Nobody sees themselves accurately, but pressure always reveals who we really are. Thankfully, this is just as true of Jesus Himself as it is for His enemies & friends. What this should lead us to ask ourselves is: (1) What does pressure reveal about me? & (2) What do I do when I'm exposed?

When we're tempted to let our feelings define reality, Jesus reminds us that He is the great "I AM." The more we know Him as He truly is, the more we'll love all, fear none & live free.

Unity is a shared love with a shared purpose. And as Jesus prays for His people, He doesn't just show us what gospel unity is and why it matters, He also tells us how to pursue it in a way that brings Him the most glory and gives us the most joy.

The world can be a dangerous place. But as Jesus prays for His people, He wants us to know that we're always safe in Him because: (1) He guards us in God's will; (2) He gives us God's word; & (3) He sends us into God's world.

There is no such thing as an independent Christian. That's why the only way for us to experience eternal life with Jesus is for us to die to our independence and embrace God's grace as a gift we could never deserve, through good works we could never accomplish, so that we can share in a glory we could never have imagined.

When God does something we don't understand, we all tend to focus more on what we don't understand than we do on God Himself. When that happens, Jesus invites us to find our peace in Him (instead of our circumstances), trusting Him to give us joy that lasts forever, access to the Father & freedom to not be defined by our failures.

As followers of Jesus, we are outsiders in a world that hates Him. However, He's given us His Spirit so that we can still live with joy as He leads us home through hardship.

While we all want to make ourselves the standard of what's true and good, only Jesus has the right to actually do it. When He does, He's clear that the world isn't going to like it. In fact, they're going to hate Him...and everybody who loves Him...because they: (1) Reject His word; (2) Deny His works; & (3) Ignore His witnesses.

Would you pray more if you knew God would give you everything you asked for? If so, it's going to require a change in: (1) What you pray for; (2) Why you pray; & (3) How you pray. Still interested?

No matter how long we've been children of God, it seems we never outgrow the temptation to live like we're still orphans. In those moments, we need to hold onto the promise and power of the Holy Spirit, trusting that He lives in us & will always give us grace to love Jesus as He loves us.