John 17 thoughts

v2 - "You gave Him [Jesus] authority over all flesh." I wonder if supernatural healing of others depends on how much authority we have over our own flesh? Like, think about it - Jesus denied his flesh completely, and the healings were always immediate, never failing. Yet, in my own life, I pray for someone who is sick, but don't have the control over my own flesh to stop eating for a few days, or to stop dipping, or to stop coffee, or to stop doom-scrolling, or to stop an anger outburst when my head is pounding. And I still wonder - "Why didn't anything happen Father!?" v3 - "This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and the One You have sent - Jesus Christ." One-way others come to know Him is through interaction with the saints who carry Jesus. If I want my kids to know Jesus, I must act, respond, and think like Jesus - not simply form them according to the rules of a religion. v4 - "I have glorified You on the earth by completing the work You gave Me to do." We glorify God by completing the work He has given us to do. We glorify Him when we do our jobs with excellence, when we raise our children without quitting half-way, when we love our wives in the same manner that He loved His bride, etc... v5 - "Now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with that glory I had with You before the world existed." One thing I notice here is that Jesus is saying that the glory is something shared between Him and the Father - "with You". Also, it is in the Father's presence we are glorified - not apart from it. v7 - "Now they know that all things You have given to Me are from You." Lord, give me a revelation of this so that I do not act upon my own strength, but from Yours alone. v10 - "Everything I have is Yours, and everything You have is Mine" Father, give me this heart, so that I share everything with You. v11 - "I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world" It was His turn, now it's our turn. v15 - "I am not praying that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one." We have to go through the fires of life sometimes, because we are in the world, and it is for His glory that we continue on the path through the hard times. So, instead of praying to be delivered, we ought to persist with endurance and keep thanks on our lips for even the hardest of moments. v17 - "Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth." How are we sanctified? Through His word. v19 - "I sanctify Myself for them, so they also may be sanctified by the truth." He went before to give us strength to endure and be made holy. v21 - "May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You. May they also be one in Us, so the world may believe You sent me." This is mind-blowing. How Jesus asks the Father to make us one with Them. v22 - "I have given them the glory You have given Me. May they be one as We are one." If Jesus and the Father have glory between themselves, we have glory between each other as we become one with each other - not of the flesh, but of the Spirit. We have unity, have love, have faith for our brothers, and there abides His glory. v24" Father, I desire those You have given Me to be with Me where I am. Then they will see my glory..." His desire is for us to be with Him, completely in unity, completely one within the Godhead. v26 - "I made Your name known to them and will make it known, so the love You have loved Me with may be in them and I may be in them." Lord, thank you. Thank you for your love and how you have given it to me so freely. Let me love others the same way.