Lenten (Morning) Devotion for 18 April 2011 Anno Domini

Lenten (Morning) Devotion for 18 April 2011 Anno Domini
1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. 8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.
12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
(John 14:1-14)

“Let not your heart be troubled.” If any heart should be troubled, it is that of Christ. He is relieving our hearts of the troublesome burden of sin but, at the same time, assuming the sins of the world upon His loving Heart. His concern is greater for us than for Himself: “Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.” (John 12:27). Because Christ suffered the troubling, we are excused from the same.
“I go to prepare a place for you.” For whom? For His Bride, the Church. Just as was customary among Hebrew families, when a boy and girl were betrothed, after diligent search for a suitable mate by the father, they met and shared the same cup of wine if the matter was sealed. The son then went to his father’s house and prepared a living place for his bride under the father’s supervision. The period might be one year, or even two years, but the prospected bride must be in waiting a ready for the son to return to take her to the marriage feast be it midnight or midday. When all was ready, the bridegroom would send one of his groomsmen to sound a trumpet near the dwelling of his bride. That was all the warning given that the groom was coming to take his bride. The same parallel applies to the Coming of Christ for His Bride! “And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Matt 24:31) The work of Christ is ongoing with the Father today! He intercedes for us and prepares a place for us in the many mansions of His Father.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Sorry, if we accept the authority and veracity of Scripture, we must admit of no other way of coming to God except through His Son Jesus Christ. Mohammad is not the Way, the Pope is not the way, Buddha is not the way, the Hindu gods are not the way, Voodoo is not the way – only ONE WAY to the Father and that is through the Son. This must be a troublesome passage for the Roman pontiff. Christ is God’s only vicegerent on earth. Christ is the exact likeness of the Father. It has been so from the beginning. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” (Gen 1:26) We were created in His own image and likeness! We are triune to the extent that we have body, soul, and spirit. However, through the fall of our father, Adam, that spirit and soul were marred by sin. We must be cleansed and regenerated through the sacrificial Lamb of God.
“Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.” The Son and the Father are One in purpose and in nature. Christ would have us be One with Him as well, and we must be so to be the Elect of God. “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” (John 17:20-21) When we take on ourselves the Mind that was in Christ, our thoughts and prayers will always be ONE with His Will. “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” This last quote does not mean that we can ask all our desires of Him. Christ has relinquished no sovereignty here, but established that Will of His in our hearts that whatsoever we ask (IN HIS NAME), it shall be granted. If we ask amiss, we shall not receive. (James 4:3). If we regard iniquity in our hearts, God will not hear us. We may not ask the favors of God from a bad motive, or sinful premise. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” (Psalms 66:18) We can never “claim a word of faith” in defiance to the will of God as many modern charismatics wickedly proclaim. God is Sovereign and shall be so in Eternity. Rather than dwelling on our own presumed needs, we should ask all according to God’s will to grant it and, finally, “Not mine, but they Will be done!” If God’s perfect will is demonstrated in our lives, that will always be more than sufficient for us. Strive to seek His will in all things.