Jesus prays

I recently was listening to a sermon by Joseph Prince, and I heard him quoting Jesus' prayer in John 17. As he was reading the verse aloud, I thought to myself "Is that really in the Bible??". I have read John at least 3 times in the last year, and I somehow had no recollection of that prayer. It's likely that when I previously read it, I was in no position to understand it. That I simply glazed over it and moved on to the next chapter, failing to soak in the goodness and fullness of what Jesus is saying. Not this time, this time I couldn't move past it. I couldn't leave it behind to keep reading without letting it penetrate my spirit. Thank you Holy Spirit for opening my eyes!
 

 

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

⁶ “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. ⁷ Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. ⁸ For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.
⁹ “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. ¹⁰ And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. ¹¹ Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. ¹² While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³ But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. ¹⁴ 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. ¹⁵ I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. ¹⁸ As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

Jesus Prays for All Believers

²⁰ “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; ²¹ 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. ²² And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: ²³ I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
²⁴ “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵ O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. ²⁶ And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

Rightly dividing the Word

As a new believer, having little-to-no knowledge of God or the Bible, I found myself diving into it only to walk away more confused than I had been previously. I'm only slightly embarrassed to admit that nothing at all made sense to me. I made it all the way through Leviticus (that in itself is a miracle) before someone finally recommended I start at the Matthew. Even after reading most of the New Testament, I still had a hard time making sense of everything. The pieces just didn't seem to fit together.. I kept running into instances where God seemed to contradict Himself.

I think there are a lot of people in the church, and out, that have had the same experience. If you have experienced something similar, I'm here to tell you that there is a solution! 2 Timothy talks about rightly dividing the truth, and that is exactly what has helped me. Miles Coverdale, who translated the first English Bible said it well:

“It shall greatly help ye to understand the Scriptures if thou mark not only what is spoken or written, but of whom and to whom, with what words, at what time, where, to what intent, with what circumstances, considering what goeth before and what followeth after. ”

God's word is not complicated, or confusing. When you understand how to read the Bible, all of the pieces fit together and everything makes sense. Remember that God is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33). If you come to a part that confuses you, try to look at the accurate context of what is being said using the aforementioned advice from Mr. Coverdale.

Of course, above and beyond all else, always equip yourself with the Holy Spirit. Before sitting down to read, ask Him to open your eyes of understanding and to show you God's truth (John 16:13). Ask Jesus to reveal Himself to you as you sit down to spend time with Him.

Do you have any other advice or suggestions when it comes to reading the Bible? I'd love to hear them!

The Bible tells of Jesus

I loved this so much, I thought I'd share. We can't forget that everything points to Jesus and His finished work on the cross!

The entire Bible, Old Testament and New Testament, is laced throughout with God’s gospel of salvation, pointing to the sinner’s need for salvation from judgment, Christ’s atoning sacrifice, the fact that this salvation is totally God’s sovereign work, or a related spiritual truth. Any symbolic or allegorical meaning must ultimately point to Christ and His Gospel, and must be consistent with everything else in Scripture.

Source: http://www.ebiblefellowship.com/outreach/tracts/understandingthebible/index.html

Change a Comin'

Lots of exciting changes are taking place behind the scenes. I'm excited to see how they unfold, and what amazing things they lead to!

All too often, people form their beliefs and perspective of God around their earthly environment and circumstances.

What we should be doing is forming our earthly environment around the Truth, that is the gospel of the Kingdom.

Obedience of faith

Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, (Romans 1:5 NKJV)

Here is the Greek Interlinear's original translation:

 By whom we-received grace (a gift or blessing, favor) and apostleship (commission, duty of apostle) unto obedience (obedience, submissiveness, compliance) of-faith (faith, belief, trust, confidence) among all the Gentiles in-behalf-of the name of-him


As a new covenant believer, I have received grace (God's unmerited favor) because I am covered by the blood of Jesus. I have inherited 'The Blessing' of Abraham (Galatians 3:14) and am called only to obey 'the faith'. Obedience in the New Testament (covenant) does not refer to the law, which has already been fulfilled on our behalf, but of trust in Jesus and His finished work.

In Jesus, I have....

Jesus is the answer to every situation in my life!

- In Jesus I have victory over every trick of the enemy.
- In Jesus I have peace that surpasses all understanding.
- In Jesus I have complete salvation, wholeness in every area of my life.
- In Jesus I have divine health.
- In Jesus I have divine protection.
- In Jesus I have abundance and prosperity.
- In Jesus I have unmerited favor (grace) wherever I go.
- In Jesus I am blessed, despite me.
- In Jesus I have righteousness and strength!

Thank you Jesus for everything beautiful in my life!

What do you have in Christ today? Please feel free to add to the list in the comments below!