Tag Archives: God loves us like He loves Jesus

WHAT JESUS PRAYED–THAT WE ALL BE ONE: 010616

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hands of my friends 2John 17:20-26: 20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also [1] for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that  they also may be one in Us, . . . that  they may be one [with each other] just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that [2] they may be made perfect in one, and that [3] the world may know that You have sent Me, and [You] have loved them as You have loved Me.  4“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me [4] may be with Me where I am, . . .  that [5] the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

What does this mean?   “I do not pray for these alone [the original disciples (apostles)], but also for those who will believe in Me through their word.” It means that Jesus was also praying for us; each one of us.  WE are ones who have believed in Jesus through the teaching and the preaching of Peter, James, John, and the others.  So Jesus was praying for you (and me). [1]  Jesus is praying that we (all of us who trust Him) will be one with Him, with the Father, and with each other; all at the same time.  To me that is the same situation that is expressed when Jesus says, “When you trust in Me, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in your heart.”  Somebody said it was not just about us trusting God, but also about God trusting us.  What an idea!

[2] “That they may be made perfect in one” [perfect in this case means: whole, entire, wanting nothing]   This is just crazy.  With a few people I go to church with; with a few of those I serve with in various ministries, I count us as having a ‘perfect’ relationship, [whole, entire, wanting nothing]; they are people I actually spend time with almost every week, They are people I actually know; who they are, where they came from, what they think, how we feel about each other, about Jesus and about the world.  In a real sense, we DO have a ‘perfect’ relationship with each other because God/Jesus’ Spirit is in us.  Continue reading →

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PRACTICING CHRISTIAN, PART FOUR.102415

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Silhouette illustration of a man praying under the lightSURRENDER to JESUS and MAKE HIM THE LORD OF YOUR LIFE (every day)  In some Christian churches you can ‘get saved’ by walking down the aisle at the end of a service and declaring your allegiance (devotion) to Jesus.  Maybe you fill out a card with some personal information.  Then the pastor introduces you to the congregation and they vote you in on the spot and you’re saved. You’re a full member of the Body of Christ.  You’re going to heaven.  What more need be said?  Well . . .where’s the teaching and the understanding and the commitment?

In other churches you’re baptized into the church as an infant, then when you’re around 12 you go through confirmation, with the intention that you learn the basic principles of the faith and then you make a commitment to follow Jesus, with baptism by the clergy, and hopefully of the Holy Spirit.

Clearly either of these systems is dependent on concerted effort by the church community to teach the Bible, to demonstrate the fundamentals of the faith, to show ’em what it feels like to have a personal relationship with the Living God.  It requires all of us having a consistent commitment to Jesus and to our brothers and sisters in the Body. Continue reading →

OBSTACLES TO GOD’S GRACE: 051115:

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FARMER WITH CORN.051115‘Obstacles’ is the next to the last talk on the Kairos Weekend Program in the prisons.  “We’ve been talking all weekend about God’s plan for our lives.  Let me tell you what His plan is for us; to surrender ourselves to Him.  To do whatever He wants us to on a minute by minute basis.  To accept the gift of His grace and share it with others.  Pretty simple; but it’s not easy.

What is Grace?  It is unmerited favor.  That means God being nice to us when we didn’t deserve it.  Grace is a lot like mercy, Mercy is God being nice to us when we deserved to be punished. Continue reading →

THE PRESENT.041115

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Young woman happy smile hold gift box in hands,standing over grey backgroundIn 1 Thessalonians 5;16-18, Paul says, “Rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, in all things give  thanks, for this is the Will of God in Christ Jesus for you!”

In Romans 8:28, Paul says, “All things work together for good to those who love the Lord, to those who are ‘the called’ according to His purpose.”

Someone said (I don’t know who), “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery, today is all we have, it is God’s gift to us, that is the reason we call it THE PRESENT!

Peace and Grace from God to you! Tex

 

Where Is God? 031615

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Goslings Staying Close to MomThe only time you really get to rest in this life is when you find someone you can trust to protect you.  And most of the time the only one you can trust completely is God.  Everyone else, sooner or later, comes up short.  They’re just not there when you really need them most.  God is the only One who is really trustworthy.  And when you have God to protect you, it’s a lead pipe cinch that nothing bad is going to happen to you. (No evil will befall you) And no catastrophe, no earthquake, no hurricanes, no swine flu, no cancer, and certainly no plague will come near your dwelling. Continue reading →

LOVE EACH OTHER. 030915

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Follow Jesus road sign with sun backgroundJesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

In John 17:22-23, Jesus prayed for those who would later believe in Him (that includes us) “that they may be one [even] as We are one: I in them and You in Me, in order that they may become one and perfectly united, that the world may know and [definitely] recognize that You sent Me and that You have loved them [even] as You have loved Me.” Continue reading →

GOD’S VALENTINE.021415

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“God loved (loves) the world so much that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes (trusts) in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.”  John 3:16

For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”  2 Corinthians 1:3-4

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will[e] believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one,  .  .  I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”  John 17:20, 23

To them [His saints] God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27

Happy Valentine’s Day!

ONE IN US—011115

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In John 17: 20-23, Jesus says, “I do not pray for these alone [the twelve], but 1also for all those who will believe in (trust in, cling to, rely on) Me through their word; 21 that 2they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that 3they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that 4they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that 5they may become one and perfectly united, and 6that the world may know that 6aYou have sent Me, and 6b[You]have loved them as You have loved Me.”  I have a few things to say about this passage:

1] Jesus said He’s not praying for the [12] disciples alone, but also all those who would believe in Him because of their [the disciples’] words (and their teaching). I’m pretty sure that includes US, you and me.

2] That they would all be one.  That means that all who believe in, trust in and rely on Jesus, will be one with each other. Unity of all of us who believe in Jesus              

3] They also may be one in Us.  That means we (all of us together) will be one in God and Jesus.  How much closer to God can we get?

4] They may be one just as We are one. That means that we (the believers) may all be one in the same way that God and Jesus are one.

5] They may become one and perfectly united [us united with each other]. 

6] That the world may know that 6aYou have sent Me, and 6b[You]have loved them as You have loved Me.  So the world may know that God sent Jesus, AND that God loves us (you and me and all of us), the same way and the same amount He loves Jesus.

Welp, I don’t know about y’all, but for me, if Jesus prayed it, you can write down in your book, because it’s going to happen.  Some people might say it is going to happen when we all get to heaven, BUT some might say it is going to happen while we are still down here on the earth.  All I know is I’m going to be grinning real big when these words comes to pass.  And I’m looking forward to experiencing what it feels like to be united with God and each other the way God and Jesus are united.  Hallelu-Jah!  What if, here and now, we totally surrender our selves (our self-ish, sinful nature) and let Jesus fill us with His own Spirit.  Do you think that might be the time when this One-ness starts to happen?