John 16 Devotions by Stephen Taylor

John 16:12,13

“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.”

We must never forget nor underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit! Jesus is telling His disciples, “There are things I need to tell you, things you need to know, but you’re not able to carry it by yourself.” If Christ were to share with them all that were to come, it would crush them spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and even physically.

Let’s think about this in a very real and tangible way. 11 of the 12 disciples were martyred, killed for their faith in Christ, and the other one was exiled for his. We see this definite loss of life looming for them in the not-so-distant future. With this knowledge in hand, their human strength would fail them, and their fleshly desires would destroy them. They would not be able to stand on their own with this very real and very hard truth in hand. But praise God who gave them and us the powerful Comforter, the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit gives them and us the power to face death and walk in faith. He gives them and us the comfort in knowing that though man may reject us, God has received us in Christ Jesus! God gave them and us His Spirit so that we may rest in Him in all situations.

We see Christ tell them plainly here that they can’t handle it, but when the Spirit comes, He will be their guide and their provision in this. How awesome is our God? How kind and tender-hearted wanting us to succeed in Him and not fall away. He could have told His disciples everything and told them to deal with it, but instead, He left them with a promise and hope of the Holy Spirit to come! It humbles me and gives me a sense of awe and wonder thinking about all that He is and that I get to be His forever! Thank You, LORD!

Lamentations 3:22,23- Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

God bless! I love you all, but His love gives us everything we need! Praise, glory, and honor to Papa God, Jesus Christ our King, and the Holy Spirit!

 

John 16:13

"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come."

 

This verse was so heavy on my heart in prayer today, not just for me but for all believers. This came to mind: why do people need a guide? People only need a guide if they are going someplace tough or someplace they don’t know or have never been. Truth is truth. Whether it’s easy to receive or hard to believe doesn’t change the fact that it’s true, and we need help getting there.

 

One of the biggest lies the enemy tells us is that a loving God wouldn’t send people to Hell, and from the outside, that looks like truth, but the truth is God doesn’t send people to Hell. We have a choice, and the choice is Jesus or eternal separation. God chose to send Jesus to the cross instead of sending us straight to Hell. Jesus made the way, the only way, and that is Truth! There is power, freedom, and hope in truth!

 

Let me share the revelation I got today. The truth is that God knows every sin I have or will commit, and He knew this when Jesus went to the cross. As they were driving the nails into my Savior’s hands, my sins were driven there too, and He still loves me! No sin or shame can separate me from the love of God through Christ Jesus and that, my friends, is Truth, and it has set me free!!!! I encourage you today not to look at “easy” or “hard” truth, but simply ask the Holy Spirit to lead you into ALL truth and experience the freedom found there!!!

 

Be honest, Be willing, Be a vessel, and walk in His truth because it’s the only truth there is!!!

 

I love you all. God bless, Glory to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit!!!!

 

 

John 16:31,32

"Do you now believe?" Jesus replied. "A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.”

Christ knew that His disciples would desert Him but that His Father never would! We, too, can rest in this promise, for our Heavenly Father is faithful above all! There will be times in our lives where we feel all alone, and maybe we are, but our great and glorious God is with us! He doesn't leave us all alone, as orphans wandering blindly in this wilderness of life. But rather comes and walks with us each day, taking us by the hand and sometimes even carrying us through.

Is this truth enough for us? It was for Jesus. He knew all His earthly followers/friends would scatter, yet His peace was in the truth that God the Father would be with Him. It's important for us to have good brothers and sisters around us, but even the best of us will fail one another at one point. But God never will.

We must be firmly rooted in Him today if we want to stand the tests of tomorrow. He has given us such a blessed time to be alive. Yes, it can be hard, and yes, it can be scary, but He has blessed us abundantly in so many ways. Christ faced much adversity, hardship, trials, and atrocities, yet He never wavered in His faith or His peace. He held fast to the truth of Who God the Father is and didn't let the world around Him change that. Can we say the same? Our peace is not of this world. If it were, it would be as failing, flawed, and fleeting as the world we live in. Instead, our peace is of Christ, and He has never been defeated!

John 16:33- "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

God bless! I love you all, but His love is our peace! Glory, honor, and praise now and forever more to Papa God, Jesus Christ our King, and the Holy Spirit!

 

John 16:33

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

 

Jesus is not just talking to the disciples but to you and I as well!! This verse tells me so many things and has such a great promise! It tells me that to find peace, I have to find Jesus! Our peace isn’t found anywhere else besides the arms of our Savior!!

 

The verses before this talk about how tough it’s going to be and that there will be trouble! It is not going to be easy all the time, BUT never give up! Jesus has overcome everything we will ever face! He faced this world on the world’s terms, and He won! Not only did He beat the world, but He won our salvation in Him!!

 

This verse means so much to me when I’m down or feeling overwhelmed because it reminds me that He already came and conquered, and I am His!! Jesus says this before He even goes to the Cross. He calls His shot and tells us plainly that He has already won!!! Tough and difficult times are going to be a part of this life, but we don’t have to face them alone! We have the Lion of Judah on our side!!! 

 

Notice the contrast here:

 

World = Trouble 

Jesus = Peace!!!

 

Which side do you want to be on?

 

I love you all! God bless! Glory to God and our Risen King!!!!!

 

 

John 16:33

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Yesterday, I walked up to Subway and took the alley behind the house. As I got to the alley, I saw that it was icy and treacherous. Well, half of it was. One half of the alley was in the shade and was still very slick and hard to walk on, but the other half was in the sun and was melted and much easier to navigate.

As I walked, there were some slick spots and some tougher areas to get through, but because the sun had paved the way, I was able to make it. I laughed as God revealed to me that my Christian walk was much like that alley. I had the side of darkness that I could have slipped, stumbled, and slid my way through. Or I could chose to walk in the light and take the path the Son had made for me!!! There were still some rough spots on this path, but they were manageable because the Son had already overcome them with His power!

I love this verse so much because Jesus promises a couple things, one of which being trouble and the other being triumph!!! And we don’t overcome because of who we are but because of Who He is!!! The promise of victory in this verse is refreshing and one that I think we could all use right about now! Trouble is normal, trouble is to be expected, trouble will eventually find us all, but don’t worry because before there was ever trouble, there was Jesus, and the He’s one who created this world, saved this world, and rules this world! Instead of just running from trouble, let’s run to Jesus and watch Him do what He does best...... Save His children!!!

Be compassionate, Be kind, Be a warrior, Be a victor, and most importantly, be more like Jesus every day!!!!

I love you all, God bless, Glory to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit!!!!