Pray
Begin by thanking God for the new day and then ask Him to help you learn from what you read. Prepare yourself by:
- Clearing your mind and being quiet before the Lord
- Asking God to settle your heart
- Maybe listening to worship music
- Asking God for a teachable heart
Read
Read the chapter below. You can either read below or read your physical Bible. Read it slowly, take it all in.
Examine
Ask yourself the following questions after reading your chapter for the day. Write your answers down in a journal or notebook you can use just for your time with God.
- What do I need to know about God, myself, others?
- What do I need to stop doing (sins, habits, selfish patterns)?
- What can I change in my thoughts, attitudes or actions?
- What do I need to do to be obedient to God’s leading?
Summarize
Do ONE of the following:
- Discover what the passage reveals about God and His character, what it says or promises about you, and what it says or promises about others - my parents, friends, teammates, etc. Write this down in a journal or notebook.
- Rewrite one or two key verses in your own words.
- Outline what the chapter is saying.
- Summarize the chapter in several words.
Share
Talk with God about what you’ve learned. Also take time each day to share with someone else who attended Fields of Faith or another fellow Christian the things learned as well.
Day 16 - John 16
"I have told you these things to keep you from stumbling. They will ban you from the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering service to God. They will do these things because they haven't known the Father or Me. But I have told you these things so that when their time comes you may remember I told them to you. I didn't tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you.
The Counselor's Ministry
"But now I am going away to Him who sent Me, and not one of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?' Yet, because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don't go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send Him to you. When He comes, He will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in Me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see Me; and about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
"I still have many things to tell you, but you can't bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak whatever He hears. He will also declare to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, because He will take from what is Mine and declare it to you. Everything the Father has is Mine. This is why I told you that He takes from what is Mine and will declare it to you.
Sorrow Turned to Joy
"A little while and you will no longer see Me; again a little while and you will see Me."
Therefore some of His disciples said to one another, "What is this He tells us: 'A little while and you will not see Me; again a little while and you will see Me'; and, 'because I am going to the Father'?" They said, "What is this He is saying, 'A little while'? We don't know what He's talking about!"
Jesus knew they wanted to question Him, so He said to them, "Are you asking one another about what I said, 'A little while and you will not see Me; again a little while and you will see Me'?
"I assure you: You will weep and wail, but the world will rejoice. You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. When a woman is in labor she has pain because her time has come. But when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the suffering because of the joy that a person has been born into the world. So you also have sorrow now. But I will see you again. Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will rob you of your joy. In that day you will not ask Me anything.
"I assure you: Anything you ask the Father in My name, He will give you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name. Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be complete.
Jesus the Victor
"I have spoken these things to you in figures of speech. A time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but I will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in My name. I am not telling you that I will make requests to the Father on your behalf. For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father."
"Ah!" His disciples said. "Now You're speaking plainly and not using any figurative language. Now we know that You know everything and don't need anyone to question You. By this we believe that You came from God."
Jesus responded to them, "Do you now believe? Look: An hour is coming, and has come, when each of you will be scattered to his own home, and you will leave Me alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world."
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