Thursday, January 15, 2026

Opening Scripture

“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:26-27

Opening Prayer

I am thine, O Lord, I have heard thy voice, and it told thy love to me; but I long to rise in the arms of faith and be closer drawn to thee. Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to the cross where thou hast died. Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to thy precious, bleeding side. Consecrate me now to thy service, Lord, by the power of grace divine. Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope and my will be lost in thine. Amen.

Daily Bible Reading

John 14:1-14

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

Reflection  

Our theme for 2026 is Flourishing Together: Transformed on The Jesus Way. Today’s reading expresses the essence of that journey.

Eugene Peterson puts it this way: “So. Jesus the Way, the ways of Jesus. He shows the way. He also isthe way. Jesus points out the way, but then he takes the initiative, inviting us to go with him. Jesus is our way to God, but at the same time Jesus is God’s way to us. The way we come to God is the same way that God comes to us. God comes to us in Jesus; we come to God in Jesus. It is the same way, the Jesus way.”

This is the blessed path. This is the way of abundant life. When we choose to live The Jesus Way, we become His representatives, doing the things He did during his earthly ministry. The combined impact of Jesus’ disciples around the world and across the ages is “greater” by multiplication as the Church lives out its calling. God the Spirit empowers us to serve God the Son to the glory of God the Father.

Flourishing Habit

Mental and Physical Health

In John 14, Jesus promises His disciples that He will be eternally present with them, and that promise should be a source of great comfort. “My peace I give you. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Are you experiencing the peace of Jesus? Is your heart troubled or afraid today?

In the next few moments, let God’s presence calm your heart and mind. Ask the Spirit to give you divine peace in the midst of life’s storms. “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

Remember: Nothing changes until something changes!