breakthrough in our lives. And he asks that God continues to show, reveal, & touch our lives with that complete love.

Breakthrough
For Yourself
Pray for God’s love to go deep into your life, and for that love to bear great fruit for him.

For Your Five
Pray the prayer that Jesus prays for the lost “The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind— Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, So they might be one heart and mind with us.”

Pray for Our Church
Pray that our church grows in it’s vision as a beacon pointing to the awesome light of God.

John 16:5-33

⁵“Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. ⁷But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; ¹⁰in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ¹¹and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
¹²“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. ¹³But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. ¹⁴He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. ¹⁵All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.

¹⁶“In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”
¹⁷Some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
¹⁹Jesus 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’? ²⁰I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. ²¹A 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. ²²So 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. ²³In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. ²⁴Until 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. ²⁶In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. ²⁷No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. ²⁸I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

²⁹Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. ³⁰Now 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“You believe at last!” Jesus answered. ³²“But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his 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.”

Some Thoughts
The Holy Spirit
v.8 He will convict the world of guilt in 1) sin, 2) righteousness, 3) judgement
1) sin (v9) – the need for Jesus. Without Jesus we’re trapped in sin
2) righteousness (v10) – Jesus is going to the Father. Only someone completely without sin can be with the Father. And life with the Father is glory, satisfaction, family, acceptance, peace, security… etc…
3) judgement (v11) – Satan stands condemned. That means he has no more authority for over Christians. He’s the greatest loser of the battle. But you choose other to stand in freedom with Christ, or under judgement.

Victory in Christ
Jesus talks about asking, receiving, asking in my name, asking the Father… and all these “cryptic” things, that he says will be made clear. What he’s talking about, is that after his death, there may be grief, but that is the moment of triumph. Because of his death, we are now able to approach the Father.
v27 - the Father himself loves you. God in heaven loves you, the same way he loves his son.
Jesus ties himself inseparably to the Father – this is part of the trinity – the uniquness of Jesus, and at the same time, the oneness of God.

Jesus returns to the Father. In the same way, one day we will return to the Father. Jesus has overcome, sin and death. Jesus has overcome the world.

Breakthrough
For Yourself
What’s your relationship with Jesus like? Are you close to him? Are there questions you want to ask him? One of the main purposes of these 40 days was to encourage each of us to really grapple with God, and to engage with Jesus. So today, talk to Jesus like he’s right next to you. Imagine yourself as a disciple, sitting in this room, and talk to Jesus today. Ask him questions about your family, your life. Listen to Him. Ask him to show you something from His Bible. Breakthrough with Him today. Spend 10-15 minutes or more, just being with Jesus.

For Your Five
What would you share with your five if this was your last week on earth? What’s something that you would want to let them know? Share God’s love, and your love with them this week.

For Our Church
Pray that our church can really move in faith that Jesus has overcome this world. If we have that faith, our purpose and direction would become clearer. We would live with a different perspective on this world : we are not fighting a losing battle, but we are part of a victorious triumph.

John 15:18-16:4

¹⁸“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. ¹⁹If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. ²⁰Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. ²¹They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. ²²If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. ²³He who hates me hates my Father as well. ²⁴If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. ²⁵But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’^{[Psalms 35:19; 69:4]
26}“When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. ²⁷And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
^16:1“All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. ²They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. ³They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. ⁴I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you. I did not tell you this at first because I was with you.

Some Thoughts
Hate vs Love.
We are called to be in this battle between good and evil. Jesus makes no joke about it: This world is going to attack you, and attack your faith, attack your love, attack Jesus. But we are called to stand firm: We are not called to belong to the world - but have called to be different.

Jesus says we are “chosen” out of this world.

When we started these 40 Days, i believed that God wants us to stand out in this hopeless world. We are to be beacons of hope, love and light to the darkness around us.

You may feel beaten down, or defeated, and that trying to love this broken world is too hard. Remember, you are chosen to stand out.

Pressing On in Love
Jesus gives a few tips on why we should keep pressing on.
1. The world doesn’t know that Jesus is the son of God. v.21
The world hates us, because they simply don’t know. They don’t realise that a life of love, grace, and mercy is possible.
2. The Spirit is hard at work testifying about Jesus. So too must you. v26,27
Sometimes it can feel like we’re all alone, trying to share Jesus to a lost world. But do you realise here that the Spirit is testifying. The Father is always at work? Perhaps you’re not alone when you share God to your coursemates, your workmates, your housemates, your family… the Spirit is here to testify – so too must you!
3. If you know the world hates you, you won’t expect anything different. v16:1
We can’t expect the world to readily accept God’s message. People will continue to take your love and mercy, and take you for granted. This is the way of the world. Jesus is saying, press on! Continue to testify. The world is going to hate you – and do their worst against God’s goodness – but don’t give up. Be prepared for it, so that you won’t be disappointed.

Breakthrough
For Yourself
Holy Spirit, fill us and guide us to be real testimonies of Jesus to this world. Holy Spirit teach each one of us how to be strong testimonies to people. Father, continue to inspire, strengthen, and focus on the truth of your love – so that we don’t go astray – but press on to the end!

For Your Five
Father, we pray for a real breakthrough this week! Show us how to love each one of the 5. Holy Spirit, speak volumes of God’s love into their lives. Equip our mouth, hands, and heart, to spend extra time this week praying and talking with them about your love. We look forward to your breakthrough!

For Our Church
Father, though this world will try and discourage, hate, or confuse us – we declare that we will stand firm in you. Jesus you stood firm to the end. Your triumph was the cross. So we stand alongside you, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to be your living testimony until the end.

John 15:1-17

¹“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ²He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. ³You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
⁵“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. ⁸This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

⁹“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹²My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. ¹⁷This is my command: Love each other.

Some Thoughts
“Remain”
A key word that comes out of today’s reading is “remain.”
Remain in me - and i remain in you
Remain in the vine
Fruit comes in remaining in Jesus
Apart from Jesus you can do nothing, so remain in him.
Remain in Jesus, and let his words remain in you.
Remain in his love.
Remain in the Father’s love.

We can have a tendency to stray from God. Maybe it’s the allure of the world, or the thoughts of something better, or the struggle of following Jesus, or the shame of sin – but Jesus says, remain! Stay! Stay with Jesus. Don’t go running off. Stay together with him.

What are the promises of remaining with Jesus?
v4 if you stay with Jesus, he will stay true to you. God has got you safe. You will grow if you stay with him.
v5 bear much fruit – a fulfilling, impactful life. Your life means something and generates something productive
v7 ask whatever you wish, and it will be given – if you’re focused on God, your heart will be like his – and that same authority that Jesus has, will be in you. You can ask God for anything!

“Love”
Love and obedience go hand in hand.
Love and knowledge also go together. God doesn’t say, love me, but don’t understand me. Love me, and get to know what is important to me. Know God’s commands. As you know God’s commands, and grow to love them, you’ll experience more of God’s love. It’s like an upward cycle of development – the more you know, the more you obey, the more you remain in his love. The more you remain in his love, the more joy you experience. The more joy you experience, the more you understand his command… and so on…

We don’t just become perfect right away – instead we’re in the process of learning, obeying, and experiencing.

“Calling”
We are not just servants – we are his friends.
God is my friend.
Wow.
You won’t betray your friend – you’d do what they say. Especially if their advice was sound. I think God’s advice is awesome.
God chose and appointed you to go and bear fruit. Don’t think you can’t do it – if God thinks you can do it, you can do it. We’ve all been called to disciplemaking – bearing more spiritual fruit for God.

Breakthrough
For Yourself
Focus on one of the three key words today:
Remain
If you feel like you’re running around without focus, or running away from God – Remain. Come back and remain in God’s presence. Take a few minutes to just be still before him.
Love
If you struggle to love the world around you – or struggle to feel any love. Ask God to show you what love is. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. Jesus laid down his own life for you.
Calling
If you feel inadequate, or lost, focus on the fact that God has called and chosen you. He has faith in you – in his friendship with you, and in the calling for you to bear fruit.

For Your Five
Pray that your five can know the greatest love of all. That Jesus died for them. If any of your five have accepted Christ already, spend time with them and help them grow! Praise God for the fruit, and share with them about learning how to remain in God’s love.

For Our Church
I imagine that our church can be a large group of friends (or family) of God that gather together, and ask Him what’s the plan for us. So let’s ask him today… wherever you are, start asking God – what’s the plan for us? Why have you called us together in Birmingham, what do you want us to do? Show us how to bear fruit for you. We want to remain here with you and follow your lead God.

John 14:16-31

¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— ¹⁷the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. ¹⁸I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ¹⁹Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. ²⁰On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. ²¹Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”

²²Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

²³Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. ²⁴He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

²⁵“All this I have spoken while still with you. ²⁶But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. ²⁷Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

²⁸“You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. ²⁹I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. ³⁰I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, ³¹but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
“Come now; let us leave.

Points to Ponder
1. Notice that love, like faith (James 2: 14-26) cannot be separated from obedience

2. v. 17: The Spirit is characterized by truth and brings people to the truth of God. Notice that the Spirit was ‘with’ the disciples and would be ‘in’ them, referring to the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Similarly today, we are commanded to be ‘continually filled with the Holy Spirit’ (Ephesians 5:1

3. v.19: The life of the Christian is fully dependant on the life of Christ. V.21 the love of the Father is intimately connected with that of the Son.

4. v.26 Counselor = Comforter, Encourager or Advocator. The Greek name for the Holy Spirit is Paraclete (para = come alongside; cletus = called) which means the One who stands by us (to plead for someone who is in trouble with the law) or the One who is called alongside us. He also reminds us of the bible teachings we have learnt and read and helps us to apply them in our daily lives.

5. If we know Jesus (i.e. have a relationship with Him) we shall also know the Holy Spirit, who is with us forever and is living in our hearts. He enables us to know and experience Christ’s presence in a real way.

6. When we obey His commands we i.) shall be able to demonstrate that we love Christ, ii) shall be loved by the Father, iii) shall be loved by Christ and iv.) shall experience the reality of Christ in our lives.

7. v.26 The Holy Spirit is sent by the Father in the name of the Son i.e. as a result of his victory on the Cross

8. v.28 The Father is not greater than the Son in being more divine, but in the eternal Father-Son and God-man relationships. In humbling himself to be born and lived as a human being, Jesus chosed the subordinate role to the Father. However this has to be understood in the light of the unity between the Father and the Son.

9. v.30 The devil has no hold on Jesus as he is the sinless One.

10. v.31 Jesus, went to the Cross as an act of obedience to his Father’s commands and he wants us to learn from his example of total submission to God and His purposes for our lives.

Deeper Reflection
1. The Holy Spirit is also described as the One who is just the same as Jesus. He will continue the work of Jesus after his resurrection, convicting the world of sin, righteousness and judgement. The Holy Spirit also empowers believers and reminds them everything Jesus said. When we become more aware of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we can therefore surrender and submit more to His purposes and learn to ‘see’ Jesus from the ‘eyes’ of our hearts.

2. The Spirit will enable us to have a deeper understanding of and experience of our communion with Christ who is totally submissive to and fellowships very closely with the Father

3. The peace (or Shalom) which only Jesus can give is a state of ‘wholeness’ and functions as an ‘umpire’ to guard our hearts and minds (Philippians 4:7) against any threat of danger.

Breakthrough
For Yourself
Pray that you grow in love with Jesus by learning to obey His commands in your everyday life. Ask for grace to see breakthroughs in 2 to 3 aspects of your daily life you aim to be more obedient and then wait to see and experience God showing and revealing more of Himself to you just as He has promised.

For Your Five
Interceed in prayer on behalf of your FIVE. Bring before God their need for Jesus, release them to the working of the Holy Spirit so that they will be more aware of God’s love and begin to take small steps of faith towards Him.

For Our Church
Pray that BCEC will major in loving Christ and obeying His commands, seeking to walk in the Spirit and be totally submitted to God and all His purposes for us as a church.

John 14:1-15

¹“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God[a]; trust also in me. ²In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴You know the way to the place where I am going.”

⁵Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
⁶Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷If you really knew me, you would know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

⁸Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

⁹Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. ¹¹Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. ¹²I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. ¹⁴You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

15″If you love me, you will obey what I command.

Points to ponder
1. It may be useful to read v.1-6 in the light of 13: 33-37, which describes Jesus predicting his death and giving his disciples a new commandment. Apparently, the disciples were distressed at the thought of Jesus going away and leaving them along in a hostile world.

2. Jesus is aware of his disciples’ anxieties and fears. His antidote is simple: to trust (def. firm belief in someone, concise Oxford dictionary) him, instead of being distracted by the circumstances around them. In fact trusting in Christ would also mean trusting God (v.1).

3. Jesus promises hope for the future as well as his Second Coming. Heaven is a spiritual reality which He wants His disciples to come to grips with. This is where all who follow Him will eventually find an eternal place where we can truly call home which lasts forever (v.2-4). In fact this is a strong reason for not letting our hearts be troubled, no matter how difficult a situation we may find ourselves to be in at the moment!

4. More amazing is that we already know the way to this wonderful place as Jesus declares that he is the way to the Father as he is the truth and the life (v.6). We can have a relationship with God through intimately knowing Jesus himself in our hearts as he is the embodiment of all truth (Christ is also known as the living Word). Furthermore, life itself was in him (John 1:4) and he existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together (Colossians 1: 17). Jesus is the exact representation of God himself (“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God…” Colossians 1:15)

5. v.9: It is interesting to note that when God most powerfully revealed Himself to us, He did so with the life of a person, Jesus Christ, who is a living image of all God is. In fact the truth of the invisible God have been revealed to us through Jesus’ life story.

6. Jesus, being the Son has perfect communion with God the Father, thus giving credibility to his teachings which therefore assures us of its absolute trustworthiness and divine authority. (v.10-11)

7. v.13: praying and asking ‘in the name of Jesus’ is not simply mentioning His name, but praying in accordance with all that the person who bears the name is i.e. prayer which aimed to carry forward the work Jesus did (e.g. enforcing the victory of the Cross today) – v.14 he has promised to answer such prayers!

After the last supper Jesus continued to teach the disciples about the kingdom of God. He speaks of the eternal life and how he has prepared a place for those who believe him. This passage deals with a few issues but the key verse is verse 6 when Jesus said ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’ Jesus went on to say that if we know him, we do know and have seen the Father. Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in him.

Deeper Reflection
It is reassuring to know that He has ‘reserved’ a place for us in His kingdom. This is His promise of eternal life. We may not know much about the detail of eternity but we need not worry because He has only good things in store for us. However, He is the only way to eternity. Many people have spent a lot of time, effort and money seeking God but Jesus provides the answer in the simple statement in Verse 6. He is the way, the only path to the Father, the truth, the reality of all God’s promises and the life, that we may live in Him, both now and forever.

Sometimes we are like Philip, who asked to see the Father. But God is spirit, and He may or may not reveal Himself through our natural five senses. But God has given us Jesus, the visible, tangible image of the invisible God The search for God ends in Christ. (See also Colossians 1:15 ; Hebrews 1:1-4)

Jesus has given us the permission to use his name. We must never take this for granted. Pray for those around you who use his name in vain.

How real is heaven to you? Does the promise that Jesus had gone to prepare a place for you sufficient to give you peace and hope? Prayerfully surrender things which are troubling you at this moment to Christ one by one. Receive from Him the heavenly peace that passes all human understanding which He is waiting to give you.

Jesus promises his disciples the empowerment (by the Holy Spirit, Luke 24:49) to do works of faith (including the miraculous) in answer to prayers. Jesus promises us a greater demonstration of supernatural abilities resulting from a relationship based on faith in Him as the Son returned to the Father and the Holy Spirit whom the Father sends to empower His people has come.

In fact the resurrected Christ himself continues to be involved (John 21:25), through his Spirit and in partnership with his people today, just as the Father, living in Christ was doing His work through Jesus in the gospels. Thus Christ truly brings glory to his Father, then and now.

Notice that Jesus desires his disciples to trust and believe him on the basis of his promises and his relationship to the Father.

Breakthrough
For yourself
Thank God for the eternal salvation that is given to you by His grace. Ask him for strength to continue to follow Jesus everyday. Pray for spiritual conviction that Jesus is God even though you have not seen him physically.

Meditate on the lyrics of song ‘One Way’: ‘You are the Way, the Truth and the Life, we live by faith and not by sight for You, We’re living all for You’. Pray that the message proclaimed here can stir up within us a stronger desire to live for Jesus.

For your Five
They may be offended to know that Jesus is the only way to God and what they believe in all this time is invalid. Pray that God will give you the wisdom and strength when you are challenged by them. Pray that God will soften their hearts.

Pray that your FIVE can experience more of the true peace (Shalom) which only Christ can bring to them. Ask that we can grow in being the channels of peace and Christ-likeness to them

For our church
Pray that BCEC will stand firm in the spiritual truth and not bow under the pressure of the society and political correctness. Pray also for boldness to believe that God can do greater things when we ask in his name.

Pray for intercessory prayer teams to be set up and established for all the different congregations in BCEC. Ask that we learn to ‘enforce the victory at Calvary’ and partner with God to work through the prayers of His people so that we can experience His kingdom come and will be done on earth as it is in heaven.