Tag Archives: The Upper Room Discourse

Do You Know Jesus?

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“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.” John 14:7 ESV1

Read John 14:7-14

If I asked you, “Do you know Jesus?” what would you say? If your answer is, “Yes!” how do you know Him? Do you know Him as a historical figure? A person who once lived here on Earth, taught people how to love, and reportedly did some amazing things? Do you know Him as Savior? Are you confident that Jesus, by dying on the cross and rising from the dead, took the punishment for your sins and, through your belief in Him, you have received eternal life? Do you know Him as a Friend? Do you find Him a very likable Guy, enjoy spending time with Him, and receive His encouraging words as a blessing? Do you know Him as Spouse? Do you love Him more than you love yourself, desire to please Him, and regularly experience satisfying intimate times with Him? Or do you know Him as the Head of your body? When He laughs, do you shake? When He cries, does your heart break? Are you so absorbed in Him that when people look at you, they only see Him?

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Knowing and Loving the One and Only

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Jesus said to him, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6 ESV1

Read John 14:4-6

Recently, as I walked down the main street of my hometown, I noticed a sign in a shop window that read:

If You Love What You Have, You Have Everything You Need.

I considered the validity of that statement. It makes sense that if one truly loves what one has, he/she will not seek contentment elsewhere. Then I pondered if such a truth applied equally in the spiritual realm as in the physical. I concluded that the prerequisite of loving what you have is knowing what you have. I believe realizing what they had, or more accurately, Whom they had, was the purpose of Jesus’ final lesson to His disciples.

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Hope for Troubled Hearts

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“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me.” John 14:1 ESV1

Read John 14:1-3

I have heard it said that there are at least 365 admonitions in Scripture to not fear. Supposedly, Richard Wurmbrand, a Romanian pastor during the Second World War, searched the Scriptures for these exhortations, memorized them, and meditated upon one of them each day. Evidently, Pastor Wurmbrand found 366 such Scriptures—one for each day of the year including Leap Day. It was Leap Day when he was captured by the Communist Regime and imprisoned for his faith.

Over the last few years, as I have been reading and studying Scripture, I have been searching for all the verses that command us to be fearless. I want to make a Fear Not calendar to encourage and empower myself and other Christians so that we might valiantly face the challenges that arise before us. I found one such verse at the beginning of John 14. The words of Jesus are:

“‘Let not your hearts be troubled’” (John 14:1a).

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