Daily Devotions: Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Last week we learned that the word for “Spirit” in both the Old and New Testament refer to breath.  Based on that Word picture, we learned what it means to breathe in God’s presence through prayer and to respond to God’s presence through obedience. This week we’ll learn about another word the Bible uses to refer to the Holy Spirit – “Paraclete.”  We first encounter this word in the teachings of Jesus.

Text: John 14:1-14

• What does Jesus tell his disciples not to be in verse 1?  Look back at chapter 13.  Why would this be a potential problem for them?
• Instead of being troubled, what does Jesus tell his disciples to do?  How can that help prevent worry?
• What does Jesus say about his Father’s house?  Why does he say he is about to go there? What promise does he make?
• When Thomas pointed out that they don’t know the way to the place that Jesus is going, how did Jesus respond?  What does Jesus say we would know if we really knew him?
• How does Jesus describe the relationship he has with his Father?  How does this relationship with the Father affect what Jesus does?
• What does Jesus say should be the relationship his disciples have with him?  How does this relationship affect what they do?
• How do the last two verses of this passage help you to understand how you could do “even greater things” than Jesus did?

Daily Challenge:

• Why does Jesus say he will do whatever we ask in his name in verse 13?  How should that affect what we ask God to do?  Are we asking him to bring glory to himself or to bring comfort and satisfaction to ourselves?

Prayer Focus:

• Pray that God would be at work in your life, working through you to bring glory to Himself.