This passage reveals that God isn't a distant entity that requires we try to do life on our own. Instead, we read that God wants to give us the things we ask for in Jesus name. But perhaps the most revelatory part of this passage is that God doesn't simply want to give us stuff, he wants to meet our greatest need in the most beautiful and meaningful way. He wants us to experience and receive His love for us.

READ

John 16:23-28

23 “In that day you will not ask me anything. Truly I tell you, anything you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. 24 Until now you have asked for nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

25 “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. 26 On that day you will ask in my name, and I am not telling you that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”

REFLECT

• Have you ever asked yourself if God really loves you?

• Share a time you felt or experienced God's love and share a time when you doubted his love for you.

• What do you notice about how you tend to determine God's love for you?

RESPOND

‍"At the heart of the universe is a love too great to be limited by what we deserve." - Ray Ortlund

What do you believe you deserve?

How does God's love for you reframe that belief?

If there was one thing that you needed to repent of in order to fully believe you are loved what would it be?

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