Our Father which art in heaven
Mat 6:13 ... lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
Delivered from evil.
What is the ultimate evil? What's the worst evil of all? Seriously what is the evilest thing you can ever imagine?
Anything that would keep us from God is evil. Being delivered from anything that would keep us from God is something that is desperately desired. When we are delivered from evil we are not being consumed by ANYTHING that would keep us from God.
Satan desires to keep us separated from God. If we are already separated from God- Satan desires to keep us that way. Through anger, through despair, through heart ache, through lusts of all kind, through any evil means- because ANYTHING that keeps us from God is evil- Satan will strive to separate us from our Savior, our Creator. Can Satan use things we wouldn't generally consider evil to keep us from God? YES! Who considers a wonderful spouse, and delightful children- evil? Who considers a nice paying job in a good field- evil? Who believes ministering to the helpless- evil? Not many people consider those things evil and yet if we allow even the seemingly *GOOD* things in life to keep us from God, they are part of the evil Satan will use.
Temptation might not be lust for another person's spouse, temptation might not be to steal riches, temptation might not be to garner power over others, temptation might not be pornography, temptation might not be alcohol or drugs, temptation might not be gambling though all these things are considered sinful, considered evil. Temptation could be the inner belief that is skewed to put self first- even when you believe you are helping others. Temptation might be to put ANYTHING in the place of God- first. You might not be a thief, a murderer, a liar, a whoremonger, a prostitute, a gambler, an adulterer- but you can be the worst of sinners. You don't think that's true? Read this…
Mat 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
SCRIBES and PHARISEES- those considered to be CLOSEST TO GOD! In truth they were the farthest from God. We are in danger of the same thing! Don't think for one moment anyone professing to be a Christian, professing the love of God is not consumed by evil of a sort that we can't readily see. We have to look into our own lives and find out where God is at. What position does God hold in our lives? How important is God to us? Do we LIVE the way God would have us to live- loving Him and loving others more than we love ourselves? Are we guilty of pure selfishness? Do our lives revolve around our own needs, our own desires?
Mat 6:13 ... lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
We do not want to be led into ANY direction that would keep us from God. We do not want to be led into despair, we do not want to be led into selfishness, we do NOT want to fail any test of faith put before us. When we pray to our heavenly Father to 'lead us not into temptation' it is asking Him to keep us from ANYTHING that would separate us from Him. When we are praying 'deliver us from evil' we are praying to be kept from ANYTHING that would keep us from God.
May this lesson Jesus is teaching us, this lesson on prayer, be something we NEVER forget and always remember to use if not in exact wording then in the same manner- understanding that we are His and He would have us be His- and this is a choice we make, a free-will choice we make and hold to by His power, through His grace and mercy, by His righteousness always.
Amen.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Forgive us as we forgive
Our Father which art in heaven…
Mat 6:12 ...forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors
Forgive.
Have you ever wanted someone to forgive you? Think of a time, just one time out of probably many- at least in my case. Wanting people to forgive us means one thing- we feel guilty for some wrong doing.
Can anyone who is not guilty want forgiveness? Seriously. Sure people can give half-hearted I'm sorry's because they don't really believe they are guilty but want the other person to just stop blaming them for something they perceive they've done wrong. People can even ask forgiveness for something they haven't done, just to make peace in a tense situation. Many under the hands of a torturer have confessed and pleaded for forgiveness- having NEVER done what they've been accused of, simply because they want the pain, the agony, to stop. So yes, people can want forgiveness from someone for something they never did, for something they're not guilty of.
Seeking forgiveness for real guilt- you know what that's like. Do you know what it's like to seek forgiveness from someone and be denied that forgiveness? How does it make you feel- having a heartfelt, deep soul searching need for forgiveness and not getting it?
If you can't think of a time like this, then imagine it. The need to be forgiven after hurting someone, after wronging someone, after sinning against someone is so great. The guilt weighs down heavy and seeking that forgiveness is something you feel desperate for. Finally if you can't get that forgiveness from the one you're seeking it from you're left holding onto the guilt but at least you know you tried to apologize, tried to gain forgiveness. That's how we do it isn't it? We apologize, we repent of our wrong, we promise to never do that wrong again, we hate ourselves for sinning, hate that we sinned against someone.
Sins that aren't against another person can be against God and we need to seek forgiveness from God for our sins against Him and against others.
Jesus tells us to pray this way… forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
We can ONLY expect forgiveness from our Father in heaven as we forgive others.
We aren't told that we can only expect forgiveness from our Father in heaven as other forgive us. This is important to remember! Our being forgiving is not conditional upon getting forgiveness from each other. Our being forgiving is however conditional upon US forgiving others. People might think that's wrong and a crazy idea- but read it again.
'forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors'
Forgive us… as we forgive.
If we don't forgive how can we ever expect our Father in heaven to forgive us? Seriously.
Impossible to forgive others? Sometimes it feels that way doesn't it? Some hurts seem unforgiveable don't they? Some sins against us seem to be so horrific that even when we try to forgive we find ourselves feeling the same old upset and anger rising up over and over and each time we seek to forgive that person all over again. Yet as we forgive we will be forgiven.
We need to be forgiven don't we? We've sinned, right? When we sin we are transgressing against the laws of God. Some call them laws of nature, especially those who don't want to believe in God, but they are laws of God. Without God there would be no laws. What laws does Satan have? Seriously. Evil has no laws. Evil inherently encourages sinning in every and any form- there is no law to adhere to whatsoever. Evil allows everything- evil sees NO wrong in murder. Evil sees no wrong in stealing. Evil sees no wrong in harming another. Evil sees no wrong in torture. Evil sees no wrong in the deepest depravity in all the world. There is NO standard to hold to with evil, none. Those truly evil people are those who have no sense at all of their sinfulness. People can be blinded to their sinning by evil, and don't for one moment believe that Satan doesn't do ALL he can to blind us to our sins. I've heard people say they had nothing to do with Jesus dying… as if their sins aren't in need of forgiveness and that Jesus didn't die for their sins. Jesus died for all of our sins! For all who repent and seek forgiveness from Him, He will forgive them. If you truly believe you had nothing to do with Jesus' dying then you don't believe He died for you. You can't really believe that Jesus forgives you if you don't believe He died for you. No, you might not have wielded the hammer that nailed Jesus to the cross, but He submitted to that torturous death, He allowed Himself to be nailed to that cross FOR YOU. Figuratively our sins- every sinner forgiven- their sins are the reason our Savior died to pay the price of sin for us. From the first repenting sinner seeking forgiveness right up to the very last repenting sinner seeking forgiveness - Jesus died for them, for us. To those who sought forgiveness before Jesus came, to those who sought and seek forgiveness after Jesus came- Jesus died for them, for us.
'forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors'
Sinners forgiving sinners- that's what we are when we forgive others. We NEED to be forgiven by our Father in heaven. We NEED to forgive others even as we recognize that it is an imperfect forgiveness. Our imperfect forgiveness is just that and it's no wonder that we might find ourselves having to forgive someone over and over for the same offense? We have to expect this and not let Satan use this as something to throw in our faces as in order to tell us that God, our Father in heaven, cannot forgive us because we cannot forgive others. Is it any wonder Jesus tells us this…
Mat 18:21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
Mat 18:22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Seventy times seven. Yes, it's saying this regarding someone sinning over and over against you, but you can see where there is NO limit to the forgiveness we can extend. Surely Jesus understood that we have to know that we can forgive over and over. It is by the grace of our Savior that we can forgive at all.
Yes, we need to forgive our debts, as we forgive our debtors…we need to do this and we need to pray for this. Pray to BE forgiven and pray TO forgive. We need to pray for this, we need to ask our heavenly Father for this, Jesus would have us learn that we aren't automatically forgiven, we have to ask.
To think that Jesus will forgive us, to think that we will be forgiven automatically is a mistake. Some might say- oh yeah, I was saved and forgiven, I'm fine. But forgiveness is continuous, it's constant.
May we forgive and be forgiven by our Father in heaven.
By His Grace now and FOREVER always!
Amen
Mat 6:12 ...forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors
Forgive.
Have you ever wanted someone to forgive you? Think of a time, just one time out of probably many- at least in my case. Wanting people to forgive us means one thing- we feel guilty for some wrong doing.
Can anyone who is not guilty want forgiveness? Seriously. Sure people can give half-hearted I'm sorry's because they don't really believe they are guilty but want the other person to just stop blaming them for something they perceive they've done wrong. People can even ask forgiveness for something they haven't done, just to make peace in a tense situation. Many under the hands of a torturer have confessed and pleaded for forgiveness- having NEVER done what they've been accused of, simply because they want the pain, the agony, to stop. So yes, people can want forgiveness from someone for something they never did, for something they're not guilty of.
Seeking forgiveness for real guilt- you know what that's like. Do you know what it's like to seek forgiveness from someone and be denied that forgiveness? How does it make you feel- having a heartfelt, deep soul searching need for forgiveness and not getting it?
If you can't think of a time like this, then imagine it. The need to be forgiven after hurting someone, after wronging someone, after sinning against someone is so great. The guilt weighs down heavy and seeking that forgiveness is something you feel desperate for. Finally if you can't get that forgiveness from the one you're seeking it from you're left holding onto the guilt but at least you know you tried to apologize, tried to gain forgiveness. That's how we do it isn't it? We apologize, we repent of our wrong, we promise to never do that wrong again, we hate ourselves for sinning, hate that we sinned against someone.
Sins that aren't against another person can be against God and we need to seek forgiveness from God for our sins against Him and against others.
Jesus tells us to pray this way… forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
We can ONLY expect forgiveness from our Father in heaven as we forgive others.
We aren't told that we can only expect forgiveness from our Father in heaven as other forgive us. This is important to remember! Our being forgiving is not conditional upon getting forgiveness from each other. Our being forgiving is however conditional upon US forgiving others. People might think that's wrong and a crazy idea- but read it again.
'forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors'
Forgive us… as we forgive.
If we don't forgive how can we ever expect our Father in heaven to forgive us? Seriously.
Impossible to forgive others? Sometimes it feels that way doesn't it? Some hurts seem unforgiveable don't they? Some sins against us seem to be so horrific that even when we try to forgive we find ourselves feeling the same old upset and anger rising up over and over and each time we seek to forgive that person all over again. Yet as we forgive we will be forgiven.
We need to be forgiven don't we? We've sinned, right? When we sin we are transgressing against the laws of God. Some call them laws of nature, especially those who don't want to believe in God, but they are laws of God. Without God there would be no laws. What laws does Satan have? Seriously. Evil has no laws. Evil inherently encourages sinning in every and any form- there is no law to adhere to whatsoever. Evil allows everything- evil sees NO wrong in murder. Evil sees no wrong in stealing. Evil sees no wrong in harming another. Evil sees no wrong in torture. Evil sees no wrong in the deepest depravity in all the world. There is NO standard to hold to with evil, none. Those truly evil people are those who have no sense at all of their sinfulness. People can be blinded to their sinning by evil, and don't for one moment believe that Satan doesn't do ALL he can to blind us to our sins. I've heard people say they had nothing to do with Jesus dying… as if their sins aren't in need of forgiveness and that Jesus didn't die for their sins. Jesus died for all of our sins! For all who repent and seek forgiveness from Him, He will forgive them. If you truly believe you had nothing to do with Jesus' dying then you don't believe He died for you. You can't really believe that Jesus forgives you if you don't believe He died for you. No, you might not have wielded the hammer that nailed Jesus to the cross, but He submitted to that torturous death, He allowed Himself to be nailed to that cross FOR YOU. Figuratively our sins- every sinner forgiven- their sins are the reason our Savior died to pay the price of sin for us. From the first repenting sinner seeking forgiveness right up to the very last repenting sinner seeking forgiveness - Jesus died for them, for us. To those who sought forgiveness before Jesus came, to those who sought and seek forgiveness after Jesus came- Jesus died for them, for us.
'forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors'
Sinners forgiving sinners- that's what we are when we forgive others. We NEED to be forgiven by our Father in heaven. We NEED to forgive others even as we recognize that it is an imperfect forgiveness. Our imperfect forgiveness is just that and it's no wonder that we might find ourselves having to forgive someone over and over for the same offense? We have to expect this and not let Satan use this as something to throw in our faces as in order to tell us that God, our Father in heaven, cannot forgive us because we cannot forgive others. Is it any wonder Jesus tells us this…
Mat 18:21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
Mat 18:22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Seventy times seven. Yes, it's saying this regarding someone sinning over and over against you, but you can see where there is NO limit to the forgiveness we can extend. Surely Jesus understood that we have to know that we can forgive over and over. It is by the grace of our Savior that we can forgive at all.
Yes, we need to forgive our debts, as we forgive our debtors…we need to do this and we need to pray for this. Pray to BE forgiven and pray TO forgive. We need to pray for this, we need to ask our heavenly Father for this, Jesus would have us learn that we aren't automatically forgiven, we have to ask.
To think that Jesus will forgive us, to think that we will be forgiven automatically is a mistake. Some might say- oh yeah, I was saved and forgiven, I'm fine. But forgiveness is continuous, it's constant.
May we forgive and be forgiven by our Father in heaven.
By His Grace now and FOREVER always!
Amen
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Our Daily Bread
Mat 6:9 Our Father which art in heaven…
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Yesterday we talked about the first half of this verse- Give us this day.
God wants us to ask Him for our sustenance because He is the life force we exist by. When we ask Him to provide for us we are acknowledging that we don't exist without Him. Yes, we talked about people believing they live without God just because they don't believe that He exists, but we know the truth. Everyone- good and evil exists by the grace of God. It won't always be this way though. Eventually all who exist will be good by the grace of God and evil will be done away with completely.
Jesus wants our prayers to include this plea to the Father in Heaven, to give us this day, the day of the prayer, our daily bread.
Let's look at a few verses of God providing for daily sustenance.
Exo 16:15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.
Exo 16:16 This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.
Exo 16:17 And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.
Exo 16:18 And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.
Exo 16:19 And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.
Exo 16:20 Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.
We know the story of the newly friend Egyptian slaves- the Hebrews having followed their deliverer out into the wilderness where they quickly realized there was no great plan for where they were going and what they were doing. Moses didn't lead them to some new land overflowing with sustenance, at least he didn't do it immediately and that's what they wanted. They wished to go from a life of slavery into a life of freedom with all the luxuries they imagined freedom meant having- those of their masters in Egypt who had been free- they lived in the lap of luxury. Being a freeman meant having wealth and so much more. The African slaves of America and elsewhere understood this as well. Being free was emotionally and in some cases physically gratifying but then the reality set in that they had to provide for themselves and their families and there wasn't much of a chance for that right away. Most had to turn around and work for the same people getting paid for it but the work, the life was just as hard if not harder. Nowadays we can all look back and see how the last 140 some years have completely wiped out that sort of existence for the African slaves and it was the same for the newly freed Hebrews, after a hundred and forty some years they probably could barely recall the horrors of slavery they lived under. NO, I'm not belittling what happened, I'm just trying to speak of facts here. Most of us here in the United States come from immigrant families, from slave families, all but the Native Americans. Most of us have hardships in our past- just because a person is free doesn't mean they haven't lived through other horrors life has to offer. For most of us living here now we don't live under the conditions of a world that existed a hundred and forty something years ago- technology alone has altered life so much it's barely possible to imagine that sort of primitive existence.
Anyway, I think enough has been said about all that, the point is that the newly freed Hebrew slaves weren't expecting to die in the wilderness by starvation- in fact they most likely wouldn't have followed Moses had they imagined the harsh reality they faced. But there they were, feeling the privations of not having food readily available. They had no gardens, no farms they could go to and get what they needed. They no longer had the Egyptians giving them of their bounty- not much of it- but enough to keep their bellies filled and people healthy enough for them to work. They didn't want to die of starvation and God never planned that they would.
Manna. Food from Heaven. Food that rained down from Heaven. Imagine it for a moment. Close your eyes and just imagine going to sleep at night and waking up the next morning and outside in your yard was food from Heaven - enough for all of your household to live on. NEVER having to worry again about having enough money to buy food. Never having to worry about food. Sure a lot of us might say we don't have to worry now, but more and more people whose incomes have been slashed or have disappeared and they are now scrimping and saving just to buy food - they understand. People in third world countries- they understand. Food from heaven, the miracle of it, the wondrous miracle God provided for the newly freed slaves who were no longer in bondage to Egyptian authority.
Did you catch that part up there at the end of the verses we read- how some people kept some of the manna left over- after God told them not to. Some didn't believe! Some didn't trust in God! Some believed they were being wise by setting some aside for later use- just incase this source of miracle food dried up on them. They quickly found out that it was IMPOSSIBLE to keep leftover manna. The very next day that food was stinking and rotten. God was endeavoring to teach His people to trust in Him for their very existence, for their daily bread.
Of course after their wilderness journey ended people were required to work farms, producing their own food- God had led them to a land perfect for doing just that. Did God teach the people that they no longer had to rely on Him? No. By the time the people were established in the promised land they had God's holy commandments- one in particular would be a HUGE reminder to them of their days eating manna. On the sixth day they all had to gather TWICE as much manna because the seventh day was the SABBATH of God, a Sabbath God made for man way back in Eden. Miraculously the manna that was leftover that next morning wasn't rotten and it didn't stink, it was kept fresh by God proving even more that what God commands is what we should do. The people in the promised land were to forever carry on honoring the Sabbath- it was the fourth of the ten great commandments. So the people were truly to remember their wilderness journey and God's providing- always. The Sabbath is a GREAT reminder of God in many, many ways and it was meant to be that way throughout time. God never taught the people they didn't have to rely on Him, never.
Let's read a bit more about manna-
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
Joh 6:30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
Joh 6:31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
Joh 6:32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
Joh 6:33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
How wondrous! Jesus teaching that manna symbolized physical life and it really did, but it also symbolized the TRUE bread from heaven to come. God rained down food to give life to His people and God came down from heaven to give eternal life to His people.
Joh 6:34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
Joh 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
Joh 6:36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
Joh 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
Joh 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
Joh 6:39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
Joh 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
Joh 6:42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?
Joh 6:43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
Joh 6:46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
Joh 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
Joh 6:48 I am that bread of life.
Joh 6:49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
Joh 6:50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
Joh 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
Joh 6:52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
Joh 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Joh 6:54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
Joh 6:56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
Joh 6:57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
Joh 6:58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
Joh 6:59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
Joh 6:60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
Joh 6:61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?
Joh 6:62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
The words I speak unto you they are SPIRIT and they are LIFE. Jesus was NOT telling us to eat his physical flesh or drink his physical blood! Jesus was speaking of SPIRITUALLY eating and drinking of all that HE is. We can't for ONE moment believe that Jesus wanted people to physically take a bite out of Him- HE DIDN'T mean that and NEVER meant it! He tells them plainly- The words I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life! We have everlasting life through the sacrifice of our Savior's life. Later on before He died Jesus would initiate a ceremony that symbolized this very thing and people throughout time had to pervert even that into a belief that bread and wine are altered into REAL flesh and blood, but Jesus never meant that- NEVER. The symbolism was introduced and was to take place of old covenant rituals pointing to the Messiah's arrival. This new symbolism was to represent the new covenant in Christ- pointing to His life, His death, and His everlasting life and the fact that we will share in everlasting life with Him one day.
No, I haven't gotten sidetracked, at least not too much, hehe.
Give us this day our daily bread. Yes, this was to be a DAILY reminder of Christ- our Heavenly bread, better than manna that sustained physical life. Our daily bread for eternal life- our Savior! Yes, God the Father- give us this day our Daily Bread!
Does this mean we aren't to ask God for our physical needs? No, God wants us to ask, but God also wants us to realize that more important than physical life is spiritual life. If we had to choose between physical life and spiritual life- we must choose spiritual life which will lead us to eternal life. Physical life will NOT lead us to eternal life other than the fact we were born, we were brought into existence.
Read this--
1Ti 6:7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
1Ti 6:8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
1Ti 6:9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
1Ti 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
1Ti 6:11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
1Ti 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
Follow after RIGHTEOUSNESS, GODLINESS, FAITH, LOVE, PATIENCE, MEEKNESS!
Fight the good fight of FAITH.
Lay hold on ETERNAL LIFE.
We are not to focus on the physical.
Some people are starving right now! Do you think they are all God-less people undeserving of eternal life? That some how God has abandoned them to their fate of death eternal because they aren't provided for right now physically? NO! And NO! We can't understand all the whys and wherefores of all God allows- that's not for us to question. We have to have faith that 'ALL things work together for good to them that love God...' Ro. 8:28 This isn't a Bible promise for riches and ease of life. This is the promise that no matter what we face in this world- whether we are among the starving, the dying, the tortured, the hated- it will be for good towards our ETERNAL life in God- loving God forever and ever!
If we pray as Jesus is teaching us to pray and we ask our Heavenly Father to give us this day our daily bread- and then we go another day without any food- does this mean our Heavenly Father isn't answering our prayer? NO! We have to believe in the HEAVENLY BREAD and ask daily for this HEAVENLY BREAD, God will not deny us the right to life, the right to be filled spiritually until we can be filled no more, God will fill us to overflowing with the richness of His glory in Christ!
We aren't asking God to provide our *wants* or even our physical needs - not first and foremost, we can't, we have to desire eternal life in Him before all else, we have to desire to be with fully reunited, fully one with our God again without sin separating us. By His grace! In His love! Forever!
Amen.
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Yesterday we talked about the first half of this verse- Give us this day.
God wants us to ask Him for our sustenance because He is the life force we exist by. When we ask Him to provide for us we are acknowledging that we don't exist without Him. Yes, we talked about people believing they live without God just because they don't believe that He exists, but we know the truth. Everyone- good and evil exists by the grace of God. It won't always be this way though. Eventually all who exist will be good by the grace of God and evil will be done away with completely.
Jesus wants our prayers to include this plea to the Father in Heaven, to give us this day, the day of the prayer, our daily bread.
Let's look at a few verses of God providing for daily sustenance.
Exo 16:15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.
Exo 16:16 This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.
Exo 16:17 And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.
Exo 16:18 And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.
Exo 16:19 And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.
Exo 16:20 Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.
We know the story of the newly friend Egyptian slaves- the Hebrews having followed their deliverer out into the wilderness where they quickly realized there was no great plan for where they were going and what they were doing. Moses didn't lead them to some new land overflowing with sustenance, at least he didn't do it immediately and that's what they wanted. They wished to go from a life of slavery into a life of freedom with all the luxuries they imagined freedom meant having- those of their masters in Egypt who had been free- they lived in the lap of luxury. Being a freeman meant having wealth and so much more. The African slaves of America and elsewhere understood this as well. Being free was emotionally and in some cases physically gratifying but then the reality set in that they had to provide for themselves and their families and there wasn't much of a chance for that right away. Most had to turn around and work for the same people getting paid for it but the work, the life was just as hard if not harder. Nowadays we can all look back and see how the last 140 some years have completely wiped out that sort of existence for the African slaves and it was the same for the newly freed Hebrews, after a hundred and forty some years they probably could barely recall the horrors of slavery they lived under. NO, I'm not belittling what happened, I'm just trying to speak of facts here. Most of us here in the United States come from immigrant families, from slave families, all but the Native Americans. Most of us have hardships in our past- just because a person is free doesn't mean they haven't lived through other horrors life has to offer. For most of us living here now we don't live under the conditions of a world that existed a hundred and forty something years ago- technology alone has altered life so much it's barely possible to imagine that sort of primitive existence.
Anyway, I think enough has been said about all that, the point is that the newly freed Hebrew slaves weren't expecting to die in the wilderness by starvation- in fact they most likely wouldn't have followed Moses had they imagined the harsh reality they faced. But there they were, feeling the privations of not having food readily available. They had no gardens, no farms they could go to and get what they needed. They no longer had the Egyptians giving them of their bounty- not much of it- but enough to keep their bellies filled and people healthy enough for them to work. They didn't want to die of starvation and God never planned that they would.
Manna. Food from Heaven. Food that rained down from Heaven. Imagine it for a moment. Close your eyes and just imagine going to sleep at night and waking up the next morning and outside in your yard was food from Heaven - enough for all of your household to live on. NEVER having to worry again about having enough money to buy food. Never having to worry about food. Sure a lot of us might say we don't have to worry now, but more and more people whose incomes have been slashed or have disappeared and they are now scrimping and saving just to buy food - they understand. People in third world countries- they understand. Food from heaven, the miracle of it, the wondrous miracle God provided for the newly freed slaves who were no longer in bondage to Egyptian authority.
Did you catch that part up there at the end of the verses we read- how some people kept some of the manna left over- after God told them not to. Some didn't believe! Some didn't trust in God! Some believed they were being wise by setting some aside for later use- just incase this source of miracle food dried up on them. They quickly found out that it was IMPOSSIBLE to keep leftover manna. The very next day that food was stinking and rotten. God was endeavoring to teach His people to trust in Him for their very existence, for their daily bread.
Of course after their wilderness journey ended people were required to work farms, producing their own food- God had led them to a land perfect for doing just that. Did God teach the people that they no longer had to rely on Him? No. By the time the people were established in the promised land they had God's holy commandments- one in particular would be a HUGE reminder to them of their days eating manna. On the sixth day they all had to gather TWICE as much manna because the seventh day was the SABBATH of God, a Sabbath God made for man way back in Eden. Miraculously the manna that was leftover that next morning wasn't rotten and it didn't stink, it was kept fresh by God proving even more that what God commands is what we should do. The people in the promised land were to forever carry on honoring the Sabbath- it was the fourth of the ten great commandments. So the people were truly to remember their wilderness journey and God's providing- always. The Sabbath is a GREAT reminder of God in many, many ways and it was meant to be that way throughout time. God never taught the people they didn't have to rely on Him, never.
Let's read a bit more about manna-
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
Joh 6:30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
Joh 6:31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
Joh 6:32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
Joh 6:33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
How wondrous! Jesus teaching that manna symbolized physical life and it really did, but it also symbolized the TRUE bread from heaven to come. God rained down food to give life to His people and God came down from heaven to give eternal life to His people.
Joh 6:34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
Joh 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
Joh 6:36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
Joh 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
Joh 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
Joh 6:39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
Joh 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
Joh 6:42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?
Joh 6:43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
Joh 6:46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
Joh 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
Joh 6:48 I am that bread of life.
Joh 6:49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
Joh 6:50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
Joh 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
Joh 6:52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
Joh 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Joh 6:54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
Joh 6:56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
Joh 6:57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
Joh 6:58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
Joh 6:59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
Joh 6:60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
Joh 6:61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?
Joh 6:62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
The words I speak unto you they are SPIRIT and they are LIFE. Jesus was NOT telling us to eat his physical flesh or drink his physical blood! Jesus was speaking of SPIRITUALLY eating and drinking of all that HE is. We can't for ONE moment believe that Jesus wanted people to physically take a bite out of Him- HE DIDN'T mean that and NEVER meant it! He tells them plainly- The words I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life! We have everlasting life through the sacrifice of our Savior's life. Later on before He died Jesus would initiate a ceremony that symbolized this very thing and people throughout time had to pervert even that into a belief that bread and wine are altered into REAL flesh and blood, but Jesus never meant that- NEVER. The symbolism was introduced and was to take place of old covenant rituals pointing to the Messiah's arrival. This new symbolism was to represent the new covenant in Christ- pointing to His life, His death, and His everlasting life and the fact that we will share in everlasting life with Him one day.
No, I haven't gotten sidetracked, at least not too much, hehe.
Give us this day our daily bread. Yes, this was to be a DAILY reminder of Christ- our Heavenly bread, better than manna that sustained physical life. Our daily bread for eternal life- our Savior! Yes, God the Father- give us this day our Daily Bread!
Does this mean we aren't to ask God for our physical needs? No, God wants us to ask, but God also wants us to realize that more important than physical life is spiritual life. If we had to choose between physical life and spiritual life- we must choose spiritual life which will lead us to eternal life. Physical life will NOT lead us to eternal life other than the fact we were born, we were brought into existence.
Read this--
1Ti 6:7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
1Ti 6:8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
1Ti 6:9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
1Ti 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
1Ti 6:11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
1Ti 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
Follow after RIGHTEOUSNESS, GODLINESS, FAITH, LOVE, PATIENCE, MEEKNESS!
Fight the good fight of FAITH.
Lay hold on ETERNAL LIFE.
We are not to focus on the physical.
Some people are starving right now! Do you think they are all God-less people undeserving of eternal life? That some how God has abandoned them to their fate of death eternal because they aren't provided for right now physically? NO! And NO! We can't understand all the whys and wherefores of all God allows- that's not for us to question. We have to have faith that 'ALL things work together for good to them that love God...' Ro. 8:28 This isn't a Bible promise for riches and ease of life. This is the promise that no matter what we face in this world- whether we are among the starving, the dying, the tortured, the hated- it will be for good towards our ETERNAL life in God- loving God forever and ever!
If we pray as Jesus is teaching us to pray and we ask our Heavenly Father to give us this day our daily bread- and then we go another day without any food- does this mean our Heavenly Father isn't answering our prayer? NO! We have to believe in the HEAVENLY BREAD and ask daily for this HEAVENLY BREAD, God will not deny us the right to life, the right to be filled spiritually until we can be filled no more, God will fill us to overflowing with the richness of His glory in Christ!
We aren't asking God to provide our *wants* or even our physical needs - not first and foremost, we can't, we have to desire eternal life in Him before all else, we have to desire to be with fully reunited, fully one with our God again without sin separating us. By His grace! In His love! Forever!
Amen.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Give us this day
Mat 6:9 Our Father which art in heaven…
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
This day. Not tomorrow, not the next day after tomorrow, not next week, not next month, not next year, not always, but 'give us this day'. What's this tell us? Seriously, what is this telling us, what is Jesus telling us? We question our prayer life and some will say you should pray three times a day, others say five, still more will say two times a day, and you'll also hear once a day is fine, along with people saying we are to pray always. At the VERY least this is telling us we need to pray every day.
Whether its one time or ten times in one day that you pray, it is important to remember to pray every single day, to acknowledge God the Father, OUR FATHER directing our lives in good and bad, in everything always.
Give us THIS DAY… let's not overlook these two words- GIVE US. When we make a request of someone we ask them to give us something… we are requesting something from them and God wants us to make a request of Him. Some say that God doesn't want us to ask for things- He only wants praise and honor- but this isn't true. Jesus is teaching us that we are to make requests of our heavenly Father. We are to ASK our heavenly Father for something.
First we acknowledge our heavenly Father.
Then we acknowledge His holiness.
After that we acknowledge His promised kingdom and His will.
Then we switch from praise and honor and are told to ask God for a daily blessing.
Do you see, we first must establish whom we are praying to, and His worthiness to be prayed to, and our understanding that one day HIS kingdom will rule over all, and His will must be done- first and foremost because we in our sinful natures tend to want our will done. We tend to believe our will is what is best and to be denied our will is to injured- but this isn't true at all. When we understand God's will is to be done- then we can ask that God's will include giving us daily all we need, knowing HE knows best what that need is in the eternal realm of things not only temporal.
Jesus tells us-
Mat 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you
Mat 7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
Mat 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Luk 11:13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
Joh 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Joh 14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
Joh 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Joh 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
Joh 16:23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
Joh 16:24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
Joh 16:25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.
Joh 16:26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:
Joh 16:27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.
Joh 16:28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
Asking is a good thing, we are told to ask, God wants us to ask, Jesus wants us to ask. By asking we acknowledge that in and of ourselves we cannot provide for all our own needs. We must ask because asking reveals our knowledge of dependence. Too many people do not want to be dependent upon anyone. More and more we are taught to depend on no one but ourselves, and if that's not possible then at least to desire to depend on no one but ourselves. We are groomed from a very young age to realize that we will have to fend for ourselves one day and we spend our childhood and young adulthood striving towards this end. No, I'm not saying we shouldn't grow up knowing how to provide for ourselves- I'm saying we SHOULD grow up knowing God provides first and foremost and by His grace and will we are able to provide for ourselves- but of ourselves alone we cannot provide for our most essential need in life. People might scoff and say the most wicked live in luxury obviously providing quite well for themselves, but they don't include the most important thing of all- eternal life. No one will ever receive eternal life who doesn't acknowledge their complete dependence upon God, no one. So being taught independence might be good in some respects but ONLY if it's taught with the knowledge that first and foremost we are dependent upon God- even for our ability to have independence from parents and such. God NEVER wanted us to be independent from Him, never. Adam and Eve knew in the garden that they had a Creator they were dependent upon for their very lives, a Creator who visited them in the garden. God did not create man and not communicate to him, expecting him to just figure out everything on his own. God did not create man as an experiment- create man then sit back and see what happens. No, no, no! God communed with mankind right from the start, God desired to be an important part of man's life- not to disappear and let man fend for himself. It was MAN who decided that listening to God wasn't something they desired to do and then sin entered and sin separate man from God. Even after sin separated man from God, God had a plan to bring man back into full communion with Him- through the sacrifice of Jesus. God did not abandon us even after we abandoned Him. So to even think that God wants us to be independent from Him is ludicrous.
So when we are told to pray- Give us this day… We are being told SO MUCH!
Of course we can ask for things *amiss* and we must be careful not to do so.
Jas 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Again we must want God's will done before we ask for anything at all. As long was we are desiring God's will and not our own we are not trying to ask for things selfishly, things that will fulfill our flesh natures. And if we want God's will done and do ask for things that are selfish we know that we will NOT receive them because they are NOT God's will but just ours.
By His grace may we ask and when we ask daily let it be for all that we need- no more, no less.
In His amazing love!
Amen.
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
This day. Not tomorrow, not the next day after tomorrow, not next week, not next month, not next year, not always, but 'give us this day'. What's this tell us? Seriously, what is this telling us, what is Jesus telling us? We question our prayer life and some will say you should pray three times a day, others say five, still more will say two times a day, and you'll also hear once a day is fine, along with people saying we are to pray always. At the VERY least this is telling us we need to pray every day.
Whether its one time or ten times in one day that you pray, it is important to remember to pray every single day, to acknowledge God the Father, OUR FATHER directing our lives in good and bad, in everything always.
Give us THIS DAY… let's not overlook these two words- GIVE US. When we make a request of someone we ask them to give us something… we are requesting something from them and God wants us to make a request of Him. Some say that God doesn't want us to ask for things- He only wants praise and honor- but this isn't true. Jesus is teaching us that we are to make requests of our heavenly Father. We are to ASK our heavenly Father for something.
First we acknowledge our heavenly Father.
Then we acknowledge His holiness.
After that we acknowledge His promised kingdom and His will.
Then we switch from praise and honor and are told to ask God for a daily blessing.
Do you see, we first must establish whom we are praying to, and His worthiness to be prayed to, and our understanding that one day HIS kingdom will rule over all, and His will must be done- first and foremost because we in our sinful natures tend to want our will done. We tend to believe our will is what is best and to be denied our will is to injured- but this isn't true at all. When we understand God's will is to be done- then we can ask that God's will include giving us daily all we need, knowing HE knows best what that need is in the eternal realm of things not only temporal.
Jesus tells us-
Mat 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you
Mat 7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
Mat 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Luk 11:13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
Joh 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Joh 14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
Joh 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Joh 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
Joh 16:23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
Joh 16:24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
Joh 16:25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.
Joh 16:26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:
Joh 16:27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.
Joh 16:28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
Asking is a good thing, we are told to ask, God wants us to ask, Jesus wants us to ask. By asking we acknowledge that in and of ourselves we cannot provide for all our own needs. We must ask because asking reveals our knowledge of dependence. Too many people do not want to be dependent upon anyone. More and more we are taught to depend on no one but ourselves, and if that's not possible then at least to desire to depend on no one but ourselves. We are groomed from a very young age to realize that we will have to fend for ourselves one day and we spend our childhood and young adulthood striving towards this end. No, I'm not saying we shouldn't grow up knowing how to provide for ourselves- I'm saying we SHOULD grow up knowing God provides first and foremost and by His grace and will we are able to provide for ourselves- but of ourselves alone we cannot provide for our most essential need in life. People might scoff and say the most wicked live in luxury obviously providing quite well for themselves, but they don't include the most important thing of all- eternal life. No one will ever receive eternal life who doesn't acknowledge their complete dependence upon God, no one. So being taught independence might be good in some respects but ONLY if it's taught with the knowledge that first and foremost we are dependent upon God- even for our ability to have independence from parents and such. God NEVER wanted us to be independent from Him, never. Adam and Eve knew in the garden that they had a Creator they were dependent upon for their very lives, a Creator who visited them in the garden. God did not create man and not communicate to him, expecting him to just figure out everything on his own. God did not create man as an experiment- create man then sit back and see what happens. No, no, no! God communed with mankind right from the start, God desired to be an important part of man's life- not to disappear and let man fend for himself. It was MAN who decided that listening to God wasn't something they desired to do and then sin entered and sin separate man from God. Even after sin separated man from God, God had a plan to bring man back into full communion with Him- through the sacrifice of Jesus. God did not abandon us even after we abandoned Him. So to even think that God wants us to be independent from Him is ludicrous.
So when we are told to pray- Give us this day… We are being told SO MUCH!
Of course we can ask for things *amiss* and we must be careful not to do so.
Jas 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Again we must want God's will done before we ask for anything at all. As long was we are desiring God's will and not our own we are not trying to ask for things selfishly, things that will fulfill our flesh natures. And if we want God's will done and do ask for things that are selfish we know that we will NOT receive them because they are NOT God's will but just ours.
By His grace may we ask and when we ask daily let it be for all that we need- no more, no less.
In His amazing love!
Amen.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Thy will be done
Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Our Father which art in heaven…Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.
In heaven God's will is done.
Isa 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
Lucifer fell from heaven. Does this mean he tumbled off the edge of heaven to the earth? No, not literally. Figuratively Satan fell from heaven's graces. How did he fall from heaven- Our Father's dwelling place? Satan did NOT do God's will in heaven and this is why he fell.
God's will is selflessness. God's will is other centered. God's will is love for us.
Some people will turn around and throw it in the faces of those who believe in God's love that God is a narcissist.
Narcissist-- inordinate fascination with oneself; excessive self-love; vanity.
They believe this because God says these words- 'Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' They put their OWN sin-filled motivation behind their belief. They bring God down to their level and Satan is there to help them do so. They put a SELFISHNESS that doesn't exist in God into God's law. God's ONLY reason for telling us to have no other gods before Him is because as our HEAVENLY FATHER, along with the LOGOS who became Emmanuel - God with us, are the only ones who created us- we were created by NO others!
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Our Creator … think about it… our Creator wants to protect us not to harm us but Satan would have us believe otherwise. Satan wants us to believe God is hateful, God is restrictive, God is self-centered, God is unloving, God is ALL things evil, but it's NOT TRUE! God's will is for love, God is for all things good!
God's will. We HAVE to want God's will and not our own done because HE knows the end from the beginning, we know soooo little in this grand scheme of things and to think that we know enough to question God's will…it's just preposterous. We do it though, we question God's will all the time. We don't like how things are in this life and we get angry and upset and we question how God could allow horrifying, horrible things to happen, we do, we can't deny it.
Yet Jesus tells us to pray…
Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.
We have to really mean this! Jesus doesn't want us to be lying as we are praying. We have to mean that we really, really want God's will to be done right now just as it is done in heaven. We have to totally submit to God's will. We have to totally surrender to our God keeping no sense of selfish, no self-centeredness, nothing in and of ourselves desiring our will over God's.
God's will be done. We don't have to understand, we don't have to like the things that happen in our lives. We just have to believe that whatever horrors we face that they are only temporary and ultimately it is God's will that we be with Him in heaven when Jesus comes again for us.
By His grace!
Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Our Father which art in heaven…Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.
In heaven God's will is done.
Isa 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
Lucifer fell from heaven. Does this mean he tumbled off the edge of heaven to the earth? No, not literally. Figuratively Satan fell from heaven's graces. How did he fall from heaven- Our Father's dwelling place? Satan did NOT do God's will in heaven and this is why he fell.
God's will is selflessness. God's will is other centered. God's will is love for us.
Some people will turn around and throw it in the faces of those who believe in God's love that God is a narcissist.
Narcissist-- inordinate fascination with oneself; excessive self-love; vanity.
They believe this because God says these words- 'Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' They put their OWN sin-filled motivation behind their belief. They bring God down to their level and Satan is there to help them do so. They put a SELFISHNESS that doesn't exist in God into God's law. God's ONLY reason for telling us to have no other gods before Him is because as our HEAVENLY FATHER, along with the LOGOS who became Emmanuel - God with us, are the only ones who created us- we were created by NO others!
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Our Creator … think about it… our Creator wants to protect us not to harm us but Satan would have us believe otherwise. Satan wants us to believe God is hateful, God is restrictive, God is self-centered, God is unloving, God is ALL things evil, but it's NOT TRUE! God's will is for love, God is for all things good!
God's will. We HAVE to want God's will and not our own done because HE knows the end from the beginning, we know soooo little in this grand scheme of things and to think that we know enough to question God's will…it's just preposterous. We do it though, we question God's will all the time. We don't like how things are in this life and we get angry and upset and we question how God could allow horrifying, horrible things to happen, we do, we can't deny it.
Yet Jesus tells us to pray…
Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.
We have to really mean this! Jesus doesn't want us to be lying as we are praying. We have to mean that we really, really want God's will to be done right now just as it is done in heaven. We have to totally submit to God's will. We have to totally surrender to our God keeping no sense of selfish, no self-centeredness, nothing in and of ourselves desiring our will over God's.
God's will be done. We don't have to understand, we don't have to like the things that happen in our lives. We just have to believe that whatever horrors we face that they are only temporary and ultimately it is God's will that we be with Him in heaven when Jesus comes again for us.
By His grace!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Thy Kingdom Come!
Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Thy kingdom come.
What exactly is a kingdom?
kingdom a state or government having a king or queen as its head.
A state or government- territory. Can you have a kingdom made up of nothing? Can you say you're the king of air? Do you rule the air? Absolutely not. A king needs a kingdom and that kingdom is a territory- what territory? We have had kings in Saudi Arabia, Kings in England, Kings in Norway, Kings in Israel…we KNOW what kings are. We know that the king of England would be a king ruling over England not Germany. We know that the territory of a king is in his title… the king of… and we insert where that king rules as king and instantly we know where he reigns.
We are to pray that our Father in Heaven's kingdom…comes.
If we want the kingdom of another to come to us what exactly are we desiring? Not the king coming to visit, but the kingdom to come. We want the rule of another kingdom over our own. Or… if we do not possess a king we desire this king to come and rule over us king-less people.
Wanting Our Father in Heaven's kingdom to come is wanting to be governed by God, wanting God to rule over us, wanting to be the subjects in servitude to God.
Today we think of kings as figureheads and little more, men with no real power. Some would say that kings never have power and are really pawns of those around them. While that may be true in some respects in others it's not- in some kingdoms that have existed through our history the king's word was all that mattered- not anyone else's, not the queen's, not the prince's, not the princess's, not the duke's, not the lord's, no other's words mattered but the king's. If a king wanted someone killed then they were killed. If a king wanted to reward someone then they were rewarded. We might have many movies on television about kings and while they might fictionalize a lot of things to make it *exciting* to our senses a whole lot of what they DON'T show, what they don't fictionalize is very, very real and very horrifying. We can't let sensationalism dim reality no matter how silly that might sound. We are tricked into believing that because something is sensationalized that it's not really true and certainly not worse than it's made out to be. Kings have power as kings.
God our Father in Heaven has power, great power and we must pray for Him to come and bring His kingdom to rule over us. We know that when 'His kingdom comes' He will rule over the world, He will have power over the world, He will be KING over the entire world -- His kingdom will COME.
Jesus wants us to learn to pray-
Thy kingdom come.
Thy RULERSHIP come!
Some might argue that God's rulership is already here but if His kingdom were here we'd have NO need to pray for His kingdom to come, would we?
So the obvious question is … if God isn't ruler of the earth then who is?
Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Gen 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
God created the earth and then created man and then gave man the earth and all that was in the earth. Replenish the earth and subdue it. If you are subduing something you have dominion over that something. If you are subduing something you have control over it, you are dominating it, you are putting it under you.
Replenish the earth…and…subdue…it.
Man was to be the ruler of the earth, man was to have dominion over the animals, over the fish, over every living thing, over the birds, man was to be the king of the earth-God made man and set him over the earth.
So, does man have rulership of the earth today?
No.
Who has rulership then?
Mat 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
Mat 4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
The devil told Jesus- All these things will I give thee- all what things? All the KINGDOMS of the world!
Who has rulership of the kingdoms of the world? Who offered the kingdoms of the world to Jesus Himself?! The DEVIL!
Make NO mistake! This earth does have a ruler and this is why we are taught by our Savior to pray-- Thy kingdom come. We don't want to live under the rulership of the devil, we want to live under the rulership of our God! Yes, we must pray for His kingdom to come, we MUST pray this way! We must pray knowing that the Devil rules the world we live in and that his rulership is temporary! Our God will have His kingdom come!
Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
By the grace of God may we drink of the fountain of the water of life freely in the kingdom of our God!
Heavenly Father - Thy Kingdom Come!
Amen!
Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Thy kingdom come.
What exactly is a kingdom?
kingdom a state or government having a king or queen as its head.
A state or government- territory. Can you have a kingdom made up of nothing? Can you say you're the king of air? Do you rule the air? Absolutely not. A king needs a kingdom and that kingdom is a territory- what territory? We have had kings in Saudi Arabia, Kings in England, Kings in Norway, Kings in Israel…we KNOW what kings are. We know that the king of England would be a king ruling over England not Germany. We know that the territory of a king is in his title… the king of… and we insert where that king rules as king and instantly we know where he reigns.
We are to pray that our Father in Heaven's kingdom…comes.
If we want the kingdom of another to come to us what exactly are we desiring? Not the king coming to visit, but the kingdom to come. We want the rule of another kingdom over our own. Or… if we do not possess a king we desire this king to come and rule over us king-less people.
Wanting Our Father in Heaven's kingdom to come is wanting to be governed by God, wanting God to rule over us, wanting to be the subjects in servitude to God.
Today we think of kings as figureheads and little more, men with no real power. Some would say that kings never have power and are really pawns of those around them. While that may be true in some respects in others it's not- in some kingdoms that have existed through our history the king's word was all that mattered- not anyone else's, not the queen's, not the prince's, not the princess's, not the duke's, not the lord's, no other's words mattered but the king's. If a king wanted someone killed then they were killed. If a king wanted to reward someone then they were rewarded. We might have many movies on television about kings and while they might fictionalize a lot of things to make it *exciting* to our senses a whole lot of what they DON'T show, what they don't fictionalize is very, very real and very horrifying. We can't let sensationalism dim reality no matter how silly that might sound. We are tricked into believing that because something is sensationalized that it's not really true and certainly not worse than it's made out to be. Kings have power as kings.
God our Father in Heaven has power, great power and we must pray for Him to come and bring His kingdom to rule over us. We know that when 'His kingdom comes' He will rule over the world, He will have power over the world, He will be KING over the entire world -- His kingdom will COME.
Jesus wants us to learn to pray-
Thy kingdom come.
Thy RULERSHIP come!
Some might argue that God's rulership is already here but if His kingdom were here we'd have NO need to pray for His kingdom to come, would we?
So the obvious question is … if God isn't ruler of the earth then who is?
Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Gen 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
God created the earth and then created man and then gave man the earth and all that was in the earth. Replenish the earth and subdue it. If you are subduing something you have dominion over that something. If you are subduing something you have control over it, you are dominating it, you are putting it under you.
Replenish the earth…and…subdue…it.
Man was to be the ruler of the earth, man was to have dominion over the animals, over the fish, over every living thing, over the birds, man was to be the king of the earth-God made man and set him over the earth.
So, does man have rulership of the earth today?
No.
Who has rulership then?
Mat 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
Mat 4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
The devil told Jesus- All these things will I give thee- all what things? All the KINGDOMS of the world!
Who has rulership of the kingdoms of the world? Who offered the kingdoms of the world to Jesus Himself?! The DEVIL!
Make NO mistake! This earth does have a ruler and this is why we are taught by our Savior to pray-- Thy kingdom come. We don't want to live under the rulership of the devil, we want to live under the rulership of our God! Yes, we must pray for His kingdom to come, we MUST pray this way! We must pray knowing that the Devil rules the world we live in and that his rulership is temporary! Our God will have His kingdom come!
Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
By the grace of God may we drink of the fountain of the water of life freely in the kingdom of our God!
Heavenly Father - Thy Kingdom Come!
Amen!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Hallowed be thy name
Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Jesus tell us how to pray- but remember we are not to make vain repetitions, we are NOT to memorize this prayer and make this our entire prayer life. After this manner…. like this… He did not say pray exactly like this, but pray after this manner…
Jesus wants us to pray properly- not as those who are doing so for show, not like those who are praying to garner favors of God, not like those who worship false gods.
Our Father - this acknowledges God as our Creator and there is NOTHING more important than understanding who we are praying to. Seriously. Think about it for a moment- you wouldn't just pick up the phone and dial a random number and start chatting to someone- would you? Most people wouldn't dream of doing that. You don't just walk up to strangers as a rule and start talking to them as if you've known them and they know you. You wouldn't want to pick up the phone and dial a number- start talking- revealing your innermost thoughts only to find out that the person you were talking to the whole time was one who only wished you evil. Don't think it can happen? I beg to differ. People pray to God all the time but because they're not sure who God really is, nor do they care to find out, they are praying to a pretend God, a phony God, a counterfeit, a trickster, a charlatan- you know what I'm talking about. Phonies, counterfeits, pretenders, tricksters, charlatans all do one thing that makes them what they are- they mimic the REAL THING. There is NO doubt that the greatest deceiver of all- Satan- knows perfectly well how to mimic God so closely MOST everyone will be deceived.
Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
God will NOT allow those who are His elect to be deceived and that is the only thing that keeps them from being deceived- GOD.
Praying 'Our Father' acknowledges God as our FATHER. Our HEAVENLY FATHER. To be our Father we must be His children, to be His children we must be His sons and daughters. We were CREATED by God and we must acknowledge this and not in some offhanded way that only is a half-hearted belief that God had a hand in our life. He is OUR CREATOR! We live because He wants us to live! Without Him we don't live. You might quickly scoff and say that's not true, there are many that live who don't even believe in God. It doesn't matter whether they believe in God or not, that doesn't negate the fact God created them. So why does God allow those who don't believe in Him to live? God's nature is all about love and that love is found in the Sacrifice of His Son. That love is revealed in SELFLESSNESS. That love is revealed in FORGIVENESS.
We have to believe that God in Heaven is our Father in Heaven and that He loves us with a love unlike any love we can fully imagine. Is there any wonder His name is Holy???? Is it any wonder that HE is Holy?
When we pray we HAVE to acknowledge who we are praying to, who we are directing our prayer to, and we have to do it knowing the full reality of God as that reality is revealed to us. We must not worship the counterfeit God and don't think for one moment there isn't a counterfeit God and that YOU can't be deceived. We will be deceived if we are not among God's elect and to be among God's elect we must know HIM and He must know us. This is a relationship and we need to understand that. Prayer is part of that relationship, a big part- an important part. Jesus wants us to pray with full comprehension of who we are praying to and this is why acknowledging God the Father, God OUR Father, first and foremost is very important and it's something we MUST do every time we pray- know and acknowledge God as the one we are praying to and NO other.
By His amazing Grace!
In His love, in His righteousness!
Amen!
Jesus tell us how to pray- but remember we are not to make vain repetitions, we are NOT to memorize this prayer and make this our entire prayer life. After this manner…. like this… He did not say pray exactly like this, but pray after this manner…
Jesus wants us to pray properly- not as those who are doing so for show, not like those who are praying to garner favors of God, not like those who worship false gods.
Our Father - this acknowledges God as our Creator and there is NOTHING more important than understanding who we are praying to. Seriously. Think about it for a moment- you wouldn't just pick up the phone and dial a random number and start chatting to someone- would you? Most people wouldn't dream of doing that. You don't just walk up to strangers as a rule and start talking to them as if you've known them and they know you. You wouldn't want to pick up the phone and dial a number- start talking- revealing your innermost thoughts only to find out that the person you were talking to the whole time was one who only wished you evil. Don't think it can happen? I beg to differ. People pray to God all the time but because they're not sure who God really is, nor do they care to find out, they are praying to a pretend God, a phony God, a counterfeit, a trickster, a charlatan- you know what I'm talking about. Phonies, counterfeits, pretenders, tricksters, charlatans all do one thing that makes them what they are- they mimic the REAL THING. There is NO doubt that the greatest deceiver of all- Satan- knows perfectly well how to mimic God so closely MOST everyone will be deceived.
Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
God will NOT allow those who are His elect to be deceived and that is the only thing that keeps them from being deceived- GOD.
Praying 'Our Father' acknowledges God as our FATHER. Our HEAVENLY FATHER. To be our Father we must be His children, to be His children we must be His sons and daughters. We were CREATED by God and we must acknowledge this and not in some offhanded way that only is a half-hearted belief that God had a hand in our life. He is OUR CREATOR! We live because He wants us to live! Without Him we don't live. You might quickly scoff and say that's not true, there are many that live who don't even believe in God. It doesn't matter whether they believe in God or not, that doesn't negate the fact God created them. So why does God allow those who don't believe in Him to live? God's nature is all about love and that love is found in the Sacrifice of His Son. That love is revealed in SELFLESSNESS. That love is revealed in FORGIVENESS.
We have to believe that God in Heaven is our Father in Heaven and that He loves us with a love unlike any love we can fully imagine. Is there any wonder His name is Holy???? Is it any wonder that HE is Holy?
When we pray we HAVE to acknowledge who we are praying to, who we are directing our prayer to, and we have to do it knowing the full reality of God as that reality is revealed to us. We must not worship the counterfeit God and don't think for one moment there isn't a counterfeit God and that YOU can't be deceived. We will be deceived if we are not among God's elect and to be among God's elect we must know HIM and He must know us. This is a relationship and we need to understand that. Prayer is part of that relationship, a big part- an important part. Jesus wants us to pray with full comprehension of who we are praying to and this is why acknowledging God the Father, God OUR Father, first and foremost is very important and it's something we MUST do every time we pray- know and acknowledge God as the one we are praying to and NO other.
By His amazing Grace!
In His love, in His righteousness!
Amen!
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