NEED JOY? NEED PEACE?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“I have told you this so that my joy may
be in you and that your joy may be complete.”
(John 15:11)

MEDITATION:
Does it seem to you that joy and peace can be difficult for you to find?
Do you want them both, but they continue to avoid you, and all your
attempts to find them?

Joy and peace are not goals to be achieved; they are reflections of the
heart of someone who is committed to following Jesus and is growing
closer to Him each day. When we look in God’s Word, we can see some
inhibitors that keep peace and joy out of reach for us.

First of all, we know that Jesus is our Lord and Savior, but do we
know He should also be our friend? He should be the One we want
to confide in, the One we call on for guidance, and the One we want
to please.
    “You are my friends if you do what I command.”
    (John 15:14)
In this verse, we are told how to become His friend. It’s not something
complicated that we need to figure out, but we do have a responsibility
to fulfill – we are to obey His commands.

In addition to obedience, we need to love in the same way that Jesus
loves. When we obey His commands, and love as He loves, we are
given the opportunity to experience the ‘complete joy’ that He has
promised us. If we are not obeying the commands of Jesus and if
we are not loving in the same manner He does, then we shouldn’t
expect to have the level of joy that only He can provide.
    If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love,
    just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain
    in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in
    you and that your joy may be complete. My command is
    this: Love each other as I have loved you.
    (John 15:10-12)

Jesus tells us that when we practice obedience to His commands
and love as He loves, then His joy will be in us, and our joy will
be complete! How can His joy be in us? It’s an additional blessing
we experience when Jesus is in us.

But how can we be assured that Jesus is in us? We need to believe
that He is in the Father, and the Father is in Him. That sounds
good, but how can we be assured that we believe the Father and
the Son are One? To answer this question, look at the following
scriptures:
    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 works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever
    believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and
    they will do even greater things than these, because I
    am going to the Father.
    (John 14:11-12)

Our faith and belief is shown when we do the works that Jesus
did. What were His works? He loved with a special love, shared
the good news of salvation, prayed often, spent a lot of time in the
synagogues (churches), was attentive to those in need, practiced
humility, and pointed others to His Father…just to name a few.

When we are told that we “will do even greater things” it’s not
implying that the quality of what we do will exceed what Jesus
did, it is talking about the quantity of things done. When Jesus
‘became man’, He was limited to what could be done by one
person: for instance, He could only be in one place at a time.

As His disciples, we are expected to continue His earthly mission,
and since there are many of us, we can reach more people in more
areas. It doesn’t necessarily mean that we become full-time pastors,
or missionaries, but it does mean that we enter the mission field and
serve where we have been planted.

Since the importance of our involvement is emphasized in the
scriptures, we should be diligent about discovering which gift
of the Spirit God has given us. After our gift has been identified,
we need to be using it to continue the ministry of Jesus. When we
use it, we are expressing our love and gratitude to our heavenly
Father.

If we believe in Jesus, then our love for Him should be obvious.
How do we know that we sincerely love Him? We know because
our love for Him is shown through our obedience to His commands.
    “If you love me, keep my commands.”
      (John 14:15)

    “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one
      who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by
      my Father, and I too will love them and show myself
      to them.”
      (John 14:21)

When we are obedient to His commands, we are opening
the door of our hearts and lives, and inviting Jesus (and
our heavenly Father) to be in us.
    Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.
    My Father will love them, and we will come to them and
    make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me
    will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not
    my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”
    (John 14:23-24)

When Jesus is our friend, and we prove our love through
obedience and loving as He does; we have an opportunity
to receive a special kind of peace from Jesus (a peace that
the world cannot offer).
    “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
      will send in my name, will teach you all things and
      will remind you of everything I have said to you.
      Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do
      not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your
      hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
      (John 14:26-27)

Why would we receive this special peace? We receive it because
we have chosen to be ‘all in’ in our relationship with Jesus, and
it has created a pleasant environment for the Holy Spirit to dwell
within us.

Whenever we feel we are losing our joy and peace, the Holy Spirit
(that God has graciously given us) will remind us of the promises
from Jesus. The reminders we receive from the Holy Spirit are
messages from Jesus Himself.
    But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide
    you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own; He
    will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what
    is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me
    that He will receive what He will make known to you.
    (John 16:13-14)

Whenever we are in turmoil, we can struggle in our efforts to
organize our thoughts. However, when the Lord is in us and
we are in Him, we are blessed with an Advocate (Holy Spirit)
who is there to calm us, give us hope for the future, and guide
our thoughts, so that we can experience the type of peace only
the Lord can provide.

It is critical for us to remain in Him, so that He can remain in us.
    Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch
    can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.
    Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
    “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain
    in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart
    from me you can do nothing.
    (John 15:4-5)

If He does not remain in us, then we cannot ‘bear much fruit’.
If we don’t believe in Him, then we cannot do the works that
Jesus did. If we don’t obey His commands, then we failed to
prove our love for Him.

Our love is shown not by our words, but by our actions. Some
people will make arrangements for participating in the things
of the world, but will not sacrifice the things of the world, so
they can spend more time with the Lord. In effect, some have
chosen not to give the Lord His rightful place in their lives.
    If you belonged to the world, it would love
    you as its own. As it is, you do not belong
    to the world, but I have chosen you out of
    the world. That is why the world hates you.
    (John 15:19)

The scriptures are plain and simple – when we allow the things of
the world to take priority over the things of God, then the world is
where our allegiance lies. We can tell others that we love the Lord
and try to convince ourselves that we love Him, but God’s Word
tells us our claims are false if Jesus is not the Lord of our lives.

Jesus loves us more than the world could ever love us, and His
love is deep and sincere. All He asks in return is, for us to love
Him with the same intensity that He loves us.

In summary, for us to experience peace and joy from the Lord
we have to:
    – Believe that He is in the Father, and the Father is in Him.
    – Obey His commands and love as He loves.
    – Become His friend and prove our love
        for Him through our obedience to His commands.
    – Create an attractive environment for the Holy Spirit.
    – Invite Jesus and our Heavenly Father into our lives.
    – Allow Jesus to be ‘Lord of all’ in our lives.
    – Remain in Him so that He will remain in us.
    – Create an environment of righteousness
        in us that is attractive to the Holy Spirit.

ACTION:
Are you missing out on the peace and joy from the Lord?
Are you fulfilling your responsibilities for receiving His
peace and joy? Are you allowing your own selfishness to
prevent you from receiving joy and peace from the Lord?

What works are you doing that Jesus did? Are you loving others
with the same type of love that He has for you? Are you giving
Him His rightful place, and allowing Him to dwell in you? Do
you spend time with Him in prayer, bible study, and worship?

Peace and joy do not mean everything will be perfect and smooth
for us; it means the Lord is with us whenever problems arise, and
He can give us an unexplainable and unimaginable ability to cope.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your promise of peace
and joy. I may have never thought of my responsibilities
for receiving these blessings from You, but after reading
this devotional, I now realize what I must do. Help me to
be honest with myself regarding my relationship with You.
Give me a new resolve to show my love for You through my
obedience to Your commands. Teach me to spend more time
with You, to love others as You love me, and to give You priority
over the things this world has to offer. I want to experience the
peace and joy that only You can provide.”

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