Author: evangelist_breland

John 17:6-10, NKJV

Christ is always the ultimate example in all things for children of God. In verses 1-5 He prayed for Himself, asking His Father to glorify Him as He was in the beginning. He didn’t find it robbery to humble Himself and descend from His seat in heaven where He sat on His Father’s right hand to come to earth and die for our sins. Soon He would go to the cross, and His earthly mission would be complete. He was ready to return home to His Father and be glorified with Him in authority and majesty which He had with the Father   before the world existed (v.5). Jesus was not selfish in His prayer, and we should not be either. He prayed a specific prayer for His disciples.

He told the Father that He had manifested, or revealed, the Father’s name to those whom the Father gave Him out of the world. They belonged to the Father just as we belong to Him through our faith in His Son Jesus. The Father gave them to Jesus, and they kept and obeyed His words. Christ’s prayer showed how personal the relationship was between Him and His Father. He said that those the Father gave Him knew that all things were of the Father and certainly believed that the Father sent Him from above. He has given them the words of the Father, and they have received them (vv. 6-8). Thank God for the prayer of our Brother. His disciples needed it then just as much as we need it now. His prayer was not for the world; it was specifically for those whom the Father has given Him for they belong to the Father, and Jesus is glorified in them. Our spiritual walk must be holy, in love, and in unity because that is how we glorify the Father and His Son. We cannot walk with one without the other. Those who belong to Jesus belong to the Father, and those who belong to the Father belong to Jesus. Shout glory and give God a hand clap of praise for He is worthy.

John 17:1-5, NKJV and AMP

John 17 is our Lord’s last prayer; it is often called Jesus’ “high priestly” prayer. After Jesus had had a long talk with His disciples, telling them many things in John 13:31-16:33, including that He would soon leave them and prophesying of suffering and Christian persecution, He prayed to His heavenly Father. He lifted up His eyes to heaven, and prayed: Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You (v.1). Jesus knew that His earthly mission was to seek and save lost souls, and the time of His death had come. He continued His prayer, requesting that the Father glorify Him so that He also may glorify the Father. He prayed for the Father to glorify Him just as the Father has given Him power and authority over all flesh that He should give eternal life to as many as the Father has given Him (v.2). Jesus’ earthly ministry was finished so He had to die to be glorified. In His glory He could give life permanently and forever to every person that God gave Him. He continued praying in verse 3 about what eternal life is. It is “that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. He prayed that He has glorified the Father on the earth and has finished the work which the Father has given Him to do (v.4). He is saying to the Father that He has fulfilled His purpose on earth. Now, His request is “O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory and majesty which I had with You before the world existed” (v.5). Yes, even though Jesus always had glory, it was shrouded in his flesh. Shout glory and give God a hand clap of praise for He is worthy.

Judges 6:11-16, NRSV

As children of God, we have assurance that the Lord will never leave us nor forsake us. We disobey Him and fail to adhere to His word, but He is compassionate and gracious. When Israel’s oppressors overran them, they destroyed Israel’s produce, leaving them impoverished without food or any livestock. Such a dire situation will bring you to your senses. You will remember the true and living God. These disobedient, prodigal children did and cried out to Him for help (vv.3-6).

You know most of us do not want chastisement. Well, God sent a prophet in response to His wayward children’s cry. He is a prayer-answering God. However, the prophet didn’t come to simply deliver them; he came with a word of chastisement from God. He reminded them of who God is and what He had done for them. Then the angel sealed the reprimand sharply, saying, “But you have not given heed to my voice” (v.10b). Gideon was hiding from the Midianites, beating out wheat in the winepress (v.11) when the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior” (v.12).

Gideon answered him, “But sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, “Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?” But now the Lord has cast us off and given us into the hand of Midian” (v.13).Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian; I hereby commission you” (v.14). He responded, “But sir, how can I deliver Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family” (v.15). The Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike down the Midianites, every one of them” (v.16). Trust and obey God. He is not your problem. He is the answer to your problem. He calls and commissions us for His purpose. Give Him a hand clap of praise!

Judges 6:1-10, NRSV

Scripture has told us many times of the disobedience of God’s people and the consequences as a result. Here the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and He gave them seven years of oppression in the hands of the Midianites (v.1). We may not fear God and may choose to disobey Him, but when He removes His hand of protection, we will fear the enemy for He is not merciful and will wreak havoc in our lives. God allowed Midian to have the upper hand, prevailing in His people’s lives. They hid out in the mountains in caves and strongholds they made for themselves (v.2). Every time they planted their crops, the Midianites, who had allied with the Amalekites and the people of the east, came up against them, destroying the produce of the land. Israel had nothing to eat or any livestock. The enemy came with their camels as locusts and wasted the land as they came in. The Midianites left Israel greatly impoverished, and the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help (vv.3-6). “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15, ESV).

When God allowed the Midianites to oppress the Israelites, they cried to the Lord for help (v.7). The God of mercy sent a prophet to the Israelites to deliver His message to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery (v.8), and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you and drove them out before you and gave you their land (v.9). I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not pay reverence to the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live.’ But you have not given heed to my voice” (v.10). If you are tired of the Midianite oppression God sent to prevail over you, repent today and return to the Lord. Give Him praise and a hand clap!

Ephesians 4:29-32, NKJV

Here Paul continues to set forth commands for believers. They must not remain the same as when under the influence of the old man. Think about it. Once you take a refreshing bath or shower, you would not put those old dirty clothes back on. You change into a fresh set. When you put on the new man, you do not want to continue wearing the old man’s clothes of unrighteousness, walking in disobedience. The change children of God make must be transformational; the new man must be very different from the old man.

In verse 29 believers are commanded to not let a corrupt word come out of their mouth. Believers should only allow words that are “good for necessary edification, or building up, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”  Believers have put on the new man of righteousness and holiness; they must remember that a good tree does not bring forth corrupt fruit (Luke 6:43a). In other words, believers are expected to build up and encourage others according to the need and the occasion, so that what you say will be a blessing to those who hear. “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,” (v.30a) we are commanded. Yes, we have the tendency to sin, but because God has been so gracious to His children, why would we make Him sad by sinning? God’s Holy Spirit has sealed us for the day of redemption (v.30b).  

Children of God, we have been washed in the blood of the Lamb, transformed by the renewing of our mind; therefore, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, or loud quarreling, and evil speaking be put away from us, with all malice” (v.31). “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave us (v.32). Put on the New Man of righteousness and holiness and walk worthy of your calling. Give God a hand clap of praise.