“But I will send you the Advocate—
the Spirit of truth.
He will come to you from the Father
and will testify all about me.
And you must also testify about me
because you have been with me
from the beginning of my ministry.
—
When the Spirit of truth comes,
he will guide you into all truth.
He will not speak on his own
but will tell you what he has heard.
He will tell you about the future.
He will bring me glory
by telling you whatever he receives from me.
John 15:26-27; 16:13-14
Your unfailing love,
O Lord,
is as vast as the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the ocean depths.
You care for people and animals alike,
O Lord.
How precious is your unfailing love,
O God!
All humanity finds shelter
in the shadow of your wings.
Psalm 36:5-7
I love the Lord because he hears my voice
and my prayer for mercy.
Because he bends down to listen,
I will pray as long as I have breath!
Psalm 116:1-2
You didn’t choose me.
I chose you.
I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit,
so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for,
using my name.
This is my command:
Love each other.
“If the world hates you,
remember that it hated me first.
The world would love you as one of its own
if you belonged to it,
but you are no longer part of the world.
I chose you to come out of the world,
so it hates you.
John 15:16-19
This is my commandment:
Love each other in the same way I have loved you.
There is no greater love
than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves.
Now you are my friends,
since I have told you everything the Father told me.
John 15:12-15
“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me.
Remain in my love.
When you obey my commandments,
you remain in my love,
just as I obey my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.
I have told you these things
so that you will be filled with my joy.
Yes,
your joy will overflow!
John 15:9-11
“Yes,
I am the vine;
you are the branches.
Those who remain in me,
and I in them,
will produce much fruit.
For apart from me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
is thrown away like a useless branch and withers.
Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.
But if you remain in me
and my words remain in you,
you may ask for anything you want,
and it will be granted!
When you produce much fruit,
you are my true disciples.
This brings great glory to my Father.
John 15:5-8
“I am the true grapevine,
and my Father is the gardener.
He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit,
and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit
so they will produce even more.
You have already been pruned and purified
by the message I have given you.”
Remain in me,
and I will remain in you.
For a branch cannot produce fruit
if it is severed from the vine,
and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”
Remember what I told you:
I am going away,
but I will come back to you again…
John 14:28
“I am leaving you with a gift—
peace of mind and heart.
And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give.
So don’t be troubled or afraid.”
James 14:27
(Galveston, TX)