John 17: 15, 17, 24
"I pray not that they shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from evil." "Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth." "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou loved me before the foundation of the world." YOU WERE DESIGNED FOR SPIRITUAL SUCCESS! Did you know that Jesus prays for you? He prays for His own. Just before He ascended to His father He prayed for us and His prayer consisted of three things: 1. That we would be kept from evil 2. That we would be sanctified (holy) separated unto Him for His service 3. That we would make it safely to heaven and join Him there This is an interesting prayer. There is no mention of any worldly success on earth or becoming famous. I was encouraged by this prayer because Jesus said, in so many words, that I would succeed at what He gave me to do on the earth! If you know Him as your own personal Lord and Savior, it was meant for you to succeed at 'Your Life Purpose', which was given to you by God! God expects us to be effective and useful using the Spiritual Gift, and abilities He has given us! There should be no excuses as to why we are not thriving and accomplishing things for God. We should be using them for Him and not for this world! He prayed that we would have the strength to carry out our 'Duty', which is our 'Calling'. He expects us to fulfill HIS will for our lives. This involves separating from the world, and its ideology, way of thinking, and its way of doing things. Jesus prayed concerning this, and He gives the divine ability for us to achieve the answer to His prayers, but you and I must do our part. WE MUST Be Obedient! That's the challenge! It's an everyday challenge for me. Its not always easy, but it starts with desire. Where there is desire, obedience will soon follow. I don't know about you, but I want to be successful here on this earth. I've been here for more than half a century and I have no excuse for not achieving spiritual success. Note, I said, 'Spiritual Success'. This does not involve doing things of my own choosing, but God's. We can succeed, We can achieve, We must succeed, We must achieve, according to God. Don't waste time with any aspirations that God hasn't given you or sanctioned for you to do. You will not achieve His definition of success. That's the only success God is interested in, where you and I are concerned. Pursue His Interests, Pursue His Will! Do you know what God's Will is? Do you know what pleases Him the most? What are His interests? You need to know the answers to those questions in order to be Spiritually Successful. You may be facing challenges right now, and feeling like it's an uphill battle, be encouraged, Jesus has and is praying for you. He has given you everything you need to succeed. Always remember this, as a believer, you are hated in this world. Things won't be easy. There will always be challenges, trials, heart aches and pain, it's par for the course. ALL WHO LIVE GODLY WILL SUFFER SOME FORM OF PERSECUTION, NOT MIGHT, WILL! Keep your eyes on Jesus! Satan will always try to trip you, but He won't succeed if you stay obedient to God and His word because YOU WERE DESIGNED FOR SPIRITUAL SUCCESS!
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