Tag Archives: Strength

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on May 17, 2015
Tags: , , , Strength   

The High Priestly Prayer – Rev. David J. Schreffler

May 17, 2015
Sunday

“I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.” John 17:14 – 15

“And what does he pray for? Not that it will be easy. He knows it won’t. This world is captive to a spirit alien to God’s spirit. It is animated by a sense of scarcity instead of abundance, fear instead of courage, and selfishness instead of sacrificial love. Jesus — the one who came to bring abundant life, does not run away in the face of danger, and lays down his life for the sheep — offers an alternative spirit and reality. This is the reason the world (kosmos — John’s word of choice for the spirit and power that is hostile to God’s good intention to love and redeem all) hates Jesus and will hate those who follow him. So Jesus doesn’t pray that it will be easy, but rather that God will support the disciples amid their challenges and that they will be one in fellowship with each other and with Jesus and the Father through the Spirit.” David Lose, “Dear Working Preacher”, Commentary “The Other Lord’s Prayer”

This devotion is really a continuation of the devotion from May 15 – where I spoke about unity. the text is from a part of the prayer Jesus prayed for his disciples of all time and space. He not only prayed for their unity, but he prayed that they remain in the work of the church, even though it was going to be very difficult, but with the help from the Father through the Holy Spirit while they remain in the world. We all know an experience where we found ourselves in a difficult place, and wished we might be able to be lifted out of the experience because it was very uncomfortable. But if we found ourselves in the experience, and getting through the experience, we may have found that we were stronger for persevering through to the end. Jesus agreed that the experience would be strengthening, but he also prayed that the Father not forget us while we are going through the difficult time.

Just this past week my wife and I found ourselves in such an experience. We were called to Maine because my wife’s father had experienced a medical emergency. We travelled to Maine knowing that our presence was required, but also knowing that there were many difficult family dynamics present – and some of them very, very difficult. We managed to be present for her father and to help with some decisions regarding his health and care, but there were family members who presented a real challenge. And even though we experienced some difficult family dynamics, we also felt a true protection from our heavenly Father, sustained by the Holy Spirit. We were able to stand firm and offer the presence he needed.

Jesus prayed for you and me, that the Father would protect us from the evil one. With this knowledge, let us go forth each day knowing that through the Holy Spirit, we should always remain mindful of the Father’s protection.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on May 15, 2015
Tags: , , , , Strength   

Unity – Rev. David J. Schreffler

May 15, 2015 – “U” is for Unity

“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, 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. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” John 17:20 – 24

One of the most difficult tasks of any Christian Community is to maintain the “unity” of the faithful. This is the prayer of Jesus in John 17 – it should be called “The Lord’s Prayer” and what we call “The Lord’s Prayer” should be called “The Disciple’s Prayer”, because it is the disciples who ask Jesus “How should we pray?” From the beginning of Christianity we have wondered how to pray. Jesus models the attempt of an active prayer life by getting away (which always proves so difficult for him) so he can be in prayer. Jesus prays for the unity of the believers for all time and place in this 17th chapter of John. He realizes that “being in the world but not of the world” is going to be a struggle. He knows that ego and power and coveting will always get in the way of relationships.

Since the time of the Reformation, we have seen the Christian church fragment in many different denominations. I believe these divisions, the fact that we identify more with what denomination we belong to rather than to the fact that we are all Christians has been to the detriment of the church. It has certainly not helped us find unity. We have to work very hard at finding ways to be united as Christians, while still being able to celebrate our individual traditions, theologies, and worship practices. But the divisions are not just between churches — they also thrive within each church. When the church, or a club, or any human endeavor is filled with people, there is the chance for divisiveness. We all do not think alike, plan alike, and see ministry the same (neither did the apostles of the early church — read the first 10 chapters of Acts if you don’t believe me). And it is when we become more invested in “keeping things the same”, or “rejecting other ideas because they do not fit our view of ministry”, then we are in danger of driving a wedge between rather than finding unity with our brothers and sisters in the congregation.

Christ prayed for us to be united – we need to continue that prayer so we can work united as Christians, inside the church and in the church universal.

Pastor Dave