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Missing the Truth: John 14:15-31

Published May 27, 2025 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: John 14:15-31 (GW)

15 “If you love me, you will obey my commandments. 16 I will ask the Father, and he will give you another helper who will be with you forever. 17 That helper is the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept him, because it doesn’t see or know him. You know him, because he lives with you and will be in you.

18 “I will not leave you all alone. I will come back to you. 19 In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. You will live because I live. 20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father and that you are in me and that I am in you. 21 Whoever knows and obeys my commandments is the person who loves me. Those who love me will have my Father’s love, and I, too, will love them and show myself to them.”

22 Judas (not Iscariot) asked Jesus, “Lord, what has happened that you are going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?”

23 Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will go to them and make our home with them. 24 A person who doesn’t love me doesn’t do what I say. I don’t make up what you hear me say. What I say comes from the Father who sent me.

25 “I have told you this while I’m still with you. 26 However, the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything. He will remind you of everything that I have ever told you.

27 “I’m leaving you peace. I’m giving you my peace. I don’t give you the kind of peace that the world gives. So don’t be troubled or cowardly. 28 You heard me tell you, ‘I’m going away, but I’m coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I’m going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am.

29 “I’m telling you this now before it happens. When it does happen, you will believe. 30 The ruler of this world has no power over me. But he’s coming, so I won’t talk with you much longer. 31 However, I want the world to know that I love the Father and that I am doing exactly what the Father has commanded me to do. Get up! We have to leave.”

Read John 14:15-31 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

On the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested, the gospel of John spends a significant amount of space dedicated to the time between the last supper the disciples had with Jesus, and the time Jesus was betrayed and arrested. Part way through the last teaching opportunity Jesus had with the disciples prior to the cross, Jesus promises us that even though He is leaving, He will send us help. John records Jesus’ promise by saying: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another helper who will be with you forever. That helper is the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept him, because it doesn’t see or know him. You know him, because he lives with you and will be in you.” (v. 16-17)

One big thing that I see in this description of the Spirit of Truth that Jesus promises us is that the world cannot accept Him because it doesn’t see or know Him. In contrast, Jesus tells the disciples that they will be able to know this Helper because He will live with them and be in them.

This prompts me to wonder if Jesus was simply promising this helper to those original disciples, or if Jesus’ promise extends beyond the first generation of believers. Tucked at the end of verse 16, is the timeframe for this promise. Jesus tells us that the helper that the Father sends to them “will be with you forever.” (v. 16)

Skeptics might say that the emphasis for this promise was on those original disciples, but Jesus uses the word “forever” which is significantly longer than “for the rest of your lives”, which is another time span that Jesus could have said.

I believe Jesus uses the word forever because as long as there are Christians alive on earth and who are sharing their faith with others, they will have help from the Spirit of Truth. The world doesn’t see or know God’s Holy Spirit, and because of this, the world cannot accept the truth about God, but this is because the world is not interested in Jesus.

As followers of Jesus, we have been called to live in a way that makes the Christian life look attractive to others. We are called to share our faith with those God brings into our lives. And we are called to depend on and learn from the Spirit of Truth as we go about our daily lives living for God.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Unexpected Arrival: Luke 12:35-59

Published May 23, 2025 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: Luke 12:35-59 (NCV)

 35 “Be dressed, ready for service, and have your lamps shining. 36 Be like servants who are waiting for their master to come home from a wedding party. When he comes and knocks, the servants immediately open the door for him. 37 They will be blessed when their master comes home, because he sees that they were watching for him. I tell you the truth, the master will dress himself to serve and tell the servants to sit at the table, and he will serve them. 38 Those servants will be blessed when he comes in and finds them still waiting, even if it is midnight or later.

    39 “Remember this: If the owner of the house knew what time a thief was coming, he would not allow the thief to enter his house. 40 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time when you don’t expect him!”

 41 Peter said, “Lord, did you tell this story to us or to all people?”

 42 The Lord said, “Who is the wise and trusted servant that the master trusts to give the other servants their food at the right time? 43 When the master comes and finds the servant doing his work, the servant will be blessed. 44 I tell you the truth, the master will choose that servant to take care of everything he owns. 45 But suppose the servant thinks to himself, ‘My master will not come back soon,’ and he begins to beat the other servants, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. 46 The master will come when that servant is not ready and is not expecting him. Then the master will cut him in pieces and send him away to be with the others who don’t obey.

    47 “The servant who knows what his master wants but is not ready, or who does not do what the master wants, will be beaten with many blows! 48 But the servant who does not know what his master wants and does things that should be punished will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And from the one trusted with much, much more will be expected.

    49 “I came to set fire to the world, and I wish it were already burning! 50 I have a baptism to suffer through, and I feel very troubled until it is over. 51 Do you think I came to give peace to the earth? No, I tell you, I came to divide it. 52 From now on, a family with five people will be divided, three against two, and two against three. 53 They will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

 54 Then Jesus said to the people, “When you see clouds coming up in the west, you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it happens. 55 When you feel the wind begin to blow from the south, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it happens. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to understand the appearance of the earth and sky. Why don’t you understand what is happening now?

    57 “Why can’t you decide for yourselves what is right? 58 If your enemy is taking you to court, try hard to settle it on the way. If you don’t, your enemy might take you to the judge, and the judge might turn you over to the officer, and the officer might throw you into jail. 59 I tell you, you will not get out of there until you have paid everything you owe.”

Read Luke 12:35-59 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

As Jesus was teaching the disciples that they should always be ready for His return, Jesus illustrates this idea like a homeowner waiting for a thief. Luke’s gospel describes Jesus illustration like this: “Remember this: If the owner of the house knew what time a thief was coming, he would not allow the thief to enter his house. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time when you don’t expect him!” (v. 39-40)

Reading these two verses might make me think that Jesus will return secretly, steal His people away from the earth, and leave everyone else behind. But while this does describe the behavior of a thief, it is not the characteristic of the thief that Jesus wants His disciples focusing on.

Both the context of this illustration as well as the immediate explanation for this parable focus our attention onto the unexpected nature of Jesus’ return. Thieves try to arrive when we don’t expect them and ideally while we are away or asleep. While Jesus isn’t waiting for us to leave Him or fall asleep before He returns, He tells all His disciples that His return will be at a time they did not expect.

This tells me that while Bible study is important, the goal of our studying should be focused on growing closer to Jesus and not on uncovering a secret code or explanation for a prophecy that would lead to setting a date for His return. Rarely does prophecy make sense before it has been fulfilled, and while God may have placed clues regarding His return in the Bible and/or in the natural world, it is foolish for us to focus on uncovering them.

Discovering the true date of Jesus’ return before it happens would be just as harmful as it would be helpful. If we knew Jesus was returning 40 years from now, we might let our relationship with Him slide, thinking we have time — but unknown to us is that we only might be alive for 10 of those years. The date our lives end should remain just as unknown as the date of Jesus return because when we don’t know the dates of each, we can better focus on building the relationship with God that He desires to have with us.

Jesus’ return will surprise everyone. It will be unexpected. And it has intentionally been set at a time that is unexpected for those living in the world, but will make perfect sense for those looking back on the event.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Forgiving Families: Luke 17:1-10

Published May 21, 2025 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: Luke 17:1-10 (NIV)

1 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. 2 It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. 3 So watch yourselves.

“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. 4 Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”

5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

7 “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? 8 Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? 9 Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

Read Luke 17:1-10 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

This journal’s passage contains one of Jesus’ famous statements on forgiveness. However, too often, we are quick to generalize and broaden Jesus’ words when we should instead keep them as specific as He spoke them.

In verses 3-4, Jesus says, “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”

The difference I see in what this passage says when compared with how we see it is important. Jesus says “brother” (some translations, like the NIV, include sister); and we immediately generalize His use of this word to mean spiritual “brothers” (fellow Christians), neighbor “brothers” (those living near us), or teammate “brothers” (those we work/play with). However, Jesus says “brothers”, and while all the previous descriptions could work, the most often ignored is the biological family “brothers or sisters”.

The reason I think this passage refers first to the biological family is this: If someone sins against you and you then rebuke them, afterwards, if they repent and the relationship persists, then all is well; but if they repeatedly sin against you, you still must rebuke them, but they will be less likely to repent, and the relationship will likely end. But biological family members (“brothers and sisters”) often have arguments, fights, disagreements, but ending the relationship technically isn’t possible because of the biological connection. One could disown a family member, cutting all communication with them, but ignoring the other person does not break the connection that is still there.

It also is possible that Jesus said “brother” because He knew families are prone to having the most fights, disagreements, and arguments of any of the relationships. As the saying goes, “You can pick your friends, but not your family.” This means that while forgiveness is important in friendships, it is significantly more important in families.

Jesus came and died for you and your brothers and sisters. If God loves them that much, we should be willing to work out our differences.

Also with how this passage is worded, it implies that forgiveness isn’t necessary if the other person doesn’t repent. I see forgiveness being an internal decision, whereas working on the relationship is an external decision. If there is no way the person who sinned can repay their debt, then we should forgive, regardless of whether they asked or not because this frees us from the trap of bitterness. Only if they come to us and repent should we then be open to working on the relationship.

Forgiveness and repentance is important in friendships, and it is really, really important in families.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Trusting God with His Mission: Luke 10:1-20

Published May 20, 2025 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: Luke 10:1-20 (NCV)

1 After this, the Lord chose seventy-two others and sent them out in pairs ahead of him into every town and place where he planned to go. 2 He said to them, “There are a great many people to harvest, but there are only a few workers. So pray to God, who owns the harvest, that he will send more workers to help gather his harvest. 3 Go now, but listen! I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. 4 Don’t carry a purse, a bag, or sandals, and don’t waste time talking with people on the road. 5 Before you go into a house, say, ‘Peace be with this house.’ 6 If peace-loving people live there, your blessing of peace will stay with them, but if not, then your blessing will come back to you. 7 Stay in the same house, eating and drinking what the people there give you. A worker should be given his pay. Don’t move from house to house. 8 If you go into a town and the people welcome you, eat what they give you. 9 Heal the sick who live there, and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ 10 But if you go into a town, and the people don’t welcome you, then go into the streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dirt from your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. But remember that the kingdom of God is near.’ 12 I tell you, on the Judgment Day it will be better for the people of Sodom than for the people of that town.

13 “How terrible for you, Korazin! How terrible for you, Bethsaida! If the miracles I did in you had happened in Tyre and Sidon, those people would have changed their lives long ago. They would have worn rough cloth and put ashes on themselves to show they had changed. 14 But on the Judgment Day it will be better for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No! You will be thrown down to the depths!

16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever refuses to accept you refuses to accept me. And whoever refuses to accept me refuses to accept the One who sent me.”

17 When the seventy-two came back, they were very happy and said, “Lord, even the demons obeyed us when we used your name!”

18 Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Listen, I have given you power to walk on snakes and scorpions, power that is greater than the enemy has. So nothing will hurt you. 20 But you should not be happy because the spirits obey you but because your names are written in heaven.”

Read Luke 10:1-20 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

During Jesus’ ministry, He wanted to teach His disciples how to travel and do ministry following His return to heaven. While I don’t believe the disciples understood this reason at the time Jesus send them out on a mission trip, I believe they realized this later on.

Within Jesus’ send-off message to His followers, He describes how they should travel and how they should act. Luke tells us that Jesus instructed them to: “Don’t carry a purse, a bag, or sandals, and don’t waste time talking with people on the road. Before you go into a house, say, ‘Peace be with this house.’ If peace-loving people live there, your blessing of peace will stay with them, but if not, then your blessing will come back to you. Stay in the same house, eating and drinking what the people there give you. A worker should be given his pay. Don’t move from house to house.” (v. 4-7)

As I read this, I wonder if Jesus’ instructions to these disciples carry over to today. If I head out on a mission trip, should I avoid taking any money, any supplies, and not even a change of clothes? Also, if I am welcomed into a home, should I stay there until I’ve worn out my welcome and they kick me out?

Part of me takes this portion of Jesus’ instructions and attributes it to the time period and culture of the first century, but even as I do this, there are several things in this passage that are themes that apply to ministry an every point in history.

First, Jesus told His followers to not waste time talking with people on the road as they traveled. This does not mean that we should avoid God directed encounters with people, but it does mean that we should be extra intentional about what we spend time talking about. When we have a conversation with a stranger, while we might not want to immediately dive into deep theological matters, we should be extra intentional about the focus of our conversation and let God’s love shine through our words.

Next Jesus instructs His followers to bless the places they stay with a message of peace. This is done on the front end, before we really know the hosts, managers, or owners of the places we are staying. This teaches me to first assume love, acceptance, and peace from others instead of approaching a situation with the expectation of hostility or defensiveness. We are able to create the mood of our conversations through the expectations we bring to our interactions with others. God knows that our blessing will return to us if the person we offered it to rejects it, so we are called to freely bless those who are willing to help, because this is what God is like.

Thirdly, Jesus tells His followers to stay in the same house and accept the hospitality we receive. In today’s culture, I believe this means staying in one place as long as possible to give the impression of stability and certainty in those who hear about us. Staying in one place also helps people who hear about our ministry find us when they come looking. A restaurant that is constantly moving from place to place is likely to lose as many customers as it gains, and it is very hard on the managers and staff. A restaurant that has been at a certain place for a really long time implies that it is successful, well managed, and well liked. Our ministries should be consistent, stable, and long-term – and we should make it easy for God to send people our way by having a consistent location.

While some of Jesus’ instructions to His followers is redirected later on in Jesus’ ministry, the thing we should always remember, regardless of the point in history we live, is that we must depend 100% on God for help with the mission He has called us to. While He has challenged us to work and share His message with others, He wants us to depend on Him for help, direction, guidance, and strength to carry through with His work.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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