John chapters 13 through 16 contain the teachings of Jesus know as The Upper Room Discourse. These teachings of Jesus took place on the night Jesus was betrayed by Judas. Along with the Sermon on the Mount, these chapters contain some of the most intensive of Jesus' teachings on a wide variety of subjects.
As chapter 14 begins, Jesus has instituted the Lord's Supper and shown the importance of servant leadership by His own example of washing the disciple's feet.
Jesus begins the chapter with some of my favorite words from Jesus, "Let not your heart be troubled." I've said it before, and I'll say it again; we live in a troubled world. Our world is filled with sin, strife, and turmoil. The tragedies of life will unfortunately hit every one of us at sometime or the other.
I find life a very difficult thing to deal with. I think that life is very, very, hard. However, Jesus, even now speaks the words, "Let not your heart be troubled." In spite of the storms of life, we have an anchor in Jesus. We can place our confidence in Him.
Jesus tells us, "Believe in God, believe also in me." Jesus is God come in human flesh. We can fully trust in Jesus and His teachings because they are the very words of God Himself.
When facing sickness, financial burdens, or relationship issues, we can know that Jesus is with us telling us not to let our heart be troubled, but instead, we are to place our faith in His love, goodness, and His ability to bring His will to fruition in our lives.
One of the main reasons we can follow the words of Jesus and not let our hearts be troubled is explained by the Lord with the words, "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself: that where I am, there ye may be also."
This life is not all the there is for those who have put their trust in Jesus. After His death, resurrection, and ascension Jesus went to prepare a place for those who believed in Him in Heaven. Jesus wants everyone who trusts in His love to be with Him for all eternity.
No matter what we may go through in this life on earth, if we are in Christ, the joy of being with Jesus forever in Heaven awaits us.
I know that I get wrapped up in this life and I lose my focus sometimes on the fact that the world to come is so much more important than this microcosm of eternity in which we live. When we go through difficulties, we don't often realize that this too shall pass. And because of Jesus, a bright and wonderful eternity awaits.
You know all of this life and the things we go through or accomplish are meaningless apart from Jesus because of the transitory nature of this life.
I've just been thinking recently about how meaningless so many of the things we do in this life are. We get jobs that amount to nothing, spend countless hours entertaining ourselves often inanely, and just in general spend our lives in the accumulation of things. And then we worry and are troubled over losing the temporal things we spent our live obtaining.
The only things that matter are the things done for Jesus Christ and the things we do in love for others. I've been convicted about doing more for the Kingdom of God.
When we focus on eternity's values like love, joy, peace, and goodness we can get our lives off the temporal things which trouble our lives so much.
However, if we focus on Heaven and eternity we can have joy in our lives because we realize what is truly forever.
Being in Heaven with Jesus is going to be wonderful. All of this world and its worries will vanish when we look upon His face.
I know that lately I've been worried and troubled about many things, especially health and finances. But deep down in my soul I know that all will be well because eternal life with Jesus awaits. So why should I worry about this small span of earthly life?
I know the place that Jesus has prepared for those who love Him is absolutely beyond words to express. However, it well be a place of pure love because Jesus is there.
Won't it be wonderful to be reunited with our friends and loved ones who have died in Christ. I know that my Mom, Dad, Toby, and many of my other relatives are with Jesus and are waiting for me.
Because of this, I can have peace knowing that no matter what happens to me now, because of Christ, eternity is glorious.
Everyone needs to make sure that they are on the narrow path that leads to Heaven. Without hope for eternity, this life truly is meaningless and troubling.
Jesus said in John 14:6 that He was the only way to eternal life. He was the only way to the Father. Only Jesus holds the key to Heaven.
When we used to go out in evangelism teams, one of the questions we often asked people was: Are you 100% sure that if you died today you would go the Heaven? That is my question to you today. You can be sure that Heaven and eternity with Jesus are in your future. Recognize that you are a sinner in need of a Savior. Repent of your sins and ask the Lord to forgive you. Believe in the atoning death of Christ on the cross and His bodily resurrection. And ask Jesus to be your Savior and Lord. If you place your life in the hands of Jesus, one day you will be with Him forever, and in this life on earth you can know the peace that only a life with Christ can bring. Amen.
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