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John 17:20-21

I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

Personal Challenge

The American way is to be strong and inde­pendent. The Marlboro Man. John Wayne. The pioneers of old. This psyche has permeated our way of thinking and acting. But this is not what Jesus prayed for, and not how the Church behaved in its early centuries. Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are one and a community all the same time. As Christians we are to be in unity with one another acting in one accord as a community. This is what Jesus prayed for. That unity was not just amongst those of us who come together on Sunday’s, but with all that have come before us and passed down the word of God through the millennia. We are not alone. We have each other, if we are willing to follow Jesus and submit to Him and to one another. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

John 17:14-17

I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

Personal Challenge

If we are living Godly Christian lives, loving our God and loving our neighbor in a way that it is apparent to those around us, then we will be mistreated by those that are of the world. Jesus knew this and prayed for us. He did not pray that we would be removed from the world, because it is through His followers that His light shines into the darkness. He prayed for our protection and sanctification. This does mean that we need to be living lives that are Christlike. We are citizens of His Kingdom and no longer of earth. If we live apolitical lives, people from both sides will be angry and accusatory. If we love our neighbors, all of them, then we will be accused of not upholding God’s standards. If we give of our time and possessions on a sacrificial basis, then we will be labeled foolish. If we abide by His moral standards we will be labeled old fashioned and discriminatory, We live this way because we love Him. Glory be to God!

John 17:3

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Personal Challenge

One must notice in this verse that the challenge in life is to know God, not know about God. Our pursuit throughout our Christian life should be to know God more deeply and more personally, rather than to spend all our time learning about Him. We can easily get caught up in everyone else’s experience or understanding about God by reading their accounts and expositions or listening to their stories on podcasts. Not that any of this is bad, unless it begins to become our perception of a relationship with the only true God. He wants us to walk with Him, talk to Him, know Him, so that He can be manifested in our lives. Glory be to Him!

John 16:33

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Encouraging Words

Once again, Jesus tells us how to have peace in our lives. It does not come from our job, or even the positions that we hold in our church. Not from all the stuff that we accumulate throughout life. Not from our health, even if we work out all the time and have a chiseled body. Peace comes from a relationship with Him. If we proclaim to be His follower and yet do not have His peace in our lives, then we must question if we really do have a relationship with Him. His peace will not eliminate the trials and tribulations that we will have in life, but it will alter how we make it through them. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner and thank you for a peace that passes all understanding.

John 16:23-24

“And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

Encouraging Words

What day is Jesus referring to when He says, “In that day”? Jesus has just informed His disciples that He would soon be leaving them, referring to His death on the cross. He is telling them, and us, that after His departure, His ascension into heaven, that our petitions to the Father will be answered by the Father, if we pray in the name of Jesus, our intercessor. Jesus has also inferred that if we are following Him as our Lord then our petitions will be similar to His and that they will be answered. Glory be to God!

John 16:13

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

Encouraging Words

We have been promised the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, to be our guide through life into all truth, God’s truth. As Christians we have no excuse for being wrapped up in the falsehoods of this world, and especially our local society. In order to live in this world we must first thwart the Holy Spirit and ignore His guidance in our lives. I, for one, do not want to stand before my Lord and have to defend why I chose to ignore the guidance provided to me. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

John 15:19

If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

Personal Challenge

Have you ever been confronted because of your relationship with Jesus? Do you find yourself at odds with the politics of this world, not able to agree or side with any party or platform? Do you feel out of sorts with the world around you because you long for the “Promised Laud”? Jesus told His followers, and us, that if we are following Him, living the way that He wants us to live, then all of these things will be true because through Him, we are no longer residents in this world. He has brought us into His Kingdom and the world around us hates us for this. As Christians we should be uncomfortable in this earthly realm. We should be at odds with the things of this earth. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

John 15:15-17

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another.

Encouraging Words

Jesus tells us that if we are following Him and loving our neighbor then we are no longer His servants but His friends. Friends get invited to the banquet table, servants cater to those friends. Friends get to hang out together while the servants observe from afar. Friends get to share in the details of each others lives. Jesus wants us to be close to Him and to do His work, which is loving one another. Glory be to God!

John 15:12-14

This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

Personal Challenge

Immediately following Jesus’ explanation about how our lives can be full of joy, He gives us the command to love one another. This is a very important part of being a true follower of Him. Today we have the opportunity to both see and participate in the practical application of laying down our life for one another. Our world is being ravaged by a pandemic. Whether people believe it is real or not, thousands of people are dying because of it. We all have the opportunity to be vaccinated against it and be inconvenienced by wearing masks so that we can prevent its spread. Do we make the choice to follow these practical and readily available options out of our love for one another or stomp our feet in defiance and refuse on the grounds that our personal freedom is being infringed upon? At what point does our worship of our personal freedom betray our love for Jesus Christ? Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!