Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:2-3 How do you learn the best? Is it by making mistakes? Trials? Lessons? There are five trials and three lessons that we can learn. Jesus brings us promises and hopes no matter what we are going through. Read Job 1:1-21. Job is known as a blameless or righteous man, which means he had integrity and stayed away from evil. Do you wish you were like him? I do. He went through many, many complex trials, yet he kept…
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Appointed To Go
“I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit,” John 15:16-17 Today will focus on the verse above. Jesus revealed the purpose behind your “chosen-ness.” We all have a “go appointment.” How it looks for each of us will be different. We will go, where we will go, and what we’ll take with us will vary. The one thing we do have in common as Christ-followers is that we are appointed to go. The fruit we will bear in this appointment. Proverbs 11:30 says this: “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise…
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You Are My Friends
Now you are my friends since I have told you everything the Father told me. John 15:13-15 Do you have a friendship that you cherish? When we are friends with Jesus, we get a treasure of the life-giving wisdom of the Father. Let’s read some scripture about some of the treasures to be discovered from these words for your own life? Matthew 6:1-4 Matthew 6:9-15 Luke 12:31-32 John 6:44 John 10:28-30 John 11:25-27 In Colossians 2:2-3 is says, “I want their hearts to be encouraged and joined together in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of…
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No Longer Slaves
“I no longer call you slaves because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. John 15:13-15 In this verse, Jesus takes us from slaves into friendship. He invited His friends to vital inside information. What important truths did he reveal from the following verses? Matthew 6:6-8, 16:21, 18:3, 12:36 Matthew 6:25-34 Mark 12:30-31 John 3:3-8 John 14:1-6 These words of Jesus and the eternal truths revealed have become very familiar to us. However, can you imagine hearing them for the first time? According to 1 Peter 1:12, the king told commoners wondrous things even the angels long to know. Jesus broke the mold of unapproachable, unknowable leadership in other ways.…
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You Are My Friends
“You are my friends if you do what I command.” John 15:13-15 Let look at the word “friend”. In verse John 15:13, a friend in Greek is a philon. It refers to associates for whom there are affection and personal regard . . . and conveys a greater sense of intimacy than does our modern use of friend. Obedience to Jesus doesn’t allow us to be His servants or disciples. Obedience also opens the door to a true friendship with Jesus, His highly regarded associates, The recipients of His affection. We will read the following verses about some friendships in the Old Testament that had…
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Filled With My Joy
I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! John 15:10-12 How much do you love our Lord and Savior? Does your life show it? Today, we will focus on the result of having steadfast obedience for Jesus out of our tenaciously abiding love for Him. Have you ever put abiding and obedience together to be filled with joy? I sure haven’t. Let’s look at the following verses: John 4:31-34, Philippians 2:5-11, and Hebrews 12:2. What can we learn from these verses about the connection between obedience and joy from the life of…
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Remain In His Love
“just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” John 15:10-12 How much do you trust God? Do you ever feel like you are stepping off the ledge when He asks you to do something that is not you? Let’s read Hebrews 4:14-16 and 5: 4-9. How does Jesus help us hold firm to what we believe? What did Jesus face? What difference might it make to consider Jesus facing a struggle with similar roots? What is the invitation given in Hebrews 4:16? What is offered after the invitation? In chapter 5:4-9, how does this show the humility of Jesus and His…
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Obey My Commandments
When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, . . . John 15:10-12 How do you feel about being obedient to God and what He asks of you? Do you clench your jaw a little or a lot?? Well, let’s dive in a little about this today! When Jesus said, obey my commandments, you remain in my love, He wasn’t/ isn’t putting us behind jail bars. He was putting up guardrails to keep us from going off the cliff! Keeping us from falling away from His love. Obedience to Jesus keeps us in the staying power. It keeps us on the road to…
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Remain In My Love
“But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my father. I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. John 15:7-9 Do you remain in Jesus’ love? Do you struggle to remain in His love? We don’t always see the threats to our spiritual health, which doesn’t mean that they aren’t real and shouldn’t be taken seriously. First, Peter 5:8 says, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great…
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Jesus Love For Us
I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. John 15:7-9 How does the Father love the Son, Jesus? Let’s find out from the following scriptures. Matthew 17:5 -While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said: This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him. Listen to Him! Mark 1:11 John 3:35 – The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hands. John 5:20 John 10:17 – This is why the Father loves Me because I am laying down My life so I may take it up again. John 17:24 Colossians 1:19 –…