Day 14 ~ John 14

SCRIPTURE ~ John 14
KEY VERSE ~ John 14:11Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.

OBSERVATION ~ John 14:1-6 is often stated as a passage of comfort at many funerals. We find comfort in the words of Jesus, letting us know there is a place for us in heaven, a place with our name written on it. He also gives us the words which we cannot ignore, try as some may, He is 'the way and the truth and the life, nobody comes to the Father except through Him.' Jesus is the only way to eternal life. Zachary was asking about that last night, about only Christians being in heaven.

Jesus offers us the ministry of the Holy Spirit, it is the way in which God remains with us through all of life. The Spirit does much for us, in giving us a teacher, counselor, comforter, peace, and more.

The passage that jumped out at me is what Jesus said to Philip, as Philip seemed a little confused about the language of Father and Son, Jesus said, "11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves."

Jesus is giving two options here. We often miss what Jesus said to Philip and us, and ultimately those who don't know Jesus. The gist of it is this - 'either believe in me, that is, trust my words, trust I am who I say I am . . . but if you cannot believe this way, then at least allow your belief to begin with the miracles Jesus has performed. Look at the evidence, and tell me I am not true . . . go ahead, I dare you.'

APPLICATION ~ What strikes me about this passage is the opportunity to lead people to Jesus in new ways. We usually assume there is one way to evangelize . . . stand on the corner and shout out "REPENT, BELIEVE IN JESUS!" Or we must go door to door. Yet, Jesus tells us not only should we help people believe in Him, but we can help them to see that He is the real Messiah because of the miracles performed in the Bible and those which we see in life. Part of the miracle is what we can offer others. We take it for granted that life is just to flow normally and naturally. That is our belief, but I never heard God say, believe in me and you will never have another problem in life again. Instead, we have this God we can turn to at all times, a God who is always present with us, a God who desires more than anything to see us having a joy-filled, peace-filled, love-filled life because of who He is . . . and we make a difference in the world because of Him. Hence, people experience Jesus because of who we are and they see the evidence of Jesus first hand in me and you.

PRAYER ~ Father, You have sent Your Son for us, to believe in and to follow through His miracles and through His words. Help our unbelief, help us in our times of mistrust and distrust, help us to experience You and then lead others to know You because they see You in us. And all this comes because we believe in You and then You give the Holy Spirit to us. Amen.