Apr 15, 2017

A daily devotional through the recorded words Jesus spoke while He walked alongside us. Our website http://alittlewalkwithgod.com.

1. Thanks for joining me today for "A Little Walk with God." I'm your host Richard Agee.
2. Do you ever get confused about who should get the praise or reward for the work you do? We probably all feel that little twinge of jealousy sometimes when someone else gets the glory for our work, but should we?
3. Scripture
   1. John 17:1-10
   2. Jesus (lifting His face to the heavens): Father, My time has come. Glorify Your Son, and I will bring You great glory because You have given Me total authority over humanity. I have come bearing the plentiful gifts of God; and all who receive Me will experience everlasting life, a new intimate relationship with You (the one True God) and Jesus the Anointed (the One You have sent). I have glorified You on earth and fulfilled the mission You set before Me.

In this moment, Father, fuse Our collective glory and bring Us together as We were before creation existed. You have entrusted Me with these men who have come out of this corrupt world order. I have told them about Your nature and declared Your name to them, and they have held on to Your words and understood that these words, like everything else You have given Me, come from You. It is true that these men You gave Me have received the words that come from You and not only understood them but also believed that You sent Me. I am now making an appeal to You on their behalf. This request is not for the entire world; it is for those whom You have given to Me because they are Yours. Yours and Mine, Mine and Yours, for all that are Mine are Yours. Through them I have been glorified.

4. Devotional
   1. As a new officer in the Army, it bothered me when my commander would praise me for the work my platoon did. I had some really good soldiers in my platoon and they provided really great support for the unit in which we served.
      1. Medical support for a battalion
      2. Dining facility officer with soldiers that won Army competitions for their excellence in foodservice and culinary excellence
      3. High scores on inspections and competitions
      4. Soldiers did the work, but I got the praise from the commander
   2. I always tried to share the praise with my soldiers
      1. Shared what the commander said
      2. Tried to give them awards and decorations for the work they did
      3. Recognized their individual efforts whenever possible
      4. But I still often got credit for the team effort
   3. Learned over time to accept the praise because I was the leader responsible for whatever success or failure happened
      1. I also took the blame for the failure of any soldier in my charge
         1. Answered to the commander for DWI, AWOL, other disciplinary problems
         2. Described in detail why any particular soldier didn’t mean the training standard and what I was doing to correct it
         3. I took and accepted responsibility for good and bad within my unit
      2. My leaders taught me to accept both, success and failure, for the actions within my unit because I was their leader, just as my actions and performance reflected on my commander
   4. In some small way, I learned a little of what Jesus let His disciples hear as He prayed
      1. Their actions would give glory to Him, not them
      2. His actions would give glory to the Father
      3. We don’t need to seek glory for ourselves, we just need to do the work He gives us to the best of our abilities and let Him receive all the glory
      4. We are His soldiers and He is our leader, He deserves all the credit, all the recognition, all the glory we can give Him
5. If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don't, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for "A Little Walk with God."