Monday, October 13, 2014
Father, please bless those who are being persecuted and mistreated because of their faith. Give them courage to stand up to the onslaught and mistreatment. Be present to them through your Spirit; not only guide their words, but please also give them strength. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
"I have told you these things so that people will not be able to destroy your faith. People will make you leave their synagogues. Yes, a time is coming when people will think that killing you would be doing service for God. People will do these things because they have not known the Father, and they have not known me. I have told you these things now. So when the time comes for these things to happen, you will remember that I warned you. "I did not tell you these things at the beginning, because I was with you then. Now I am going back to the One who sent me. But none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' You are filled with sadness because I have told you these things. But I tell you the truth. It is better for you that I go away. Why? Because when I go away I will send the Helper to you. But if I did not go away, then the Helper would not come. When the Helper comes, he will prove to the people of the world the truth about these things: about sin, about being right with God, and about judgment. The Helper will prove that people have sin, because they don't believe in me. He will prove to them about {my} being right with God, because I am going to the Father. You will not see me then. And the Helper will prove to the world the truth about judgment, because the ruler of this world (the devil) is already judged. "I have many more things to say to you. But those things are too much for you to accept now. But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you into all truth. The Spirit of truth will not speak his own words. He will speak only what he hears. He will tell you the things that will happen. The Spirit of truth will bring glory to me. How? He will get things from me and tell them to you. All the things that the Father has are mine. That is why I said that the Spirit will get things from me and tell them to you.
"I tell you, if any person stands before other people and is willing to say that he believes in me, then I will say that person belongs to me. I will say this before the angels of God. But if any person stands before people and says he does not believe in me, then I will say that person does not belong to me. I will say this before the angels of God. "If a person says something against the Son of Man, he can be forgiven. But a person that says bad things against (refuses to accept) the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. "When men bring you into the synagogues before the leaders and other important men, don't worry about what you will say. At that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say."
But you know all about me. You know what I teach and the way I live. You know my goal in life. You know my faith, my patience, and my love. You know that I never stop trying. You know about my persecutions (troubles) and my sufferings. You know all the things that happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. You know the persecutions I suffered in those places. But the Lord saved me from all those troubles. Every person who wants to live the way God wants, in Christ Jesus, will be persecuted.
People will do all this to you because of me. They don't know the One who sent me.
What Jesus Did is a one-year devotional guide through the gospels, using one short passage each day and following the Gospel in consecutive order. Each devotional consists of a passage, reflection and a prayer which opens up the day's scripture and shows how it challenges you to live for Jesus.
What Jesus Did! is written by Phil Ware.
Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. All rights reserved.
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