Lutheran Daily Devotional 18th May 2023 – Last Words
Lutheran Hour Ministry Daily Devotional 18th May 2023
Lutheran Daily Devotional 18th May 2023 Thursday Message. As you study today’s devotional, remember this; “Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 (NLT)
TOPIC: Last Words
John 17:1a, 6-11 – When Jesus had spoken these words, He lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come … I have manifested Your Name to the people whom You gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your Word. Now they know that everything that You have given Me is from You. For I have given them the words that You gave Me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. All Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your Name, which You have given Me, that they may be one, even as We are One.”
Lutheran Daily Devotional 18th May 2023 Thursday Message
John 17 is very dear to me, because it’s the one chance we get to listen in on the council of the Trinity. Jesus, God the Son, is speaking to God the Father.
Jesus is almost finished with His work on earth, and He knows it. The cross looms ahead, and a borrowed tomb. Jesus is returning to the Father. But for this brief moment of peace He speaks to the Father in this world, in the hearing of His disciples. You can hear the love and concern in His voice.
And what does He say? He prays for us—all of us who trust in Him, including the ones not born yet (see John 17:20). He asks the Father to watch over us and keep us in His Name. Jesus is urgent to protect us, to keep us all in the truth, and not lose any of us to the lies and temptations of the devil. He asks the Father to protect us.
And Jesus asks God to make us one, even as Father, Son, and Spirit are One. When I hear this, I feel ashamed, because who has not blushed at the fighting that goes on in the Christian church? And yet … and yet, there is a unity, isn’t there? There is a love that unites us, across the boundaries of language and nation and denomination. My family received strangers from Asia into our home during a mission conference, and a daughter of our Vietnamese congregation found a home with a Christian lady when she thought she’d have to sleep in a car. The Name of Jesus alone is a passport to all sorts of loving support—and not only for Christians!
Jesus prayed for us, and His prayer has been answered. May the Holy Spirit continue to make the fruits of that prayer spring up among us who belong to Jesus.
WE PRAY: Dear Father, thank You for hearing Jesus’ prayer for us. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
1. Is there one prayer you have heard in your life that sticks out in your memory? If so, what and when was it?
2. Why do you think Jesus is so concerned for our unity?
3. What does it mean to you, to know that Jesus was thinking of you the night before His death?
Today’s Bible Readings: Psalms 64, Psalms 70, John 6:1-21
God bless you for reading Lutheran Daily Devotional 18th May 2023 Message. Encourage someone today by sharing this Gospel.
READ MORE TOPICS: OPEN HEAVENS, OUR DAILY BREAD, IN TOUCH, SEEDS OF DESTINY, STREAMS OF JOY, JOEL OSTEEN, MOUNTAIN TOP LIFE, DCLM DAILY MANNA, UCB WORD FOR TODAY
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