<p>On our farm in Pennsylvania there were cherry trees which were attacked by little parasites of some sort. A parasite would get into a little branch, pierce the bark and exude a gum. Then the branch would get a knot on it and bend. All over the trees were those little bent places with gummy knots. After two or three years, those cherry trees would not bloom. If they did, the blooms usually dropped early and the cherries did not come to fruition. If the blooms did not drop early, the cherries would be flat and undeveloped or only red on one side. My father was not too interested in fruit. He was interested in cattle, horses and grain. If my father had known how he could have protected those trees before they got into that wretched condition and properly sprayed or treated them, he could have gotten rid of the worms and bugs and saved the trees and fruit. I believe that a pastor who is content with a vineyard that is not at its best is not a good husbandman. It is my prayer that we may be a healthy and fruitful vineyard and that we may be an honor to the Well Beloved, Jesus Christ the Lord, that He might go before the Father and say, "These are mine for whom I pray, and they have heard the Word and have believed on Me." I pray that we might fit into the high priestly prayer of  <span class="scriptRef" ref="joh+17">John 17</span>, that we would be a church after Christ's own heart so that in us He might see the travail of His soul and be satisfied. In order for us to be a vine like that, there must be basic purity. Each one must have a great purity of heart. I believe that there are no emotional experiences that do not rest upon great purity of heart. No one can impress me or interest me in any kind of spiritual manipulation if his or her heart is not pure—even if it is raising the dead. Sound righteousness in conduct must be at the root of all valid spiritual experience.</p><p></p>

A.W. Tozer's materials are a mainstay in Evangelical churches in our day and he is one of the most quoted authors. He was a prophet in his day and his writings are even more influential in our day. One of his books: The Pursuit of God, has had over 1 million copies sold world-wide.

Morning and Evening with A.W. Tozer

Purity of Heart

<p>Two other considerations may help us here. One is that our Lord did on at least one occasion pray for sinners. "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing," was a request made to God on behalf of evil men. Is it not reasonable that if Christ prayed for sinners once, He may be expected to pray for them again" Also we must remember that Jesus was a Son of man and frequently referred to Himself by that title. As such, He had and has a relationship to the whole human race. Is it thinkable that He would not pray for the race to which He belonged" </p><p>I realize that we are on holy ground right here, and common modesty would urge us to withhold any dogmatic judgments. But I believe that the question, Does our Lord pray for the unsaved" may be answered truthfully as follows: (1) As High Priest of His own redeemed people, Christ prays an efficacious prayer of intercession which avails only for those who trust Him as their Redeemer and Lord. This prayer is found in essence in  <span class="scriptRef" ref="joh+17">John 17</span>. (2) As Son of man and Savior, He prays for the lost world as well. Unless His prayers for the world were ascending to heaven, the judgment of God would not be withheld for a moment from the earth.</p><p></p><p>
</p>

Our Model Intercessor

<p>The doctrine of the divine indwelling is one of the most important in the New Testament, and its meaning for the individual Christian is precious beyond all description. To neglect it is to suffer serious loss. The apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesian Christians that Christ might dwell in their hearts by faith. Surely it takes faith of a more than average vitality to grasp the full implications of this great truth. Two facts join to make the doctrine difficult to accept: the supreme greatness of God and the utter sinfulness of man. Those who think poorly of God and well of themselves may chatter idly of "the deity within," but the man who trembles before the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy, the man who knows the depth of his own sin, will detect a moral incongruity in the teaching that One so holy should dwell in the heart of one so vile. But however incongruous it may appear to be, in the Holy Scriptures it is taught so fully that it cannot be overlooked and so plainly that it can hardly be misunderstood. "If a man love me," said our Lord Jesus Christ, "he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him" (<span class="scriptRef" ref="joh+14:23">John 14:23</span>). That this abiding is within the man is shown by these words: "At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you" (14: 20). Christ said of the Holy Spirit: "He ... shall be in you" (14: 17), and in His great prayer in  <span class="scriptRef" ref="joh+17">John 17</span> our Lord twice used the words "I in them."</p><p>
</p>

Divinely Occupied

<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="pr+4:10-27">Proverbs 4:10-27</span></span></p><p>We pause today to make clear the difference between diligence and obstinacy. I know people who have experienced spiritual shipwreck because they didn't know the difference between these two things. When asked to clarify the difference between perseverance and obstinacy, a student wrote: "One is a strong will and the other is a strong won't." Diligence is dogged perseverance; obstinacy is dogged inflexibility and self-will. A man whose life was full of promise as far as the Christian ministry was concerned now spends his days in depression because he did not know the difference between these two things. He set out on a project that he thought was God's will for him, and when things started to go wrong, instead of checking his guidance, he continued to press on and ended up in failure. Those who loved him, and were more objective, urged him to give up as what he was doing was clearly not the will of God. However, he did not have the wisdom to realize that what he was doing was not being diligent but obstinate. Now he lives in perpetual disillusionment. When Jesus came to Calvary, He said, "I have finished the work which You [the Father] have given Me to do" (<span class="scriptRef" ref="joh+17:4">John 17:4</span>, NKJV). Note the word "You." There were many who would have liked Jesus to do this and that, go here and go there, but He did only what the Father required Him to do. Saying "yes" to God's will and pursuing it is diligence. Saying "yes" to a thing that is not God's will and pursuing that is obstinacy. We had better learn the difference.</p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">Father, I see how important it is to be clear about these two issues. Help me differentiate between diligence and obstinacy so that at the end of my time here on earth I, too, will be able to say, "I have finished the work which You have given me to do." Amen.</p><div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="mt+25:14-30">Matthew 25:14-30</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="mt+7:26">Matthew 7:26</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="jas+2:14">James 2:14</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What was Jesus' teaching in the parable of the talents?</li><li>Why were the two who multiplied the talents successful?</li></ul></div></div>

Let a little light into your soul every day with this wonderful devotional from English pastor Selwyn Hughes.

Every Day Light with Selwyn Hughes

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." (v. 23)

<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="2ti+3:12-17">2 Timothy 3:12-17</span></span></p><p>We continue from where we left off yesterday in saying that persecution is one of the proofs that we are true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many Christians find great difficulty in coming to terms with this issue of persecution, and because they have never understood that those who reject Christ will also reject those who follow Christ, they become entangled in such things as conciliation and compromise. If you have never done so before, face the fact right now that when you identify yourself with Jesus Christ, the world will persecute you. The degree of persecution differs from one Christian to another, but in one way or another the world will react against you with hostility and contempt. Once you recognise this, you are nine-tenths of the way toward overcoming the fear which cripples so many Christians - the fear of witnessing. Not long after my conversion, an elderly Welsh miner gave me some advice that greatly helped to overcome my fear of rejection. He said: "Keep ever before you the fact that those who reject Christ will reject you. And the more like Christ you become, the more the world will resent you. Remember also that when they do reject you, it is not you personally whom they are against, but Christ who is alive and who is being seen in you." Never shall I forget the release that came through those wise words. Once I understood that becoming identified with Christ meant I was on a collision course with the world, I came to terms with the inevitability of this fact and was set free from fear. And what happened to me can happen to you - today. </p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">Lord Jesus Christ, I bring to You my fear of persecution and ask You to set me free from it right now. Help me to face the world's hostility in the knowledge that just as it could not overcome You, it cannot overcome me. Amen.</p><div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="joh+17:1-26">John 17:1-26</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="joh+15:20">John 15:20</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="joh+16:2">John 16:2</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>How did the world respond to the first disciples?</li><li>What was Jesus' prayer?</li></ul></div></div>

"' everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." (v. 12)

<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="heb+6:1-20">Hebrews 6:1-20</span></span></p><p>Out of all the aspects of truth that surround the fact of our Lord's ascension, one of the greatest is surely this - Christ is our Precursor. A precursor is really a forerunner - an advance runner - and that is precisely the term which our text for today applies to the climactic ministry of our ascended Lord. The NIV translates the word prodromos (forerunner) thus: "who went before us." That translation, in my opinion, is not nearly as appealing as that found in other versions, where the word forerunner is actually used. "Forerunner" brings to mind a picture of our Lord as a celestial outrider "bringing many sons to glory"  (<span class="scriptRef" ref="heb+2:10">Hebrews 2:10</span>), and reminds us of a petition in the great high priestly prayer: 'Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory ..." (<span class="scriptRef" ref="joh+17:24">John 17:24</span>). Henry Longfellow, in his Golden Legend, put it like this: When Christ ascended Triumphantly, from star to star, He left the gates of heaven ajar! Much as I like Longfellow, I have to disagree. Our Lord left the gates of heaven not just "ajar" but wide open. One of the creeds expresses it more effectively: "When Thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, Thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers." Whatever the future holds for us, we who are Christ's can be sure of this: our Lord has ascended into heaven. And so, too, shall we.</p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">O Father, I see that not only was there an ascension in the life of Your Son, but there is to be one in mine too. According to Your Word, I am to be "caught up in the clouds" and to be with You forever. Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen.</p><div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="joh+17:1-26">John 17:1-26</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="joh+1:12">John 1:12</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="ga+4:7">Galatians 4:7</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="1co+15:39-44">1 Corinthians 15:39-44</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What does being sons make us?</li><li>What do we enter into through death?</li></ul></div></div>

"... Jesus, who went before us ..." (v. 20)

<p>Twice in His great high priestly prayer, our Lord prayed that His people might be one (verses 21 and 22, 23). This prayer for unity has been seized as Scriptural support for the ecumenical movement - a great organizational union of all professing Christian churches. Unfortunately this ecumenical unity is achieved through abandoning or reinterpreting fundamental Christian doctrines. As Malcolm Muggeridge wrote, "By one of our time's larger ironies, ecumenicalism is triumphant just when there is nothing to be ecumenical about; the various religious bodies are likely to find it easy to join together only because, believing little, they correspondingly differ about little."</p><p>Is this the kind of unity that the Lord Jesus was praying for in <span class="scriptRef" ref="joh+17:1-26">John 17:1-26</span>? We think not. He said that the unity He had in mind would result in the world's believing that God had sent Him. It is extremely doubtful that any external federation would have this effect.</p><p>The Lord defined the unity He had in mind when He said, "…as thou Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us." He also said, "… even as we are one, I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one." What unity does the Father and Son share which we can also have a part in? Not the fact of their common deity; we can never share in that. I would suggest that the Lord Jesus was referring to a unity based on common moral likeness. He was praying that believers might be one in exhibiting the character of God and of Christ to the world. This would mean lives of righteousness, holiness, grace, love, purity, longsuffering, self-control, meekness, joy and generosity. Ronald Sider suggests in <span class="bold ">Rich Christians in an Age</span> <span class="bold ">of Hunger </span>that the unity for which Christ prayed was manifested when the early Christians shared freely with one another whenever there was need. They had a true spirit of <span class="bold ">koinonia</span> or community. "Jesus' prayer that the loving unity of His followers would be so striking that it would convince the world that He had come from the Father has been answered - at least once! It happened in the Jerusalem church. The unusual quality of their life together gave power to the apostolic preaching" (see <span class="scriptRef" ref="ac+2:45-47">Acts 2:45-47</span><a href="javascript:%7B%7D" style="text-decoration:underline ;">; </a><span class="scriptRef" ref="ac+4:32-35">Acts 4:32-35</span>).</p><p>Such unity today would have a profound impression on the world. As Christians presented a united testimony in radiating the life of the Lord Jesus, unbelievers would be convicted of their own sinfulness and would thirst for the living water. Today's tragedy is that many Christians are scarcely distinguishable from their worldly neighbors. Under such circumstances, there is little inducement for unbelievers to be converted.</p><p> </p>

With reverence, humor and skill, William MacDonald wove a daily devotional tapestry that challenges the reader to think deeply and Biblically, and apply God's Word to their lives.

Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time

"That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." (John 17:21)

<p>Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. § I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. § We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. § Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.<br><br>I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. § Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.</p>

Daily Light on the Daily Path or Daily Light is a Christian daily devotional scripture reading published by Bagster & Sons about 1875. It has been reprinted continually since then. It consists of brief groupings of scripture passages which speak to prominent Biblical themes—two themes (morning and evening) for each day of the year. It appends no commentary, but simply allows scripture to speak for itself.

Morning Daily Light

 “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. 

<p>My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. § I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.<br><br>“Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them. § This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it… Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?<br><br>Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. § You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased. § All bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.<br><br>You are worthy… for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.</p>

Evening Daily Light

 I have glorified You on the earth. 

<p><span class="bible-text "> <sup class="verse-num ">4 </sup><woj>I have brought you glory   on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.  </woj> </span></p>

<woj>I have brought you glory<cr>1</cr>  on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.<cr>2</cr> </woj>

John 17:4

 4 I have brought you glory   on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.  

From Wikipedia: 

The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The NIV was published to meet the need for a modern translation done by Bible scholars using the earliest, highest quality manuscripts available. Of equal importance was that the Bible be expressed in broadly understood modern English.

The NIV is published by Zondervan in the United States and Hodder & Stoughton in the UK. The NIV was updated in 1984 and 2011 and has become one of the most popular and best-selling modern translations.

OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia; additional sources;
NT: UBS Greek New Testament; Novum Testamentum Graece; additional sources;

New International Version

 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.

<p><span class="bible-text "><woj>I have brought you glory   on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.  </woj> </span></p>

 I have brought you glory   on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.  

Bible Verse of the Day

December 20, 2024

John 17:4 NIV

Verse by Verse Bible Study

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