You'll have to excuse me, but the several "with" promises of Jesus gave me a discovery thrill the other day. I'm one of those people who like to connect the dots and occasionally find a new gem during my study. OK, I understand there's nothing new under the sun. Still, I'm a little slow on the up-take sometimes and finding an idea that is new to me is a discovery thrill.
So, what is it? Well, essentially it is the "here and now, in the flesh" provision of God for His people till His kingdom comes. OK, it's not an archealogical find or anything. And, it is not some addend to supplement his promised presence. Surely, he is enough. But, it is the way God intended for us to experience His presence in this hard-hitting world.
So, this weekend we're bouncing around Scripture a little, settling in on the prayer of Jesus in John 17 as our focal point. Jesus prayed for us, those who would come to faith through the message of the Apostles. He expressed the heart desire that each of us comes to be "with" him. Till that day, he prayed we would find complete unity with each other and become one. Unity would be found in comm-unity. Blow me away!
So, this weekend is an inter-change of sorts. After today our "with" study will thrust us into the Book of Acts and the Epistles to search out the defining character of this comm-unity. Learning this Saturday and Sunday will be about His promised presence in history, and the provision of Christ for us till then. This really excites me. The "with" promises of Christ compel us to relationships---close, intimate relationships---with Christ, and with his people. This is how he promised to guide us till then.
This is getting old, I know, but it makes me say "wow"!
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