20th. July. 2020. Daily Devotion
John 17:20-26
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 – 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.
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.’
How beautiful is the thought that Jesus prays for you and me, and that above all his prayer is for the unity of his people?
Jesus loves us, and He wants us to love each other. He prayed to God the Father on behalf of his disciples, but not only them; He prayed on behalf of those who would believe in them, because of what the disciples would tell them. That includes you, and me, and every other person on earth who confesses the name of Jesus and lives in his love and grace.
Christ instructs us to love each other. And yet time and time again, people will avoid, scorn, berate, imprison and murder each other over silly little matters. Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians have had fights about whether it is correct to cross oneself left to right, or right to left. European Catholics and Protestants robbed, burned, and murdered each other wholesale; the 30 Years’ War left one-third of Germany’s population dead.
Surprisingly, few of the details of our religious practices, forms of worship, or theology come from Christ. They may have a starting point in Scripture, but they are largely embellishments made by human hand.
This is one matter in which we can easily follow Christ, rather than commit the sin of pride. Love and pray for anyone who confesses Christ, even if you think they have a wrong philosophy or theology. Worship as the spirit moves you to worship, and let others do the same. From Daily Prayer.
Prayer of Thanks and Blessings
Father, Thank You for each and every day You have blessed us here on earth.
Thank You for Your tender mercies.
Thank You for giving us friends and family to share joys and sorrows with.
I ask You to bless my friends, relatives, brothers and sisters in Christ and
those I care deeply for, and especially those who are praying with me right now.
Where there is joy, give them continued joy.
Where there is pain or sorrow, give them your peace and mercy.
Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence.
Where there is need, fulfil their needs.
Bless their homes, families, finances, their goings and their comings.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Meditation
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength. It does not enable us to escape evil. It makes us unfit to face evil when it comes. It is the interest you pay on trouble before it comes.”
~ Corrie ten Boom.
