Author: mary

As a Christian, our life goal should be to know Christ and make Him known. We should live in light of the salvation we have been given and share that message with the world around us. Jesus prays for this in John 17:35: “O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me.” Through knowing Jesus, we have access to God the Father.

When we know Christ and His salvation, we will experience everything He has to offer us as His followers. Just as His disciples walked with Him, soaked up everything He taught them, and gave up everything to follow Him, we should live in the same way. We may not be able to walk with Christ physically, but we can “walk” with Him daily by reading and meditating on His Word and praying. This is the purpose of the Holy Spirit! Since He lives within us, He walks with us, teaching us His Word, and interceding on our behalf just as Jesus did for His disciples.

To know the love of Jesus is to know true, abundant life. Through the Holy Spirit, you have a constant advocate for you, a teacher and guide, and a helpmate. You, dear one, are never alone! Spend some time in prayer and meditation today, truly thanking God for walking with you and helping you through this life.

Jesus pleads for His followers to be with Him in heaven in John 17:24: “Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then, they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!” He wanted them to experience glorification as He would experience through His resurrection. He wanted them to see His glory and the love you have poured out on His from the beginning of time!

Merriam Webster defines glorification as, ” to make glorious by bestowing honor, praise, or admiration,” or “to elevate to celestial glory.” After Jesus’ death and resurrection, He walked on earth again and then was raised to heaven to sit at the right-hand of God. He was given all glory and honor. He made us sons and daughters of the true King through His suffering on the cross as Hebrews 2:10 states, “For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.”

This is glorification! It is the product of sanctification, the end result of our faith. We are promised heaven, an eternity with God the Father and Jesus the Savior! While it is not time for us to experience glorification, we can still live in His glory here on earth through our worship, our service, and our lifestyle.

Jesus’ prayer in John 17:23 shows His true purpose for leaving His followers in the world: “I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.” He would leave them there to spread His gospel message, but He would be in them. His Holy Spirit would come and live and breathe inside of them. They would not be alone.

Imagine how His followers felt as He was led to the cross. And then how they felt as they watched their beloved Savior suffer a death on the cross that He was not guilty of. We see their anguish as there was nothing they could do, but they must have also suffered from fear. Fear of a word without Christ. Sure, He had told them the Spirit was coming, but they did not really understand His words until after everything happened. He had to suffer and die for all of the rest of us. His suffering meant life for generations to come. The world would know of His salvation.

We live on that side of the cross! We know His suffering led to the beautiful resurrection and the life and salvation we now know! Isn’t that wonderful! “The world will know!” May they continue to know of His salvation message because we as the body of Christ are in perfect unity. Strive to be unified!

According to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, the word unity has several definitions. It can mean, “the quality or state of not being multiple : ONENESS” or “a condition of harmony : ACCORD.” This is what Jesus meant in John 17:21-22 when he prayed and said, “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one-as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one.” His desire was for the body of Christ to be one, unified body and in one accord! What a beautiful picture of how His church should be.

The trinity includes God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are three in one, unified and in one accord. Everything Jesus did was to serve and please God the Father. He prayed to God. He worshipped God. Everything the Holy Spirit does for us is to serve God the Father. As a body of Christ, we should be the same way. We should live to please God the Father and worship Him. Our decisions should be based on our prayers and seeking after the Lord.

If we are tearing each other apart, slandering someone in the body, or working for ourselves rather than the Lord, then we are not serving God or bringing glory to His name. We should work together in service and in one accord in worship, living and praising in harmony.

What is one thing you hope for your children or the next generation? Do you hope that they will have success and live happy lives? Do you hope that they will have lasting relationships that will bring them joy? Or maybe you hope that your children will grow in the Lord and share the love they have with their children. The message of Christ is for every generation. It has stood the test of time.

Throughout the Bible, God tells us to bind His words on our hearts and minds, or tie reminders on our fingers. His message of truth, the gospel story, who He is must always be in our hearts as we ponder things like Mary did in Luke 2, or in our minds, constantly thinking of the things of God as it says in Philippians 4:8. Deutoronomy 6, Moses tells the people that they must obey God’s commands and teach their children and grandchildren to fear the Lord. He says to repeat them everywhere they go! Write them on their hearts! He tells them that if they do this, they will live a long life.

In Jesus’ final prayer, He prays not only for His disciples and followers, but He prays for the future generations to come in John 17:20. He prays for us! “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.” So why must we teach our children His message of truth? So that they will believe in Him, write His truths on their hearts, and teach their children!