Begin with 2 minutes of silence and stillness before God.

John 14:6! Books can be written just on that verse alone, as it’s one of the most loaded verses you’ll find in scripture. As much as I rejoice over so many things in that verse, my focus for today is going to be on a connection of two concepts that Jesus makes five times in the thirty-one verses of this chapter. The connection here is that our love for Jesus is shown by our obedience to Jesus. Before I expand on this concept further, I need to share a little of my story which first made this concept a reality for me.

I always thought of myself as a Christian because of my upbringing, but I began to have my doubts as I got into my early twenties. As a college student, I was around Christians my age in a gathering known as Campus Outreach. I would hear these guys speak about obedience even when it was difficult or in difficult circumstances. As I listened, I viewed this as some form of legalistic behavior. It was also during this time that I developed addictions to video games and pornography - addictions I took with me into my marriage. Although I knew it was something that I could not continue doing, I could not resist indulging in either for longer than a week.

Recall the warning found in James 1:15, “...sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” Although there was no physical death, after four years, these addictions helped usher in the death of my marriage. BUT GOD! It was then in a rock bottom moment when Jesus met me right on my living room floor and revealed to me His holiness which allowed me to see my sinful depravity as well as my need for His redemption. No more temporary moral reformation; on August 14, 2011, I was TRANSFORMED! Although I’ve had to live with the weight of my divorce, praise be to God that it doesn’t define me nor is it my identity!

Getting back to love-yielding obedience in John 14, I instantly found that my addictions were gone! How could that be? It was because of my newfound love for Christ. My love for Him had surpassed my temptations. This struggle and this desire for these two addictions were suddenly gone. My deliberate disobedience had turned into obedience through the transformational power of Jesus. Am I perfect or sinless? No. Am I making progress through a process known as sanctification through the power of the Holy Spirit? Yes.

As difficult a truth as this is, Jesus doesn’t call us to selective obedience. He calls us to full obedience. Obedience is not legalism. Obedience is love for Jesus fueled by the Holy Spirit working in our lives to glorify Christ in and through us.

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• Are you living by your own sense of morality, or have you been transformed by Jesus?
• In what areas of your life do you find disobedience?
• Jesus is on record for how much He loves you. How does your life reflect how much you love Him?

Family Devo: John 14

By: Carrington Stuart

Today’s story from John is about Jesus telling the disciples about having to return to Heaven. The disciples are really sad at first, but then Jesus comforts them. Let’s read all about it!

One day, Jesus decided to share with His disciples that He was getting ready to go back to Heaven to be with God. The disciples were so sad! They were going to miss Jesus so much and didn’t know what to do without Him! Jesus comforted them and told them that He was going to come back for them one day because everybody who believes in Jesus as the Son of God will be with Him in Heaven forever! The disciples were still sad because they didn’t know how to keep going without Him as their leader. Jesus was so important to them!

Jesus told the disciples that God knew how much they would miss Jesus and that they would need another Helper when He was gone. So, God planned to send the disciples the Holy Spirit after Jesus was gone! The disciples had never heard of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told them that the Holy Spirit is a Helper who teaches us how to talk to God and serve others, just like Jesus does. Even though the disciples were sad that Jesus had to go, they were happy to know that the Holy Spirit would be with them.

Today, we can have the Holy Spirit to help us when we ask Jesus to come into our life! Even though we can’t see the Holy Spirit, He guides us and helps us to make good decisions, love others, and follow Jesus! I’m so glad we have the Holy Spirit as a Helper!

• How can you tell others about Jesus this week? Have you asked Jesus to come into your life? Do you believe that Jesus is God’s Son?
• Prayer: Dear God, thank You so much for sending Jesus to save us from our sins. I’m so glad that we have the Holy Spirit, too, as a Helper! Please help me to trust You and follow You every day so that others can learn about You, too. I am so glad that because of Jesus, I will be in Heaven with you forever one day! I love you, God. In Jesus’ name, Amen.