- In John 16, I was moved this morning by the realization that I can still read and hear the words Jesus spoke 2,000 years ago. Especially, the Gospels, written by the disciples who accompanied Jesus, offer the advantage of conveying facts without the authors’ interpretations or explanations. Understanding or interpreting these events is entirely up to me. Although the Gospel authors might have made some errors while copying previous documents, the core message they intended to convey is likely accurate. The disciples would not have fabricated stories that weren’t present in Jesus’ time, especially when considering they devoted their lives to spreading His teachings.
- Verse 27 offered a new insight that God loves us if we love Jesus and believe that he came from God. This seems to be a little different from the gospel of Paul, which emphasized repentance and salvation.
- Let’s look at myself based on the words of Jesus that I read today. First of all, by my personal experience, I believe that Jesus is from God and have confidence in this matter. Now, let’s think about what ‘to love Jesus’ is. He said that ‘to love Jesus’ is to believe and keep the teachings of Jesus. The teaching is, first, to believe that Jesus came from God, second, to free us from sin, and third, to love each other. If I can keep these things, I am a loved one by God. Then am I loved by God now? I am not confident in loving each other. Let’s keep making practical efforts.
- John 16 (verses 13-15) mainly discusses the Holy Spirit. The Spirit, coming from God, speaks what He hears and foretells the future. Jesus states that everything the Father has belongs to Him, and the Spirit will take from Jesus and disclose it to us. This might seem confusing, but it underscores the relationship between God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, and their role in conveying God’s will to us. The Spirit of God is the same as that of Jesus, and the Spirit uses Jesus’ teachings (the Word) to inform us about the future. The author (John) seems to be somewhat confused about this. Let’s see if there’s anything similar in the Mark’s Gospel that was written in the beginning. (The content is difficult.)
- In verse 13, the Holy Spirit is said to reveal future events, possibly like the hope and assurance we sometimes feel intuitively when we pray. Recently, when I pray for Sam, I feel no worries, which might be related to this. Verses 23 and 24 encourage us to ask and receive, so our joy may be complete. Previously, we couldn’t ask in Jesus’ name, but now we are encouraged to do so and experience full joy. So, I prayed confidently. I prayed for Sam’s coding submission to PayPal, for its success and for him to receive an internship offer, boosting his confidence.
<Application:>
- Share the message received during prayer for Joan’s husband with her. (Done)
- I Sent the details via text before leaving for work. In the evening, I heard that he felt much better after taking medicine from the hospital.
- I Prayed for Sam’s PayPal coding submission today, hoping he gains confidence from getting a summer internship in 2019, and for him to experience the joy of answered prayers. (Done)