John, Chapter 18

John 18

In summary --

Oh my! There is so much in this chapter!
There is the betrayal of Jesus that led to his arrest, the questioning by the former High Priest, the denial of Peter, the questions from the current High Priest, more denial from Peter, the questioning by Pilate, the governor of Roman Empire, and finally Jesus' declaration that his kingdom is not of this world.

My favorite verse --

36 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this world."

Something to think about --

Jesus' kingdom is not of this world.
His servants -- the army of heaven -- would fight to defend him and his kingdom.
As his followers, we are not of this world.
Yes, we live in this world, but we have a far greater purpose than the day to day struggle of living this earthly life.
In the last chapter, Jesus gave us his glory. He said we are one with him and one with God. The army of heaven will defend us. So often we concern ourselves only with the things of this world, but we are eternal beings and not of this world. It is difficult to remember that our purpose may be bigger than our struggles. In the midst of our trials, we often miss the simple ways that we encourage others.

Hang in there.
If you are struggling with something, seek help. If you think this life is no longer worth living, reach out to someone.
If you think you have no one that cares, the suicide hotline number is 1-800-273-8255.

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