Be a Witness – The Presidential Prayer Team

I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. – John 17:23

Children and dogs seem to have the best sense about people… their instincts tell them the person they meet is either kind or able to do harm. The outward appearance does not matter; the unseen “vibes” can send alerts for them to be wary.

In contrast, the outward appearance and actions of Christians should indicate to the world around them that there is a difference in their life “not based on the externals of the flesh but the internals and eternals of the Spirit in the inner person” (commentator Warren Wiersbe). God’s gift to believers is a unity of spirit that shows forth in their countenance, as well as in their words and deeds. In a world of tribulation, where diversity is emphasized, God’s peace and love should be evident in every believer, no matter their outward appearance.

The witness of this company of forgiven sinners who love each other as the Father loves His Son will lead others to know Jesus as Savior and Lord. The lost in the world cannot see God but they see Christians, and what they witness will impact what they believe about Him. The harmony among believers is based on: trusting in the same Savior and the expectation of joy in heaven; belonging to the same loving Father and seeking to do His will, witnessing to a lost world that Jesus alone saves from sin and its consequences; believing the same truth of God’s Word, and the hope and encouragement it gives to love one another. This nation needs you. Stand firm in His love and be a witness for the Lord.

Today’s Verse: John 17:23

I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Recommended for further reading: John 17:3, 20-26

³ And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

²⁰“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²²The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, ²³I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. ²⁴Father, 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 me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. ²⁶I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”