When we're confronted with the hard truth that our hearts are divided, what we need to be told (and shown) is that God's jealous love never fails...even when we do!

Jesus is and speaks the Word of God, which means that we must listen. Thankfully, as Jesus wraps up His public ministry (before making final preparations for the cross), He tells us exactly what that should look like. As He does, He again invites us to come to Him for the light & life that only He can give.

Jesus is and shares the glory of God. Until God gives us a new heart, we can never see and delight in this reality. But once He does, our souls will be satisfied forever as we stand in awe of our Redeemer and rest in His amazing love.

Pain in the body always brings trouble in the soul. It's true for us. It was true for Jesus. Thankfully, He embraced the purposeful pain of the cross (for God's glory and our joy), which is what makes it possible for us to follow Him out of darkness and into the light as we embrace God's purpose in our lives (even when it hurts the most).

When we confuse being messengers for being mediators, we can't help but be tempted to add to the gospel. Every time we do that, though, we obscure the glory of God that shines through the sacrificial love of Jesus.

When everyone is tempted to do what is right in our own eyes, we need a King: (1) Who is mighty to save; (2) Who comes to us; & (3) Who can't be stopped. This King, of course, is Jesus...and the question is: "How will we respond to the King we need when He's not the King we wanted?"

True worship is committed to giving full vent to our joy in Jesus. As we do, John reminds us that this kind of worship always has: (1) A Cause; (2) A Cost; (3) Critics; & (4) Competition. What all that means is that true worship can only happen when it comes as a response to true love, which is most fully revealed in Christ.

We are loved by a hated Lord. That will always mean that those who hate Jesus will hate us. When that happens, the question is: will we really believe that the gospel can't be stopped & follow Jesus even when it's not popular?

We tend to define love by what we want, but real love is committed to what we need. Since Jesus leads us in real love, He expects us to follow Him in real faith through death to glory.

Jesus (our Good Shepherd) came to lead us to the Father, but we can only follow Him on His terms, not our own. How we respond to His word & work shows us whether we are True Sheep...or simply Wolves in Sheep's clothing.