Sunday, June 21, 2015

The Clarity In Vision

We all need to be assured of one thing, God is in control of everything. If we were to look at the details.... We may not understand it clearly. Let it be the first miracle at the Canaan, When Jesus asked them to fill the water-pots with water. The obedience mattered, if they would have questioned, Lord how can it be?

We have a lots of "What ifs". Lord will never allow anything apart from his word, he is all wise God, he does what he says.

Isaiah 55:10-11English Standard Version (ESV)

10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
    and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.


Jesus is in control of everything, he holds everything together:

Laminin and the Cross



Jesus's calculations:
Matthew 13:8 NIV
Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop--a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

Its not 30, 60 and 90, but its 100.


Matthew 18:21-22 (NASB)
Forgiveness
21 Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

Its not 7 times 70, but its countless... as long as you can....

Why did not Jesus taught the measurement of a Circle(ex. PI) mainly for two reasons, One he does't want us to circle around again like the Israelite(for forty years they have circled around the wilderness, wherein the actual distance was about two weeks), but rather he told that he is the way, the truth and the life.

Luke 15:1-7 (NASB)
The Lost Sheep
15 Now all the tax collectors and the [a]sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. 2 Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
3 So He told them this parable, saying, 4 “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the [b]open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.


Its not one sheep out of 100 that's lost, its 99 that is lost and the one is found...


The Quails
Your greatest desire could be given, but you will be chocked to death, for if its not God's will. The request for the meat was not so bad, in face they had all the reasons to worry about. But two things were wrong. They neglected the Gift of God - The Manna from Heaven and they looked for the Earthly one - The Quails. They indeed complained to God and to Moses, asking "It would have been good if we would have stayed in Egypt".
Numbers 11 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The People Complain
11 Now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the Lord; and when the Lord heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. 2 The people therefore cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the Lord and the fire [a]died out. 3 So the name of that place was called [b]Taberah, because the fire of the Lord burned among them.

4 The rabble who were among them [c]had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, “Who will give us [d]meat to eat? 5 We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, 6 but now our [e]appetite is gone. There is nothing at all [f]to look at except this manna.”

7 Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. 8 The people would go about and gather it and grind it [g]between two millstones or beat it in the mortar, and boil it in the pot and make cakes with it; and its taste was as the taste of [h]cakes baked with oil. 9 When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall [i]with it.

The Complaint of Moses
10 Now Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, each man at the doorway of his tent; and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly, and [j]Moses was displeased. 11 So Moses said to the Lord, “Why have You [k]been so hard on Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all this people on me? 12 Was it I who conceived all this people? Was it I who brought them forth, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom as a [l]nurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which You swore to their fathers’? 13 Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me, saying, ‘Give us meat that we may eat!’ 14 I alone am not able to carry all this people, because it is too [m]burdensome for me. 15 So if You are going to deal thus with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in Your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness.”

Seventy Elders to Assist
16 The Lord therefore said to Moses, “Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. 17 Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it all alone. 18 Say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, “Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For we were well-off in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat and you shall eat. 19 You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, 20 [n]but a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’” 21 But Moses said, “The people, among whom I am, are 600,000 on foot; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, so that they may eat for a whole month.’ 22 Should flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them? Or should all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to be sufficient for them?” 23 The Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s [o]power limited? Now you shall see whether My word will [p]come true for you or not.”

24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. Also, he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and stationed them around the tent. 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again.

26 But two men had remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad and the name of the [q]other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied in the camp. 27 So a young man ran and told Moses and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 Then Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses from his youth, said, “Moses, my lord, restrain them.” 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!” 30 Then Moses [r]returned to the camp, both he and the elders of Israel.

The Quail and the Plague
31 Now there went forth a wind from the Lord and it brought quail from the sea, and let them fall beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp and [s]about two [t]cubits deep on the surface of the ground. 32 The people [u]spent all day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail (he who gathered least gathered ten [v]homers) and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. 33 While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very severe plague. 34 So the name of that place was called [w]Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had been greedy. 35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the people set out for Hazeroth, and they [x]remained at Hazeroth.



Friday, June 19, 2015

What would you ask God, When you meet him?

We are sure that we are gonna meet our creator one day. What is the one most important question that we may ask.

I am sure God is more than will to help us through our life struggles and situations. If we were to ask God why in the World we have so much sufferings, He would say. I have told you earlier itself, John 16:33 (NASB)
33 These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

And there is no way for Peace other than Jesus.

If we were to ask God, Why I was born either Rich or Poor or If we were to ask about our conditions, he would say, Jeremiah 29:11 (NASB)
11 For I know the plans that I [a]have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

If we were to ask about any circumstances that looks so different and difficult, he would say, Hebrews 12:2 (KJV)
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Worry and sufferings, he would say: Matthew 11:28 NIV
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

If the cares of the World around choking us:
1 Peter 5:7 NIV
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.


If we were to say we don't have any place to sleep:
Matthew 8:20 NIV
Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

If we were to say, Son of David - Have mercy on me:
Luke 18:41 NIV
"What do you want me to do for you?"

If we were to deny him, 2 Timothy 2:12-13 (ESV)
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful

If we were to ask him, where are we meeting:
1 Thessalonians 4:17 NIV
After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.




God values more than what you value for yourself:
Because of what you can become:

If you have lied like Abraham, God is willing to call you His Friend.
If you have cheated people like Zacchaeus, He is willing to befriend you in front of your enemies.
If you have left home and blown your money like the Prodigal, He waits for you with open arms.
If you have been despised like the Samaritan Women, He will sit down and talk with you.
If you have been caught in adultery, He will forgive you in front of your accusers.
If you denied Him like Peter He will give you a second chance.
If you are unclean, He will touch you.
If you are in Prison, He will visit you.
If you are hungry, He will feed you.
If you are the only one that is lost, out of hundred people, He will leave them and find you.

Dreams And Vision

Break the normal rules, restrictions and laws. What could be the world without laws? Laws are good, but it is not enough for the humans to live with the Law alone, it is the Grace. Grace of God that sustains him, gives him life, Joy and happiness.

Since there is no restrictions on the Imaginations, we all dream great things. But we should also remind ourselves that "As A Man Thinketh So is He"-

The title is influenced by a verse in the Bible from the Book of Proverbs, chapter 23, verse 7: "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he". The full passage, taken from the King James Version, is as follows: Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats

King Solomon also understood the principle of how the imagination works, as he says:
Ecclesiastes 8:11 NIV
When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people's hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong.

The heart felt intentions or the dreams or the visions one carry out may not have a quick change in the behavior or environment, but it will have a very strong influence in the future. This is why we should be very much aware of what gets in our minds, we should always meditate the Word Of God, need to have good friends and fellowships, More than any other thing, one should have a good relationship with God.

Philippians 4:8 NIV
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Interpretation of Dreams
Sigmund Freud in his book "Interpretation of Dreams" tries to tell us that what we see before going to bed may sometimes influence our dream. Our Alarm sound, the calling bell, the sound from the milk boiler kettle sound from the kitchen (may sound like a train station) and we relate it with the real life situations. Our dream patterns changes to the things that we do on our daily basis. The pictures we see, the movies we watch.

But these are all scientific experiments and assumptions, the great dream interpreters in the Bible - Joseph, Daniel etc, has given us a lot more lessons. That if we have to get the revelation from the God, we need to have a good relationship with God.


Being Passionate about our Dreams:
Proverbs 13:12 NIV
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.


Dreams and Visions for the New Generations:
Acts 2:17 NIV
"'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Saving Souls

Our act of Faith should produce two most important things in our life. One is to obey God and all his commands(Doing according to his will), Second is to Love others(Saving Souls).

These two acts are summed up in the Two Great Commandment Jesus taught us:

Mark 12:30-31New American Standard Bible (NASB)

30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Jesus took these two commandment very seriously, that is why we could see that he operated everything that the father said him to do.

When Jesus said: My will is to do what the Father tells me to do(John 6:38 NIV For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.,


My Food is doing the will of my Father - (John 4:34 NIV "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.)


I and my Father are the same,(John 10:30 NIV I and the Father are one.")

I do nothing of my own, but what my Father asks me to do: (John 5:19 NIV Jesus gave them this answer: "Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.)














The Greatest Treasure




When we think of treasure what always comes up to our mind is a chest filled with all kinds of costly ornaments and most valuable Jewels, But Jesus taught us about a Treasure that is far more valuable than any of the Treasures of the World.

Treasure for some of us does not limit to those things in that Treasure Chest, but also our purpose of life, Goals, Aims, Desires. Because we will always be thinking about it. That is why Jesus said, "for where your Treasure is there will your heart be also".

Treasure is the most valuable aspect of our life, but if we do not chose the right one we may fail to see that it gets spoil and soon perished. To chose which is the best treasure or the greatest treasure, lets see through what Jesus said about it in the Bible.

1. Treasure is VALUABLE
In the parable of the hidden treasure - Jesus tells that,

Matthew 13:44New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Hidden Treasure

44 The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Anything that we value in life we take care of it, anything we take care of it - it is a valuable thing. Here in the above parable, when the man found that the Land contain the most precious treasure, For the Joy of acquiring it, he went over it and he sells all that he has and buys the field.

We will take risk for the treasures, willing to give up anything for it.

Hebrews 12:2New American Standard Bible (NASB)

[a]fixing our eyes on Jesus, the [b]author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
One of the most misunderstood verse in the Bible is - Psalm 37:4 (NASB)
Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
We think that when we want something for our life, we only have to desire it in our heart and then God will somehow grant that Wishes. This is not true. First we have to delight in the Lord and Delighting in our heart means not only being merry in our heart but is following him, obeying him, meditating is word day and night, doing his will, doing Good with his Grace and Mercy, then our need for life in Christ will be fulfilled, our desires of our heart will be that of his will. So, now when we ask him for what we want he will give us.

2. WHERE AND WHAT we store up as our Treasures is important
Why is it important to where we store up our treasures?
Because, where we store up, there our hearts will be also.
So, why should not it be a materialistic desire or want?
Because, everything that a human being created will be destroyed, perished and they are vulnerable, they can be stolen. So, there are fears involved, doubts creep up and Worry builds up. In all the things of this world that one works to attain - Name, fame, money, pleasure.... will all end up being nothing. The thirst for those resources will either increase or it gets exhausted. Jesus offers a solution by saying, "Store up your treasures in Heaven.


Matthew 6:19-21New American Standard Bible (NASB)

19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselvestreasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

3. THE HEAVENLY TREASURE

God's Commandment:

Matthew 22:37-39New American Standard Bible (NASB)

37 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and [a]foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

God's Great Commission:

Matthew 28:16-20New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The Great Commission

16 But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 [a]Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo,I am with you [b]always, even to the end of the age.”

4. TREASURING UP IN HEART
Let our hearts be that of Christ.

Colossians 3:16 NIV

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.


1 Peter 3:3-4English Standard Version (ESV)

Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.


Matthew 6:33 NIV

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Was Man Created By God or Men Created God?

Whether God created man or man Created God?

One of the most underestimated argument, but a very profound statement. When we look at the way a religion particularly popular one - Christianity, many say there are possibility that few men (or a group of men) could have thought to create a religion that could bring them great wealth, treasure, name and fame. But the reality is just the opposite. If it were few who would have created a religion, what about the rest. Most of the Christians in the early times do believed in the God and Science. They argued from a Skeptic point of view and thoroughly checked, verified and found the facts that Christianity as a religion is true and nothing can destroy the faith of this religious views, because the true God, The Son of God Jesus Christ - His life,, death on the cross and resurrection is real and it is a fact - A Proven one. Not only from the Biblical source. But also from the other sources.

There are many who argue, if Christianity is a true religion and if Jesus Christ is the God, why does not he appear to everyone and make it so simple to follow him? rather why Christianity allow doubts and gaps that are filled with all kinds of thoughts?
Christianity is true for sure. It doesn't make any sense if it has to be true, it has to be the only religion. Then there would not have been any point of reference to see that Christianity is the only true religion. With no doubt in my heart I could say that other religions are false and it is false because, Christianity is the only true religion and the other religions has to be false because Jesus Christ clearly states that there is no other way to God, but he alone is.

His forgiveness of Sin, offering himself is a great act of faith and obedience to the father. His resurrection is one of the greatest testimony for the whole human kind, as Paul says: 1 Corinthians 15:14 NIV And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.

When we understand the human condition of his wants and needs, we could say that even if Christ were to be here they wouldn't have recognized, that was what happened two thousand years ago, when Christ came into the world and said that he is the Son of God, God himself - nobody believed in him. Jesus points out this very clearly in one of his parable - The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus:


Luke 16:19-31 - The Rich Man and Lazarus 

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. 20 And a poor man named Lazaruswas laid at his gate, covered with sores, 21 and longing to be fed with thecrumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. 22 Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and *saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 And [a]besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house—28 for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham *said, ‘They haveMoses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”
The other parable on the similar lines, which also speaks about the treatment of the Son of God by a wicked and cruel generation. The religions and the people, which teaches the self-righteousness, The Soul owners, The captain of the ships... The rider of the horse...etc will able be faded away when the Real Son Of God - Jesus Christ comes in the clouds of Heaven.


Luke 20:9-19English Standard Version (ESV)

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard andlet it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. 10 When the time came, he sent a servant[a] to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 And he sent another servant. But they also beat andtreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. 13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ 15 And theythrew him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” 17 But helooked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written:
“‘The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone’?[b]
18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it fallson anyone, it will crush him.”

Paying Taxes to Caesar

19 The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.

Today we have God Spirit - The Holy Spirit the one of the God-head lives in us. This is the main reason why Jesus Christ has to go to heaven and sit at the right hand of the God - The Father.

John 16:7 NIV
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

Jesus did not say, The Holy Spirit may not come, but will not come. So, it was very important for Jesus Christ to leave us and to ascend into heaven.




The Uniqueness of Jesus Christ
 All the religions could be wrong, but only one can be right - David Pawson


The Uniqueness of Christ in an Age of Pluralism
David explains that Pluralism is the current solution to the issue of people of different religions living together in the same community. All the religions could be wrong, but only one can be right, because there are radical contradictions between them. Christianity is unique because Christ is the only one of his kind. He came into this world and went out of it like no other. His life was different from everybody else in what he did, what he was and what he said. Unless the Gospel record is dismissed as fraudulent, Christ’s words leave just three options, that he was a lunatic, a liar or the Lord. So faith in Christ is exclusive, he is the only way to God, and inclusive – it is for everybody everywhere.
Talk given at Revelation TV in November 2009.

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Fruitfulness is Fun



Galatians 5:22-23New American Standard Bible (NASB)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.




John 15 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Jesus Is the Vine—Followers Are Branches

15 I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He[a]prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already [b]clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit [c]of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so[d]prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.11 These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and thatyour joy may be made full.

Disciples’ Relation to Each Other

12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so thatwhatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. 17 This I command you, that you love one another.

Acts of the Apostles

Acts 1 English Standard Version The Promise of the Holy Spirit 1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to ...