"I ask you to protect them" (John 17:15)

    In this Sunday's Gospel reading, Jesus is praying for His disciples, and in John 17:20, He includes "those who will believe in Me" (that's you and me).  And one of the petitions that He prays is "to protect" us.  As we read in verse 15, He prays that our Father in heaven will protect us "from the evil one".
   The evil one, the devil, is working in all kinds of ways to harm us.  In the context of this prayer in John 17, Jesus is primarily asking that we be protected from losing faith in Him and being separated from Him.  And as He says in John 17:12, "not one of them was lost".  
   We can find a wonderful comfort and strength in these words.  Jesus is not going to let us get lost.  He is not going to let us be separated from Him.  
   As we read in Luke 15, Jesus the Shepherd, "searches for the lost sheep until he finds them"  God never gives up on us!
   This Thursday, the Christian Church celebrates the Ascension of our Lord.   But this doesn't mean that Christ has left us.  Instead it means that now the Risen and Glorified Christ is "at the right hand of God, which is where God is, who is everywhere!  And as Romans 8:34 promises, "Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who intercedes for us."
    To use the language of insurance, God has each of us on a "lifetime policy".  He's working on us, with us, in us, around us, all through our lives.  And God's grace and love showering upon us will not end!  It will continue all through our lives and into eternity!
   That's the kind of protection God gives us:  a lifetime of protection, an eternal life of protection that He gives through faith in Jesus, our Savior and Lord!
   
Pastor Steve