Category: Bible Reading & Meditation

” ‘Philip,’ Jesus replied, ‘after I have been with you all this time, you still do not know Me?’ ” –John 14:9 The apostle Philip lived, ate, drank, slept, and traveled with Jesus. After three years, Jesus had to conclude that Philip still did not know Him (Jn 14:9). After three similar years, the apostle Peter admitted this same fact. Peter looked at Jesus standing bound and accused from across the courtyard and said: “I do not even know the Man!” (Mt 26:74) While it is true that Peter spoke words of cowardice, it’s also important to realize that Peter...

“I have told you…” –John 16:1, 4 Jesus mentions twice in today’s Gospel reading that He told the apostles something in advance. First, Jesus warns them that He told them “all this” so that their faith may not be shaken under worldly pressure, and therefore they may not fall away (Jn 16:1). To what does “all this” refer? Jesus had just finished warning His apostles that worldly people would hate, harass, and disrespect them. Why? Jesus says it’s because they bear witness to Him and because they don’t belong to the worldly system which refuses to accept His lordship (Jn...

“The Paraclete, the Holy Spirit Whom the Father will send in My name, will instruct you in everything, and remind you of all that I told you.” —John 14:26 The Holy Spirit will teach us everything (Jn 14:26). To receive true, profound, practical teaching on all that we need to know, we must be teachable, that is, docile. It’s easy to be teachable to the Spirit on some things, but it takes a miracle to be teachable in many areas that the Spirit teaches. For example, the Holy Spirit taught the Gentile Christians of the early Church about burdens “strictly...

“The congregations grew stronger in faith and daily increased in numbers.” –Acts 16:5 The early Church grew in numbers daily. “Day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). The early Church grew daily because: “They went to the temple area together every day, while in their homes they broke bread” (Acts 2:46). “Day after day, both in the temple and at home, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news of Jesus the Messiah” (Acts 5:42). “Each day they studied the Scriptures” (Acts 17:11). They encouraged “one another daily” (Heb 3:13)....

“This is My commandment: love one another as I have loved you.” –John 15:12 Gentile Christians were commanded by the leaders of the early Church to change their eating habits and sexual practices (see Acts 15:20). People are usually very resistant to limitations on their food consumption or sexual activity. However, the Gentile Christians read the letter containing their new orders with “great delight at the encouragement it gave” (Acts 15:31). For those in love, obedience, in even the most difficult matters, is a delight. The psalmist prayed: “To do Your will, O my God, is my delight” (Ps 40:9)....