Live to Love Scripture Encouragement

John 18:3 “Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.”
This verse describes some of the events referred to in Acts 4:27. From a God-centered, faith-informed perspective, God was gathering this crowd against His Son. Judas, the Romans soldiers, and Jewish officials were needed for the love of God to be displayed in its glory. We should understand that God put them in Jesus’ path so He could express the love of the Father to this world.
We may have this same confidence. God is still expressing His love in this world through His Son in us. He puts people in our paths, some friendly and some antagonists. Knowing that the only reason they are in our lives is for God to love them through us, keeps us from stumbling and being discouraged. Jesus’ perspective of this event will sound radical to the natural mind, because it is! He received them as from His Father so He could do the will of His Father for His glory. He knew these things were to occur so God’s love could be defined, experienced, and expressed, not only in and through Him, but in and through everyone of His disciples throughout the remaining history of mankind. So it is with us today. God is gathering people all over the world to put them in the path of the Son of His love who lives in millions of His own throughout the world. With this understanding, I invite you to pray what I call a Live to Love prayer with me now. “Father in heaven, thank You for another day of life to live to know and love you and live to love with Jesus. Anoint and fill me with the Holy Spirit, the presence and power of Christ, so that I can love and trust You and love everyone You put in my path today, for Your glory.” I hope you’ll make this prayer a part of your daily devotions with the Lord. If you do, you’ll have the same attitude that was in Christ Jesus as He walked into the garden of Gethsemane: humble, trusting, expectant, fearless, purposeful, and loving. That light shines like the sun in the darkness.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 18:2 “Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples.”
Yesterday we saw from John 18:1 that Jesus knew where to meet up with the devil in Judas. Today’s verse reveals that Satan in Judas also knew where to find Jesus at that hour of the evening because Judas knew where they usually rested. Some commentators suggest that Jesus and His disciples perhaps slept there when visiting Jerusalem. For whatever reason, the Holy Spirit wants us to know that Judas knew where to find Jesus in order to betray him. What encouragement to live to love with Jesus can we glean from this verse?
Jesus had told the disciples that He was going to be betrayed, that those who hated Him would hate them, and that in this world there will be tribulation. As we live with Jesus, we can expect that there will be some people in whom Satan has entered their hearts, or at least have captured them for his use, who will resist and attack us. We must not be afraid of them. In that hour of darkness, when God so wills that we be accosted by those who wish to silence us, let us remember what John learned from Jesus. “The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.” As long as we purpose to love in that dark time, we won’t be overcome by the darkness. We have Jesus abiding in us, so we can take great encouragement from Jude 24. “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy.” Living to love with Jesus will prepare us for the encounters with our Judases just as Jesus, living to love with His Father, was prepared to meet His Judas.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 18:1 “ When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples.
Earlier Jesus told His disciples, “I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me; but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here. (John 14:30-31).
Jesus had a divine appointment with the devil. Later in vs 4 John tells us that Jesus knew what was coming upon Him. The rendezvous was arranged by God before the world was made, for the Spirit says in 2 Timothy 1:9 that God “saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.” The Father and Son planned this showdown of light against darkness. In Genesis 3:15 we hear of this appointment. “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." Jesus and Satan knew exactly where and when they were to meet—in another garden. We learn from Luke 22:39 that Jesus often prayed in this garden on the Mount of Olives. “And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives.” From the upper room to the Mount of Olives where the Garden of Gethsemane was located, one walks through the ravine of the Kidron valley.
As we think about this verse today, let’s let this wonderful truth sink in: We are reading about what living to love is all about. God’s love is the light of the world and when empowered by faith, it overcomes the darkness and destroys the work of the devil. May we be an expression of Jesus’ love today in the darkness.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 17:26 “and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."
God’s love for His Son resides in us because He resides in us. This is only possible because of what Jesus told His disciples and then displayed on the cross. He made known God’s name, the name of love, to that small band of followers. So they knew His name by words first, and they believed them. Then, when Jesus said, “I have made your name known to them, and will make it known” He surely was referring to what He was about to do. After these words, Jesus displayed the greatest act of love known to man in the history of the world so they could know God’s love by experience, be filled with both His love and Himself, and make Jesus known to the world. In essence, Jesus was saying, ”I am going now to die for their sins, so they can be forgiven and cleansed. Then when You raise me up, I know You, You are righteous, Father, and You will do the right thing. You will reward my obedience by giving all those whom You have given to me, the gift of the Holy Spirit, so that Your love, with which You have loved Me may be in them and so I may dwell in them. Together, just as I have lived to love with You, they may live to love with Me.” Implied is this wonderful conclusion: In modern vernacular it’s like Jesus was saying to His Father, “Let’s do this!” Let’s die and live to love for the glory of God.”

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 17:25 "O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me;”
In Hebrews 1:8-9 we read, “But of the Son, He (God) says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness, therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above your companions.” Why does the Son love righteousness? Because He knows the Father and knows that He loves righteousness. How did the disciples know God sent Jesus? Because He was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, which is what righteousness looks like in relationships.
Let’s tie this verse to the previous verses so we can get the line of reason in Jesus’ mind. He has prayed that the world would know that God sent Him by the unifying power of the love of God dwelling in them as Jesus abides in them. In this verse, He again brings the unknowing, the ignorant world into the Father’s view. In Jesus’ mind is the heart of the Father to display to the world they have created His great love and glory. It all hinges on this small group of men and women whom the Father gave to Him. They know that God sent Jesus into the world. How did they know this? And more personally, do you know that God sent Jesus into the world? Tomorrow, in the last verse of John 17 we will see how they knew and believed in Jesus. If you can’t wait, go on and look at John 17:26. However, if you like suspense. Wait for it! We will rejoice tomorrow in the amazing words of Jesus as He closes His prayer with His Father.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com