8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
Key Observation:
I have the responsibility to glorify God by exhibiting God in me.
Devotion:
As a Christian I should recognize that Jesus is of God, that He spoke of the Father, that He spoke with the words of the Father, and that Jesus is sent from God. Now Jesus prays for us, we Christians, noting that we are His, and the Father’s, and that we are to glorify His name. Interestingly He prays that we may be one, and I wish to comment on the topic of successful evangelism, asking the question: “Is all evangelism more successful when we act as one?”
Basically the question answers itself, and is not controversial at all. America, which has had more of the phenomenon of mass evangelism than perhaps anywhere, stands as the prime example of this. Moody and Graham are remarkable in their willingness to look past what divides Christian creeds to hold securely on that which unites us. How, then, does that affect the watching world?
It seems to me that America is always impressed by unity. Is not Christmas time one of the most unifying themes to our country? All sects and divisions and creeds somehow emphasize quite properly what the gift of the Christ child is to the nation, and the nation, for the most part, at least hears that message. Easter ranks second; most in the nation know of the cross and the death on the cross, though I daresay the message of the resurrection is either not given strongly enough, or is not received. Somewhere up near the top I would put the voice of the evangelist. Somehow, at least for some of the times in our history, those evangelists have managed to speak for all Christians in presenting the simple gospel, and I think revival is one possible outcome from that.
At any rate, Jesus prays that we may be one, one in both Him and the Father, and that oneness should be what we exhibit to the lost world. On this side of heaven we can never hope to get various creeds to agree, but agreement of creeds is not what brings us to the attention of the world. Rather it is Christians, standing together in the gap, declaring to a lost world that their is a Savior. I do think we should find it easy to agree on that. Oh, that God might raise up for us yet another evangelist who might reach many with the gospel!
And they will know we are Chirstians
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we'll guard each one's dignity and save each one's pride
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love
By our love, by our love
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand
And together we'll spread the news that God is in our land
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love
By our love, by our love
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love
Love is patient, love is kind
Never boasts, not full of pride
Always hopes, always trusts
The evidence of Christ in us
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