John 14:15-21 (NRSV)
Read John 14:15-21 on biblegateway.com
Verse 15"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. Verse 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. Verse 17This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
Verse 18"I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. Verse 19In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. Verse 20On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Verse 21They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them."
Devotion
As I begin this new day, O God, my thoughts are about Jesus. His coming into the world was a gift of love, a sign that God loved everyone and wanted what is best for us. Jesus did not have an easy life—tempted, betrayed, mocked, beaten, put to death on a cross. All of this was done by people he loved. How was Jesus able to walk such a difficult road? Two things seem clear to me. First, in his times of testing he went off by himself to pray. He sought God’s guidance. He prayed for the strength to do God’s will. Second, he leaned on God to be his comfort and strength. He trusted in God completely. He trusted God even when the situation seemed hopeless as they were pounding the spikes in his flesh on the cross. “I will not leave you desolate. I will come to you” (John 14:18, RSV)
Prayer
O God, help me to trust you in every circumstance. Amen.