Jesus Prayed That We May Be One

John 17:20-26 KJV

Not Of This World

Unity Cannot Be Legislated

 

And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. 

                                                                                    (Acts 4:31-33 KJV)

Everyone being with one heart and of one soul! Imagine that! How can that be possible? 

It is fallacy to think that we can legislate peace. Dictatorships do not bring about harmony among the people. Ordering people to think and act of one accord will only  bring about opposition and dissension. 

Our God is not a dictator. Yes, he gave us rules to follow. But, he also gave us the freedom to choose whether we do or not. He gave us the freedom to serve Him or reject Him. Dictators do not give the people that choice.

The early followers of Jesus were of one mind not because of any legislation. They were empowered by the Holy Spirit. They were cleansed by the blood of Christ and became new men and women in him by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

The Holy Spirit empowered them to live together with one heart and one soul with a desire to share the word of God with boldness so that others also might know the great grace bestowed upon us through the life and death and resurrection of  Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.

"Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:

Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:"

                                                                                               (2 Cor 3:2-4)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Things Could Be Worse; Repent!

And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.

And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.

And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

                                                                                (Numbers 21:4-9 KJV)

Life can be a major struggle even as getting to the promised land was a struggle for the Israelites. The path that God leads us on is not always as easy as we would like it to be. We don't get everything we want and we are often not willing to make the slightest sacrifice to reach the desired goal. 

God had led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. When they did not have the food that they desired, God sent them quail and manna to eat every single day. But, they didn't particularly like the manna that they called "light bread" and they complained. So, the Lord sent serpents to bite the people to apparently teach them that they had not had it so bad. Things could be worse. Sometimes, it is most beneficial to be thankful for what the Lord has provided us with. 

As multitude died from this pestilence the people woke up and repented of their sins of complaining about God and what He had given them. The Lord told Moses to make a serpent made of brass and hang it upon a pole; that if anyone was bitten by a serpent they should look at it and they will be healed. And... it was so.

Humankind continues to take the gifts of God for granted. We speak against Him often. We act against His will continuously. Simply put, we take Him for granted. Yet, all who would repent of their sins against Him; all who would turn to the cross of Christ, to Christ who was hung on the tree for us, will be forgiven their sins and be made whole.

Maybe it's time to quit complaining and thank God for what He has given us. Let us never take the good gifts of God for granted but be ever grateful that He has released us from bondage; He has healed us, by the blood of Jesus the Christ.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Pray For Those Who Persecute You

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. (Matt 5:11-12 KJV)

It is to be expected that many will not hear or accept the truth that we are all sinners in need of redemption. It is to be expected that many will not accept the truth that Jesus hung on that cross to redeem us from our sins. 

Thanks be to God we can pray for those who persecute us even as Jesus prayed that those who persecuted him might be forgiven.

God help us to stand in your strength and in your love that we might might endure all persecutions and continue proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit to your glory, Lord.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Glory

After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.  (John 17:1-5 NRSV)

Children love to look good in their parents' eyes. In fact, probably a more than a few are willing "exaggerate" about the good they do and the evil their brothers and sisters do in order to be "glorified" in their earthly father's eyes.

But, when Jesus prayed to be glorified he also knew that:

1. as he is glorified; the Father is glorified. It was not for selfish reasons that he prayed to be glorified. It was to do the will of His Father and that His Father in heaven be glorified.

2. That in order to be glorified he would be lifted up on the cross and put to death. Glory doesn't come by deception that makes others look bad or us look better than we are. Glory has nothing to do with deceit. It has everything to do with being lifted up as a sacrifice to death for others. God was glorified in the suffering and death and subsequent resurrection of His Son, Jesus the Christ.

If one feels the desire to pray for God's glory to come upon them, it is the same as praying: I am willing to die; I will give up everything, even my life, so that you, Father, may be glorified.

God's Peace - Pr. J

There Is Jesus!

   Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
   She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher).
                                                                                                                John 20:16 NIV

   Thomas said to him, “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.”
                                                                                                               John 20:28-29 NIV

Yesterday, a memorial service was held for a dear friend of mine. Years ago, she and I studied books together at the local swimming pool. We prayed a bit. We studied a bit. We swam a bit. We had lunch together afterwards.

One of the books we read together was "Practicing the Presence of God" by Brother Lawrence. There was nothing that Brother Lawrence would have preferred to do than to be in the presence of God and so his life was lived as though he were.

After Jesus' resurrection, Mary and Thomas both had those "aha" moments when they recognized that they were in his presence. Mary, full of sorrow at the tomb and who shows up? There is Jesus. He is standing there. He is alive!

Thomas was quite sure Jesus was dead and not coming back. But, there he is in a locked room with his fellow disciples of Jesus and who shows up? There he is! There is Jesus standing among them. He is alive!

Jesus lives! As each year passes I spend more time in the Word and more time practicing the presence of God, talking and listening and walking with God, this God whom I cannot see as Mary or Thomas saw. After all; is there anyone more pleasant and comforting to be with than Jesus? As each year passes the more often I am able to experience those "aha" moments when I feel the real presence of God with me. Something will happen and I think: there he is still working among us. That has to be Jesus! Here he is! He lives! 

We cannot see him as Mary or Thomas saw him; but, we can and do live in his presence even today as we look to the day when we will see him face to face. We will seem him with our own eyes. 

May You always be cognizant of God's presence no matter where you are or what you are doing.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Come Down!

Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,

    that the mountains would tremble before you!
 As when fire sets twigs ablaze
    and causes water to boil,
come down to make your name known to your enemies
    and cause the nations to quake before you!

                                                      Isaiah 64:1-2 NIV
                          
I know this prayer from Isaiah. No, I haven't memorized it. But, I know it. From the depths of my heart, I have prayed it on many occasions. And, I have a feeling that I'm probably not alone in having prayed a prayer similar to this one from time to time; when things get rough; when you feel persecuted or alone. Is there anyone among us who has never thought or prayed: "This is enough. Please, make your presence known to all people so the world; the whole world could live in peace already!"

Yet, Isaiah reminds us that we have all become like one who is unclean and all of our righteous deeds are like filthy cloth. It's not just everyone else. We are all guilty and our iniquities; our sins, just as the wind, have taken us away out of God's presence.

But, we're not out of God's presence. He is with us. In spite of the fact that we often do not hear nor do we see the answer, the prayer has been answered. For God did indeed come down to us. The great God Almighty; the creator of heaven and earth, came down to earth to meet humankind right where we are. As we drifted further and further away from God's good will for us, He, Himself, broke open the heavens and came down, as a little child, to be one of us.

The one who formed us with his own hands, who breathed his breath of life into us, took on the form of man in order that he might live with us that we might be reconciled to Him and live whole and abundant lives in Him.

There may be and probably will be days when we will think: "Oh, Lord God, break down the heavens already and come down quickly. Show us your majesty. Show us your greatness. Make the mountains quake so that all of the nations will tremble and fall down to honor you." Then may God bring to your remembrance that He, in fact has already broken through and come down to earth; to us. He assumed the very nature of His created humankind and came down, not to destroy His or our enemies; but, to save us all. He came to reconcile us to Himself and to one another through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

God's Peace – Pr. J

Stay Awake and Pray

  Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

  When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” 

                                                                                                              (Luke 22:39-46 NIV)

I remember a prayer vigil years ago that began following Worship on Maundy Thursday and ended on Good Friday at Worship. At least one person was signed up to be in the sanctuary every hour praying. No one signed up for the hours from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. so I took those hours. I probably didn't last an hour. I woke up a little after 6 a.m., on my knees, leaning against the baptismal font. The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes were Ken and Anita L., on their knees, praying, at the altar rail. They had not disturbed me. When they saw me sleeping, they just walked around me to pray. Now, Jesus, on the other hand had something to say to his disciples about sleeping while they should have been praying. “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” 

What a lesson for me! I could not stay awake for those three hours. Sleep was too great of a temptation. Pray that we may not fall into temptation and may God help us sleepers to rise and wake up from the dead. (Eph 5:14).

God's Peace - Pr. J

My Prayer Is Not For Them Alone

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you." John 17:20-21 NIV

Jesus' prayer in the garden of Gethsemane was not just for those who followed him at that time; but, for all who would follow him in the future, as well. How exactly would they come to follow him if he was no longer in the world? They would hear the good news through those who presently followed; those who were witnesses of his life; his death; his resurrection; and his ascension. That good news would be passed on down through the generations by those who followed him.

That is what the church is about; proclaiming the good news of the kingdom through Jesus the Christ. Everything that the church on earth should be about is reaching out and reconciling others to God and to one another through this good news. That is; after all, what Jesus prayed for just before he died for us.

It is because others were willing to share this message with us that we know Christ. Shall we do less for those who are wandering, lost in this world?

God's Peace - Pr. J