5-5-5 Daily Devotions: He Asked

He Asked | Part 1

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S.O.A.P. – “Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer”

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How do you imagine Jesus in eternity before he took on a human body?

Jesus said to his disciples at the Last Supper: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them.

I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled…” John 16:33-17:12 NIV

How did Jesus “overcome the world”?

How did Jesus glorify the Father during his time on earth?

How did Jesus want the Father to glorify him?

How are you, if you are a baptized believer, bringing glory to Jesus through your life?

Lord, thank you for allowing me to overhear what Jesus prayed. I have an idea of what some of it means…other parts make me curious and confused. Thank you for going ahead of me and preparing the way for me to participate in your plan! Help me to trust you!

Do you believe God wants you to have joy?

Jesus continued his prayer: “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

Jesus Prays for All Believers

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” John 17:13-26 NIV

Do you love Jesus more than anyone and anything?

How have you let the Word of God sanctify you (set you apart as different from the world)?

What does it mean to you personally to “not be of this world” just as Jesus is “not of this world”?

Do you hate your sin?

Lord, I want to be with Jesus where he is. I want to be filled with your joy and peace. I want to be set apart from the world, not to stand in superiority or judgment over others, but to be a humble example of the goodness you bring out of brokenness. May my life bring you glory!

What is the difference between true humility and false humility? Which are you good at?

Jesus prayed to the Father: “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:3 NIV

Let’s read in two translations what the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in the city of Philippi: “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5–11 NIV

“You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

“Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

“Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5–11 NLT

What does Jesus mean that “eternal life” is to know God and Jesus Christ, whom God sent?

What became clearer about Jesus by reading this Scripture in two translations?

If God chose to humble himself, what does that say about real power? Since God chose to humble himself, how then should you live?

Lord, you and your ways continue to stun me. In a world of power-plays and aggression, it is difficult not to dream of a hero that is bulletproof. But you walked this earth humbly and lovingly, and yet you were without sin and became ultimately victorious. Help me to die to my pride, anger, and selfishness and live through your power in me.

Jesus said, “Blessed (“happy!”) are the poor in spirit (the broken and unworthy), for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven!” Does this describe you? Why or why not?

We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.

Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it. Colossians 1:11–23 NLT

If you are a believer, how did God reconcile you to himself?

Whose presence are you NOW in?

What does God say about you spiritually—how does he see you?

What does Jesus mean that “eternal life” is to know God and Jesus Christ, whom God sent?

Lord, help me understand your love for me!

What do you think God’s grace is—a legal status, a growth opportunity, or both?

This letter is from Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ. I am writing to you who share the same precious faith we have. This faith was given to you because of the justice and fairness of Jesus Christ, our God and Savior. May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.

So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:1–11 NLT

When you grow in your knowledge, God gives you more grace and peace. Consider this: you have just read the above Scripture, increasing your knowledge. Peter says that if you follow the path he prescribes next, you will be “more productive and useful” in your knowledge of Jesus. Through this, God will be allowing you to experience his grace (the gift of an opportunity) and peace (the increased health of your soul). What will you pursue today to experience these incredible blessings?

Lord, thank you for your incredible gifts of grace and peace. Help me supplement my faith with moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, patient endurance, godliness, brotherly affection, and love for everyone!

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