Skip to main content

Remember The Time...?

                  “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.  (John 17:6-12)

 

            The pendulum swings, and we are back to the issue of the partnership of the Father and the Son and the knowledge of that partnership among those the Father had given the Son being somehow paramount. Admittedly, this passage seems a little over the top to me. At the same time, how often do we participate in – or at least watch two or more people spending time together talking about their success in a recent project or “the gold old days”?

            “Remember when …?”

            “Oh yeah, and then there was the time….”

            We tend to think about what we know is about to happen, but could this be a little taste of “for the joy set before Him…”? Could it be a sort of victory celebration? Or, if neither of those, perhaps a little encouragement or a pep talk – Jesus talking to the Father about what has been accomplished in light of what He was about to face?

            No matter which alternative you believe, do you have these talks with God?  Years ago, I worked on a list of “If it hadn’t been for….” It might not be the same as Jesus’ celebratory list, but there are many things in my life that if X hadn’t happened, Y wouldn’t have happened, and I wouldn’t be where I am today. There has been much that I thanked God for in that list. I wish I could find it.

            Since we’re so close to Thanksgiving day, it’s time to turn our focus in that direction. I challenged us earlier to come up with 1000 in November, and I have done horribly. But over the next couple of days, take a few minutes to think about what God means to you, what He’s done in your life, and where you might be without Him (jump past the fact that you wouldn’t exist.) And if you can, celebrate.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more