Verse of the Day 2/9

John 17:24   Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved m before the foundation of the world.  English Standard Version (ESV)

On Monday, our men's Bible study finished Jesus' prayer in John 17 as Jesus was finishing His prayer He stated that He wanted His disciples, His followers "to be with me where I am".  Sunday afternoon I was preparing for the study while the preparations were going on for the Super Bowl.  For the two teams, it was the culmination of a long season.  It had taken a lot of effort, study, practice, determination and discipline to get that far.

I have a friend in Dallas that is a personal friend of an NFL quarterback.  When his friends team came to Dallas a few years ago, he gave him a field pass that allowed my friend down on the field to witness, to experience the game from the sideline.  The quarterback wanted to have his friend there for the game.  At the Super Bowl, the game of all games in football, players had their families at the game.  You saw glimpses of family members up in the booth - parents, siblings, and children there for the big game.  At the end of the game they interviewed the winning team.  Peyton Manning was there with his family, sharing the trophy, sharing the experience with them.  For this big game, perhaps the culmination of his career, he wanted and he made sure that he had his family with Him.

It is a glimpse of what Jesus wants here in this verse.   He is speaking of the culmination of our lives and the celebration on that final day as we leave this world and will be with Him for eternity.  If we are His, His followers, He wants us to be there with Him to experience, to witness and to live the celebration with Him and experience God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit as He did before the beginning of the world.

I want  to be there for that celebration, don't you?  If He had given you that call, that  invitation, won't you do everything in your power, guided by His Spirit, to get there?  What a celebration it will be.

Jesus prayed, "Father, I want those you gave me, to be with me, right where I am, so they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me" ( The Message), experience it.

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

John 17:24-26The Message (MSG)

^24-26 Father, I want those you gave me
To be with me, right where I am,
So they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me,
Having loved me
Long before there ever was a world.
Righteous Father, the world has never known you,
But I have known you, and these disciples know
That you sent me on this mission.
I have made your very being known to them—
Who you are and what you do—
And continue to make it known,
So that your love for me
Might be in them
Exactly as I am in them.