The Joy of Glory

John 16:25-33 (click here to read the entire passage)
“Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:32-33)

Reflection
My kids sat on the edge of their seats as the world of Fantasia was being destroyed right before their eyes.

I had decided to show them what any self-respecting 80’s kid would call a cinema classic… The NeverEnding Story.

The basic plot is about a boy, Bastian, who reads a book about the world of Fantasia… and the lines between fantasy and reality get blurred as the world of Fantasia is being destroyed and Bastian is the only one who can save it.

And as Fantasia is destroyed, and tensions mount, it looks like all hope is lost. It gets super intense and emotional for little kids.

You 80’s children know what I’m talking about… “Bastian, call my name!”

Anyway, the point is that as my kids grew nervous and tense… I was totally calm and at peace. Why? Because I’m an unfeeling, unemotional, callous monster? No! Because I knew what is coming.

I knew the end.

This is the logic of Jesus in John 16. He tells his disciples about a coming hour of difficulty and suffering… and then actually dares to claim that he has told them all of this SO THAT they may have peace! How is that supposed to work? How is telling them that they will experience suffering supposed to give them peace amidst their suffering?

It works… because Christ tells them and us the end.

We know the end.

“In the world you will have tribulation. BUT take heart; I have overcome the world.” Christ has overcome the world and he will set all wrongs right! We know the end! And so we can have peace even as our world goes through a pandemic and things seem so uncertain… we know the end!

The end is redemption… reversal… resurrection!

That is the same ending that gave me peace on the couch as I watched Fantasia fall apart… I knew that redemption, reversal, and resurrection were coming. I knew that Bastian would not only save Fantasia, but he would be given the ability to reverse all the destruction and death it has experienced. He will bring it back perfectly and so I had perfect peace.

We can have peace to… because we know the end.

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

Today’s devotional is authored by John Kegley 

John 7:37-39 (click here to read the entire passage)
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Reflection
You might be parched right now. Your income might be parched. Your health might be parched. Your emotions might be parched. Your relationships might be parched. Your family situation might be parched. Your soul might be parched. Your longing for God might be parched.

In your parched situation, where are you going to fill your thirst? What things are you giving yourself to in order to feel quenched? Netflix? Facebook? Instagram? The news? Pornography? Food?

In your parched situation, Jesus calls you to repent, to turn away from the idols you have looked upon to deliver you from your parched situation. He says if anyone thirsts, if anyone is parched, if anyone feels like their soul is a barren desert, let them come to him and drink. Whoever comes to him in faith, their heart will overflow with living water.

Maybe you are thinking “What does Jesus mean when he says to come and drink of him?” Maybe you are like the woman at the well in John 4 and wonder “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?”

Jesus makes these statements while he is at the Feast of Booths. During this Feast, the people of Israel were to make temporary booths or shelters to live in for seven days as a reminder of the time they lived in these temporary shelters after their deliverance from Egypt and during their time in the wilderness. As a part of The Feast, the priest drew water from the pool of Siloam and led the people in procession to the temple where he poured the water into the water basin. This symbolized the many times the Lord provided water for his people while they were in the wilderness. Furthermore, this water ritual foreshadowed the future time where a river would flow out of the temple, bringing life to the whole earth (Ezek. 47:1-12).

In effect, Jesus is claiming to be the very God who provided water for his people in the wilderness and still provides living water for you and me today. Also, Jesus promises to give his disciples and has given us the Holy Spirit who is himself the living water through whom we come to find life and enjoyment in the Triune God. Christ calls you away from your parched desert of idols to an oasis of life where your thirst will be quenched in him by the living water water of the Holy Spirit.

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

John 6:60-69 (click here to read the entire passage)
After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:66-69)

Reflection
I was fed up.

I don’t remember exactly what had upset me, but I’d had enough. I was five years old and home alone with my siblings and something they’d done or said just set me off. I packed a small backpack of supplies, grabbed my school mat that was for kindergarten naptime, and I hit the road!

That’s right! I was running away! But to where?

Where would I go?

The reality of the situation is that there was nowhere else for me to go. I had no other home. I had no other parents. I had no other family. My home was the place and my family were the people who sought to sustain my life out of love.

So many people in this world live with my five-year-old mindset! They have packed up “the meaning of life,” placed it on their own back, and set out to find their own path. But to where?

Where will they go?

The reality of the situation is that there is nowhere for any of us to go for meaning, purpose, joy, satisfaction, life other than to God himself. We have no other creator. We have no other sustainer. We have no other savior. Jesus Christ and his Words of life alone can give us true life!

This is what Peter proclaims in John 6, as many who once followed Christ turn back because they find his words to be hard. Even still, Peter sees the reality of the situation in that no matter how hard Jesus’ words may sound, they are the only words of eternal life! So, he won’t go to anyone else!

Shades, everyday there are a million different voices speaking a million different words… all of them attempting to woo your heart to trust in them for what you truly need. Don’t be deceived! No one has the words of eternal life but Christ!

Even right now, as we face difficult days… yes, we need to be informed… but now more than ever we need to know there is nowhere else to go for true life besides Christ! No one else can give you the Words that he can… words of true life… words of eternal life.

Where will we go in these days and always?

We will go to Jesus.

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.