​John 14:12-14 is popular for a few reasons. It reads,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do,because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
It is very powerful. It isn’t about prosperity. It isn’t about winning football games or climbing mountains. It is about evangelism. It is about obeying Jesus' command to love people and leading them to God. When Jesus said this, He was answering Phillip’s request to see The Father, during a conversation about following Jesus.
Verses 4-11 precede these verses and gives us the context,
“And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 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 authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.”
Jesus wants us to follow Him. Following Him means walking as He walked, doing as He did in His name and by His authority. He is our God, our King, Our Lord and Master. So when we go where He goes we act in His authority, we act in His name.
In order to really read the passage in its full context we also need to see what Jesus said after this amazing promise. Verses 15-17 read,
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
What great things are you asking in Jesus’ name? Are you loving Him and keeping His commandments? Are you revealing The Father to world by living for Jesus through The Spirit? That is at the heart of this passage. It is not about asking for stuff, or asking to be successful. It is about loving people by doing what Jesus did.
What did He do? He loved people. He was moved by that love to action. If they were hungry He fed them. If they were sick, He healed them. If they were broken, He restored them. If they were alone, He befriended them. If they wanted to know God, He taught them. He tells you and me to do these things as well. He equips us to do them and He even promises we’ll do more than He did.
Does your mind lie to you and tell you that you aren’t good enough to do the works Jesus did? Are you filled with doubt about who you are? Maybe you think that only some people are able to love others the way Jesus did. Perhaps you imagine only the very best Followers can heal or prophesy or do that most miraculous work of all, lead someone to the saving grace and truth of Jesus. But that is a lie.
1 John 3:19-22 reads,
“By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him”
God is greater than the lies and doubts of your heart. He promises again that whatever we ask we receive. Let’s look at the context of this promise too. Is it about wealth? Is it about achievements? It is about love.
Verses 16-18 pave the way for this beautiful promise,
“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
It is about living out that love the way Jesus did. It is about obeying Jesus. The passage continues with verses 23-24.
“And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us,by the Spirit whom he has given us.”
You are called for a great purpose. It is a purpose much greater than sitting in a church pew. It is a call bigger than inviting a person to church. It is a job more wonderful than giving the waitress a tract. You are commanded to love others as Jesus loves you. He didn’t love in a small way, He loved in a big way. He spent time, He healed, He spoke truth, and He laid down His life. You are commanded to love the same way. You are commanded to reveal God to the lost by loving the way Jesus did.
John 15:12-17 reads,
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay 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 servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.”
So go, love, bear abiding fruit. Go, lay down your life for the lost. Ask Jesus to let you heal people. Ask Jesus to speak the truth to people through you. Ask Jesus to allow you to feed the hungry and warm the cold and comfort the hurting. Ask Jesus to save people. He will. Love them the way Jesus loves and see what Jesus will do.

James 2:1-13

I was going to do all of James 2 but, my passion got me on a soapbox and I stayed there for a while.

It is natural to have biases. We are born into families and cultures and as we grow up we learn from our families, our cultures, and our society to be biased in some way or another. But we do not have to keep those biases. We have to become aware of them, we have to repent of them along with our other sins and take on the Spirit of God who has no partialities. (Deuteronomy 10:17). Prejudice is not Christ-like. It opposes the Love of Jesus Christ to hate a person or to judge a person on appearances. There is nothing loving about prejudice. Do you want someone to make demeaning comments about you, your race, your religion, or your culture? Of course not! Love your neighbor as yourself means not hurting someone because you wouldn’t want to be hurt.

Before you declare you have no prejudices, carefully consider that everyone has biases. It’s natural. But it is supernatural not to have biases. We are not perfect, Jesus is. We strive to be like Him. In that pursuit we follow His great commandment, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12). He loves everyone, perfectly and without partiality. We have to make an effort to be that loving. James described it this way in verses 1-7,

“My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,”4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?”

When we entertain any sort of partiality, racism, preference, or even those little jokes or comments you think everyone appreciates, you are blaspheming Jesus Christ. He said, love and there is no love in hurting someone. I can tell you, those little jokes made, those kidding words that slur my culture, hurt me. Those gests made to insult another culture hurt me. Aren’t we brothers and sisters? Aren’t we created by God in His image? (Genesis 1:27). When you insult any person, you insult his Creator, my Savior.

The entire law is covered by two commandments, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”(Matthew:34-40). People who choose not to follow Christ still say they follow the second commandment, but they do it selfishly, half-heartedly, and they decide who their neighbor is.  They leave the first commandment out of their scope entirely. Go ahead and ask a person who is not a Christian about the golden rule, they will probably tell you love your neighbor but they won’t know anything about love the Lord. They’re trying to be good without Jesus. That is not possible. We can’t be perfect but we can try. We should try to be like Jesus. Verses 8-12 read,

“If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

We call Jesus, Lord and He calls us by His name. We do not try to keep the law, we try to be like Jesus. Jesus is merciful and so we should be too. It isn’t merciful to hate someone based on the color of their skin, the place they were born, or the amount of money in their bank account.

Nobody thinks they’re racist. Nobody believes they are prejudiced. Nobody thinks they’re the ones with the problem. Right? You know why that group of people is bad. Right? Everyone knows Jewish people are cheap and greedy! Everyone knows Muslims are terrorists! Everyone knows Asians are anal. You’re not alone in thinking that. So, that doesn’t make you racist does it? You have a reason to be so hateful. Ad really telling that joke isn’t hateful. If someone was hurt, well they’re just too sensitive.

Ask yourself some questions, it is okay to answer them honestly. God knows your heart and He is merciful and loving. You need to be honest so you will find out where you lack mercy and love so that you can repent and be more like Jesus.

Leviticus Chapter 25 Verses 35-46

There are many things that changed from The Old Covenant to The New Covenant. The way we see the laws, the meaning of the rules, and often whether those laws apply to us. But one thing that hasn’t changed is the purpose of those laws and how we express our love for the Lord and treat our brothers and others. Remember that the entire law hinges on and is covered by two laws. Jesus said it in Matthew 22:37-40

“And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Leviticus 25 talks about how we are to treat one another in the love of brotherhood. We are to take care of each other. Verses 35-38 read,

“If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. 36 Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live beside you. 37 You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit. 38 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.”

We are responsible for one another. We can’t just let a brother suffer. Note also that we are to treat the stranger, the outsider with kindness and hospitality as well. Jesus said to love another as He loves us. Paul wrote to the church at Galatians in chapter 6 verses 8-10,

“For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

We have a special responsibility toward our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are one body, united, so if one of our brothers has a problem it affects us all. It is our problem. We are to bear one another’s burdens. (Galatians 6:2)

We don’t care for our brother for our own profit. We care for them without profit. We can lend him money, but we are not to charge interest. We lend not to become richer on earth, but to edify and build one another up. We know our treasure is in Heaven. We know we have all the riches of God. we don’t look for monetary repayment, or any other kind of repayment. The good we do for others does bless us but that isn’t why we do it.

We have the same Lord. We have the same Father. We have the Same Spirit. Enslaving a brother is enslaving ourselves. God gave him freedom just as He gave us freedom. Slavery comes in many forms. Lording over another the “gifts” you’ve given and the “good” you’ve done for them puts them in your servitude. We serve one another out of love and freedom, not to oppress and not to gain. Verses 39-43 says,

“If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave: 40 he shall be with you as a hired worker and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. 41 Then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return to the possession of his fathers. 42 For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves.43 You shall not rule over him ruthlessly but shall fear your God.”

It is our healthy fear of The Lord, our deep respect for Him that allows us to submit to one another. We don’t expect others to submit to us. We submit to others as a manifestation of love. That is humility. The ability to think of others more highly than ourselves. Philippians 2:1-5 says,

“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,”

Remember loving one another as Jesus loves us is epitomized in our unity. The early church carried that out by making sure there were no needy among them. When someone had a need, it was met. One person didn’t eat filet mignon while his brother begged for a crust a bread. We are one body, a community, and a family. We are of one household.  God never told us to stop our unity or stop caring for each other. Acts 2:42-47 describes the early church. It should describe us as well.

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

James Chapter 4 Verses 11-17

Unity of the believers, unity of the church is what sets us apart from the world. The way we treat one another is what people see when they look at us. Infighting, and bickering are bad enough. It makes us look petty and gives the world a reason to call us phonies and haters. But to speak badly about one another is even worse. To judge one another based on our own pride rather than Jesus’ love and mercy is worldly. Verses 11-12 read,

“Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?”

When we say evil things about our fellow believers or judge them, are we loving them the way we love ourselves? When we consider ourselves, we give defenses, reasons, and explanations for our slip ups. I didn’t sleep well. I was hungry. My childhood was difficult. Whatever it is, we realize we have reasons that we fell short of perfection. If we love our brother as we love ourselves, can’t we consider that he may have issues as well that make perfection difficult? Rather than cut him down, perhaps we should help build him up. James also includes our neighbor. We have no right whatsoever to judge the lost on this earth. 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 read,

“For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

The judging believers do with one another is not judgment based on conceit but a way of helping one another to stay the course. It is exhortation, edification, and walking together, bearing one another’s burdens. We have to judge one another to some degree if we are to do that, but it is in love not pride. It is to help, not harm. It is not accusatory but allows the Spirit to reveal.

We have a judge. He is the one who made the law. Jesus is our Judge. God made the law. Jesus gave us the law of liberty. We are not here to judge whether Susie Q is keeping the law. We are here to fulfil the law of Christ.  If we are judging one another we are not being a doer of the law. In other words, we are not loving one another as Jesus loved us. We are not loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.

Pride is what causes us to judge each other, pride at what good Christians we are, or how much God uses us, or all the things we have done. We have no reason to be prideful. It is Jesus who made us righteous. It is the Spirit who enables us to do anything at all for God, including believe. It is the Father who allows us to know Him and draws us near to Him. We are no better than any other person in the church. We are no better than any other person full stop.

Our boasting about all the great deeds we will do in our lives, or all the mighty things we have done for God shows our pride and creates bitterness. That bragging exalts us, not Christ. Our crowing doesn’t allow us to submit to our brothers and sisters in love. It harms the church, it harms us. Can we really take credit for anything good in our lives? Isn’t it God who blesses us, provides for us, and gives us every good gift? Is our arrogance or self-glorification edifying anyone else? Is it helpful to a single other person? Verses 13-16 say,

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

Remember who is God and who the person is who needs Him. Remember without God, you have no righteousness. Without God you have nothing. He is Sovereign, Mighty, Redeemer, All Powerful, and He is the LORD. He gave you redemption, wisdom, discernment, and love. You know the difference between right and wrong, love and hate, and humility and arrogance. Love one another as Jesus loved you. Love your neighbor as yourself. Love with compassion, kindness, gentleness, and submissiveness. Verse 17 reads,

“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

2 John Chapter 1 Verses 4-13

Verse 4 reads,

“I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father.”

John was delighted to have seen some of the people walking in truth and therefore glorifying God. When they were living their lives they not only represented the elect lady this letter is addressed to whether she is their physical mother or the host of the church, but they also represented their local church, the city, and the entire church, and Jesus Christ. They were representing well.

They were walking in the truth that Jesus is the Son of God who came in the flesh, lived perfectly, died and rose again. They were not swaying from the truth. Their lives were a practice of that fact. John goes on in to encourage the entire church to do the same by obeying God’s central command. The command that Jesus gave us, but that has been the fulcrum of the entire law from the start. We are to love one another. Verses 5-6 read,

“And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. 6 And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.”

It is by loving one another that we glorify Christ, represent Him and the entire church, and let people know the truth. Jesus said it this way in John 13:3-35,

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Remember love is not inactive, it is not mere words, or feelings. Love is concrete. So how do we love one another? How do we best exemplify Christ? We do what Jesus did. We put God first. We put others ahead of ourselves. We remember we are united. We are not separate from one another. 1 Corinthians 11:11-12 say,

“Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; 12 for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God.”

We are not supposed to be concerned with our individual needs first but the edification of the church, the teaching of Christ, and the glory of God. It isn’t that we are supposed to forget our own needs, but we need to take care of them ahead of time so that when we gather we can embody the love of Christ and build and encourage one another. Paul used the example of Spiritual gifts to get the point across. He said that Speaking in tongues is a good and it builds the individual, but prophecy is better because it builds the church through revelation of truth and knowledge. (1 Corinthians 14:1-19).

In the book of Ephesians Paul encouraged the church to walk in love, by imitating God and walking as Jesus walked. (Ephesians 5:1-2).  In Ephesians 5:15-20 Paul spells out how to love one another.

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

Our actions and behavior matters, not in respect to our salvation but in respect to one another and in demonstrating the truth and love of Christ to the world. It is by our behavior, the way we live our lives that we testify to Jesus identity. The world needs to hear and see the truth. They are getting plenty of lies from everywhere. 2 John verses 7-8 read,

“For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward.”

With all the deceivers out there, we have to be careful to stay in the truth. We can’t let any lies in. Even the seemingly innocuous myths of scripture that get shared take people away from the Gospel. Jesus is the only way to salvation. The devil hates people and will do whatever it takes to keep as many as possible from the truth. The lies that look like sweet little nuggets of happiness are great at leading people away from Jesus and to death.

Fortune cookie scriptures taken out of context, the salt taken out and sugar added are being fed to the masses. The masses find it easier to believe that God will lift them out of their suffering rather than carry them through it. The multitudes want to hear that God will make them rich, or that good people go to heaven, or any other number of “kitten hang in there” phrases rather than the truth. The truth is no one is good enough to go to heaven. The truth is Jesus is the only way. The truth is the Father loves us enough to discipline us and allow the Spirit to transform us through suffering.

If someone is able to tell the world those feel good slogans instead of the truth then they are not abiding in the truth, and that means that Jesus is not in them. That may seem harsh, but sometimes the truth is not so sweet. Verse 9 says,

“Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.”

Associating with the liars who are spoon feeding morsels of tasty accepted sayings is synonymous with joining them. If the world thinks we agree with the frauds then we are saying “yes, chase death down this easy wide path.”  Verses 10-11 put it like this,

“If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, 11 for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.”

When you see people who claim to be followers of Christ sharing fortune cookie encouragement, go ahead and straighten them out. Put the verse back in context, untwist it, put the salt back in. If they acknowledge it, they will repent and stop spreading dangerous lies. If they don’t, then you know they do not have Christ, the Spirit is not in them and they are not the Christian they claim to be but an antichrist. Don’t even let them in for a conversation, debate, or a drink of water. It may not seem like love, but love is in truth. Spreading their propaganda is harmful and therefore not loving at all. When you refuse to take part in the lie, you reveal the truth to them and to all the witnesses. That is love.

John ends this letter with verses 12-13 reiterating and personifying the love the church has for one another.

“Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

13 The children of your elect sister greet you.”

Love each other in truth. Love each other genuinely and concretely. Love each other through your behavior submitting to Christ by submitting to one another. Love one another by protecting the truth from the distortions of false teachers, false prophets, smiling spreaders of positive vibes, and other antichrists.

1 John Chapter 4 Verses 7-21

The world sees love as a flowery feeling. The world’s love is selfish. It is wrapped up in how I feel and my hopes and desires. Worldly love changes, it ebbs and flows and is affected by conditions. In the world passionate love can easily become passionate hate if circumstances are right.

God’s Love is not some sappy happy feeling. It is substantial, steadfast and always bears itself out intentionally. We are commanded time and again to love one another. We are told that through that love the world will recognize us as Jesus’ followers and God will be glorified. It is by loving one another that people will come to the kingdom of God. This kind of love comes from God and is only possible through God.

Verses 7-12 read,

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”

God showed us how to love. He not only gave up His only Son for us, He then continued to demonstrate love by His perfect life lived entirely for us. He laid down His life as propitiation for our sins. Propitiation is a way of making peace, appeasing or compensating for us. He paid the price we couldn’t pay. He did all that so we could be His children and friends. That love is real, it is tangible. Love isn’t love unless it is demonstrated. That is how we are to love one another. If we love like that then God is within us, He is glorified through our expression of love.

God is not glorified when you cry over pictures of children with cancer. God is glorified when give up your day to serve them and their families. God is not revealed when you pity the hungry. He is revealed when you feed them even through your own needs. Love is manifested in actions, truth, and sacrifice. He is made known through proving and representing Jesus as Christ, our Savior. He is shown by the Spirit He gave us, God Himself abiding in us and flowing out of us in tangible ways, such as kindness, joy, peace, and patience. Verses 13-16 read,

“By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”

If we really love, the way God loves, the way He has told us to love then we will attest that Jesus is Christ. We will prove it by our words, actions, and lives. The Spirit of truth who is in us proclaims Jesus Christ. (Verse 2). It is by that testimony that we know God lives and rests in us. It is how the world sees God, and because someone else lived and loved that way, it is how we came to know Jesus.

Believer, God loves people through you. God manifests Himself through you. It is His power, His strength, and His righteousness that is proven through you. Because you are able to proclaim Jesus Christ, you know God is in you. You have nothing to fear. There is no guilty verdict for you in Christ. You are free to love, free to live fearlessly for Christ. You can love that way, because God loved you that way first by sending His beloved Son to us, by living and dying and resurrecting for you. If you love God, you do so not by empty words but by genuine substantial solid actions. Verses 17-21 read,

“By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Ask yourself, does your brother know you love him? Have you proclaimed Jesus Christ to him? Has he seen God demonstrated in your life? You have not seen God, but you have experienced His love. Has the world around you experienced God’s love from you?

1 John Chapter 3 Verses 10-24

How do you tell the children of God, the followers of Christ apart from the rest of the world? You see the fruition of the God’s Spirit in us through our actions. We are not saved by works, we are recognized by them. Verse 10 reads,

“By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”

So what is it to practice righteousness? Practicing or regularly applying and living out righteousness is done through loving one another. Verse 11 reads,

“For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.”

Earlier in this letter John had said he was writing to the Believers, not about a new commandment but one they had from the beginning but it had been made new because of Jesus. That commandment was to walk as Jesus walked. (1 John 2:6-8). John brought up the commandment again but this time he worded it to love one another. Certainly Jesus gave this commandment several times during His ministry. (John 13:34-35, John 15:12, 17). It is new because in loving one another we are loving as Jesus, with His Spirit, glorifying the Father and showing people to the kingdom of God. But is the same message given from the beginning, God wants a relationship with people. God wants us to love Him and love others. He never changed His message. He never changed His commandments. Love God, love others, and love one another. That is practicing righteousness.

No matter how well you exemplify Jesus and love people, the world will hate you for it. In fact the more you love, the more they will hate you. You don’t find self-worth in what others think of you, your true value is in the fact that God created you, loves you, gave up His Son for you, died for you, and lives for you. God Almighty became Abba to you by adopting you. Don’t look to the world for your value. Their hate is brought about by resentment and jealousy. They might not know they want God or need Him, but deep down they do want that relationship with God and your behavior and acceptance from God makes them hate you. Verses 12-15 read,

“We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”

The world is living dead and they need the life Jesus offers. If we love as Jesus loves, we care. We care even though they hate us and persecute us. We don’t want to leave them to death. That is tantamount to murder. That is what hate brings. The world wants us to die along with them. God wants them to live alongside us with Him.

That is a grandiose idea how do we make it practical and real? How do we love them in everyday life? Jesus laid down His life for us, we have to do the same for others. That might not mean we have to take a bullet for them (though it might). It does mean we have to be willing to sacrifice ourselves, our desires, even our needs to help others. John gave us an example of how to love another. Verses 16-18 reads,

“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

If you see your brother in need and you have what he needs, you give it to him. If you choose not to care, then can God really be in you? His needs could be food, a job, clothes, encouragement, or prayer. If we move the scope out from your brothers to others, then how can we close our hearts to the world’s need of Jesus? How can we ignore that they are lost, dead in sin, and headed for destruction?

When you do the right thing, when you actually love people as Jesus loved you, you don’t have to fight with guilt, regret, or condemnation. Psalm 85:10 says,

“Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
    righteousness and peace kiss each other.”

And when your heart denounces and convicts you, when you realize that you haven’t loved and that God doesn’t abide in you, you can turn to God and ask Jesus into your life. God forgives sin. He will take it all away and He will not condemn you if you are in Christ. People have to reach the point of their heart convicting them if they are to ask God to make them righteous. Verses 19-20 put it this way,

“By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.”

When you live out your life in Christ, you know that He is in you and you don’t have to worry about sin keeping you from God. You know you are forgiven and God Almighty is also your Father. You can approach God and talk to Him about anything. He will give you everything you need and He will make it possible for you to live out your salvation by loving one another. Verses 21-22 read,

“Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.”

How do you know? How do you have confidence in your salvation when you still wrestle with your flesh? You know the same way others know because you keep His commandments. You are not saved by works, your salvation shows in your walk and actions. And what are God’s commandments? Verse 23 tells us.

“And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.”

Yep, that is it. Believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love another, just as He commanded us. If you do that, you have no worries. You have no condemnation. You have confidence that you rest in God, and He lives in you. He gives you His Spirit. His awesome wonderful Spirit, His life, His nature, His love. Verse 24 says it like this,

 “Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.”

So fellow believers, be encouraged. Sure the world hates you, but you have the Spirit of the Living God within you and He makes it possible for you to love them. It pleases Him when you love them. He gives you all you need to love them. You have Almighty God as your Papa, Daddy, Abba, your Father.

1 John Chapter 2 Verses 1-6

Verse 1 reads,

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

John addressed the readers of his letter with affection as his “little children.” He also addressed them that way understanding that many of them were not as mature in Christ as he was. He was someone they looked up to, followed, and listened to.

He exhorted them not to sin. In verse 10 the last verse of the previous chapter and the sentence directly preceding the one above John said, “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” So he had just said that everyone sins and anyone saying they don’t is sinning in the most grievous of ways, blasphemy by calling God a liar. So John followed up his appeal not to sin with the encouragement that if we do, we have an advocate (supporter, intermediary, intercessor, and mediator). And not just any advocate but Jesus Christ who unlike us is righteous. Moreover Jesus is with the Father. He is right there beside the Father. But Jesus doesn’t have to plead our case with the Father. He doesn’t have to beg Him to forgive our sins. Jesus and the Father are one, they have the same nature and their wills and desires are aligned. Jesus is our mediator because He paid for our sins and made His righteousness, ours. Verse 2 reads,

“He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”

We should absolutely not sin intentionally. We should strive to live virtuously but when we do sin, we don’t have to be racked with guilt, unable to continue walking with Christ. Jesus is the propitiation, the appeasement for our sin. He paid the price. He is with the Father as the reconciliation and peace between us. His righteousness is ours. So God isn’t looking down us with condemnation and disappointment. (Romans 8:1). He is looking at us with the love of our Father, our devoted doting Daddy.

But that doesn’t mean we should go around sinning as much as we like claiming grace over everything and assuming there will be no consequences. John says that if we know God, our lives will prove it by our commitment to obey His commands. Knowing God is having a personal relationship with Him, gaining firsthand experience of who He is. If we know God in such an intimate way, we agree with Him because our nature is being conformed to His. Verses 3-5 read,

“And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:”

Once again, John accuses people of being liars, but this time it is people who claim to know God, but don’t keep His commandments. People who say, “I’m a Christian” but live their lives looking just like the world, purposely sinning and declaring grace do not really know God. They do not walk in the light of truth. Walking in the light of truth means walking transparently, not attempting to hide our sins but at the same time diligently obeying God. The truth is Jesus came to earth lived perfectly, died horribly, and rose triumphantly to pay the price for our sin and bring us peace with the Father. Living in that truth opposes continual willful sinning.

What are the commandments we ought to be keeping? There are more than 600 commandments. But Jesus said that the crux of all the commandments, the Law, and every word the prophets spoke were these two in Matthew 22:36-40.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Jesus said we are to love God with everything we have our entire being, everything we think, do, and want. He also said we are to love our neighbor as ourselves, to consider other people just as important as we consider ourselves. Their needs and hopes are just as much as priority as our own.

Later Jesus gave a new commandment. John 13:34-35 says,

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Jesus was about to give His life for us, He made us more important than Himself. Loving others as we love ourselves makes us consider others equally with us, loving others as Jesus loved us means we put the needs of others ahead of our own needs, we sacrifice for them, we love others with all our being and in every we do, think, and want.

Jesus said that by obeying that command, people would know we were His disciples. John said that when we obey, we ourselves will know that we know God. It is important for people to see Jesus in us, to understand there is something peculiar about us. It is just as important for us to realize it of ourselves, loving others like that, obeying God’s commandments takes faith impossible without God.

In verse 6 John says,

“whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”

John says that if we abide in Jesus, we ought to do what He did and love as He loved. That is the commandment that Jesus gave us. “love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”

Believer, walk the walk, don’t just talk the talk. Do not fool yourself by claiming grace so that you can keep looking like the world. Walk in God’s light and by His supernatural might obey His commandments. You won’t have to question your salvation when you know that you are doing something impossible in the world as you love others the way Jesus loved you.

The Beatitudes: Reasons to be happy I have decided to choose happiness. With prayer, the Holy Spirit led me to study the Beatitudes. According to Strong’s Concordance, blessed is translated from the word makarios which is defined as happy, blessed, and to be envied. The further explanation of the word is “properly, when God extends His benefits, the advantages He confers; blessed.” (Help's Ministries Inc, 2011).

The Beatitudes begin the discourse known as The Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew. Jesus’ teachings were groundbreaking and shook the foundations of religious establishment. The beatitudes spoke to people who were struggling, living in poverty under a tyrannical government and a religious system that catered to ritual in order to honor God, but had left God out of the equation. Jesus told them that even in those positions they could be envied and considered fortunate and that they could be happy.

That was not the common view then, and it is not the popular opinion now. Let’s read them and you will see that it doesn’t seem a happy or good thing to be in any of the situations Jesus says are advantageous. Matthew 5:1-12 reads,

“Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

This is an example of the difference between the world and the Kingdom of God. It is very different in the Kingdom of God, those outside consider us foolish, crazy, and even evil. But they don’t understand, and cannot understand until they have the Holy Spirit to help them.

How is it good to be poor in spirit, mourn, or meek? Those qualities are not desired by the world. In fact they are disdained. These traits are only possible with the Holy Spirit as He conforms to the image of Christ. It is not an easy task to want righteousness so badly that it is akin to deep hunger and desperate thirst, a need. Being merciful is, for me something I have to work hard for. Being pure in heart in a foul and sinful world is a struggle analogous to climbing a mountain. Being a peacemaker means that somehow in the middle of strife, turmoil, and conflict that one cannot only maintain his peace but bring it to others. Being persecuted for righteousness? Well we all know that is no fun.

But Jesus says these are all reasons to be happy! He says these are good things and we are blessed even to be envied for those qualities. Believer, remember Jesus words, “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.”

Blessed are poor in spirit “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” –Matthew 5:3

Remember that blessed is translated from the word makarios which is defined as happy, blessed, and to be envied. (Help's Ministries Inc, 2011).

This is the first of the Beatitudes. The word for poor in this verse is translated from the Greek word ptochos. The word is defined, "to crouch or cower like a beggar – properly, bent over; figuratively, deeply destitute, completely lacking resources.” (Help's Ministries Inc, 2011). It is not merely poor but absolutely in need. In a position where one has no choice but to beg because he cannot fill his need on his own.

The word spirit is translated from pneuma which means spirit, wind, or breath. (Help's Ministries Inc, 2011). It is our life force. It is ourselves as we relate to God. It is in fact the same word that is used to denote the Holy Spirit when the word is preceded by the adjective holy.

Therefore, poor in spirit means destitute of spirit, begging in humility for spiritual needs to be met. Romans 5:23-25 tells us that we are all in spiritual poverty and that Jesus provides the way to meet those needs. It reads,

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.”

Although all have sinned and consequently every person needs Jesus, only some ever acknowledge the need. It is for those who concede it that the Kingdom of Heaven is given. Those people who recognize they are dependent on Jesus to meet their need, not just once but every moment of every day, who are given the joy of salvation, the joy of living in the Kingdom of Heaven even now while we walk on earth.

The more we understand how much we have sinned and how there is nothing we can do on our own, the more we admit our necessity and reliance on Jesus the more we are able to celebrate and be overjoyed at His grace and mercy. Romans 5:19-21 reads,

“For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Genuine happiness is not gained by pretending to be good. Authentic bliss is not achieved by justifying or ignoring one’s corruption. True joy is reached when we are able to recognize our sinfulness and ask Jesus, the only one who can to forgive us and make us righteous.

Choose happiness. Don’t close your eyes to your depravity, recognize it. Submit yourself to Jesus as the beggar you are and let Him freely give you the richness of His grace. Jesus turns the tears of mourning over your sin to gladness and praise for His salvation. Jesus quoted Isaiah 61 about Himself. Read verses 1-3 and see that Jesus will do it for you too.

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion--
    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified”

Let Jesus turn your mourning to gladness, let Him give you a garment of praise instead of a faint spirit.

Blessed are those who mourn Matthew 5:4 reads,

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

The second beatitude seems almost backwardly confusing. How can someone who mourns be happy? Mourning is expressing sorrow and grief. The Greek word translated to mourn in this verse is pentheó. Strong’s concordance defines it as “to grieve over a death or a personal hope that comes to divine closure. It is manifested grief so severe it takes possession of a person and cannot be hid.” (Helps Ministries Inc, 2011). Blessed means happy and to be envied. (Help's Ministries Inc, 2011).

How can lamenting that intense be something that give you happiness or a reason to be envied? Because they will be comforted. They won’t be comforted with clichés or empty words. They will be comforted by truth and love. They are comforted by God Himself.

What was your reaction when you realized the depth of your sin compared to God’s holiness? What was your response when you grasped what Jesus had done for you? If you are like me, even now, when you consider your sin there is a deep heaviness of your soul for a moment, a sadness so deep that it should overwhelm you. But the Comforter reminds you that Jesus loves you so completely that your sinful soul was healed by the wounds of His crucifixion and that because of that you are called a Friend of God and a child of our Awesome Father. He repeats to you, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1). He tells you again who Jesus is and what He has done. Isaiah 61:1-4 reads,

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion--
    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins;
    they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
    the devastations of many generations.”

That is not only a reason to be happy but to be overjoyed, jubilant, and celebrate. It is reason enough to praise God for eternity.

And though we sometimes feel like all hope is gone, though we ache and strain for those we’ve lost and miss, though we sometimes think we cannot endure one more struggle, He reminds us of we do have hope. Eternity is waiting for us and with us now. Some of our loved ones have died and we miss them horribly, but this life on earth is not the end. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 reads,

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

The lost cannot be comforted by that truth. They do not have the hope of Jesus. There are no words that can comfort them. Only Jesus can bring them the consolation and succor they desperately need. But until they acknowledge it, feel it and express it, He will wait.

Blessed are the meek Matthew 5:5 reads,

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

When I imagine the earth belonging to someone in a worldly sense, I picture people like Alexander the Great or Attila the Hun conquering countries as their own. I envision strong powerful people with armies and weapons harshly attacking others.

Yet Jesus said the meek will inherit the earth. Meekness gives me a picture completely different than conquerors such as Napoleon, I see a person of submission and weakness, a person who doesn’t fight back when he is injured. But that isn’t exactly what the Greek word for meek means. The Greek word praus is translated to meek in English, but it is more than meekness. It means exercising God's power under His control. (Help's Ministries Inc, 2011). Praus means the strength it takes to turn the other cheek. It is gentleness. It is letting God be strong instead of you.

You do not have to fight on your own. There is no way to overcome the world without Jesus. Jesus died and resurrected and He beat the enemy.  You do not win the world, Jesus did that. You will inherit the earth. It will be given to you as an heir with Christ. It is yours because God bequeathed it to you. Jesus did what we cannot do. Romans 8:1-4 says,

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

The battle is in the future and the battle is now, but Jesus already won it. Instead of beating the air and making a weak and useless effort fighting the enemy yourself, let Jesus’ victory be yours.

John 16:33 reads,

"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."

Deuteronomy 20:4 says,

“For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory."

You are in the fight! You are in the battle, but it is not your strength, weapons or abilities that are effective. It is God. Ephesians 6:10-11 reads,

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”

When you let God be your strength you are already a victor. When you rely on what God has done for you and the gift of His never-ending grace you are a conqueror. Revelation 3:12 reads,

“The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.”

God is giving you a whole new earth. It is all yours, you’ve inherited it already. Revelation 21:1-3 reads,

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God”

What an amazing reason to celebrate because we are weak. It is in genuine and biblical meekness of complete reliance on God that we have victory. Jesus lived, died and resurrected for you. Vengeance is God’s. He has already written the last battle and the enemy loses. But those who are meek enough to rely on God are covered by Jesus’ blood and we are conquerors with Christ! Nothing can change that! Nothing can take the love of God from you. It may look like weakness to the world. It may look like the world is winning. But it isn’t true. Christ wins. Romans 8:35-39 reads,

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness

Matthew 5:6 reads,

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

The Greek word translated hunger is peina and it means to be hungry, needy, and desire earnestly. (Help's Ministries Inc, 2011).  The Greek word for thirst is dipsaó and it likewise means to thirst and desire earnestly. (Help's Ministries Inc, 2011). Imagine desiring righteousness as much as you want a glass of water when your mouth is parched, not just when it would be nice to have a drink but when you are thirsty, when you long for the cool water to slide down your hot throat and satisfy your need only the way water can. That is the way we should seek righteousness. Not just wanting it or thinking it would be nice, but needing it, craving it, not able to live without it as the sustenance of our souls.

Righteousness or dikaiosuné is defined as justice, justness, righteousness of which God is the source or author, God's judicial approval. (Help's Ministries Inc, 2011). Do you want God’s approval that desperately? Well, there is great news for you if you do.

Jesus said you can be happy because you will be satisfied. The Greek word for satisfy, chortazó means to feed, satisfy and fatten. (Help's Ministries Inc, 2011). You may be starving for righteousness, but Jesus will give you so much, you will be fat with it! You won’t have to be meager with goodness because Jesus will give you plenty to exercise.

Your yearning for righteousness will be fulfilled. He is the source of life, He is the source of eternal life and the only way to the Father. (John 14:6). Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well that He was the source of living water and anyone who drank from Him would never thirst again. (John 4:14-15). Your longing for righteousness will be satisfied much deeper than you could imagine. 2 Corinthians 5:21 reads,

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

In Jesus, you are righteous! In Jesus, you are righteousness! Yes, God approves of you! God loves you and Jesus made the way for you to be reconciled to the Father and be righteousness. You aren’t that old self anymore who craved self-satisfaction or worldly things. You are a new creation, you are righteous. You are blameless in the eyes of God. He doesn’t see your sin anymore, He sees your righteousness. (2 Corinthians 5:16-21).

All you have to do is ask Jesus and it is yours. Free! Done! If you sincerely want it, Jesus gives it to you. Then you will find other things happening. You will want that righteousness to be evident in your life. You will want to demonstrate your love for God by wanting to be as good as He says you are. And you will want it for other people too. And as deeply as you want it, Jesus will continue to satisfy your desire for righteousness. You will seek it out. You will pursue that need, the way you go after food and water, not as a luxury but a need. And then you will strive for it above and beyond food or water, but that is okay because Jesus also promised that if you chase God and His righteousness above all else, the rest of the stuff would fall into place. Matthew 6:31-34 reads,

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Do you want God’s approval? Do you want Him to say you are good? He will if you simply ask Jesus to make you right. Jesus promised to satisfy your want for goodness. In fact not just meet the need to make you rich with it.

Blessed are the merciful Matthew 5:7 reads,

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

What is it to be merciful? The Greek word used here is eleéō. It means to have pity or show mercy as it aligns with God’s truth. It is to act on God’s terms in His covenant. (Help's Ministries Inc, 2011). Merriam-Webster’s defines merciful as treating people with kindness and forgiveness, not cruel or harsh, and giving relief from suffering.

Compassion for another person in such a way that you are able to forgive their flaws and be kind to them is what being merciful is. And being merciful is not always so easy. It is something we must choose to do deliberately. It is not a natural trait, but it is a characteristic of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23). It is one we can exercise because God is in us and we are operating in His covenant. It is also a quality Jesus expects us to implement. In Matthew chapter 6:14-15 Jesus said,

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

And what right do we have not to forgive people? What right do we have not to be merciful? Ephesians 4:30-32 says,

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

Consider that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23). And the wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23). We deserve death. In fact before we came to Christ, we were dead. Ephesians 2:4-5 reads,

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—“

We deserve death. We deserve not to have a relationship with God. But He is rich in mercy. He chose to forgive us and not give us death. By His grace, He gave us new life and a relationship with Him.

When you elect to forgive others and show them kindness you are opting happiness. You are forgiven, God decided not to make you pay for your sins. He paid for them instead. He chooses not to bring to mind your sin any longer. He asks the same of you. God was merciful to you. He has a never-ending supply of mercy. Be merciful and God shows you mercy. All those mistakes you make, God forgives them.

Deciding to forgive others, showing them kindness and compassion, letting go of the bitterness and anger over the wrongs done to you allows you to be happy. Emptying yourself of the right to hold onto the injuries inflicted on you makes room for the Spirit. He makes it possible for you to be joyful, peaceful, and merciful.

Blessed are the pure in heart Matthew 5:8 reads,

 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

The Greek word translated as pure is katharos. It means without admixture, separated, purged and therefore clean. (Help's Ministries Inc, 2011). Heart is translated from the word kardia which is defined as the affective center of our being, the inner-self, the intention that establishes who we are. (Help's Ministries Inc, 2011). So pure of heart means that our inner-self, our true self has been flushed out of everything that would make it unclean. A pure heart is forgiven, cleansed by Jesus’ blood and intends to follow Him. It is not an outward ritualistic cleanliness. God doesn’t want the outward show of looking religious. He wants the heart, the desire to follow Him in love.

In Psalm 51, David asked God for a clean heart. He knew the way to that end was the forgiveness of his sins. Verses 1-2 say,

“Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
    blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and cleanse me from my sin!”

It is only Jesus who can cleanse your heart. It is only His blood that can forgive sins. Hebrews 10:19-22 reads,

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

What is it to see God? 1 John 3:2 says that one day we will see God as He is. It reads,

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”

And 1 Corinthians 13:12 reads,

“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”

So it is a promise of our future hope as we live in New Jerusalem in the presence of Jesus. But there is more to the promise. Every promise of eternity is also shadowed for us now in this life. One day we will see God clearly and fully, but right now we know Him incompletely. But we still seek Him. We still want to know Him and we strive know Him more deeply every day.  God wants us to know Him. He said so in Hosea 6:6

“For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
    the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”

Knowing God, having a deep relationship with Him was the reason He saved us. (John 17:3). Knowing the Father is done by knowing Jesus Christ. (Colossians 1:15, John 14:6).

So how do we know God more deeply?

I’ve already established that you must have a relationship with Jesus first in order to have a relationship with God. That is done by making Jesus the Master of your life and acknowledging that only He can forgive your sins and reconcile you to God.

God will enter into you as the Holy Spirit when you ask Jesus to save you. The Holy Spirit then begins teaching you and transforming you. He shows you who He without barriers. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says,

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

And 1 Corinthians 2:6-13 reads,

“Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written,

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
    nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”--

10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.”

The Holy Spirit is God. He reveals His nature to us, He transforms us so that we reveal Him as well. That is one reason we need other Brothers and Sisters in Christ. Each one is indwelled with God and we speak to each other, teach, encourage, exhort, and edify one another through the Spirit.

We read the Bible, His word and learn more about Him. Psalm 119:105 says,

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

The Word of God will do work on us to purify our hearts and help us know Him more. Hebrews 4:12 says,

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

One day, we will see God wholly, but for now we seek Him and get to know Him as best we can in our flesh. If we seek and ask, He will reveal and answer. Deuteronomy 4:29 says,

“But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

And Matthew 7:7-8 reads,

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”

Is it the desire of your inner core to know God? Then you will know Him. Has your heart been cleansed by the blood of Jesus? Then you will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers Matthew 5:9 says,

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

Peacemaker is from the Greek word eirénopoios. It is defined as pacific, loving peace, a peace-maker. A peacemaker, bravely declares God's terms which makes someone whole. The only time this word is used is in Matthew 5:9. (Help's Ministries Inc, 2011).

Eiréné the “peace” portion of peacemaker is defined as peace or peace of mind. Properly peace is wholeness, i.e. when all essential parts are joined together; God's gift of wholeness. It was common and still is a common Jewish farewell to invoke the peace and sense of the health of an individual. (Help's Ministries Inc, 2011).

When we look at the word that way, we see the peacemaker as one who proclaims God’s message, the gift of Jesus’ grace and salvation to the lost in order to reconcile them to the Father and bring them peace with God.

Sons of God is another term I wanted to look at more closely. The Greek word huios means son, or descendent but it means more than that too. It is defined properly, as a son by birth or adoption and figuratively anyone sharing the same nature as their Father. (Help's Ministries Inc, 2011).

It is the nature of the Father to love. Love is more than God’s nature, it is who He is. 1 John 4:8 says,

“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

Because God is love, and He loves us so deeply He desires a relationship with every person. He wants us to be whole, healed in Him, no longer under the burden of sin that separates us from Him. He is patient and has withheld the final judgment so that more people will know Him. 2 Peter 3:9 says,

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

1 Timothy 2:1-7 reads,

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

 God wants everyone to be saved. He wants us to want what He wants. He wants us to do something about it. He wants us to proclaim Jesus to the lost. He wants us to bring them the good news that they can be made whole in God.

When we act on the love of the Father, loving people as Jesus loves us, we glorify God. We are being conformed to His image and more and more we reflect His nature by displaying the outcome of that transformation that is called the fruit of the Spirit. Displaying the fruit of the Spirit, loving people as Jesus loves entails us wanting what the Father wants. It requires us affirming and proclaiming Jesus to the world so that they too can be made whole and called sons of God. Eternal life comes from glorifying God. John 17:1-4 says,

“When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.”

Glorifying God means reflecting His image. When people see you, do they see Jesus? Do they recognize God in you? That is being called a son of God. When they interact with you, they should be interacting with the Son of God and therefore even if they don’t exactly who it is they are dealing with they will at least know you are not like the world. You share God’s nature. His nature, His being is Love. Without that love, people can’t recognize you as having the spirit of God because without that love you can’t have the Spirit of God. Remember who God is. 1 John 4:8 says,

“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

 

Blessed are those who are persecuted, reviled, and maligned The final two beatitudes are similar. Matthew 5:10-12 says,

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Really a person has to ask, how can we be envied or happy if we are persecuted, slandered and hated? Most true followers of Christ have dealt with vilification and loathing from people. Too many, mostly in other countries have been persecuted and even martyred for Jesus. And the problem grows. There will come a time soon when even in countries like the USA persecution will become more common and even more widely accepted than it already is.

Jesus described the end times. John, Paul, and Peter all described the end times. We can see signs of it now. But the fact is that persecution and revulsion of Christians has gone on since the church began. If you haven’t faced the hate of the world, perhaps you haven’t truly followed Christ.

Jesus told us people would hate us. John 15:18-19 says,

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

So let’s look at the fact that Jesus says we can be happy and envied for the persecution we will face as His followers. The word persecute in all three verses is the word diókó. Diókó is defined as to pursue, to earnestly desire to overtake, to aggressively hunt down. It is interestingly enough the same word used to describe Israel’s pursuit and passion for the Law in Romans, to describe the way we are supposed to pursue hospitality toward one another also in Romans, and the word Paul uses in Philippians chapter 3 to describe his pressing on toward the goal. But most often the word is translated with the negative connotation of persecution. (Help's Ministries Inc, 2011).

Righteousness is the same word from Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” The word dikaiosuné is defined as justice, righteousness of which God is the author. It is God’s approval. (Help's Ministries Inc, 2011).

So people who are persecuted, aggressively hunted down for God’s justice and approval are blessed because the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. The Kingdom of Heaven is described in the gospel of Matthew by Jesus through parables. Jesus mentions it in Matthew 13:11 in answer to the disciples’ question of His use of parables. “And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.”

Those who believe in Christ are the ones who are able to have the faith and discernment to see the Kingdom of Heaven around us. A little further on in Matthew chapter 13 Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a farmer sowing good seed while his enemy secretly sows weeds in the farmer’s field. Rather than gather the weeds and risk hurting the good seed, the farmer says to wait until harvest time when the weeds will be revealed, gathered and burned. As followers of Christ we understand the secrets of the story, that false followers, false prophets, and false teachers will receive their punishment when we receive our reward.

Jesus also compared the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed, a tiny seed which when planted grows into a plant so large it is like a tree and birds can rest in its branches. He also said it is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened. (Matthew 13:31-33). The Kingdom of Heaven looks small yet it grows into something much bigger than imagined, something that does good for others, something that provides sustenance for many.

The kingdom of heaven can’t be perceived by those who don’t accept Jesus. But it is good, amazing, and it grows. It doesn’t stay small and inert. The Kingdom of Heaven doesn’t stay secret. It is revealed to people who are willing to hear it. And it holds great promises for believers. When Jesus was teaching us to pray in Matthew 6:9-10 He said,

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.”

The Father’s will is done on earth just as it is in Heaven when we ask it. Heaven is not our future destination, a place we go after we die. It is where God dwells. It is here and now, all around us. And it is within us. Believers live in the Kingdom of Heaven right now and God lives in us! 1 John 4:7-16 says,

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”

When you live out love as Jesus commanded and the Spirit enables, when you seek righteousness you manifest God. You glorify Him and people will see Him. You are living in the kingdom of Heaven and offering it to others. But so many have hard blind/deaf hearts and those people will hate you and persecute you.

The last beatitude is in Matthew 5:11-12

 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

When you are hated because you testify that Jesus is Christ, you can be happy because you have the hope of eternity and that reward is great! In Heaven, our treasures are stored and will be bestowed on us one day when God makes a New Heaven and a New Earth and we will rejoice with God in perfection.

God tells us He saves our real treasures for us in Heaven with Him while we live on earth. In Matthew 6:1 Jesus says,

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”

He tells us not to stockpile treasures on earth because all that is just temporary. He says in verses 20-21 of the same chapter, “but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Eternity is described for us in Revelation 21 where God will give us our reward, the treasure of crowns God has for us. (2 Timothy 4:8. James 1:12, 1 Peter 5:4).

Revelation 21: 3-4 says,

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

In that New Heaven and New Earth where we will spend forever, we will be whole, sinless, completed. Hebrews 22-23 tells us we will be able to be with God without fear.

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,”

So even though we are persecuted, hated, and slandered we can be happy. We should be happy. We have the Kingdom of Heaven now and we have the promise of Heaven for eternity. Persecution for righteousness, hatred for Jesus sake is proof of God’s love in you, of the Spirit of God in you, and the promise of eternity. You may cry tears of sadness and pain now, but one day God Himself will wipe those tears away and you will live forever with Him as yours and you as His.

Rejoice and be glad Believer, you have so much reason to rejoice. Celebrate and be happy! Though you are poor in spirit in desperate need of grace, you have all the riches of the kingdom of Heaven. While you mourn and grieve, you are comforted by the hope of eternity and forgiveness. Although you are meek and depend on God’s strength the world is yours. Because you hunger and thirst for righteousness, you are overflowing with it. Since you are merciful you are given mercy. Because you have a pure heart you will see God. As you are a peacemaker, you are a son of God. And even while you are persecuted and hated for righteousness and Christ, you’re reward is great. Believer, delight, cheer, and dance, you have Jesus. Jesus is all you need. No matter how weak, poor, faint, or desperate you are, Jesus is enough. No matter what you go through or how difficult your circumstances, Jesus is all you need. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 reads,

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Be blessed. Rejoice and be glad.

References:

Help's Ministries Inc. (2011). 1343. dikaiosuné. Retrieved from Biblehub; Strong's exhaustive concordance: http://biblehub.com/greek/1343.htm

Help's Ministries Inc. (2011). 1372. dipsaó. Retrieved from Biblehub; Strong's exhaustive concordance: http://biblehub.com/greek/1372.htm

Help's Ministries Inc. (2011). 1377. diókó. Retrieved from Biblehub; Strong's exhaustive concordance: http://biblehub.com/greek/1377.htm

Help's Ministries Inc. (2011). 1515. eiréné. Retrieved from Biblehub; Strong's exhaustive concordance: http://biblehub.com/greek/1515.htm

Help's Ministries Inc. (2011). 1518. eirénopoios. Retrieved from Biblehub; Strong's exhaustive concordance: http://biblehub.com/greek/1518.htm

Help's Ministries Inc. (2011). 1653. eleeó. Retrieved from Biblehub; Strong's exhaustive concordance: http://biblehub.com/greek/1653.htm

Help's Ministries Inc. (2011). 2513. katharos. Retrieved from Biblehub; Strong's exhaustive concordance: http://biblehub.com/greek/2513.htm

Help's Ministries Inc. (2011). 2588. kardia. Retrieved from Biblehub; Strong's exhaustive concordance: http://biblehub.com/greek/2588.htm

Help's Ministries Inc. (2011). 3701. makarios. Retrieved from Biblehub; Strong's exhaustive concordance: http://biblehub.com/greek/3107.htm

Help's Ministries Inc. (2011). 3983. peinaó. Retrieved from Biblehub; Strong's exhaustive concordance: http://biblehub.com/greek/3983.htm

Helps Ministries Inc. (2011). 3996. pentheó. Retrieved from Biblehub; Strong's exhaustive concordance: http://biblehub.com/greek/3996.htm

Help's Ministries Inc. (2011). 4151. pneuma. Retrieved from Biblehub; Strong's exhaustive concordance: http://biblehub.com/greek/4151.htm

Help's Ministries Inc. (2011). 4239. praus. Retrieved from Biblehub; Strong's exhaustive concordance: http://biblehub.com/greek/4239.htm

Help's Ministries Inc. (2011). 4434. ptóchos. Retrieved from Biblehub; Strong's exhaustive concordance: http://biblehub.com/greek/4434.htm

Help's Ministries Inc. (2011). 5207. huios. Retrieved from Biblehub; Strong's exhaustive concordance: http://biblehub.com/greek/5207.htm

Help's Ministries Inc. (2011). 5526. chortazó. Retrieved from Strong's Concordance: http://biblehub.com/greek/5526.htm

John Chapter 17 Verses 6-26

Jesus prayed before His arrest. He prayed aloud, because the disciples needed to hear His words. They needed the strength and benefit of His prayer too. He didn’t begin His prayer by praying for Himself. He began His prayer by glorifying the Father and then He prayed for the disciples and for us.

Jesus’ focus on others and on God’s will rather than His situation is an example of the selfless love we are to imitate. His prayer also gives us encouragement through our walk with Him. Verses 6-8 read,

“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you.8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.”

Jesus revealed, demonstrated, and expressed God to His followers. People whom God had chosen before the foundations of the world. Because He did and said God’s words, those whom God had elected believed. It is God who does the saving, when we obey and follow. There will be some who just never see Jesus in us, no matter how clearly we express Him. There will be those who never hear or understand the truth, no matter how plainly we say it. Like Jesus we love them anyway.

Jesus was the exact representation of the Father. He spent about three years with the twelve men He called His closest friends and followers, yet even Jesus couldn’t make Judas Iscariot believe He was Messiah. He didn’t stop teaching, He didn’t pound the truth into Judas’ head, and He didn’t become discouraged. He kept obeying God. He continued to demonstrate the Father’s love. He trusted the Father.

The disciples were going to go through some rough times and soon they would no longer have Jesus with them to physically show them the way. But they would still have Him and they would still have the Father. Jesus’ prayer encouraged them of that fact. It can encourage you and me as well. We are in the world but we are of the Kingdom of God. We are kept safe in God. Verses 9-12 read,

“I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.”

If you are a believer you belong to Jesus and to the Father. God keeps us. He continues to teach us, mold, us and edify us. He guards us against the iniquities of the world and helps us obey Him and follow Jesus more closely.

Part of being united with God is unity with one another. The more united we are with our fellow believers the more we are integrated with God. Verse 11 encourages us to be one with each other, just like we are one with God.

“And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.”

In verses 21-22 Jesus repeats the sentiment this time not only about those would become His apostles, but about you and me specifically.

“that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,”

Unity with one another is very important to God and it is one way we are strengthened to continue walking in Jesus as we follow Him in this world. And Jesus wants us in the world glorifying Him. The world needs us to reveal Jesus to them. They need Jesus. We can show them the way. Jesus doesn’t want us separated out of the world living separately from them. He is strong enough to protect us from the wickedness and keep us holy. When Jesus returned to the Father, the Holy Spirit came and filled the believers. He completed them and equipped them for living in the world and revealing Him to the world. He fills and perfects us as well so that we can prove God’s love to one another and to the lost. Verses 13-19 say it like this.

“But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just 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, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.”

If you truly are concerned with what concerns the Father, if you genuinely want what God wants then you have to be in the world. But God protects you from the power of Satan. He makes it possible for you to live righteously and obey His commandments. He gives you faith. He pours His joy and love into you so that you can pour joy and love into others. You can’t do that if you are not living in the world. Jesus sent you into the world, just like He sent the disciples into the world. Jesus, being God, made Himself holy so that the disciples, you, and I could be holy in the truth that Jesus is Christ.

Jesus wants us with Him. He wants cohesion with us and He wants us to know the glory of God the way He does. He concluded His prayer with verses 24-26.

“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

Jesus prayed that for you. He wants you to live fully, joyfully, and sanctified. He wants you to be distinct from the world as you live in the world shining bright for Him. What use is it to shine brightly in a room filled with light? Your light can’t be seen when it is only among other lights. Shine in the darkness instead and reveal Christ to the world. Let those who will hate you, hate you. Love them anyway. You are one with the Father because you are one with Christ. You are filled with the Holy Spirit and you are one with all the other believers. That unity makes your light shine brilliantly. That unity allows you to love even through the hate thrown on you. It is through that love that people will see Jesus made evident in your life.