In today's devotional, after reading part of the final messages Jesus shares with his disciples, we remind ourselves again of the work or ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of every Christian. "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

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John 14:16‭-‬17 NIV. First and foremost, the Holy Spirit is our advocate. He will help us and be with us throughout our lives. The Holy Spirit lives with us and will be in us. The Holy Spirit is the reason why believers know they are not alone. "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

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John 14:26 NIV. The Holy Spirit is the one who teaches us and reminds us of everything we need to call to remembrance. The Holy Spirit is our teacher. “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.

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John 15:26 NIV. The Holy Spirit is the one who testifies about the Father and Jesus. He is the one who makes it possible for us to know the Father and Son. Lastly; “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.

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John 16:12‭-‬14 NIV. The Holy Spirit is the one who guides us into the truth. You can't understand the word of God or even bear it without the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He is the one who makes it possible for us to worship and glorify the Father.

In today's devotional Jesus teaches the disciples about the concept of remaining in him. To remain in him is to stay with him. It's a choice. Using the analogy of a vine and its branches and the role of the gardener; Jesus shares with us the place the Father and son plays in our lives. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

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John 15:1‭-‬2 NIV. The vines supports the branches and not the branches the vine. Without Jesus in our lives we will be unfruitful. To the branch that is unfruitful Jesus says the Father will cut off, the Father will remove. To the branch that is fruitful Jesus says the Father will prune so that it can be even more fruitful. The secrets to consistent fruitfulness and relevance as a Christian is to remain in Jesus.

In today's devotional, we share the message Jesus shared with his disciples as he prepares to go to the cross. It is a message for all time as its truth is everlasting. "Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

John 14:6‭-‬7 NIV. Jesus is not one of the ways to the Father, no, he is claiming to be the way; the only way. Secondly, until then, there were probably various laws, theories and hypotheses in world, Jesus was saying, by what he is about to accomplish, he is now the center of everything, he is truth itself. He is the yardstick by which all truth will be measured from now on. He also says he is life. The opposite of life is death, so Jesus is essentially saying, without me, what you have is death. Outside Jesus, you are simply existing for the brief period you are in this world, after here, it will be death. Jesus says that he is the way to the Father, you can't see or encounter the Father without first knowing Jesus. If you know Jesus, you will know the Father; no Jesus, no Father! No Jesus, no Life!

In today's devotional, we read Luke’s and John’s account of the Last Supper and the final moments Jesus shared with his disciples. Two lessons stand out for me; Jesus said LOVE is how people will know we are is followers. The second is a lesson in humility as Jesus washes the feet of his disciples reversing the role of servant and master. Jesus the master washes the feet of the servant his disciples. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 13:34‭-‬35 NIV.

A true Christian is the one who chooses to love when or where they should hate. More than the anointing, more than the power and wisdom of God, it is love that shows we are his followers. To wash someone else's feet is to stoop low, it is to humble oneself to serve the other. Washing another's feet to be willing to take on the dirt in people's lives and help them through it. "For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

Luke 22:27 NIV. "When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

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John 13:12‭-‬17 NIV. Washing one another's feet means being willing to go the extra mile for one another, to go outside our comfort zones in serving one another. I charge you today to wash someone's feet, to show love where you deservedly should hate. God bless you.

In today's devotional, we read Jesus predicting that all of his disciples would forsake him when the officials come for him. Peter would even add something extra; he would deny ever knowing Jesus. Speaking about all of the disciples Jesus said; "Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: “ ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

Matthew 26:31‭-‬32 NIV. I can only imagine how discouraged and disheartened the disciples would have been to have denied Jesus after he predicted it. In Peter's case, the Bible says; "But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”

Luke 22:32‭-‬34 NIV. Eventually, it came down to their faith failing when they least expect it to. I want us to pray that God will strengthen our faith so that none of us will ever deny knowing Jesus.

In today's devotional, we read about Judas' agreement with the chief priest to betray Jesus. Now while Luke points out that Satan influenced Judas to do it, Matthew and Mark puts it down to a voluntary action. Why did Judas betray Jesus? My answer, it was likely both. "Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money. He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.

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Luke 22:3‭-‬6 NIV. We see the influence of satan, but we also see that he was the one who went to seek them out and consented to their proposal. "Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

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Matthew 26:14‭-‬16 NIV. Matthew not only points out Judas' greed, but that Judas began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus. His betrayal was calculated and deliberate. Lastly, Mark tells us; "Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

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Mark 14:10‭-‬11 NIV. From all 3 authors of the synoptic gospel, we can conclude Judas betrayed Jesus because of his greed. Yes, he was probably influenced by satan, but we can't prove that. Someone wrote and I quote; "what leads men to their downfall is unusually a familiar foe." Learn from Judas today; what familiar foe is leading you down the path of compromising your faith?

In today's devotional, we start reading about the final 3 days of Jesus' ministry. Jesus visits Bethany where he is anointed for his burial. I also asked what the death of Christ means to each one of us. "While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly. “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Mark 14:3‭-‬9 NIV. I am not sure if Mary realised the significance of what she was doing, but with this one act, she not only honoured Jesus, but she also gives him the courage to go to the cross. My question this morning is what does the death of Jesus Christ mean to you?

Still on the subject of preparing for his return, Jesus shares 2 parables with his disciples to help them better understand what he meant when he said they must be vigilant; the parable of the 10 virgins and the parable of the bags of gold. Both parables teach us that if we are going to escape the tribulation that is coming on the world like Luke puts it, we must prepare, work hard and put in the extra effort; "Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

Luke 21:36 NIV. In the parable of the 10 virgins, we learned that being a virgin is not good enough, simply going to church or that you are called a Christian will not be good enough. Even having a lamp was not enough, something extra was needed; "The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.

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Matthew 25:3‭-‬4 NIV. The extra is the oil. The oil represents the Holy Spirit. The oil represents a deep relationship with the Father. If you are not going to miss the rapture, then your relationship with God has to be more than just what others tell you about him, you need to seek for, taste for the Father by yourself. The parable of bags of Gold teach us that only those who put to use what they have been given will make it; "The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

Matthew 25:20‭-‬21 NIV. My charge this morning, seek the Lord while he may still be found, come into an intimate relationship with the Father. Be a Christian not just in name but in heart; serve the Lord by using your gifts to love and serve others.

In today's devotional, I remind everyone that the words of warning Jesus shared with the disciples was to them as it is to us; “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’ ”

Mark 13:35‭-‬37 NIV. Be prepared!

In today's devotional, we completed reading Matthew 24. We noted that while answering the question about the signs of his return or second coming, Jesus shares with his disciples 2 second comings; one will be he coming like a thief in the night, in the other, every single person alive will witness this coming. The first is the event Christians refer to as "the rapture", a day believers in Christ Jesus are taking out of this world enmass. "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

Matthew 24:37-41 NIV. About the other second coming which will take place after the 7 years of tribulations, Jesus said; "For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. “Immediately after the distress of those days “ ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.

Matthew 24:27‭-‬30 NIV. The first second coming will mark the beginning of the Tribulations, the second marks the end. If you missed the first, you automatically signed up to live through the tribulation. What should we do with this information? Get ready! Be prepared, don't miss the signs of his coming. Let the that day meet you serving God.