JOHN 16 SORROW WILL TURN TO JOY

March 26

JOHN 16
19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.– John 16:19-24

JOHN 16 SORROW WILL TURN TO JOY
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Blessed are they who endure a life full of sorrow
For the Lord promised comfort to all those who do
All of you who are carrying heavy burdens, rejoice!
Jesus died for you that you may live and have joy
Christ promised a new life to all those who love him
Repent, turn to him so you’ll be freed from sin.

Jesus gave hope to his disciples when he explained to them what he meant when he said “A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while you will see me.” He was talking to them about his death and how they will be full of sorrow, but he also comforted them that the sorrow will soon be joy. He was speaking of his sacrifice on the cross which would mean his death. He will no longer be with them physically, but later on, when he dies, he will come again (meaning his resurrection) and the Holy Spirit will be in their midst. At the time that Jesus was explaining this to them, they still could not fully fathom what he meant. He was giving them hope so that they will not mourn like those who don’t know God. They will experience the love, grace and mercy of God during his sacrifice on the cross. They will realize how much they are loved by him.

REFLECTION
• Why did Jesus liken his death to a woman giving birth to her child?

JOHN 16 IN A LITTLE WHILE

March 25

JOHN 16
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.16 “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” 17 So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” 18 So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” – John 16:12-18

JOHN 16 IN A LITTLE WHILE
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When you are going through adversities for a long time
Hold on to faith for the Lord will be there in a little while
You may not think he is there beside you at this moment
But in a little while, he will make you feel his presence
Do not despair when you undergo much suffering
If you wait patiently, in a little while, he is coming.

In this last moment that Jesus was speaking to his disciples, he lovingly assures them that although they won’t see him, they need not be afraid or worried. The promise of the Holy Spirit leading them to truth was one of the greatest gifts that they could receive from the Father. They will no longer be in the dark because the Holy Spirit will lead them to the truth which will enlighten them in terms of things that Jesus taught them that they didn’t understand at the time they were hearing it. Many of the things they didn’t understand about Jesus’ spoken word while he was still with them were later on clearer to them. That is the work of the Spirit: to lead them to truth.
When Jesus said verse 16, he was foreshadowing his upcoming death and also his resurrection. The disciples will later on understand what their Master meant.

REFLECTION
• What were some truths you didn’t understand that became clearer later?

JOHN 16 THE HELPER’S ROLE

March 24

JOHN 16
“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. 4 But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. – John 16:1-11

JOHN 16 THE HELPER’S ROLE
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Jesus promises his disciple a Helper who will come when he leaves
It was important to him that he goes so that the Helper could come
His role is to make them see the truth and expose the lies
This Helper will also come to convict them when they sin
But the greatest thing this Helper will do is to give Jesus the glory
He will bring light to the dark places that Satan has covered.

One of Jesus’ legacies to his disciples is that they will have a Helper. This Helper will not be able to come if he doesn’t leave them. It is interesting how the world has thwarted the word “helper.” The role of the Helper is to direct people in righteousness and in the path of God. The world system has a different notion of helper. The helper that the world knows is the one that does something for others in the light of looking good or appearing righteous. It is a transactional concept whereby the helper is doing an act so that it could be a platform for being labeled “good.” The Holy Spirit’s role is not to make himself good but to bring God and Jesus the glory because they are the only Ones who are good.

REFLECTION
• Why do you think the world view of “helper” is so different from the Helper?

JOHN 15 THE WORLD HATES THE LORD

March 23

JOHN 15
23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.
– John 15:23-27

JOHN 15 THE WORLD HATES THE LORD
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Anyone who loves the things of this world
Will surely not understand the ways of the Lord
The world loves all that is pleasurable and comfortable
The righteous bears their suffering and adversities
If you love the Lord, the world will surely hate you
Endure the trials for your Savior will never leave you.

Jesus tells his disciple another warning. They have to be prepared that they will also be hated by the world. He was giving them a picture of the things that they will suffer from after he leaves them. Jesus reiterates his promise of the Helper who will reassure and comfort them. Everything that he came here on earth for was to do his Father’s work.
When Jesus declared “They hated me without a cause”, he was quoting David’s lament in Psalm 69:4 when David was overwhelmed by his adversaries. He was unjustly being chased by many enemies constantly. David mentioned in this psalm that “those who hate him are more than the hairs of my head.” He must have expressed his intense distress from wrongful accusation from his enemies. This psalm was a foreshadowing of the same predicament that Jesus experienced when he is wrongfully accused by the Jewish leaders.
As Christians, we can learn to expect hatred from the ungodly and unbelieving. We will surely be loathed by those who do not know the Lord. So, let us lean on the Helper.

REFLECTION
• Share some ways that the world hates those who believe in Christ?

JOHN 15 IF THE WORLD HATES YOU

March 22

JOHN 15
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. – John 15:18-22

JOHN 15 IF THE WORLD HATES YOU
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
If you are ridiculed and ostracized by those unbelievers
Do not fret for you are not alone in your struggle
Jesus himself was hated by those who don’t know him
Rejoice that you have been chosen by him to be free from sin.

Once again, we witness Jesus’ love for his disciples by preparing them for what is going to happen when he is no longer with them. He warned them that they will be hated by the world. In the bible, the world represents the kingdom of Satan. This kingdom does not acknowledge Jesus as their king, but they bow down to their evil king, Satan. The kingdom of God is about selflessness while the kingdom of the world is about selfishness. They are two opposing kingdoms. In this account, Jesus prepares them to expect that those who belong to Satan’s kingdom will definitely hate them. Because their concept of life is very different from God’s ways, they will loathe anyone who dares to be different from what the norm is. While Jesus was on earth, he was hated by the Jewish leaders because he was a threat to their “law-based” rules which were very different from what they know.
So, if you are a believer and encounter people loathing or hating you, be joyful. God has chosen you to belong to his righteous kingdom and not to the evil kingdom of Satan. As a believer, shouldn’t we expect hatred from this world because they do not know the way of true love since they do not know God?

REFLECTION
• Why do some Christians struggle with hatred from the world?

JOHN 15 THE GREATER LOVE

March 21

JOHN 15
12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another. – John 15:12-17

JOHN 15 THE GREATER LOVE
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Jesus laid down his life to show love that is unconditional
The greater love he showed is one that is sacrificial
He doesn’t love like the world does which is transactional
It looks after its own self and isn’t selfless to serve others
God commands us to love one another if we truly love him
By this, we will manifest the result of being freed from sin.

Jesus continues to reassure his disciples before his sacrifice on the cross. He gives his last will to them. They were commanded to love one another. The love he expects from them is the same love as he will give them when he sacrifices his life on the cross. What does it truly mean to lay down one’s life for a friend? It doesn’t literally mean that we kill our bodies or save them from death. It is a figure of speech which means for us to be selfless and not selfish. Because our nature wants to focus on the self and not on others, it can be truly challenging for us to follow the Spirit’s call. Jesus explains to his disciples that God chose us first so that we are able to love because it flows from his own love for us. He calls his disciples friends and no longer servants because they now know what the Father wants them to do and servants are usually not privy to their master’s motives or activities. Jesus taught them everything that the Father commands them so that they can continue to live like his own children too. It can be challenging to love one another especially those difficult people, but if God’s love flows in your heart, you will be able to.

REFLECTION
• What are the challenges of loving someone when they don’t know God?

JOHN 15 PRUNE WHAT DOESN’T BEAR FRUIT

March 20

JOHN 15
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. – John 15:1-11

JOHN 15 PRUNE WHAT DOESN’T BEAR FRUIT
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, follow his word
If you do, you will decode lies coming from the world
If you stay faithful in doing what Scripture says
You will bear fruits in your life in abundance
When you recognize parts of you that isn’t productive
You may have strayed away from our heavenly Father.

In this account, Jesus likens his relationship to his disciples to a vine and its branches. The vine is Jesus and the branches are his followers. When the branches are not cut off from the vine, they will produce fruits. So, Jesus advises them to make sure that they are constantly in relationship with him so that they will bear fruits. When the Father, who is the gardener or vinedresser, sees that they are not producing fruits, he will prune them. To prune in gardening means to cut off or remove parts of the branch for better shape or more fruitful growth.

REFLECTION
• How has God pruned you when you are fruitless or unproductive?

JOHN 14 LET NOT YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED

March 19

JOHN 14
25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.
– John 14:25-31

JOHN 14 LET NOT YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
If you will only know how much your Father in heaven loves you
Your hearts will not be troubled for he loves unlike the world
His love is unconditional, steadfast and never lets you down
The world’s love is transactional, selfish and conditional.

In this account, Jesus reiterates his former promise of the Helper, the Holy Spirit and the peace that he alone can give. It is not a “peace” that the world gives. Usually when we humans think about peace, it is more about an act of avoiding or not talking about something that will spark up a confrontation. Most people want to keep the peace just so they do not rock the boat and still appear good. The peace that Jesus was talking about here is a result of the flow of the love of God in those who believe in him. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit rather than a manufactured kind of peace that we humans do.
When Jesus told them to rejoice now that he is soon going to his Father and leaving them, he was reassuring them that the hour is coming when all these promises will be given to them because of his coming death. He foretold them that the purpose for his coming on earth is now going to happen and that Satan has now begun to use Judas to betray him. So, he knew it was coming, so he asked them to come to the garden to pray with him.

REFLECTION
• What troubles your heart in this world that you need to bring to the cross?

JOHN 14 THE PROOF OF YOUR LOVE FOR GOD

March 18

JOHN 14
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. – John 14:15-24

JOHN 14 THE PROOF OF YOUR LOVE FOR GOD
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
To love God, we are expected to keep our covenant with him
That means that we strip off our old nature and habitual sins
To say you love God and keep your old thinking is a lie
The proof of that love is your obedience to his word and laws.

In this account, Jesus gives his disciples the promises that the Father has for them when he leaves. He was assuring them that even though they won’t see him and be with him as they did, they will have more benefits. They will have the Helper which is the Holy Spirit to be with them forever. The Spirit of truth is another promise that he assured them with. The world won’t know it, but they will. The other promise is that they will not be orphans for the Father in heaven has adopted all those who believe in him.
There are conditions that Jesus laid down on them to keep the covenant promise between God and his people. If they love God, they need to follow his commands and his word. A covenant has two parties that comply with the agreement in order for the promises to happen. If God’s people cannot keep their end, it is to their own detriment.

REFLECTION
• What can you say about Christians who live double-lives by keeping sins close by?

JOHN 14 ASK WHAT GLORIFIES THE FATHER

March 17

JOHN 14
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. – John 14:8-14

JOHN 14 ASK WHAT GLORIFIES THE FATHER
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When you pray, ask for anything that is lined up with truth
You are glorifying your Father in heaven when you do
If you ask for something that gratifies only your wants
You may not receive it for it won’t always be good for you
Your Father in heaven knows what is best for your growth
As a good father, he will not let anything hinder His love.

In this conversation between Philip and Jesus, we see how our minds can hinder our ability to see and discern. It sounds like Jesus was a little bit sad that after all those years he had been teaching them, they still do not get it. Of course, everything that happened was according to the plan of God. We will always be limited in our comprehension of the mind of God. I think Jesus wanted them to listen more with their hearts and follow and do what they heard. Doubts and unbelief can hamper our ability to act out our faith. Jesus also reassured his disciples of the generosity of his Father. He told them that if they ask anything in his name, it will be given to them by the Father. Many of us do not ask. “Asking” is the humble act of going to God for our needs. Some of us think since God knows our needs so what’s the point of asking. Some of us think he is a genie who’ll grant us our wishes and wants as we demand or command him to do so.

REFLECTION
• What does the book of James say about asking in chapter 4?