Thought for May 4

 History:

• 1521: Martin Luther taken into protective custody
• 1535: Three monks and two priests are hung, drawn and quartered for refusing to recognize Henry VIII as head of the Church of England
• 1856: Mount Vernon church reluctantly accepts Dwight Moody into membership, having rejected him once because he was completely ignorant of Christian truth
• 1893: Bill Pickett invents bulldogging
• 1904: Construction of the Panama Canal begins
• 1942: Battle of the Coral Sea begins
• 1953: Hemingway wins Pulitzer for "The Old Man and the Sea"
• 1959: First Grammy Awards--Ella Fitzgerald and Perry Como
• 1970: National Guard kills 4 at Kent State
• 1979: Margaret Thatcher is the first female Prime Minister
• 2007: Greensburg Kansas destroyed by F5 tornado
• 2020: World leaders pledge $8 billion to research treatment and vaccine for Covid
• Born: Horace Mann [pioneered public schools], Elmer Layden [4 Horsemen, HOF], Betsy Rawls [4 US Opens], Audrey Hepburn, George Will, Randy Travis, Dawn Staley, 
• Died: W Robertson Nicoll [editor of the 50 volume Expositor's Bible], Moe Howard, Dom Deluise, Ernie Harwell, Don Shula, 

Thought:

Reading again the High Priestly Prayer of John17. Looking particularly at what Jesus prayed for us in 17:13-26. These words should bring peace, comfort, encouragement, power, hope, strength. Jesus prayed these thoughts for you and me.

• The joy of Christ would be full in us. [17:13] Jesus wants us to be filled with His joy today and every day. Most of you know that I get up saying, "this is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it." Jesus wants us full of joy, not the world's joy, but His joy. What is keeping you from being full of His joy today? Pain, worry, doubt, fear, anxiety. Jesus invites you to hand over all those things to Him and fill up on His joy. 
• That we understand that we are not of this world [17:14] Have you ever thought about what that means for those who are in Christ. Being born again transferred us from the kingdom of this world to His Kingdom. We gained citizenship in another kingdom and became aliens to the things of the world. So, we speak a different language. We have different priorities and goals. We have different heroes and heroines. We should be different--not conformed, but transformed. Jesus wants us to wake up every day understanding that we do things His way, not the way of the world. 
• That we would be sanctified in truth--His word. [17:17]. Purified by the word, sharpened by the word, made clean by the reading and obeying of the Word. 
• That we reflect His glory [17:22] and as we reflect His glory and light into a world that is dark--others would see Jesus and be drawn to Him. We all know that if you want a good reflection, you must clean to metal that is the reflector--dirty metal, poor reflection. So Jesus wants me to daily clean myself through confession and repentance; to daily ask Him to examine me and show me any unclean place [Psalm 51]. 
• That we would dwell in perfect unity--unity with Jesus and unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ. [17:23] He and the Father are one and He prays for us to be one with them. He asks that we be in perfect unity--harmony. Pray that our lives will sing together in perfect harmony. We have heard the choir where one voice is out of tune or the orchestra where one instrument was off just a little. We want the world to hear a harmonious word from those who follow Christ.
• That we be with Him forever [17:24]. Jesus died that we could be with Him forever. Now we die daily to self in anticipation of being with Him forever. 

Be encouraged--Jesus Messiah prayed for you--and today He intercedes for you before the Father. And He has the power and authority to speak things into existence--be filled with His joy today, remember who is your King, allow the word to sanctify you in truth, reflect His glory in unity--we will be with Him forever.

Blessings

Larry