“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
 
Having just spoken to the apostles about the Comforter who would come to help them, about the necessity of Jesus’ leaving them, and about their being scattered abroad, Jesus here tells them His reason for passing along this information: that they may have “peace.”
 
Uncertainty and difficulties are not usually stimulants for peace. These apostles will have peace in spite of these life circumstances because He—Jesus—has overcome the world, not because the apostles themselves have overcome.
 
Jesus’ victory made it possible for the apostles to have peace as well as for everyone who has lived since that day, including us: when we find peace and overcome the world, it means that we fully submitted ourselves to our Savior who made our victory possible.
 
Love,
Joe

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! 
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9).
 
Since Old Testament prophesies lay out for us an exact picture of events that are to take place in future times—events that a human being would have no way of knowing on his own—they prove invaluable as we observe their fulfillment and try to convince others of the validity of the scriptures. 
 
It is obvious that it took divine intervention to reveal these coming events. These prophecies, then, become a part of our spiritual heritage, serving to strengthen our faith in our Heavenly Father as well as in His Son.
 
This prophecy by Zechariah joins other Golden Predictions in that it pictures for us our Savior as He enters the city of Jerusalem at the beginning of His last week on earth as the Son of Man.
 
Both Matthew and John record the fulfillment of this prophecy exactly as it was predicted (Matthew 21:5; John 12:15). Jesus came humbly as the Just One to bring us salvation.
 
Love,
Joe

“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him’ ” (John 14:23).
 
In both this gospel narrative and in his epistles, John emphasizes the absolute necessity of keeping the commandments. Jesus here ties the idea of doing what God has said with love—our love for God and God’s love for us—two inseparable entities. 
 
To proclaim love for God but to fail to keep God’s word is contradictory: but to show a love for God by keeping His commands shows consistency, depth of spiritual character, and sincerity.
 
The idea of God coming to any person and making His home with him communicates the intimate bond God will develop with anyone who desires Him to—God will live in that person through the power of His word.
 
Love,
Joe

“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption” (1 Corinthians 15:50).
 
Having just explained the differences between a physical body and a spiritual body and the fact that mankind must undergo a change from one to the other, the Apostle Paul here says that only the spiritual body can go into the eternal “kingdom of God.”
 
“Corruption” means anything subject to deterioration and perishing. “Incorruption” means anything not capable of decay. A “flesh and blood” body in this life cannot go into a spiritual kingdom, referring to eternity, in the next.
 
This verse should be a source of encouragement to all Christians, actually serving as a stimulant to spur us on toward making proper preparation for life after judgment. We prepare for God’s kingdom by following His instructions while in this life.
 
Love,
Joe

“And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:26).
 
Since Martha is distraught about the death of her brother Lazarus, Jesus has just attempted to convince her of his power to resurrect Lazarus physically. Then He has inserted the reality of one being resurrected to life eternal.
 
In this verse he tries to make sure she understands the reality of His teaching: those who remain faithful will be resurrected to a state of living on eternally with Him in the next life. She says in the following verse that she understands.
 
Our message from this verse is that we shall all die physically, but those who are faithful to the Lord have the promise of moving on to a state of never dying again—that is, we can enjoy the benefits of eternal life in heaven for ever and ever.
 
Love,
Joe