John 14: The Indispensable, Enduring, and Intervening Work of the Spirit

ALICE KIM|GUEST The disciples had waited their entire lives for this moment. They envisioned Jesus as the fulfillment of the promised king who would rescue them from their oppressive pagan government and establish a kingdom where they would assume roles of prominence (Mt. 20:21, Mk.10:37). So, when they heard Jesus say he would leave them, they were deeply discouraged and disturbed. Jesus responds, “Let not your hearts be troubled” (Jn. 14:1a). Pause here and consider how Jesus comes alongside his disciples and acknowledges their angst. He relates to them by sympathizing with the awaiting trauma. Earlier, he too uttered the same distress (Jn. 12:27a) as he anticipated both the agony and necessity of the cross. He then proceeds to invite the disciples to let go of their finite understanding of redemption—which included their misguided perceptions of Christ’s earthly ministry—in exchange for infinite and incomparable glory.

John 14: The Indispensable, Enduring, and Intervening Work of the Spirit2023-03-24T18:07:28+00:00

John 14: The Helper

HOPE BLANTON AND CHRISTINE GORDON|GUEST “Wow. I’d like a personal encourager. How do I obtain one of you?” Our younger friend was sitting in our hotel room with us listening to a description of what our administrator, Jen, does for Hope and me (Chris). “We literally pay her to pray, among other things,” we joked. But it was based in truth. This woman, hired to do things like mailings and conference planning for At His Feet Studies, had become so much more than that. She prayed for us every week, encouraged us, comforted us, exhorted us, and challenged us. It was no wonder our friend wanted her own personal Jen. Our daily attempts to follow Jesus come up against hostility both from the world and from our own sinful hearts. We all need our own personal encourager. We need someone who knows our very specific life situations, needs, limits, stresses, temptations, weaknesses, and tendencies. Everyone needs a Jen! In John 14, we learn that we do have someone that does these things. But even better than Jen, we have Jesus himself.

John 14: The Helper2023-03-24T18:07:42+00:00
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