Jesus' Prayer - 2

 Jesus was looking ahead to his return to the Father. So, Jesus get to the main concern in his prayer. Those who follow him. Not just the Twelve. Not just the Seventy. But all of us who have chosen to give allegiance to Jesus.

Jesus walked before, and lived with his disciples. He showed them, who the Father was -- his nature, and his heart -- and the way they should live. The disciples saw what Jesus said, and did. And they accepted, and believed it all came from the Father.

Jesus prayed for his disciples continued faithfulness, and connection to the  truth. There are many, who have argued, that God's family have not completely been faithful to God's commands, and practices. Peter writes that all of God's family are God's priests. [1 Peter 2:9] So, every child of God represents the Father, and his family. Every child has the duty of giving spiritual care (pastoring), sharing God's forgiveness (evangelizing), and helping to begin new expressions of God's family (church planting). But many have professionalized those responsibilities. Only those, who have received special training and recognition, can complete those responsibilities. But God calls all his children to participate. And God calls those in leadership to teach, train, and enable all disciples to obey, and be effective.

And Jesus' concern here is that those giving him allegiance would stay connected to what he has taught them, and what the Holy Spirit will continue to reveal to them.

He is concerned they will be influenced by the world, instead of his truth. Their mission is to continue his mission, and take his word to the world. Not just the professionals. All of his family. So, his word meed to become part of who they are. It needs to affect their thinking, their speaking, and their actions. The world needs to see a difference in them. And that difference is more than attending weekly meetings.

God's mission is to reveal himself to the world, and to call the world back into relationship with him. That mission has now been given to his family. Proclaiming the gospel, demonstrating God's love, praying for one another and the nations, are all part of that mission. And God's family need to remain close to the Father, close to his word, and close to his family, in order to remain faithful to our part of God's mission, and to complete all parts of that mission.

Jesus' Prayer - 1

At the last supper, which was the annual celebration of the Passover, that is Israel's deliverance from slavery in Egypt, Jesus reminded his disciples of several things. He washed their feet as a symbol of his service to them and the rest of mankind. He reminded them to love one another. He explained the coming of the Holy Spirit. He reminded them of his mission to be the Passover Lamb that delivers from sin, and condemnation. He reminded them that they needed to depend on him, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. He instituted another celebration, like the Passover, only this celebrated the deliverance from the slavery to sin.

Finally, at the close of the Passover meal, before going to Gethsemane, and getting arrested, he prays.  He expresses his heart to the Father. Many scholars refer to this prayer as the "High Priestly Prayer," because Jesus prays for those who follow him, as his representative. It certainly seems that, because of what he knows is coming, and how soon it is coming, he is praying what is utmost in mind, and heart.

He begins by recognizing that God's plan to bring salvation, and redemption, to all peoples is nearing completion. He asks the Father to glorify Jesus -- through his suffering, death, and resurrection, which is the culmination of his plan -- and that the glory, which Christ receives, may cause greater glory for the Father.

The Cross will bring great glory to the Father, because it will result in billions coming to the Father, to have restored relationships with the Father, Son, and Spirit, to have new lives, and to set in motion a movement that will change the world by changing people, who choose to enter into relationship with Father, Son, and Spirit, and become part of God's family.

Jesus will be glorified by completing his part in God's plan. He will be given glory in heaven, and on earth. He will be glorified as God's family continues the mission, by continuing to expand God's family on earth, by continuing to represent God's character by living as Jesus lived, and loving as Jesus loved.

The Armor of God - 6

 The sixth piece of God's armor is the sword of the Spirit, which is identified as the Word of God. Many have understood that the Sword of God is the only offensive weapon listed in God's armor.  I would also like to note that the Sword is not identified with, but is closely associated with prayer in Ephesians. In other words, Paul encourages the Ephesians to use God's Word as a weapon, and, in the same breath, pray for the gospel to go out.

The Word is a weapon against Satan, because it proclaims truth. And Satan is the father of lies. And when we wield this Sword, especially in prayer, we disrupt, and destroy, Satan's lies, and his kingdom of evil.

Of course, the war we wage is different. In normal war, the result is the death, and defeat of your enemies. In the war God's family wages, the lies of the enemy are destroyed. Members of the enemy, 's army are defeated, but they turn around, and become part of God's family. The overall result is greater obedience to God's word, greater love for God, greater faith in Jesus, and greater love for people.

We are in a war, but we do not seek the destruction of our enemies. We seek their surrender, and allegiance, to the King of Kings. We use the armor to complete God's mission.

And a vital part of that mission is prayer, reminding God of his promises, so that his Spirit will bombard the hearts of those on earth, and they come to know the God of creation, and turn to him.

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The Armor of God - 5

The fifth piece of armor is the helmet of salvation. Again, we are applying truth to our lives. Since, this is a helmet, we are applying truth to our thinking.

Our cognitive processes are important. Satan attacks our thinking by whispering false ideas about standing with God, morality, and God's nature. Knowing, and understanding, God's Word, and appropriately reviewing God's Word, are protection against the lies Satan spreads.

Our thinking, and our hearts, work in union. When the ancient Greeks, and ancient Israel, referred to the heart, they referred to all the inner parts of a person. Ie. emotions, logic, the will, morals, etc. So, we affect our hearts when we choose to focus on God's word. The choice affects our emotions, our memory, as we process what we are reading, thinking, and hearing. What we engage in also affects our actions. And our actions affect our practices, our habits, and our lifestyles.

Directing our thoughts toward God's Word, we protect our walks with God, and, step by step, grow into God's image.

As our walk, and lifestyle, grows, we live more in agreement with God's nature, and God's mission. We fulfill our roles in God's family. We learn to love more. And God's kingdom, and family, advances grows, and moves toward completion of God's plan.

The Armor of God - 4

The fourth piece of armor is the shield of faith. Scripture says when we use this piece of armor, we can snuff out the arrows Satan fires at us.

Satan's ambition is to bring dishonor to God. One of the main ways he does this is to highlight the sin, and failures, in God's family. It especially works when he can provoke sin in God's family. So, he tempts. He lies. He whispers. He seeks to promote actual thoughts, words, and actions of sin. He also works to promote doubts, and fears. And members of God's family do fail, and succumb to all these.

The truth is: God provides for all our needs. Sin will not satisfy us. God is totally faithful, so we do not need to fear, or doubt. His truth, and promises, are our shield. And like Armor #3 -- where we review the gospel -- we need to hold his truth, and promises, so we can place them between our hearts and his lies, accusations, and temptations. 

Definitely reason to read, and meditate, on God's word. And it is a strong argument to memorize Scripture, and to use Scripture in our prayers.

And it works most effectively as a shield, when we apply the appropriate Scripture to Satan's attack.

Here are a few of God's promises:

• There is no separation from God's love.
• There is no condemnation for those in Christ.
• There will be perfect peace.
• God will not leave you.
• God will give guidance.
• God will give wisdom.
• God will make you new./

The Armor of God - 3

The third piece of armor is to have the right shoes. We can see from sports how important the right footwear is. Football, basketball, and ice hockey all need very different types of shoes to succeed.

The shoes, we are supposed to wear, is the "preparation of the gospel of peace." We are protected by knowing, understanding, and receiving God's gospel.

When Satan attacks, one of the first steps we need to take is to review the gospel. We need to remember God's heart, Christ's work, and our response. Satan's main assault is intended to cause doubts about God. If we remember Jesus, his death, and resurrection, and the work of grace he accomplished, we can appropriate peace in the midst of trouble, because we remember God's heart toward us, and for us. We remember Jesus' love given to us. We remember the Holy Spirit in our hearts, as a guarantee, and the one who enables our ability to love before God.

And as we walk in remembrance, we are also ready to share the message that gave us peace, with anyone we meet. And they can experience the same peace, we experience.

The Armor of God - 2

The belt of truth is the foundation, and the basis, of our armor. Without it, we cannot stand before Satan's schemes, and machinations.

But in some way, it seems like it is expressed through the other tools connected to it.

The second tool is the breastplate of righteousness. A breastplate is obviously worn to protect the heart, and other vital organs.

The truth is -- all mankind is tainted in sin. Mankind is steeped in sin from the heart. Mankind's basic motivations, and inclinations, are opposed to God's word, and design.

But the truth is also -- God's design is for mankind to live in relationship with God, in love, peace, and righteousness. So, he developed a plan to deal with sin, which is the barrier to that relationship. So, he sent Jesus into the world, to die as a sacrifice for sin. Now, if people yield their allegiance to God, and appropriate by faith the results of Christ's death, their sin is forgiven, and the become a part of God's family.

They also become partners with God to proclaim that God has made a way to peace with him, and peace in life.

As this is the opposite of Satan's intentions, he targets God's family. Satan whispers lies to God's family. The more he can convince God's family to believe the lies, the more polluted their hearts become. And their actions, emanating from their hearts, are tainted with selfishness, legalism, sin, and impurity. God's family loses its effect in the world. It loses lose, joy, and peace. It becomes ineffective in its mission for God.

So, protection of the heart becomes vital. How does one put on a breastplate of righteousness?

I will suggest that since Satan seeks to poison our hearts, we make a practice to regularly renew our hearts.

There are actually several ways to renew our hearts. Regular prayer, reading, and meditation, of God's Word are a few examples. Regular meeting with like-minded people is another. Along with meeting with people, the practice of the Lord's Supper is, in particular, aimed at heart renewal. There area other practices -- eg. silence, solitude, and fasting -- the some other's recommend.

Heart renewal is important. It will protect us from Satan's tactics. (Not that he won't try. We will hear the same lies. Now, we will have a response, so the lies will bounce off our armor.) It will also feed our hearts, providing for healthy transformation into Christ's image. Our character will change. And we will become a greater asset in God's mission.