Chapter 2:
Sin is a horrible thing. It tears apart & destroys relationships. Yet, as terrible as sin is, how much greater is God’s grace! “But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” Thank you Jesus!
God – What shows that we have a relationship with God? “We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.” Pretty clear huh?!~
Others – What shows that we have a correct relationship with our fellow brothers & sisters in Christ? “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.” Again, pretty clear huh?!~
The World – What is our relationship to be with the world we live in – it’s system & attractiveness? “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.” One more time, pretty clear huh?!~ John goes on to tell us that our desires for the things of this world - “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” – aren’t from God.
The chapter ends with a warning against false teachers who disguise themselves as believers - what I call “make-believers.” These people look, talk & act like believers, but eventually they will deny Jesus, be liars, lead people away from God and themselves ditch God. Beware & Be Strong: “And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.”
SO WHAT?!
*Do you & I keep God’s commands? No – not fully. But would our lifestyle show we are living to please Him? If you aren’t sure, ask a close friend. But pray first, that we will accept their answer!
*How are you actively showing love to your brothers & sisters in Christ? Do you pray for them, show compassion, serve them, share their burdens, sacrifice for them? It’s never too late to start!
*Take a look at your checkbook, credit card statement and your weekly schedule. What do these things show that you love? Jesus told us “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also!” Is it time to reset priorities?
*Finally, all over the Bible we get the message that we are not to play games with God. So let’s all do each other a favor and not be “make-believers.” Let’s be “all in” for Jesus!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
1 John 1 DEVO: Relationship with God & Others
Introduction:
The book of 1 John is a book on Relationships: Relationship with God, Relationship with the World, and Relationship with Others. It was written by the apostle John in approximately 90 AD to believers in Ephesus to address false teachings. It is very practical as well as very black & white. Some of the repeated words/phrases and how often they are used are: Love (35), Know (33), World (22), Jesus/Christ/Son (37), Dear children/friends (15), brothers (15), Life (14), Sin (14).
John writes to reassure believers in their faith and to teach them to discern truth from error, both in doctrine and lifestyle by presenting a clear picture of Jesus Christ!
Chapter 1:
Fellowship is an amazing thing. It’s not the same as socializing, but has the idea of sharing in the joys of Jesus with other believers. To do so, you must have Jesus in your life. In the first three verses, John explains how (through our senses) this “Word of Life” is revealed in Jesus (1), experienced by those who trust in Christ (2), is shared by those who know Christ (3) and brings joy (4).
And what is this message? “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” Then he addresses three false claims that were causing problems:
1st Claim (6): “If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.” – Translate: “The way I live doesn’t affect my relationship with God.” Truth is, it DOES affect us. Remedy = “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”
2nd Claim (8): “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” Translate: “Deep down I’m not that bad.” Yes you are and so am I! And if Jesus is the truth (Jn 14:6), then Jesus is not in us, and we are not believers! Remedy = “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
3rd Claim (10): “If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” Translate: “If I’m not a sinner then God’s a liar – take your pick.” Ummmm…..I’m gonna’ go with God on this one!
SO WHAT?!
*How does knowing that Jesus is “The Word of Life” impact you? How does denying Christ impact our relationship with others?
*To confess” our sins means to “agree” with how God sees them. How often do you spend time confessing your sin? Lord, help us to make confession as regular of a practice as we make sin! Help us to keep accounts with you short!
*Does JOY describe your relationship with Jesus? If not, what does? How does our intimacy with Jesus (or lack of it) affect our relationship with fellow believers? Lord help us to get right with You regularly so we can be right with others!
The book of 1 John is a book on Relationships: Relationship with God, Relationship with the World, and Relationship with Others. It was written by the apostle John in approximately 90 AD to believers in Ephesus to address false teachings. It is very practical as well as very black & white. Some of the repeated words/phrases and how often they are used are: Love (35), Know (33), World (22), Jesus/Christ/Son (37), Dear children/friends (15), brothers (15), Life (14), Sin (14).
John writes to reassure believers in their faith and to teach them to discern truth from error, both in doctrine and lifestyle by presenting a clear picture of Jesus Christ!
Chapter 1:
Fellowship is an amazing thing. It’s not the same as socializing, but has the idea of sharing in the joys of Jesus with other believers. To do so, you must have Jesus in your life. In the first three verses, John explains how (through our senses) this “Word of Life” is revealed in Jesus (1), experienced by those who trust in Christ (2), is shared by those who know Christ (3) and brings joy (4).
And what is this message? “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” Then he addresses three false claims that were causing problems:
1st Claim (6): “If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.” – Translate: “The way I live doesn’t affect my relationship with God.” Truth is, it DOES affect us. Remedy = “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”
2nd Claim (8): “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” Translate: “Deep down I’m not that bad.” Yes you are and so am I! And if Jesus is the truth (Jn 14:6), then Jesus is not in us, and we are not believers! Remedy = “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
3rd Claim (10): “If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” Translate: “If I’m not a sinner then God’s a liar – take your pick.” Ummmm…..I’m gonna’ go with God on this one!
SO WHAT?!
*How does knowing that Jesus is “The Word of Life” impact you? How does denying Christ impact our relationship with others?
*To confess” our sins means to “agree” with how God sees them. How often do you spend time confessing your sin? Lord, help us to make confession as regular of a practice as we make sin! Help us to keep accounts with you short!
*Does JOY describe your relationship with Jesus? If not, what does? How does our intimacy with Jesus (or lack of it) affect our relationship with fellow believers? Lord help us to get right with You regularly so we can be right with others!
Monday, November 22, 2010
John 21 DEVO: Resurrection Life & Restoration Life
Chapter 21:
Talk about going from ultimate high to ultimate low. Jesus has been resurrected, they got to see Him and he gave them their calling “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you…” (20:21). And what do they do? They look at each other and go back to what they know “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” Jesus was not with them and they went back to what was comfortable and familiar. The worst place to be in life is outside of God’s will. Maybe that’s why these experienced fisherman didn’t catch anything all night.!?~
Jesus had something bigger for them – so he shows up and asks “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” They don’t recognize it’s Jesus (go figure), but frustrated tell Him “no” and then go with His suggestion and suddenly have the biggest catch of fish ever! Yeah, this will make you recognize it’s Jesus!
So they meet on the beach and have what I call “The Last Breakfast.” The had caught 153 large fish and ate together with Jesus. Totally cool that God records the number of fish they caught. Maybe it’s because He wants them to understand that He came to make them “fishers of men” and that every “fish” is significant to God!~ This is truly resurrection living. Jesus is wanting them to see that His calling on someone’s life goes far beyond their occupation!
The book of John concludes with an incredible scene of restoration. Peter denied knowing Jesus three times and once he realized it he was devastated. If Peter was at all like you and me, he probably felt continual guilt about it. And because Jesus offers true forgiveness, even of the guilt of our sin, He takes time to love & restore Peter. Three times Jesus asks Peter “Do you love me?” – correlating, I believe, to the three times he denied His Lord. To no one else does Jesus tell to take care of His little ones. What a great honor for Peter!
Now – ya’ gotta love what happens next! Jesus then predicts the kind of death Peter will die, so Peter looks around, sees John and says “Lord, what about him?” HA – I’d have probably asked the same thing! Jesus basically says He’s in charge of how John goes – you just live for Me!
The Gospel of John, which has had 20:31 as it’s theme, now concludes with this: “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”
SO WHAT?!
*What is your current occupation? Full-time student? Engineer? Accountant? Coder? Regardless of your occupation in life, if you are a believer, your higher calling is to Know Jesus & Make Him Known! Occupation is natural living. Representing Jesus is the abundant, supernatural, resurrection life that God calls all those who are His! Let’s live it!
*A while back, our church had a guest preacher who challenged us one Sunday to write down the names of people we wanted to see come to Christ and to pray for them. I was in charge of gathering those names and making prayer lists of them. I counted them twice to make sure but guess how many we had? Yep – 153 “fish” whom we committed to pray for! Numbers DO matter to God!
Talk about going from ultimate high to ultimate low. Jesus has been resurrected, they got to see Him and he gave them their calling “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you…” (20:21). And what do they do? They look at each other and go back to what they know “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” Jesus was not with them and they went back to what was comfortable and familiar. The worst place to be in life is outside of God’s will. Maybe that’s why these experienced fisherman didn’t catch anything all night.!?~
Jesus had something bigger for them – so he shows up and asks “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” They don’t recognize it’s Jesus (go figure), but frustrated tell Him “no” and then go with His suggestion and suddenly have the biggest catch of fish ever! Yeah, this will make you recognize it’s Jesus!
So they meet on the beach and have what I call “The Last Breakfast.” The had caught 153 large fish and ate together with Jesus. Totally cool that God records the number of fish they caught. Maybe it’s because He wants them to understand that He came to make them “fishers of men” and that every “fish” is significant to God!~ This is truly resurrection living. Jesus is wanting them to see that His calling on someone’s life goes far beyond their occupation!
The book of John concludes with an incredible scene of restoration. Peter denied knowing Jesus three times and once he realized it he was devastated. If Peter was at all like you and me, he probably felt continual guilt about it. And because Jesus offers true forgiveness, even of the guilt of our sin, He takes time to love & restore Peter. Three times Jesus asks Peter “Do you love me?” – correlating, I believe, to the three times he denied His Lord. To no one else does Jesus tell to take care of His little ones. What a great honor for Peter!
Now – ya’ gotta love what happens next! Jesus then predicts the kind of death Peter will die, so Peter looks around, sees John and says “Lord, what about him?” HA – I’d have probably asked the same thing! Jesus basically says He’s in charge of how John goes – you just live for Me!
The Gospel of John, which has had 20:31 as it’s theme, now concludes with this: “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”
SO WHAT?!
*What is your current occupation? Full-time student? Engineer? Accountant? Coder? Regardless of your occupation in life, if you are a believer, your higher calling is to Know Jesus & Make Him Known! Occupation is natural living. Representing Jesus is the abundant, supernatural, resurrection life that God calls all those who are His! Let’s live it!
*A while back, our church had a guest preacher who challenged us one Sunday to write down the names of people we wanted to see come to Christ and to pray for them. I was in charge of gathering those names and making prayer lists of them. I counted them twice to make sure but guess how many we had? Yep – 153 “fish” whom we committed to pray for! Numbers DO matter to God!
Friday, November 19, 2010
John 20 DEVO: Jesus is ALIVE!!!
Chapter 20:
As painful as reading the last chapter was, it pales in comparison to the WHOOHOO of this chapter! What separates Christianity from all other beliefs? The Empty Tomb! Our Leader is ALIVE! My good friend Greg Stier puts it this way: “You can visit the graves of every founder of every other religion, and unless someone dug them up and sold them on E-Bay, they should still be there. Jesus’ grave was a three-day rental, and it has been empty for nearly 2000 years.”
What a great scene – The ladies head to the tomb, see the stone rolled away and go tell Peter & John. They run to the tomb. John, apparently in better shape than Peter, gets there first but doesn’t go in until after Peter, but when he does he sees & believes! Then they just leave?!~ But Mary sticks around (just like a mom) and is greeted by two angels AND Jesus (whom she doesn’t recognize – God only knows why). So Mary gets the honor of seeing Him alive first – coolz!
Later, Jesus “drops in” on His disciples. (Apparently, resurrected bodies can go through walls as the scared disciples were locked in their house.) The first thing he says is “Peace” – Yeah – they’re freaking out! They are overjoyed to see him and go to tell Thomas who was not there. He is a bit skeptical until he sees the nail driven hands and pierced side of Jesus and says “My Lord and my God! Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” – This is AWESOME stuff!
Then we come to our theme verse that I have referred to over and over again in these Devos: “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” – DOUBLE AWESOME!
SO WHAT?!
*As a follower of Christ, my entire faith depends on the resurrection! If Jesus is still dead, then I’m still stuck in my sin and headed to hell! But 1 Corinthians 15 is clear – Jesus DID rise from the dead, was here for 40 days and MANY saw Him alive after He was dead! Believe it! Jesus is ALIVE and all the “other guys” who led belief systems are not.
*The disciples literally saw Jesus alive and believed. But isn’t it cool to know that when you & I, who don’t literally see Jesus, believe, we are called blessed (29).
*Ready for a challenge? Why not give out a “Gospel of John” booklet to your friends this holiday season? I just ordered #50 of them from CBD for people to give out. If this book is written so that people can believe in Jesus and have eternal life, then what greater gift could we give them?!~
As painful as reading the last chapter was, it pales in comparison to the WHOOHOO of this chapter! What separates Christianity from all other beliefs? The Empty Tomb! Our Leader is ALIVE! My good friend Greg Stier puts it this way: “You can visit the graves of every founder of every other religion, and unless someone dug them up and sold them on E-Bay, they should still be there. Jesus’ grave was a three-day rental, and it has been empty for nearly 2000 years.”
What a great scene – The ladies head to the tomb, see the stone rolled away and go tell Peter & John. They run to the tomb. John, apparently in better shape than Peter, gets there first but doesn’t go in until after Peter, but when he does he sees & believes! Then they just leave?!~ But Mary sticks around (just like a mom) and is greeted by two angels AND Jesus (whom she doesn’t recognize – God only knows why). So Mary gets the honor of seeing Him alive first – coolz!
Later, Jesus “drops in” on His disciples. (Apparently, resurrected bodies can go through walls as the scared disciples were locked in their house.) The first thing he says is “Peace” – Yeah – they’re freaking out! They are overjoyed to see him and go to tell Thomas who was not there. He is a bit skeptical until he sees the nail driven hands and pierced side of Jesus and says “My Lord and my God! Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” – This is AWESOME stuff!
Then we come to our theme verse that I have referred to over and over again in these Devos: “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” – DOUBLE AWESOME!
SO WHAT?!
*As a follower of Christ, my entire faith depends on the resurrection! If Jesus is still dead, then I’m still stuck in my sin and headed to hell! But 1 Corinthians 15 is clear – Jesus DID rise from the dead, was here for 40 days and MANY saw Him alive after He was dead! Believe it! Jesus is ALIVE and all the “other guys” who led belief systems are not.
*The disciples literally saw Jesus alive and believed. But isn’t it cool to know that when you & I, who don’t literally see Jesus, believe, we are called blessed (29).
*Ready for a challenge? Why not give out a “Gospel of John” booklet to your friends this holiday season? I just ordered #50 of them from CBD for people to give out. If this book is written so that people can believe in Jesus and have eternal life, then what greater gift could we give them?!~
Thursday, November 18, 2010
John 19 DEVO: Crucifixion, Death & Burial of Jesus
Chapter 19:
This is a painful chapter to read regarding the suffering that Jesus endured along with His crucifixion. Jesus was stripped, tied to a post & beaten with whips made of leather straps & shards of metal & glass that would rip the skin and expose muscles, veins & bones. The mocked Him with words, slaps & a crown of thorns. Horrific! Apparently, Pilate had Jesus flogged in an attempt to draw sympathy & have Jesus released. Didn’t work: “As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
Ticked at Jesus’ silence through it all, Pilate says, “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.”
Pilate then turned Him over to be crucified. They made Him – in His shredded condition – carry His own cross, the very one He would die on, up a hill. TONS of scriptures are fulfilled, some of which are: Isaiah 53:3-6, Psalm 22:18, Zechariah 12:10, Psalm 34:20.
Jesus tells John to take care of his mom (27) and he did. Finally, “Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” The chapter ends with “At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.”
SO WHAT?!
*Lets all take a few minutes today to get away, read this chapter again, and thank our Lord.
This is a painful chapter to read regarding the suffering that Jesus endured along with His crucifixion. Jesus was stripped, tied to a post & beaten with whips made of leather straps & shards of metal & glass that would rip the skin and expose muscles, veins & bones. The mocked Him with words, slaps & a crown of thorns. Horrific! Apparently, Pilate had Jesus flogged in an attempt to draw sympathy & have Jesus released. Didn’t work: “As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
Ticked at Jesus’ silence through it all, Pilate says, “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.”
Pilate then turned Him over to be crucified. They made Him – in His shredded condition – carry His own cross, the very one He would die on, up a hill. TONS of scriptures are fulfilled, some of which are: Isaiah 53:3-6, Psalm 22:18, Zechariah 12:10, Psalm 34:20.
Jesus tells John to take care of his mom (27) and he did. Finally, “Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” The chapter ends with “At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.”
SO WHAT?!
*Lets all take a few minutes today to get away, read this chapter again, and thank our Lord.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
John 18 DEVO: Betrayal, Arrest, Abandonment & Trial
Chapter 18:
Because of our purpose in 20:31, John produces evidence to substantiate that Jesus IS the Christ. All the shame and the scorn aimed at Him confirmed, rather than disproved, Jesus & His mission – “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (1:29).
First came the betrayal & arrest. Judas leads a large group of soldiers (probably 500+) and religious leaders to arrest Jesus. This group was ready for problems with Jesus & His followers. But Jesus made it clear (when Peter cut off the the dude’s ear) that he wanted no problems when he told Peter “Put your sword away!” And frankly, I think Peter was going for the head and the dude ducked! Peter was not a surgeon!
Next to having a friend turn on you is having another friend abandon & deny you – and multiple times. It’s not as if Jesus was not feeling lonely enough going thru this trial stuff, then to have His closest buddy deny knowing Him – ouch! “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” They asked Peter. He denied it, saying, “I am not.” It also must have devastated Peter to hear that cock crow and realize what he had just done!
Amidst all of this Jesus is being put on trial. Over & over again they find no fault in Him (duh). He finally gets to Pilate and at one point Jesus tells him, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” Then Pilate asks a question that ALL PEOPLE must answer: “What is Truth?” (John 14:6!)
SO WHAT?!
*Ever been betrayed by a friend? Then you know the hurt. Ever been the betrayer? Trust is broken, pain is inflicted and major relational damage is caused. Sometimes, in the case of Judas, the damage is eternal. I pray if you know of anyone you’ve done this to that TODAY you would go make it right – as best as you can.
*Don’t give up on friends when they hurt you. What if Jesus had given up on Peter? A big chunk of our new testament would be missing! Peter became one of the biggest leaders in the early church for Jesus!
*How do you determine truth? Believing in something doesn’t make it true – you can believe gravity doesn’t exist, but dive off the roof of your home and you’ll find out pretty quick it does! Then what makes things true? Truth! And you have to discover it if you want eternal life! Lord, make us truth seekers!
Because of our purpose in 20:31, John produces evidence to substantiate that Jesus IS the Christ. All the shame and the scorn aimed at Him confirmed, rather than disproved, Jesus & His mission – “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (1:29).
First came the betrayal & arrest. Judas leads a large group of soldiers (probably 500+) and religious leaders to arrest Jesus. This group was ready for problems with Jesus & His followers. But Jesus made it clear (when Peter cut off the the dude’s ear) that he wanted no problems when he told Peter “Put your sword away!” And frankly, I think Peter was going for the head and the dude ducked! Peter was not a surgeon!
Next to having a friend turn on you is having another friend abandon & deny you – and multiple times. It’s not as if Jesus was not feeling lonely enough going thru this trial stuff, then to have His closest buddy deny knowing Him – ouch! “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” They asked Peter. He denied it, saying, “I am not.” It also must have devastated Peter to hear that cock crow and realize what he had just done!
Amidst all of this Jesus is being put on trial. Over & over again they find no fault in Him (duh). He finally gets to Pilate and at one point Jesus tells him, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” Then Pilate asks a question that ALL PEOPLE must answer: “What is Truth?” (John 14:6!)
SO WHAT?!
*Ever been betrayed by a friend? Then you know the hurt. Ever been the betrayer? Trust is broken, pain is inflicted and major relational damage is caused. Sometimes, in the case of Judas, the damage is eternal. I pray if you know of anyone you’ve done this to that TODAY you would go make it right – as best as you can.
*Don’t give up on friends when they hurt you. What if Jesus had given up on Peter? A big chunk of our new testament would be missing! Peter became one of the biggest leaders in the early church for Jesus!
*How do you determine truth? Believing in something doesn’t make it true – you can believe gravity doesn’t exist, but dive off the roof of your home and you’ll find out pretty quick it does! Then what makes things true? Truth! And you have to discover it if you want eternal life! Lord, make us truth seekers!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
John 17 DEVO: The Lord’s Prayers
Chapter 17:
Matthew 6 & Luke 11 are called “The Lord’s Prayer” – a pattern Jesus gave us of how to pray. Here we have The Lord’s Prayers. In most of the Bible we don’t get a whole lot of the content of Jesus’ prayers to his Father but in this chapter we do. We get to see some pretty intimate conversation between Jesus & His Dad! Basically, Jesus prays for Himself, His disciples and finally, you & I!
In praying for Himself, Jesus has His Father’s purpose in mind, “Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you…... I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.” Jesus always prayed for not His will but His Father’s.
Then He prays for His disciples, “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.” Whoah – how totally encouraging for the disciples to hear this! And he asks His Father to protect them! The disciples would remain here and would face tough stuff – so He asks to be their refuge & strength, always there in time of need. I’ll take prayers like this anytime!
Finally, Jesus prays for “those who will believe in Me through their message” – that’s you & me! He prays that we be unified and united with Him. Why? “I want those you have given me to be with me where I am.” God soooo wants us to be with Him in Heaven someday! And Great News – He provided that way through Jesus!
SO WHAT?!
*Prayer can be a great revealer of our heart. What we pray for, how we pray and the time we give it. So, how’s your prayer life? God wants to have intimate conversations with us – and here’s the cool part – ANY TIME! The more we pray, the more we show our dependency on God. Let’s depend on Him often & always.
*How cool is it that Jesus prays for us and wants to spend eternity with you & me!~ Take some time today to thank Him.
Matthew 6 & Luke 11 are called “The Lord’s Prayer” – a pattern Jesus gave us of how to pray. Here we have The Lord’s Prayers. In most of the Bible we don’t get a whole lot of the content of Jesus’ prayers to his Father but in this chapter we do. We get to see some pretty intimate conversation between Jesus & His Dad! Basically, Jesus prays for Himself, His disciples and finally, you & I!
In praying for Himself, Jesus has His Father’s purpose in mind, “Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you…... I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.” Jesus always prayed for not His will but His Father’s.
Then He prays for His disciples, “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.” Whoah – how totally encouraging for the disciples to hear this! And he asks His Father to protect them! The disciples would remain here and would face tough stuff – so He asks to be their refuge & strength, always there in time of need. I’ll take prayers like this anytime!
Finally, Jesus prays for “those who will believe in Me through their message” – that’s you & me! He prays that we be unified and united with Him. Why? “I want those you have given me to be with me where I am.” God soooo wants us to be with Him in Heaven someday! And Great News – He provided that way through Jesus!
SO WHAT?!
*Prayer can be a great revealer of our heart. What we pray for, how we pray and the time we give it. So, how’s your prayer life? God wants to have intimate conversations with us – and here’s the cool part – ANY TIME! The more we pray, the more we show our dependency on God. Let’s depend on Him often & always.
*How cool is it that Jesus prays for us and wants to spend eternity with you & me!~ Take some time today to thank Him.
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