Who Are We To Love?

N.T.# 785 "Who Are We to Love?" 

April 28, 2026 

John 15-Part 5 

LET IT GLOW 

It's easy to love those who love us, treat us well, and give to us. What about those who say hurtful things to and about us, degrade us, withhold from us the good we deserve, even physically and emotionally abuse us? Are we still showing them love in spite of their actions toward us?

What is Jesus telling us about love? 

*Love one another as I have loved you. (verses 12)

*Love your enemies., bless and pray for them. (Matthew 5:44)

*Lay down your life for your friends. (verse 13)

*Love God with all our heart, soul, mind, strength. 

Love is the decision to compassionately, righteously, responsibly, and sacrificially seek the well-being of another. Love is not depending on our feelings, so we can love people whom we may not necessarily like. Love isn't driven by our feelings. Love is driven by sacrifice for the welfare of others. Laying down our life for our friends is the greatest expression of love. (verse 13)  (The Tony Evans Bible Commentary)

LET IT GROW 

Do we want to be a friend of Jesus'? Then we must do whatsoever He commands us to do. (verse 14)

Only two people in the Old Testament were described as "friends of God." It was Abraham and Moses. David loved God. 

Jesus' disciples were His friends. He shared what was on His heart. He disclosed to them what the Father shared with Him. 

Are we seeking after God with all our heart?

LET IT GO

Help us let go of our self and love You, God, and love others.

Is Your Joy Empty?

N.T.#784 "Is Your Joy Empty?"

April 27, 2026 

John 15-Part 4

LET IT GLOW 

 Are you still waiting for a prayer to be answered? Look back at verse 7. We can have the assurance that God answers every true petition. We need to trust in His promise here and in the complementary intercession of the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 8:27) Remain in Jesus and in His Word. (verse 7)

Remember that with God noting is impossible. No problem is too difficult, no burden too heavy for Him. Be sure to not put our will above His. We must not insist on our way. Don't expect an immediate answer to come in exactly tTonyhe way, the place, and the manner we are seeking. Learn to pray as Jesus Himself prayed. (Billy Graham)

Prayers get answered when we maintain intimate fellowship with God through His Word. That is because our will aligns with God's will. (Tony Evans)

LET IT GROW 

Is your joy container empty? Jesus offers His joy to us. 

What was the joy of Jesus? It was His absolute self-surrender and self-sacrifice of Himself to His Father, the joy of doing that which the Father sent Him to do. Jesus delighted in doing God's will. (Oswald Chambers)

Friend, God is in control. Be assured and confident in His sovereignty. 

Is it our joy to do our Father's will in our life? 

Have we surrendered our will to His? 

Are we making self-sacrifices in order to accomplish God's will?

Is Jesus' joy in us right now?

LET IT GO

What is hindering us from living our God's will for us?

What is keeping the joy of Jesus in our life?

Are You Loving and Abiding?

 N. T. #783 “Are You Loving and Abiding?”

April 24, 2026

John 15-Part 3

This is My commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. (verse 12)

LET IT GLOW 

What are the two commandments which Jesus gave that appear in this chapter?

1. Abide in Jesus

2. Love one another as Jesus lives us.

How do we remain in Christ and He in us?

• We confess our sins and ask Jesus to forgive us. 
• We study HisWord and obey it in our life.
• .We depend on Christ and submit to the power of the Holy Spirit allowing Him to flow through us.

Is there someone we are not loving?

Are we denying ourself, dying to self, following Jesus?

Challenging, isn’t it?

LET IT GROW 

What is the greatest love?

In verse 13, Jesus tells us it is to lay down our life for our friends, 

Love is sacrificially for others.It’s not an emotional feeling, but an act of giving. 

Is there someone we should be giving to sacrificially that we are not right now?

When we do, then our joy will be complete. Then we will bear much fruit for Jesus. 

LET IT GO

Before we can love, give, and obey, what do we need to let go?

Is there resentment, hurt, uncontested sin in our life?

Love and Joy

 N. T. #782 “Love and Joy”

April 23, 2026

John 15-Part 2

LET IT GLOW 

Are you bearing fruit today? How do we bear spiritual fruit?

• We are purged, cleansed, pruned. The Word of God cleanses us. (verses 2-3)
• We abide (be present, remain, stand, tarry) in Jesus. (verse 4)
• When Jesus is in us and we in Him, and Hus Words are in us, we produce much spiritual fruit
• Then when we ask, it will be done. (verse 7)
• We glorify God when we bear much fruit and we are His disciples. 

Are we confesses up? What a blessed promise Jesus gave us in verse 7. He will do what we ask when we remain in Jesus and His Words remain in us. When those conditions are met, we are praying according to God’s will. 

LET IT GROW 

We remain in Christ’s love because we obey His commandments.  ( If you missed the 38 commands previously posted, look at earlier ones.)

When we obey them, we abide in God’s love  and Jesus’ love. 

Jesus told us these things so His joy is in us and our joy might be full. (verse 11)

Full means complete, mature, filled.

LET IT GO

Love God, His Word, live it out.

Jesus

Others

You

spells joy. 

Are You Being Pruned?

 N.T.#781 "Are You Being Pruned?"

April 22, 2026 

John 15 

I am the true vine and My Father is the husbandman. (verse 1)

LET IT GLOW 

Once we lived at a house which had grapes along the back fence. Vines were all over it, for they had not been trimmed. Yet, they produced luscious, big grapes. 

Have you noticed that Jesus often used agricultural imagery in His teachings? Previously, Prophet Isaiah spoke of Israel as the Lord's vineyard. God expected His vineyard to bear fruit. God expected His vineyard to bear fruit, but worthless grapes was all it produced. (Tony Evans)

Israel was meant to bear fruit of justice and righteousness. Yet they did not do so.

Jesus identifies two types of branches: fruit-bearing and barren. Appearances are deceiving. The ones not bearing fruit may look like the other branches for a while, but their failure to yield any harvest shows that they are not. 

We can't bear fruit independent of the vine. A Christian must be connected to Jesus. Believers enjoy a relationship with God. Through us, God produces the fruit of the Spirit, but we must be yielded to Him. His Words abide in us and our branches abide in Him. Prayer is the outgrowth. Love and joy results in our life. 

Resource: The Jeremiah  Study Bible

LET IT GROW

In verse 2, we read what the guy who takes care of the vineyard does to produce more grapes. He purgeth it so it will make more grapes.

Purgeth means to cleanse; to prune.

God the Father cleanses Christians who are bearing fruit to bring them to bear more fruit. We find the results in Galatians 5:22-23. Cleansing is produced through the Word of God. (verse 3)

LET IT GO

Prune us, Lord, produce love, joy, peace, patience, forgiveness, kindness, goodness in us today.

Through it All

N.T.#780 "Through it All"

 April 21, 2026 

John 14-Part 12 

LET IT GLOW 

Why was Jesus telling His disciples all of this before His departure? It was so they believed in Him as their Savior/Messiah. (verse 29) Jesus wanted to leave them His peace. (verse 27) Jesus promised peace in the midst of a storm, tribulation. That is when we shouldn't have any peace. His is the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4;7) 

Jesus knew when He died on the cross, the guys would be afraid and troubled in their hearts. Jesus did not resist those who came to kill Him. Jesus would come to them through the Holy Spirit. 

Jesus was willing and ready to die in obedience to the Father's commandment. He was the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. Have you asked Jesus to be your Savior? 

Jesus' mission was almost complete. He wanted the disciples to be filled with joy since Jesus was going to heaven to be with the Father. Believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. (verse 29)

LET IT GROW 

What troubles did Jesus address in this chapter? Death, problems, disobedience are what Jesus dealt with here. 

Are we allowing Truth to guide our decisions? Are we meditating on Truth? Do we choose to love Christ and serve His church?

Allow the Spirit to give us courage. He has been faithful. Victory is in Jesus.

Through it all, to whom do we turn?

LET IT GO 

May we devote ourself to obeying God's Word and Spirit. 

Depend upon the power and presence of Almighty God.

Give Him glory.

Sing His praises trough it all. Trust in Him.

Peace

N.T.#779 "Peace"

April 20, 2026 

John 14-Part 11

LET IT GLOW

Those willing to come to Jesus in love and obedience will find the Father and Son coming to make their home or abode with them. (verse 23) 

Abode means a staying; residence (the act or the place).

Through the Spirit, both the Father and the Son will make their home in the believer. (Falwell)

It's the one who doesn't love Jesus or His Words who will lose out on a relationship with Him. (verse 24) Disobedience to the Word of Christ is also rejection of the Father's Word.

LET IT GROW

The Holy Ghost will teach us all things and remind us what Christ said. That is why we need to be in God's Word. 

In the time when the disciples are in sorrow as Jesus died, He would give them peace. (verse 27) 

Don't be troubled nor afraid-believe. The peace of Jesus calms troubled hearts and fearful hearts. 

LET IT GO