SEPTEMBER 21, 2024
READ: John 16 (Focus vs. 31-33)
MEMORY VERSE
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.” John 16:33
BACKGROUND
A Facebook memory popped up, showing me a picture of my triumphant five-year-old when she’d won a fun and competitive game of Chutes and Ladders.
I’d tagged my brother and sister in the post because we’d often played this board game when we were kids.
Chutes and Ladders is based on a game that’s been played for centuries, helping people learn to count and providing the thrill of being able to climb a ladder and win the game by getting to 100 the fastest.
But watch out! If you land on spot 98, you slide far down the chute, delaying—or even prohibiting—victory.
Isn’t that just like life? Jesus lovingly prepared us for the ups and downs of our days. He said we’d experience “trouble” (John 16:33), but He also shared a message of peace.
We don’t have to be shaken by the trials we face. Why? Christ has overcome the world! Nothing is greater than His power, so we too can face whatever comes our way with “the mighty strength” He’s made available to us (Ephesians 1:19).
Just like in Chutes and Ladders, sometimes life presents a ladder allowing us to happily ascend, and other times we tumble down a slippery slide. But we don’t have to play the game of life without hope. We have the power of Jesus to help us overcome it all.
By: Katara Patton
INSIGHT
John 13-17, commonly known as the Upper Room Discourse, contains a detailed recounting of what took place as Jesus shared His last Passover meal with His disciples.
In the upper room, Christ revealed a great deal about His own mission, His relationship to the Father, and particularly what would happen in the next few hours of His life.
He predicted both His betrayal by Judas (13:18-30) and Peter’s denial (vv. 31-38). Perhaps most significantly, Jesus told His disciples that He’d be going away and returning to the Father, but He would send a Comforter, the Holy Spirit (14:25-27).
Amid stress and turmoil, Christ offered comfort. He said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (16:33).
By: J.R. Hudberg
APPLICATION
What challenges do you need help to overcome today? How can focusing on Jesus’ power in overcoming life’s trials and troubles encourage you?
PR’s RE-EMPHASIS (From Post)
“…sometimes life presents a ladder allowing us to happily ascend, and other times we tumble down a slippery slide. But we don’t have to play the game of life without hope. We have the power of Jesus to help us overcome it all.”
PR’s (PASTOR RICHARD) TAKE
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword…No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35-39
PRAYER
“Dear Jesus, thank You for the reminder that You’ve overcome the world! Please help me to rely on Your power to handle the ups and downs of life.”
TODAY’S HYMN/WORSHIP/PRAISE/GOSPEL SONG
“THROUGH IT ALL” Andrae Crouch
I’ve had many tears and sorrow
I’ve had questions for tomorrow
There’ve been times I didn’t know right from wrong
But in every situation
God gave me blessed consolation
That my trials come to only make me strong
I’ve been a lot of places
And I’ve seen millions of of faces
But there were times that I felt so all alone
But in my lonely hour
Yet those precious lonely hours
Jesus lets me know that I was His own
That’s the reason I say that
Through it all
Through it all
Oh, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus
I’ve learned to trust in God
Let me tell ya that
Through it all
Oh, through it all
I’ve learned to depend upon His word
So I thank God for the mountains
And I thank Him for the valleys
And I thank Him for the storms,
He’s brought me through
For if I’d never had a problem
I’d never know God could solve them
I’d never know what faith in His word could do
That’s the reason I say that
Through it all
Oh, through it all
Oh, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus
I’ve learned to trust in God
Oh let me tell you
Through it all
Oh, through it all
Oh, I’ve learned to depend upon His word
Oh, let me tell you right now that
Through it all
Sometimes through the fire
Through it all
My, my, my Lord
Oh, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus (oh, I’ve learned)
I’ve learned to trust in God (and I can trust in God)
That through it all
I’ve learned to depend upon His word
Oh, through my sickness and pain
I’ve learned to depend upon His word
Oh, through sorrow and shame
I’ve learned to depend upon His word
READING THROUGH THE BIBLE THIS YEAR (DAILY)
ROMANS 4
