Life can be a kind of “trial” in which you are trying to prove to others and yourself that you are good. We so desperately need to know what we look like and how we measure up when compared to others. That’s why we need an advocate, someone who can speak for us. Jesus is the advocate we need. He doesn’t plead our case to God. He demands justice for us from God because He already made the payment for us. Jesus gives you a completely new identity. He removes all guilt from your life. He gives you a way to deal with discouragement and disappointment. And gives you a joy and courage to approach life with! If your advocate wins, you win! Because Jesus wins, we win!

We live in one of the most workaholic cultures in history. Technology makes it possible for us to work around the clock. We never escape our work. We get our identity, value, and worth from our work. It is hard for us to get real rest. Even when we take “vacations,” our focus and thoughts are on what we should be doing. God created us as human beings who need rest. Real rest is important. Real rest is a declaration of freedom from slavery. Real rest is being able to put something down because you are satisfied with it. Our sinful nature makes it impossible to have real rest. The only thing that can give us real rest is Jesus. In the same way a shepherd enables his sheep to rest, our Good Shepherd makes it possible for us to have true rest. Come to Him!

A brother is someone who will come and help you, even when it isn’t safe for him to do so. When life gets difficult, let’s fix our eyes on our greatest brother, Jesus. He is our brother who came to help us, even at the cost of his life. A brother stands in front of your bully for you, fights your fight for you, puts himself between you and your enemy, even puts his life on the line for you. Jesus did this as our brother! But even better, He defeated death for us! He rose again! He is the One who has our back! And He’s not ashamed to be called your “Brother.” He’s proud of it! No matter what you’ve done! It doesn’t matter what the world says about you. You have a brother who’s proud of you!