Advancing Encouragement By:
Bishop James Jr. Hairston

John: 14:1: Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

What are you worried about? What are you concerned about? Has it taken over your every thought process? Are you able to function mentally, spiritually and physically without being interrupted by what have consumed you with worry, doubt, concerns or anxiety in your life? Well put yourself in the disciples shoes after being with Jesus for three years consistently in ministry and Jesus tells you that He was leaving you and you could not go with Him (John 13:36) after going with Him everywhere he has went within the last three years of His ministry. I believe I would have felt like Jesus was tired of putting up with me and He needed a break. I can only imagine how Peter felt in that situation. Sometimes the very thing you depend on can be a crutch to you and it is time to step out on faith and start depending on Jesus Christ and not those things that you have grown to be attached too, like your mother, father, and family in general or anything else other than Christ. In this same chapter Jesus wants His disciples to be prepared to start living by faith and depending on the Comforter, the Holy Ghost in verse 16-18. In order to do that you will have to start believing in the unseen even in the place where Jesus was going and there we all will be also. Now believing in this unseen stuff would be a hard transition for anyone when being used to seeing God in the flesh! In addition, the only God the disciples have ever known was the God of the Old Testament named Jehovah and now they see Him in the flesh in the form of His son Jesus Christ what Jesus has been saying all the time he was in His ministry on earth. Therefore, Jesus Christ reiterates Himself by saying you believe in God, believe also in me. God in the text is from the Greek word Theo’s or theh'-os, a deity or the supreme Divinity, meaning God is the supreme being over the universe whom is the Father hence, believe also in me the Son and believe my words. We have to believe everything from the Lord and what He has said in His Word then trust in it and do not doubt Him or be faithless in all that He has said to you and me. He still speaks to us through His word and we must believe and not faint, trust and not give up, hope and not fall, believe and we will receive in Jesus name. Therefore today my friend do not fret or let your heart be troubled God has something in-store for you that is greater than whatever you can imagine or think of according to the Power that works in you, Ephesians 3:20. What is that Power? The Power of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter is there to get you through it all no matter what it is you are going through, just say I believe! Yes, I believe In Jesus and everything He has said is for me, it is for me and no one can ever take that away from me in Jesus Name…

James Jr. Hairston