Tag Archive for Jesus’ relationship with the Father

Moment by Moment

John 5:19-20, 30; 14:10

Father, Jesus always only
said what You told Him to say and
did what You showed Him to do.
Thus He was
always in You,
always in the moment,
always focused on You,
always fully responding to You.

That is what I want, Father.
Give me His mind and
His Spirit.
I am too often
distracted from You and
distracted from the individuals, needs, and opportunities
right in front of me.

Father, may my heart and mind be
always here,
always now,
always trusting,
always listening,
always open to the gentle wisdom of Your love.

Keep me
like Christ,
in Christ,
moment by moment.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Like Christ, in Christ
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Completion

from the book, ONE WITH OUR FATHER 

John 4:34; 5:36; 13:1; 17:4, 23; 19:28

Throughout His earthly ministry, from first to last, Jesus repeatedly spoke of completing the work His Father had sent Him to do. It seemed always on His mind. To express His desire, He used a Greek word meaning to complete, finish, or accomplish.

For example, when He was weary from travel, His disciples urged Him to eat. Jesus was more concerned with drawing a Samaritan woman to His Father:

“My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.” (John 4:34, NASB)

Jesus’ critics scoffed at His claim that God was His Father. They considered it blasphemy! Jesus said His works proved that God was His Father:

“The works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.” (John 5:36, NASB)

On His final night with His disciples before His arrest, Jesus prayed to His Father and gave Him this report on the task for which He had been sent:

“I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.” (John 17:4, NASB)

Jesus finished this same prayer by praying for all who would believe on Him in the years to come. Looking ahead, the work He desired to see completed was their perfect union with each other in the Father and Son:

“I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.” (John 17:23, NASB)

What was the task that had characterized Jesus’ ministry from first to last? It was showing the Father’s love, in all its length and depth and height:

Jesus knowing that His hour had come that he would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end [margin: to the uttermost, or eternally]. (John 13:1, NASB)

Considering this focus of His life, how else would Jesus spend His final breath as He died in agony on the cross?

After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.”
Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. (John 19:28, 30, NASB)

The completion of His Father’s work was Jesus’ daily food, His unshakable foundation, His love’s driving force, His dying wish, and His vision of the future for every believer.

Father, my desires,
my time,
my energy,
my future are in Your hands.
Plant me like a seed,
as You did Jesus.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Christ Is Our Horizon
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God Can Enable You Too

I pray…that you may know…his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead. (Ephesians 1:18-20, NIV)

Jesus trusted the Father constantly and completely.
If you trust the Father,
His power will work in you as it worked in Jesus.

He will help you live a holy life,
one that pleases Him,
even in this wicked, corrupt, and corrupting world.

He can keep you so that you are
fearless and at peace in the face of every threat.

He can enable you for service and
make you sufficient for every demand.

Rest in His power, not in your own.
Turn to Him one need at a time.
Trust Him step-by-step.

Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: All We Need
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