John 14:1-14
New International
Version 1984 (NIV1984)
14 “Do not let your hearts be
troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are
many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to
prepare a place for you. 3 And
if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be
with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
5 Thomas said to him,
“Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus answered, “I am the
way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me. 7 If
you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on,
you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said, “Lord,
show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
9 Jesus answered: “Don’t
you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone
who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the
Father’? 10 Don’t
you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The
words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living
in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe
me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least
believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12 I tell you the truth,
anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater
things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever
you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for
anything in my name, and I will do it.
Just
prior to the death of Christ, at the Last Supper, Jesus made these comments to
His disciples. The heading in my Bible
was “Jesus Comforts the Disciples”. He
comforted them just prior to His arrest and ultimate death on the cross. He knew the disciples would be lost,
confused, hurting, scared, and probably even a little angry at the events that
were about to transpire. So, He gave
them these words and they were written down for us as well.
We
recently lost a dear brother in Christ and attended his funeral yesterday. This past week has been a tough one for us
and even more so for his family. As I
read these verses, I was once again reminded that death does not mean the end
of life if you know Jesus. As Jesus
spoke He told His disciples exactly what He was going to do, He was going to prepare
a place for them. He didn’t tell them
that He finished with His work, but that He was going on to the next phase of
it.
I know
our dear brother is not dead, as he knew Christ. He didn’t need a map or a GPS
to find his way to Heaven’s gates, he only needed to know Jesus. So many times in life we get so busy with
life that we forget that there is life beyond this earth. NASA keeps trying to prove there is life
beyond this earth and they really don’t need to go to the expense of trying to
find it because the Bible tells us that it is there. The Bible also tells us that there is only
one way to get there. There is no rocket
powerful enough to shoot us up to the other life.
The way
to the Father God is through Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus came and lived on this earth just like
you and I, with one huge exception, He was without sin. The only One without sin was crucified on the
cross for our sins. He did not stay dead
though, after 3 days He was raised. Many
people witnessed Him on this earth prior to His ascension. Yet, many still do not believe Him today and
they have the Word of God readily available to them. They get so caught up in their earthly lives
that they do not realize the source of comfort and strength.
If you
have not met Jesus, I would like to introduce you to Him. He is my source of strength, comfort, peace
during the good times and the bad times.
He is the One and Only Way to our Father God and He is our source of
life. If you would like to know the
Father, come to Him through Jesus in prayer.
Recognize who He is, “Dear
Heavenly Father”, tell Him who you are,
“I am a sinner, I have done wrong before your eyes, and I repent as ask your
forgiveness for the things I have done that has displeased you,” thank Him, “thank you for sending your
Son to die on the cross for my sins and thank you for giving me a way to you
through Him,” accept the gift that He is
giving you, “Father, I accept the free gift of eternal life that you have
given me through Christ Jesus our Lord”, recognize
that your life is not your own , “I give to you my life Father, may it
bring glory to you as Christ brought glory to you, not by His own will but by
the will of the Father, not by my will but the will of the Father”, receive
Him, “I receive you Father into my life and give my life to you so that I
may come to you through Jesus Christ our Lord”,
thank Him once again, “Thank
you Father for receiving me into your family, thank you for preparing a place
for me in glory” come to Him through Jesus, “In the precious and holy name of Jesus
I pray, AMEN.”
I know,
without a doubt, that our brother in Christ went to the place that Jesus left
this earth to go and prepare. I know
without a doubt, that someday I will go there too. I pray that as you seek Him, if you have not
found Him, that today, this very hour, you will pray to Him and receive Him
into your life so that you too can say, “Without a doubt, I know the way to
Heaven, though Jesus Christ our Lord”.
He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Throw away the confusing maps, stomp on the GPS, go to the Father
through Jesus Christ, and find your way to Heaven.
Seeking
Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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