September 8 - Do You?

John 16:25-33 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? (John 16:31 ESV)

Belief is powerful. It shapes our hearts. Shapes our motives. It drives us toward many things. There are so many different kinds of beliefs. They are nigh innumerable. Some beliefs people merely jump into with little in the way of evidence, while others are based off of things they have seen, heard, and understood.

Jesus heard what his disciples had to say about him. Their reassurances about who he was. He desired to further reinforce their belief in him and was communicating to them an aspect of his relationship with God the Father. He was building their belief, much as he had done for nearly three years.

What do you believe pr disbelieve about Jesus? What is your belief in Jesus based on? Do you believe in him? Who is he to you?

September 7 - Sorrow & Joy

John 16:16-24

So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. (John 16:22 ESV)

I have been pretty fortunate in life. Rarely have I known what is it like to experience true sorrow. There have been a few isolated incidents, but in nearly every occasion the sorrow has been short-lived. There are some that experience deep sorrow on a daily basis. The circumstances of their life is terribly tragic.

Jesus knew that his followers were about to experience a deep level of sorrow. They had yet to grasp the severity of what was about to befall Jesus. Knowing their lack of understanding of the situation he was offering them comfort for what they could not yet understand.

Jesus still offers comfort for sorrow. An essential theme of the Gospel is that he not only understands sorrow, but he is the answer for the sorrow in our world. The kind of joy that is God-given cannot be taken away by people or circumstances. And one day when we see Jesus we will understand that only in him is our joy made complete.

September 6 - Not Right Now

John 16:5-15

I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. (John 16:12 ESV)

"Patience is when we wait nicely." That's what we tell our son nearly daily when he seems to be getting antsy. Patience is a tough thing to develop. Why? Because we often think we're ready for something when we're not.

Jesus knew his followers better than they knew themselves. He knew that he was sharing so much with them that they were at capacity. They couldn't handle any more profound truths that particular day. They had hit their saturation point.

I think he does the same with us. He knows what we're ready to hear. But I don't think He will communicate something to us that we're not ready for. It means we are not the final authority. We're not the ones calling the shots. Jesus does. He evaluates both instantaneously and beyond the confines of time. He sees tomorrow's potential in today's failings. He sees the real us, the true heart, and he is the best judge of what exactly it is that we need to know, do, and experience right now.

September 5 - Falling Away

John 16:1-4

I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. (John 16:1 ESV)

Have you ever known someone who walked away from their faith in Jesus? Perhaps not. Theologians and all manner of people smarter than myself have argued over even the possibility of such a thing for years.

Jesus said it was possible for people to fall away from their faith. He was warning his followers of some of the terrible things to come in hopes that they would maintain faith. He didn't want the trials and afflictions of persecution to drive them away from their belief in him.

It worked. Nearly all of the original twelve disciples went on to give their lives for their belief in Christ. Christianity spread like a flame in a forest. People have continued to believe in Jesus as their savior for nearly two millennia.

In western culture we as Christ followers don't generally face direct physical persecution. Instead we often come up against simmering ridicule, sarcastic academic scrutiny, and posturing political posers. It is sometimes a nearly subconscious or passive aggressive kind of tension that wears away at our faith, if we let it. We have a choice in all things, we choose to let these things push us closer to Christ, or we choose let them erode our faith. If we do succumb to the pressure until the foundations of our faith erode away, we too may one day run the risk of falling away.