“From now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He.” (John 13:19)

Who is this He in whom you may trust? Let’s get His exact address. Jesus the Christ, the Son of God of 2000 years ago, existed, died, rose, ascended, and returned His Holy Spirit to reside in and live through those who trust Jesus as the Christ. He will return with every eye seeing Him. There’s no other Christ nor the office of little Christ. We are all subservient to the Spirit of Christ in us. Though forms of Christ’s body are individual, we are never separate from Him. We are never equal to Him or in any way replacing Him. Some have and will come claiming to be Christ Himself. Don’t check it out!

We claim our individual forms of His life uniquely living us.

I am nothing without You, Lord, and nothing except Your will in action as I live from Spirit, ignoring the flesh trying to define me. Your Spirit defines me.

“I have come as Light into the world so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.” (John 12:46)

In 1 John, the Holy Spirit defines darkness as hate. Hate, defined by Jesus, was as simple as pushing someone away. In contrast, light is equated with love. Light is seen as God and experienced as His loving us. Darkness is seen as killing. Make no mistake. The one with the smoking gun walks in darkness. Right now, you can repent and let love so embrace you that you turn your guns into plows producing food for life.

Be transformed from fear and hate to love.

Father, You have loved, do love, and will love me. I trust this. To abide in Your love, I submit to Your love, loving all as my brother.

“And Jesus cried out and said, ‘He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me.’” (John 12:44)

Jesus declares He is but an agent authorized to pass on headquarters’ promises. Or, like an Ambassador, what they say is what the Government they represent is saying. The same is valid for declaring God’s love for every soul conceived. We are God’s Ambassadors. When you are accepted, Christ is accepted. When Christ is accepted, Father is accepted. Hear this! God loves you so much that He has done everything needed to reconcile you to Himself. God is Love.

Be reconciled to Love!

I am reconciled. Thank You, Father, for doing Your will through me.

“Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue;” (John 12:42)

Letting public opinion sway our decision to receive the trust found in Christ will always nullify the benefits of that trust. I remember a Muslim youth who stayed with us one Christmas and had become very interested in embracing Jesus as the Christ. He stated that if he did so, it would mean he would lose everything. He would have to return home, lose his education and potential position, be rejected by his family, and possibly suffer death. That simple yes to a yet unseen promise would cost him everything. He decided to keep what he had.

Keeping what you have is rejecting the LIFE.

Let me keep the Promise no matter the cost.

“This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (John 12:38)

When we see Jesus’ arms stretched out, His rod and scepter become the spikes holding Him on the cross. Without them, He would be free to do His will. With them, He was stuck to Father’s will. We are told to take up our cross every day. We are glued to Father’s will and cannot escape. No effort can get us on our cross nor loose us from the bonds binding us to Father’s will. Father getting His way is the direct outcome of your having called upon the Lord.

Get stuck!

Father, here I am; take me, glue me to Your living will. No matter what I see or feel, I trust it is done.

“But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him.” (John 12:37)

What does it take for you to trust? Nothing. If someone found you today and declared they were returning next Tuesday with a new car for you, with taxes paid, licensed, insured, maintenance, and gas for ten years, then turned and walked away, what would your response be? How about saying, “See you then!” That is trusting in his person according to his word. It will be settled next Tuesday. Many people claim Jesus is a liar without having trusted Him. For instance, the word to us claims, “All who call upon the Lord will be saved.” Have you trusted that word? When will you know if that word is trustworthy? When you call upon the Lord Jesus.

Submit to the message.

I die to my wants and submit to Your wants. You want all of humanity to call upon You and be saved. Here is one voice calling out to You, mine.

“‘While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.’ These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and hid Himself from them.” (John 12:36)

We all trust earthly light. In the instant the light goes on, we relate to things differently. So it is with people who turn to Christ Jesus and trust Him. Trust the Light. Go to the Light! The light of the Father shines through Him doing His works through you. He gave you an opportunity to embrace the Light, that is, Himself. It is well to define light again, LOVE.

Trust the Light. Trust Love. Let Love live you.

I have the authority to become a son of Light by trusting the Light. I trust I am a son of Light. I am a son of Love.

“If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” (John 11:48)

Right after Jesus had called Lazarus from his grave, the Pharisees decided both had to die. Why? Because, without hindering Jesus’s living, He would, in time, gain the trust of everyone. The Jewish world would have come to their Messiah and followed their God-appointed King. People like these Pharisees even today slander Jesus to keep the Jewish Nation from bowing to their King. Well, they did kill Jesus. We all have been blessed beyond measure for their fearful acts. Thank you for shedding the blood that cleanses us all. We all bow to His will.

Nothing can undo God’s work through the trust of His Son.

Father, I accept all You have sent as a Life worth trusting.

“Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him.” (John 11:45)

Years ago, I witnessed a resurrection of sorts. I shared it with a friend. He denied what I had seen. He, as good as, called me a liar. He exhibited anger over my insisting on what I had seen. He had been born in the Middle East. I thought his trust in me as a friend would have been sufficient to credential the story. There was something he could not accept. I later learned that for him to trust what I had said would make someone more powerful than his god. He reported that, as a Muslim, Allah did not have the power to raise the dead. Interestingly enough, Isha (Jesus) has the power to do miracles for them.

Every soul trusting Jesus has been raised from the dead.

Thank You, Lord, that You have power over my death and living.

“I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.” (John 11:42)

Jesus did not say to His Father, “I know You always hear me,” but “I knew…”. This difference can make us think He had already been chatting with Father quietly and was concerned with having to request out loud what Father had already promised. Jesus wanted the crowd to know it was the Father Who had sent the Son to raise the dead, so He, out loud, repeated the promise Father had made. Today, we are commanded to announce what has been promised by our Father God. We may have specific requests and petitions. But for His promises, we receive them with praise and thanksgiving.

Everything Father has promised is yes and amen.

Yes, Jesus, You are the resurrection. Amen.