Discipling Life

As we get ready celebrate Pentecost in our worship this Sunday, I wanted to take a look at a few verses from John’s Gospel. 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him because he abides with you, and he will be in you. … 25 ”I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you. ... 16:13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. (John 14:15-17, 25-26; 16:13, NRSVue) On the night before the cross, Jesus spoke words of comfort and promise to his disciples: “I w...

There are moments when love is more than a feeling. It shows up in the choices we make when no one is watching. It takes shape in patience, in forgiveness, in staying when it would be easier to walk away. We often say love matters, but Jesus invites us to live as though it truly does. In John 14:15-21 , Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Then he offers a promise: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever” (vv. 15-16). Love and obedience are not burdens here. They are signs of relationship. As we respond to Christ’s love, we are not left to figure it out on our own. The Spirit comes alongside us, guiding and strengthening us in ways we could never accomplish by ourselves. Embracing this relationship, we begin to experience the holiness of heart and life that God desires for us. Our response to God’s love is not merely passive; it requires our active participation. This is where the cooperative work of grace comes into...