requests

^{1 -4}"Don't let this throw you. You trust God, don't you? Trust me. There is plenty of room for you in my Father's home. If that weren't so, would I have told you that I'm on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I'm on my way to get your room ready, I'll come back and get you so you can live where I live. And you already know the road I'm taking."

⁵Thomas said, "Master, we have no idea where you're going. How do you expect us to know the road?"

^{6 -7}Jesus said, "I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You've even seen him!"

⁸Philip said, "Master, show us the Father; then we'll be content."

^{9 -10}"You've been with me all this time, Philip, and you still don't understand? To see me is to see the Father. So how can you ask, 'Where is the Father?' Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you aren't mere words. I don't just make them up on my own. The Father who resides in me crafts each word into a divine act.

^{11 -14}"Believe me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me. If you can't believe that, believe what you see—these works. The person who trusts me will not only do what I'm doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I've been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I'll do it. That's how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I'll do.

John 14

Jesus is the only way. He is the Truth and the Life. we learned a little bit about this this past sunday at rock harbor. we learned that Jesus knew He was the only way. we also learned that whenever He spoke, preached, or performed miracles, He never ever begged or pleaded anyone to follow Him. He knew He was the way to life but He never bribed or coerced people to follow Him, in fact, He made it harder for people to follow Him! when people came up to Him and asked how to follow Him, He asked them to give up what they valued more than Him, for one man it was his father's business and for another it was all of his possessions! Jesus wanted people who were desperate for Him! He wanted the leper, the hemorrhaging woman, the man who knew that Jesus could heal his daughter! Jesus wanted people who had no other options! He wanted the purity of desperation! these people had no other option but Jesus, no other hope but Jesus, and Jesus healed them or their loved ones because of their faith! He doesn't want half-heartedness. He wants all of us, and if there's anything that gets in the way of that, He's going to ask us to give that up. the thing is, we're lucky to have Him, not the other way around. He doesn't need us! we need Him! He says that if there's something that we think is better than Him, He says to go ahead and pursue it because He knows that it won't satisfy and people will come running back to Him in the end. also, jumping down to verses 11 to 14, we see Jesus giving this very popular quote that if we ask anything in His name, He will do it. people use this verse all the time to say that if i ask to Jesus to do something in His name, He'll do it for me! nope! we have to ask for anything that is lined up with who He is and what He is doing, not just for a promotion or a girl! it has to be related to the kingdom of God! if we ask for strength in fighting off the Devil, He will provide. if we ask for humility in relationships, He will provide. if it furthers the kingdom of God, He provides. let's remember that we need Jesus desperately. and let's remember that God isn't some sort of genie. He gives and He takes away but ask for strength to love Him and He will give it to you. ask for faith and He will show you His power.