John 17:2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
Oh Friends, can you believe it’s September already and schools will be opened next week? But it was another beautiful summer’s day in Southern Ontario! A tad cool in some places, but overall warm enough to be considered summer weather, though how much longer it will last, is anybody’s guess. However, today, while driving by a little country church, I spotted what seemed to be an interesting announcement on their bulletin board at the front of the property. At first I only had a brief glance at it and wasn’t sure of what I’d seen, just knew that it was something interesting. I therefore stopped and reversed about twenty yards through the four-way intersection I’d just come through so that I could read it properly. And it simply said: ‘Life. Your only chance. Eternity. The Payback.’ I chuckled at its simplicity, but was astounded by the great truth, the eventful message it proclaimed. Life is indeed our only chance my people to get ready for the big payback; eternity. I didn’t even bother to write it down, so seared was it in my memory. But would you believe that when time came to write the Bit, I contemplated all sorts of other stuff before really considering those poignant words? Our Lord though moves in mysterious ways and finally guided me to the words of His Son that He desired me to write on. Now the scholars claim that Chapter 17 of John is the real ‘Lord’s Prayer,’ and is often referred to as the High Priestly Prayer of Christ, because He first prays for Himself, then His own – the twelve disciples, (vs.6) and all who will believe. (vs.20) They’re saying that what we consider the Lord’s Prayer is just a guideline Jesus gave for our use, but here we actually have Him praying a long, sincere prayer to the Father. This is no guideline, it’s for real. And Jesus begins by saying; ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify thy Son, that thy son also may glorify thee.’ (John 17:1) He knew the time for the wonder of wonders to occur was nigh. The time when He would be glorified; the time for which He’d been born; to which His whole life had been building; the dramatic climax; the rather moving and eventful conclusion of His work on earth; His glorification through His sacrificial death on the cross, His miraculous resurrection, and His exaltation by ascending into glory, back to the Father from whence He came. With all of that in mind, let’s look at Today’s Bit. Having acknowledged that the climactic moments in His life were nigh, Jesus continued: ‘As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.’ This wasn’t an aimless boast my Friends, for John the Baptist testified this of Jesus early on. ‘The Father LOVETH the son, and hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.’ (John 3:35-36) Later, Jesus Himself proclaimed it. ‘All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. for I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. and this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.’ (John 6:37-39) Further on in His prayer, He again talks about the ones the Father gave Him, the disciples. ‘I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.’ (John 17:6) Then He goes on to pray for them. ‘I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in this world, but these are in the world; and I come to thee, Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.’ (John 17:9-11) Oh Friends, that’s why Today’s Bit is so important, it clearly points out, explains, that eternal life could only be attained, or could only be made possible and available to mortal man through the glorification of the Son. If Jesus didn’t die, rise again and ascend to heaven, there’d be no way for us to dwell with Him eternally. Note too, how He was very conscious of praying for His disciples, the ones whom the Father had given Him, those who had stuck with Him through thick and thin, the ones He’d leave behind to build His Church. Ah mih people, that’s the kind of person our Saviour Jesus is! He’s always there for those who believe in Him, those who walk and talk with Him through all the good, bad, happy, sad, hard and easy times of their lives, just like the disciples did during His earthly sojourn. I know life’s rough my brethren, but look at all Jesus did for us: He gave up His innocent life so that we could be cleansed from our deadly sins; then rose from the dead so that we could also be resurrected; then He ascended into glory so that all who believed on His Name would have the same opportunity. Now isn’t that a whole lot to be grateful and thankful for and to joyfully shout; ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ for? Yes it is my Friends, cause if Jesus had not done what He did, when our physical bodies died, our spirits would possibly have just wandered lost and confused with the prince of darkness through all eternity. Therefore, let’s give Him thanks, honour and glory for sacrificing Himself so that we could spend a pleasant, pleasurable life with Him throughout eternity. Let’s follow Him, let’s walk in His footsteps. It’s precious little to ask, considering His tremendous sacrifice on our behalf. Much LOVE! …remember…life is your only chance…to earn the great payback…eternity with Jesus…
Oh Friends, can you believe it’s September already and schools will be opened next week? But it was another beautiful summer’s day in Southern Ontario! A tad cool in some places, but overall warm enough to be considered summer weather, though how much longer it will last, is anybody’s guess. However, today, while driving by a little country church, I spotted what seemed to be an interesting announcement on their bulletin board at the front of the property. At first I only had a brief glance at it and wasn’t sure of what I’d seen, just knew that it was something interesting. I therefore stopped and reversed about twenty yards through the four-way intersection I’d just come through so that I could read it properly. And it simply said: ‘Life. Your only chance. Eternity. The Payback.’ I chuckled at its simplicity, but was astounded by the great truth, the eventful message it proclaimed. Life is indeed our only chance my people to get ready for the big payback; eternity. I didn’t even bother to write it down, so seared was it in my memory. But would you believe that when time came to write the Bit, I contemplated all sorts of other stuff before really considering those poignant words? Our Lord though moves in mysterious ways and finally guided me to the words of His Son that He desired me to write on. Now the scholars claim that Chapter 17 of John is the real ‘Lord’s Prayer,’ and is often referred to as the High Priestly Prayer of Christ, because He first prays for Himself, then His own – the twelve disciples, (vs.6) and all who will believe. (vs.20) They’re saying that what we consider the Lord’s Prayer is just a guideline Jesus gave for our use, but here we actually have Him praying a long, sincere prayer to the Father. This is no guideline, it’s for real. And Jesus begins by saying; ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify thy Son, that thy son also may glorify thee.’ (John 17:1) He knew the time for the wonder of wonders to occur was nigh. The time when He would be glorified; the time for which He’d been born; to which His whole life had been building; the dramatic climax; the rather moving and eventful conclusion of His work on earth; His glorification through His sacrificial death on the cross, His miraculous resurrection, and His exaltation by ascending into glory, back to the Father from whence He came. With all of that in mind, let’s look at Today’s Bit. Having acknowledged that the climactic moments in His life were nigh, Jesus continued: ‘As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.’ This wasn’t an aimless boast my Friends, for John the Baptist testified this of Jesus early on. ‘The Father LOVETH the son, and hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.’ (John 3:35-36) Later, Jesus Himself proclaimed it. ‘All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. for I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. and this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.’ (John 6:37-39) Further on in His prayer, He again talks about the ones the Father gave Him, the disciples. ‘I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.’ (John 17:6) Then He goes on to pray for them. ‘I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in this world, but these are in the world; and I come to thee, Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.’ (John 17:9-11) Oh Friends, that’s why Today’s Bit is so important, it clearly points out, explains, that eternal life could only be attained, or could only be made possible and available to mortal man through the glorification of the Son. If Jesus didn’t die, rise again and ascend to heaven, there’d be no way for us to dwell with Him eternally. Note too, how He was very conscious of praying for His disciples, the ones whom the Father had given Him, those who had stuck with Him through thick and thin, the ones He’d leave behind to build His Church. Ah mih people, that’s the kind of person our Saviour Jesus is! He’s always there for those who believe in Him, those who walk and talk with Him through all the good, bad, happy, sad, hard and easy times of their lives, just like the disciples did during His earthly sojourn. I know life’s rough my brethren, but look at all Jesus did for us: He gave up His innocent life so that we could be cleansed from our deadly sins; then rose from the dead so that we could also be resurrected; then He ascended into glory so that all who believed on His Name would have the same opportunity. Now isn’t that a whole lot to be grateful and thankful for and to joyfully shout; ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ for? Yes it is my Friends, cause if Jesus had not done what He did, when our physical bodies died, our spirits would possibly have just wandered lost and confused with the prince of darkness through all eternity. Therefore, let’s give Him thanks, honour and glory for sacrificing Himself so that we could spend a pleasant, pleasurable life with Him throughout eternity. Let’s follow Him, let’s walk in His footsteps. It’s precious little to ask, considering His tremendous sacrifice on our behalf. Much LOVE! …remember…life is your only chance…to earn the great payback…eternity with Jesus…
SCRIP-BITS 