john-17:4

“I go unto the Father And whatsoever ye shall ask in My Name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13). That the Father may be glorified in the Son: it is to this end that Jesus on His throne in glory will do all we ask in His name. Every answer to prayer He gives wi... Read More

I was the new pastor. I was young and not very experienced. It was my first midweek prayer service. The church was 45 years old and already had been served by 15 pastors. This seemed to tell me something. I had served my first church nine years and had now moved a thousand miles with my young family... Read More

Nearly everyone agrees that "time flies!" "There just aren’t enough hours in the day!" is a common complaint. Yet each of us receives an equal "income" of this valuable commodity--168 hours a week--whether we are a person of prominence or a little-known John Doe. The difference is how we spend it. N... Read More

John 17 is all about Jesus' prayers for His disciples and His people, for those who followed Him and believed in Him. Yet, Jesus prayed not only for His followers, but ". . . for them also which shall believe on me through [the disciples'] word" (verse 20). What a powerful truth! Jesus' phrase, "the... Read More

The Holy Spirit stirred my spirit concerning his love and led me to this passage: “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keeping yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ until eternal life” (Jude 20-21). As ... Read More

…his leaf also shall not wither - Psalm 1:3 "If a man abide not in Me," said our Lord, "he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered." The same thought is here. Thrust down your rootlets to the oozy river bed, and there is no doubt about your continuing earnest, patient, God-filled. The sun of temp... Read More

Antichrist (500)(antichristos from anti = instead of or against + Christos = anointed) conveys one of two main meanings depending on how one interprets the prefix "anti." Anti can mean in lieu of, in place of, over against, opposite, instead of, and in comparisons it denotes contrast, substitution. ... Read More

Being burdened (916) (bareo from baros = weight, heaviness, figuratively a burden as in Gal 6:2) means to lay on a heavy load; to encumber with weight, to weigh down, to burden. Figuratively, to oppress with any thing grievous; as, to burden a nation with taxes. The effect of drowsiness = "Heavy eye... Read More

Has been crucified (4717) (stauroo from stauros = cross, in turn from histemi = to stand) means literally to nail or fasten to a cross and so to crucify -- literal death by nailing to and hanging from a cross (a stake). In Galatians Paul uses stauroo in a metaphorical sense to refer to crucifixion o... Read More

Dogs (2965) (kuon) (See dictionary articles) in the ancient word dogs here were mangy, flea-bitten, vicious, starved scavengers, that tended to run in packs, dig through garbage and occasionally even attack humans. The poet Homer uses it of men and women, implying recklessness in the former, and sha... Read More