#316 (11/12)

Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled

John 14:1-14

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.  And you know the way to the place where I am going.”  Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”  Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.  Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.   Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.  I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

To ask “in Jesus’ name” is a request to increase our capacity to love.  Anything we ask for that helps God’s love flow through us to the rest of his creation will surely be granted because that is the reason for our existence. Sometimes we “ask in Jesus’ name” for things that help us feel better.  It is more important to ask for things that will help us love better.

Reflection/Discussion:

How can we allow Jesus to influence the way we make decisions?

Principles of Love:

Opening

Pray Through the Day:

Open our hearts

To your love

#317 (11/13)

Promise of the Holy Spirit

John 14:15-26

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.  This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

“I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.  In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live.  On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.  They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”  Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?”  Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.  Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.

 “I have said these things to you while I am still with you.  But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.”

The Holy Spirit is our counselor, God’s advocate for love in our lives.  A good counselor helps us to make good decisions.  Questions about worldly matters take on a whole different meaning when our hearts and minds are open to the spirit of God’s love. The details of what we decide are less important than whether we choose love as the basis for decision-making.

The Holy Spirit is the expression of God’s will within us.  God’s will is that we love.  The power of the Holy Spirit draws us to God’s love and guides us in bringing to the world.

Reflection/Discussion:

What happens when we try to keep commandments without loving?

Principles of Love:

Opening

Pray Through the Day:

Open our hearts

To your love

#318 (11/14)

Gift of Peace

John 14:27-31

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.  You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.  And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.  I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me; but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way.”

We are loved by the source of love.  This brings us a vibrant, alive, enduring peace if we do as our Father has commanded, if we love.  Peace is our natural state.  When we turn away from our nature, we lose our sense of peace.

Reflection/Discussion:

What are the obstacles to true peace?

Principles of Love:

Nature; Accept

Pray Through the Day:

We were created

From God’s love

#319 (11/15)

Jesus, the True Vine

John 15:1-8

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower.  He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.  You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.  Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.  I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.  Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.  If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

Branches that are an extension of the vine and maintain the shape and form of the plant are healthy and bear good fruit.  Branches that crowd each other or shoot off in different directions become weak and stunted.  They don’t receive adequate sun or nourishment and are pruned and discarded by the vinegrower.

Reflection/Discussion:

How do we keep from going in directions that turn us away from the source of love?

Principles of Love:

Nature; Unity

Pray Through the Day:

We were created

From God’s love

#320 (11/16)

Abide in My Love

John 15:9-17

“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.  I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command you.  I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.  You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.  I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.”

We need to accept God’s love into our hearts, to patiently wait for his love to grow within us as we struggle to withstand the onslaught of worldly temptations and distractions.  We need to remain in his loving embrace, to dwell in his heart, to conform to his will.  We need to love one another and bear the fruits of the love that is the root of our existence.

Reflection/Discussion:

How can we more fully abide in God’s love?

Principles of Love:

Unity; Opening

Pray Through the Day:

Bring us together

In your love

#321 (11/17)

The World’s Hatred

John 15:18-25

“If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you.  If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world—therefore the world hates you.  Remember the word that I said to you, ‘Servants are not greater than their master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also.  But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.  Whoever hates me hates my Father also.  If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.  It was to fulfill the word that is written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’”

Jesus makes it clear that hate is a worldly reaction to love.  We cannot love if we expect to be liked by everyone.  On the other hand, if we are hated because of our love, we are in very good company. 

Reflection/Discussion:

How can we best respond to being hated?

Principles of Love:

Accept; Suffering

Pray Through the Day:

Not my will

But thine be done

#322 (11/18)

Witness of the Holy Spirit

John 15:26-27

“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf.  You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.”

Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to help us see what is true in others and ourselves.

Reflection/Discussion:

How do we maintain humble contact with the Holy Spirit so we can see each other more clearly?

Principles of Love:

Nature; Commitment; Humility

Pray Through the Day:

We were created

From God’s love