I Have Prayed for You Today

  

Today's passage:  John 17:13-26

Jesus was, and IS, our high priest. He is the One who stands in the gap between us and the Father. Cleansing and perfecting us that we might be holy in His sight and not consumed  with judgment because of our sinful ways.  In today's passage, Jesus is fulfilling His call, in the most glorious, poignant way possible.  As He prepares to die for the world, He prays for His disciples.  His precious, chosen ones.  Then He prays for those who will believe because of them.  That is you and me!!!  Jesus prayed for us, while we were yet unborn.  And He continues to make intercession for us today, at the right hand of Father God.

13 "I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.

Jesus was aware that His death was near.  He would bear the weight of the world's sins upon His shoulders.    But because He was leaving, He chose to offer this prayer in their hearing, that they would have a full measure of joy within them.  In His hour of great distress, your joy was His concern.

14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.

Jesus knew.  Oh, how He knew!  That as His children, we would not fit in.  We would not be at home in this world.  He knew that the world would oppose us,  reject us, and try to destroy us.  Because we are His.  Because we are not of this world.  His prayer was not that you would fit in, but that while you remain, you will be protected. Protected from the evil one. Satan himself.  Protected from the spirit of Antichrist that is rampant in this world.   For this, He prayed for you.

 17 Sanctifyb them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

Jesus prayed that you would be cleansed, made righteous and set apart by the truth of His word.  He prayed that you would come to perfection in Him.  Jesus acknowledged that He is sending you forth, into the world, with His gospel message.  For you He sanctified himself, that you may be sanctified.  Without Him, you had no hope of  holiness.  But in Him, "...you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus."

20 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 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 have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
24 "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 because you loved me before the creation of the world.
25 "Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 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."

Jesus' desire for us, the body of Christ ,for you as a member individually, is to be one in the Lord.  To be one in the body of Christ.  He offers you the same unique relationship that He shares  with the Father.  Oneness.  Oneness in heart, in  purpose, in calling, in  love.  His glory is manifest in you, child of God, as you dwell in unity with fellow believers.

Jesus prayed that you would be with Him.  Where He is.  He longs to have to you restored to Him in heaven, once your mission is complete.  But until then, you have a work to do.  A work that brings Him glory.

Recently, a wonderful friend of mine, felt the need to introduce me to a special friend  of hers.  She felt that God had a purpose in our meeting.  She knew  her. She knew me.  And somehow, she knew that we needed to know each other.  In the same way, Jesus knows the Father.  So intimately.  He also knows you.  Every complexity of your personality and character.  And in that knowing, He wants you to know the Father.  I was received by my friend's friend because of the relationship that they walked in.  I was received in the name of  my friend.  Received.  You are received in the Name of Jesus.  The Name that is above every Name.

Today, O Lord, my prayer is for every reader.  Help them to be keenly aware of your desire for them.  Help them to sense a connection to the Father, through You.  Help them to fulfill the purpose You have left for them and appointed them to do.  Grant them a unified heart with Your will, Your purpose and Your holiness.  Help them to forgive their grievances within the body of Christ.  Just as they are forgiven by You.  Glorify Yourself in them today.  Fill them with truth, glory and might, that they may perceive and walk in all that You have purchased for them. In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Finding Joy

 

 

Ps 16:11

 

11 You will show me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.  (NKJV)

 

Joy.  Everyone wants it; not everyone can find it.  People fill their lives with substitutes- shopping, hunting, eating, drinking, the list is endless.  But nothing else can truly satisfy man's soul like the joy that is found in Christ. 

 

Knowing that Someone loves us enough to die for us lends a tremendous sense of security and stability.  The commodity of true spiritual joy is unquantifiable and priceless.  It is has no comparison.  True meaning in life cannot be found apart from an intimate, personal relationship with Christ.

 

Sometimes as Christians, we still fail to walk in the fullness of joy that is offered  in Christ. Anytime that I find my joy slipping, I can go back and trace it to a lack in my devotional time spent in His presence. I cannot fill my days with everything but Him and expect the same level of anointing or joy in His presence.

 

Sometimes people depict Christians as being boring and no fun.  But the truth of the matter is that walking with Christ includes pleasures that no one can imagine without experiencing it themselves.  There truly is a "high on life" that can be found in the Lord.

 

 

Dear Lord, restore my joy.  Help me to find the fullness in your presence that satisfies above all else.     In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

Filled with all Joy and Peace

 

    

 

 "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Rom 15:13 (NKJV)

 

"If I don't expect anything good to happen to me, I won't be disappointed when it doesn't."  Have you ever had that said to you before?  Are you the person who said it?

 

Many of us have allowed the negative voices and experiences in our lives to leave us jaded and negative.  If we are not careful, it can turn into a full-blown case of pessimism.  What difference does it make anyway? What is lost when we quit believing for the best?

 

Joy and peace are sacrificed at the juncture when we quit believing.  So much of the Christian walk is all about faith, all about belief.  For pity sake, we are called believers!  This passage says that He is the "God of hope."  It is therefore impossible to be truly without hope, when we are in God.  Jesus is our hope.  We have so much to look forward to- spiritual blessings, physical blessings, material blessings, eternal rewards, God's favor, peace, joy... it is too expensive NOT to believe!

 

Don't get me wrong.  There have been times in my life that hope has waned and belief has failed.  But true to its Word; the verse was reinforced in my life's experiences.  I was made to abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit!  Nothing I could conjure up within myself could suffice.  But God, through His Spirit, caused hope to spring up within me.  Most often this type of attitudinal manifestation has occurred as I worshiped or praised the Lord. Praising Him, raises levels of faith, hope and joy.

 

It is my prayer today, that if you are lacking in joy and peace, that God will manifest this verse into your life.  Let's pray this verse together.

 

Dear  Lord, "Now may the God of hope fill (me) with all joy and peace in believing, that (I )may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Thank you that you are my peace, joy, and my reason to abound in hope.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Sherri

Getting Happy

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of  many kinds."   I John 3:11-15

Oh what rapturous delight when something horrible happens! Yeah, right.  That is probably not your response, and it is never mine! I count it joy when things go well, but I struggle with finding the ”happy" in the horrible.

But I know what James, the Lord's brother, is saying.  When things go wrong, you can rejoice in knowing God is working for your better good. You can trust that He is developing character and fruit in your life. Further, we can find inner contentment  and thanksgiving knowing that we are not going through it alone.  The Comforter walks beside us.  The Helper gives us strength to stand.  The Teacher shows how to respond.  The Defender pleads our case. The Provider opens the storehouse.  The Prince of Peace assures us all  is well.  The Rock grants us a firm footing that cannot be shaken.

KJV says "count it all joy."  I just counted several opportunities for you-and me- to experience joy in the hard times.  The joy is not in the adverse circumstances, but rather in the One who sees me safely through the storm.

Are you facing hard times?  Is it more than you can face?  Begin to take stock of all the ways that you can see the hand of God in your life.  Before you know it, joy and strength will well up in your spirit!

Dear Lord, thank you that there are countless ways that you bring joy, even in the darkest of nights.  Help me to see you, and not my mountain.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Sherri

Complete Joy

 

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched- this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.  The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim what we have seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us.  And our fellowship is with the Father and with his son, Jesus Christ.  We write this to make our joy complete” I John 1:1-4

 

Telling about Jesus, serving the Lord, these things are the greatest joy we will ever know.  Serving the Lord is often presented by the world as a droll, dull, existence.  But the truth of the matter is that serving God is a joy.

There is no sacrifice that we can make that we will not be blessed more than we give up.  Time spent in the Word, time spent praying, worshiping- there is no higher high.  There is no greater peace or joy.  If you have ever had a truly remarkable experience with the Lord, you know that you can never be satisfied with less again.  No matter how much of the Lord we experience, there is always more.  He is infinitely larger than we can imagine.

When the Lord gave us the command:  “Go into the world and make disciples” he said this knowing that we would find great peace and contentment in doing so.  When we begin to operate in the things of the Spirit (living as Jesus did) we begin to walk in his grace and anointing.  We find our affections changing and turning into his affections.  His love desires to flow through us to the world.

Dear Lord, thank you for the joy of serving you.  Help me to be a joyful witness.  Help me to show the world the peace and contentment found in serving you.  Forgive me for the times that I have failed to make Christianity look appealing. In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri

 

A Tearful Night

“…weeping may remain for a night but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5b

 

I am always so excited each year when cold, bleak, winter gives way to sweet-smelling sunny spring.  The deadness of winter makes such a stark backdrop for the blooming flowers and budding trees.  We all enjoy the “spring” days of our lives when things are going well; we have money in the bank and our loved ones nearby.  But we all going through various seasons in our lives and occasionally find ourselves in the “fall” of the year when seemingly everything is being taken from us.  Things that once had such promise appear to be withering before our very eyes.  Then fall gives way to unyielding winter and we wonder if we will ever again be in a place of joy, expectation and newness of life.

God purposed the times and the seasons in his plan for mankind.  Such is the life cycle until Jesus returns and creates a new heaven and a new earth.  Likewise, we go through spiritual and emotional seasons, but one day, when we live forever with him, these seasons of dryness will vanish.  But until then, we must learn to accept and even embrace the season we are in.  If we did not go through times of spiritual dryness, we would not duly appreciate the season of refreshing God sends our way.

“Weeping may remain for a night…” this indicates that God will not allow us to go through unending seasons of sadness, grief and disappointment. He brings us the new morning and with it, rejoicing. 

When you are having the “dark night of the soul” the morning can seem so far away.  But hold on and know that he will not abandon you in sadness and darkness; but rather, will lead you out with rejoicing and singing.

Dear Lord, I pray especially for those today who are going through difficult seasons in their life.  Let them experience a resurgence of hope and faith.  Let it take root within their hearts and bear an abundant harvest of refreshing.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri

 

Restored.

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.” Psalm 51:12

 

 

Have you ever lost your joy? Sometimes life has a way of zapping every bit of happiness and joy that we possess.  It is a dangerous place to be, however, when we lose the joy of our salvation.  When we forget who we are and where we came from; when we forget who He is and what He has done for us… We are on dangerous ground.

Sometimes we have to come before the Lord and ask him to restore that joy to us. The Bible talks about the joy of the Lord being our strength.  Joy in God is so much more than feeling like life is going our way.  It is so much more than the thrill we feel when our flesh is temporarily satisfied.

The joy of our salvation is one of the main things that make salvation attractive to others.  When we get down on life; lose our joy and smile, we render our testimony ineffective.  Today, begin to seek the Lord to help you get back to that first-love feeling.  You know, the feeling you had the day you first came to Christ and knew your sins were forgiven.  Pray until that becomes foundational in your walk with God.  And when that begins to slip; seek Him once again to do a work of restoration.

Dear Lord, I have lost the joy of my salvation.  Restore that to me. Reset my perspective.  Help me look at life through Your eyes and in the wonder of all Jesus purchased for me when He was crucified.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri