Student Devotion Session 5: The Confidence of Certainty

Key Verses: John 16:5-11, ⁵ but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. ⁷ But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸ When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹ about sin, because people do not believe in me; ¹⁰ about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ¹¹ and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

Remember those little plastic capsules you played with as a child? You would drop them in hot water and watch as the plastic casing melted away. A mysterious surprise emerged, slowly taking shape until you recognized some foam creature. It wouldn't work if you refused to drop it; you had to let go of it first. You also couldn't help it along; it would tear to pieces if you attempted to free the sopping substance from its gummy cocoon.

Read John 16:5-11. Christ explained to His disciples that they had to let Him go. Not that He was fragile or anything would be ruined, but that God's design required a time of transition. Earlier in John's Gospel, Jesus had taught that like a seed, His body would be sacrificed in order to introduce new life in the Spirit. Like a seed, we too must die to ourselves, shedding our flesh, to allow the Spirit to produce fruit that glorifies the Father.

There is no short cut. There is no way around God's plan. Just like Christ submitted to the will of God, so must we. Since Jesus is no longer with us on earth, His Spirit has been sent to help us in this life. We can be confident in three things as the Spirit slowly reveal the nature of God's character (and ours).

First, we know that sinful desires must be shed, replaced by trust in Christ. His Spirit will convict us of what needs to go and what needs to grow. Second, we know that His Spirit will empower us to live by faith, reminding us of what Christ said and did. The Helper will nurture spiritual health, becoming the righteousness of Christ in us. Finally, we should feel confident knowing that God is not abandoning us, nor can evil overcome us. God is in control. He is doing a new thing and His power is more than sufficient.

Student Devotion Session 4: The Big Show

Key Verses: John 15:26-16:4, 26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. 1 “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 4 I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you."

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Theses are good principles. To reduce, we live thoughtfully, practicing self-control and moderation. To reuse, we get creative, meeting various needs with the resources already at our disposal. And if trash can't be avoided... recycling takes old things, stripping away the impurities, and creates something entirely new.

Take a look at the recycling logo. The triangle is made up of three identical arrows painting from one to the next. It's a great modern image of the holy Trinity. God is one, like the triangle; He is also three, like the arrows. Just as no arrow is bigger than another, neither is God the Father, Son or Holy Spirit any greater or less than the other. They are all God.

In John 15:26-16:4, among other places, we catch a glimpse of the mysterious nature of the Trinity. Keep in mind the picture of the recycling logo while you read verses 26-27. Visualize Jesus as the bottom left arrow in the logo, God the Father up top, and His Spirit in us on the right. Christ is in the process of explaining that His time on earth is coming to an end; He will soon go up to the Father. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit down from the Father to the disciples. The Holy Spirit would then testify about Christ. When the Spirit points people to Christ, Jesus points them to the Father, who sends the Spirit to people. Do you see the cycle?

Jesus went on to clarify in 16:1-4 that life was about to get messy. Since the world would try to rid itself of Christ and His followers, God sent us the Helper, the Spirit of Truth. He will enable us to live thoughtfully, keeping the commands of Jesus in mind. Christ-followers are expected to live set apart from a world full of garbage. Everything we have can be used to point people to the love of Christ. Once that starts happening, our lives get caught up in an endless cycle of testifying to the redeeming power of God. He takes our lives, cleanses us from sin, and makes us brand new.

Student Devotion Session 3: How Can We Know?

Key Verses: John 14:23-27, ²³ Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. ²⁴ Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. ²⁵ “All this I have spoken while still with you. ²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. ²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

So what do you do when you really want to remember something? Do you write it on your hand? (Parents love that). Maybe your trick is an alarm on your cell or iCal? Or are you old school and keep an organizer? Ever use a dry-erase marker on your mirror? Do you keep your inbox full of texts and emails that you read over and over as a reminder of what a boyfriend or girlfriend has said? Do you harass your friends, siblings, or parents, repeatedly saying, "don't let me forget... seriously." Well, what if they aren't around? If it's really super important, how do you make sure that you won't forget?

Read John 14:23-27. Jesus told His disciples that He would not always be with them. They had spent a lot of time together, maybe three years at this point. By now, even though they don't fully realize who Jesus is and what He will do for everyone, they know that this relationship is something special. The disciples have given everything to follow Christ, learn from His teachings, and follow His example. The thought of Him leaving seems stressful to say the least.

Christ promises that we don't have to worry about forgetting what He said and did. We can experience His unconditional peace by trusting His word. The Holy Spirit is the ultimate reminder. When we keep His commands, it shows our love for God. The Spirit is our Helper and Teacher. He doesn't just lecture us with a bunch of information; He is with us every step of the way, showing us what it all means and how to apply what we're learning. Maybe something pops into your mind, or you read your Bible and understand it in a new way-that's the Holy Spirit. Sometimes you find yourself in a situation and suddenly find just the right words or know exactly how to respond. That's Him. Whatever your situation, don't worry. He's always with you. Listen to Him.

Student Devotion Session 2: Another Helper

Key Verses: John 14:15-17, ¹⁵ “If you love me, keep my commands. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

Twinkie. What first comes to mind when you hear the word Twinkie? You probably don't think about its practically infinite shelf life, or wonder why Hostess dressed the snack cake up like a cowboy (Twinkie the Kid) for advertising. Seriously, who can imagine some dude at the rodeo pulling a Twinkie form the back pocket of his Wranglers? Before your mind wanders to any of those things, you instantly think "cream-filled sponge cake."

A Twinkie wouldn't be a Twinkie without its filling. What if after unwrapping your treat you bite into a hallow finger of yellow fluff. Your horror swells, as nobody around you seems to care; "it's still a Twinkie," they disregard. "NO IT ISN'T!" you scream, OK....Maybe that's a little melodramatic. But even if you didn't get that emotional over some cake missing its filling, you can't deny that by definition, a Twinkie is a cream-filled sponge cake. Without the filling, it isn't really a Twinkie at all, no matter what it looks like from the outside.

Check out John 14:15-17. Jesus was explaining to His disciples what life looks like for people who truly love him. We will obey His commands if we love Christ. Don't get overwhelmed; Jesus explained that He wasn't just giving us a list of rules to follow to prove our sincerity. He was giving us a helper--the Helper. By definition, Christ-followers have the Holy Spirit with them and inside of them. The Spirit will help you love Christ and keep His commands.

Why doesn't it freak us out when people act like it's no big deal to call themselves "Christians" without being filled with the Holy Spirit? All the time people say things like, "So-and-so is a Christian, he/she just doesn't live like it." Christ said that if we love Him, we will live like it. We will obey His Word. His Spirit will always be with us and in us to help. Right now, be totally honest with yourself if someone heard your name, what would come to mind? Would they immediately define you as a Spirit-filled follower of Christ? Or has your life been hollow fluff?