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JESUS’ PRAYER FOR US

(John 17:20-26) “My prayer is not for them alone (the Disciples).  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.  May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you sent me.  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one-I in them and you in me-so that they may be brought to complete unity.  Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.  Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me before the creation of the world.  Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.  I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

This is the prayer Jesus prayed for us just before He went to the cross.  I am thinking of the multitude of people over the centuries that have been included in Jesus’ prayer, and that we today are covered by His words spoken to the Father on our behalf.  Jesus asked that we might be incorporated into His relationship with His Father, and that our joining would be a catalyst for the world to know that the Father sent him. 

Jesus asks that we, those of us who believe in Him, would be brought to complete unity. Through this unity the people of the world would know that God sent Him, and that the world would recognize the love expressed in Jesus’ coming to the earth.

Jesus concludes his prayer by stating that He has made the Father known to us, and He will continue to do so.  Why? so that we would be included in the love that is shared between the Father and the Son.  And finally, Jesus asks that he would be in us.

As I contemplate Jesus’ words, I am humbled and overwhelmed.  The magnitude of the love expressed for us in Jesus’ words, leads me to recognize that I really have a very limited understanding of how inclusive into the God Head we are destined to become.  God’s love for us is beyond what I can comprehend.  Perhaps it is as simple as we are His children and in His family. However, it is a perfect family where there is complete unity and love, forever!  This is hard for me to comprehend, but it sounds amazing.

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OUR FUTURE

(Revelation 21:3&4) And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell among them.  They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

(Revelation 22:1-5) Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great city.  On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month.  And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.  No longer will there be any curse.  The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.  They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.  There will be no more night.  They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.  And they will reign for ever and ever.

These passages from the last two chapters of Revelation describe some of the features of the New world and the new Jerusalem when God makes all things new.  The New Jerusalem is the city where those of us who have received God’s forgiveness of our sins through the Lamb of God, Jesus our Savior, will dwell. God will no longer be hidden from us; He will dwell among us.

We are so used to the old order of things; I find it hard to imagine what it will be like when there is no more death or mourning or crying or pain.  Sin will be gone, and there will be nothing to fear.  We will dwell in the peace of God eternally.

This is what God has promised us who remain faithful till the end.  No matter what we are currently facing, These promises are our future if we don’t lose heart.

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THE HEAVENS AND EARTH BELONG TO GOD

(Psalm 121 1&2) I lift up my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, The maker of heaven and earth.

The Bible begins with the Words, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  Now, if I don’t believe this, what good is the Bible to me?  The very premise of the Bible is that God created all that exists in the physical world, and therefore, creation is His.  I believe that the initial statement of the Bible is true, so I can trust that the rest of the Bible is true and trustworthy.

From the very beginning, we his created ones, have worked to deny God his right to his creation. We have created false gods and worked to eliminate God by saying that he doesn’t exist.  At the beginning, God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden He made for them.  Direct fellowship with mankind ended when they rebelled against Him.  God separated Himself, because He cannot tolerate the presence of sin.  The human rejection of God left us on our own.  We did not repent of our disobedience. Instead, we began to embrace evil by murdering, stealing, and lying to each other.

 However, God did not abandon us; Because of his great loves for us, He planned for our redemption:

 (1John 4:9&10) This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

I believe that God created the heavens and the earth; it belongs to Him, and the Bible tells the true story of how He has dealt with His creation.  The sad part of the story is how utterly hard we have worked to destroy each other and His creation.  Considering how patient God has been with us, I believe he deserves our devotion to His plan for our redemption. We His children have the opportunity through our gratitude, praise, and worship to recognize God’s rightful place as our creator.

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MAN BEFORE HIS CREATOR

(Job 38:1-7) Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm.  He said: “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?  Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.” 

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.  Who marked off its dimensions?  Surely you know!  Who stretched a measuring line across it?  On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone – while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?”

The story of Job provides us with insight into mankind’s relationship with his creator.  Job suffered great loss including his children, wealth and health.  In his suffering he questioned why God would allow him to suffer all these great tragedies. The Lord responded by questioning Job. He continued for four chapters questioning Job about the different parts of creation. He was illuminating information about creation to which Job had no knowledge.  God the creator was clarifying for his created one the obvious difference between them. 

For Job, the tragedy and suffering he experienced at the hand of God was extreme, but it was a time of testing that God knew Job would faithfully endure.  Through his difficulties, Job grew in his understanding of God’s sovereignty over his creation.

After his testing, Job responded to God’s questioning with these words: “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.   You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’  Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.”

Job faithfully endured his time of testing. He did not turn his back on God, and God rewarded him with even greater success then he had before.  It’s a prodigious story that helps us remember who God is and who we are.  He is all powerful, and we are not.  He is our loving Father who cares for us, and though he trains us through times of trouble, in the end, we have a great reward if we remain faithful.

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THE CALL OF GOD

(Luke 13:34) Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.

Here in this lament over Jerusalem, Jesus expresses God’s desire to care for and protect His chosen people, but like so many of us, they refused the call of God.  You can almost hear the sadness in His voice as He recalls the many times, He desired to gather His children to Himself. 

Jesus was just days away from His death on the cross when he spoke these words of lament.  The Son of God was about to take on the sins of those who rejected Him.  We were about to be given the greatest gift that mankind would ever be offered, yet to this day many reject God’s call to repent and receive eternal life.

I have been teaching through the book of Revelations.  As I am coming to the end of the book, I read that those experiencing God’s final wrath against the sins of the world still refuse to repent.  Rather, they curse God clinging to their ungodly ways to the very end.

For those of us who have accepted God’s call to return to Him, we have the promise of eternal life with Him in a sinless and new heaven and earth.  Our sins are forgiven and covered by the blood that Jesus shed.  So, no matter what this world may throw at us, let’s stay close to our God.  In the end, it will all be rewarded if we keep the faith.  How foolish it is to reject the call of God!

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LIVING THE BEST WAY

(Galatians 6:1-5 The Massage) Live creatively, friends.  If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself.  You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out.  Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law.  If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.  Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that.  Don’t be impressed with yourself.  Don’t compare yourself with others.  Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.

  What are God’s people here for?  Jesus made it clear for us; we are here to share the Gospel and take care of each other. Living the best way requires a humble and other centered lifestyle.  This lifestyle is difficult, because it goes against our fallen nature.  We need help from Jesus who often works through our Christian brothers and sisters.

We are each gifted from God to provide help for one another.  The Apostle Paul lists in

1 Corinthians 12:1-11 the gifts given by God: apostles, prophets, teachers, miracle workers, healers, helpers, organizers, and those who pray in tongues.  Within these gifts we find brothers and sisters who are good with their hands. They can build and fix things.  Others are strong in compassion, encouraging, gifted in wisdom and knowledge, given to serve and take care of physical needs and many other abilities that enable us to use our gifts for the good of each other.  

Our scripture today calls for us to forgive and not criticize each other. We can also add in not judging one another.  I’ve learned that we can become proficient in forgiving others.  A trait we all need to develop.  And we can learn not to judge and constantly criticize each other but to leave judgement to the one who is untainted in his judgements.  These are the things we can learn from Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit.  The closer we are with Jesus the better we become at forgiving, not judging and limiting our criticism of each other.

We read in Micah 6:8, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and walk humbly with your God.”  This sums up for us the means of living the best way.

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MAINTANING A GODLY MARRIAGE

(Ephesians 5:21-28 The Message) Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another.  Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ.  The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does for the church, not by domineering but by cherishing.  So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.  Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church – a love marked by giving, not getting.  Christ’s love makes the church whole.  His words evoke her beauty.  Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness.  And that is how husbands ought to love their wives.  They’re really doing themselves a favor – since they’re already “one” in marriage.

(1Corintians 7:1-3 The Message) Now, getting down to the questions you asked in your letter to me.  First, Is it a good thing to have sexual relations?  Certainly – but only within a certain context.  It’s good for a man to have a wife, and for a woman to have a husband.  Sexual drives are strong, but marriage is strong enough to contain them and provide for a balanced and fulfilling sexual life in a world of sexual disorder.

The Bible clearly identifies that a marriage should be centered around Jesus.  The closer a husband and a wife grow toward Jesus – the closer they will grow toward each other.  As my wife and I have managed a marriage of forty-five years, I feel confident to say that we have grown closer to Jesus, and therefore we have grown closer to each other.

I have found that it is much easier to find the fault in my wife rather than in myself and trying to correct her is a bad choice.  Now, I concern myself with the fault in me, and I leave any fault that might be in her to be worked out between her and Jesus.  Jesus can amazingly correct us without causing an offence.

God forgives us in Christ Jesus and does not remember or hold our sins against us.  We should do the same.  As I mentioned last week, holding unforgiveness is destructive to ourselves and to our relationships.  If we let offences fester in our heart, love will diminish.  Unforgiveness can destroy a marriage.

We grow in Jesus through the continual guidance of the Holy Spirit.  In the loving relationship that is built with him, we grow to become a better person for our spouse.  One of my former pastors, Eric Nelson, once said, “Jesus is the answer to everything.”  I think we can build our lives on this truth.

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THE VALUE OF FORGIVING AND REPENTING

(Colossians 3:12-14) Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved cloth yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

One vital aspect of good family relationships is forgiveness.  God forgives us because he loves us with a perfect love. He demonstrated this love when he gave us his son to cover our transgressions.  The love we have for each other is tainted.  Our sinful nature causes us to resist forgiving.  Therefore, forgiving even insignificant offences tend to be a challenge.  It’s important then to overcome sinful tendencies and take care of the list of transgressions we are holding on to; otherwise, they can grow into a festering sore that will damage our souls as well as our relationships.    God has provided us with forgiveness and repentance for the healing of relationships.

I share these thoughts with you because I have experienced difficulties with forgiveness and repentance, and I have learned through these struggles the great value of forgiving and repenting.  I have found that forgiving someone reveals that their value as a person is greater than the offence.  This is a Godly perspective.  To repent is a humble expression of confession of the offence we have perpetrated. This initiates the process of forgiveness, but do we have to wait for someone to repent before we can forgive? 

My answer to this question is no.  Forgiveness is ultimately a righteous act before God.  It’s nice if a person repents, yet our forgiving does not depend on their repentance.  When we repent before God it clears our soul and opens the door to rebuilding our relationship with him.  The same is true when we repent to each other. It provides the initial step to rebuild a relationship.

There is great value in following God’s command to forgive.  Unforgiveness resides in our soul and does much damage.  Forgiveness frees our soul.  The same is true about repentance.  To repent frees our soul.

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THE KEY TO ETERNAL GLORY RESTS IN FORGIVENESS

(Ephesians 4:31&32) Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Our fallen nature has the ability to produce bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander and malice.  These are all counter to what God desires for us his children.  He wants us to be kind, compassionate and forgiving.  This is perhaps the greatest challenge for a Christian.  We live in a world where there is little of what God wants and much of what our fallen nature generates.  The key to living a Godly life lies in our ability to forgive one another.

Jesus set the stage for us to forgive, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (see Romans 5:8) God made provision to forgive us through the sacrifice of his Son.  If God was willing to sacrifice his Son for our forgiveness, we should be able to forgive those who sin against us. 

Sometimes the sin against us seems impossible to forgive.  That’s when we need help from the one who knows the cost of forgiveness.  Jesus humbled himself, even to the humility of death on the cross.  If we are willing to set aside our pride, Jesus can patiently guide us through the process of forgiving.  As we work through the difficult challenge to forgive, we can rest assured that God will be pleased, and there is a blessing coming for those of us who are willing to surrender to God’s way.

(1Peter 3:8&9) Finally, All of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult.  On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

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WHEN EVIL THREATENS

(Psalm 64:1-6) Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint; protect my life from the threat of the enemy.  Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the plot of the evildoers.  They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim cruel words like deadly arrows.  They shoot from ambush at the innocent; they shoot suddenly, without fear.  They encourage each other in evil plans, they talk about hiding their snares; they say, “who will see us?”  They plot injustice and say, “We have devised a perfect plan!”  Surely the human mind and heart are cunning.

In these first six verses of Psalm 64, King David is before God asking for protection from the evil that constantly threatens him.  King David lived some three thousand years ago, and today we still face the same evil.  As an example, we know that hackers and scammers continually lurk around us.  They use our electronic devices to lore us into their schemes.  They plot how to steal from us with little care for the damage they do.  Yes, we can agree with King David that the human mind and heart are cunning.

Can we stop this evil? Well, since it has gone on for thousands of years, I think not.  Only God can finally put an end to it.  King David trusted that he could turn to God when evil threatens. He continued his Psalm with these words.

(Psalm 64:7-10) But God will shoot them with his arrows; they will suddenly be struck down.  He will turn their own tongues against them and bring them to ruin; all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.  All people will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what he has done.  The righteous will rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him; all the upright in heart will glory in him!

When evil threatens, remember, we can take refuge in the Lord.