A Life Worthy

Tag: The Lord’s Prayer

  • One-a-Day Friday, 12/12/14

    number 1Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.  For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matthew 6:9-13).

    According to my study Bible, this line, “Does not appear in the earliest manuscripts.”

    But it’s the big finish to the song I hear every time I read this verse.

    And, well, it’s written on my heart.

    So I include it. Hope you don’t mind.

    Have a great weekend, Beloved.

  • One-a-Day Thursday, 12/11/14

    number 1Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (Matthew 6:9-13).

    God makes it clear through James (James 1:13) that he does not tempt us.  But this prayer takes it a step further.  Jesus asks God not even to take us to the place where we may be tempted by, as James says, “Our own evil desires.”

    Of which we have so many.

    I can’t help but notice the difference between the two verbs.  Lead us not into temptation.  The word lead is passive—it requires us to follow.  We’re not being dragged by a chain, after all.

    Yet

    Jesus knows, however, that we will not always follow the Father’s lead.  We will wander off on our own, and end up in the places where, according to James, we will be “dragged away and enticed.”

    Which requires the second verb.

    Deliver.

    There is nothing passive about deliver.  It’s about as active as you get.  When we are “dragged away…” we are unable to free ourselves.  Our enemy is stronger than we are.  But thanks be to God.  He is our deliverer.  He—and only he—is strong enough, brave enough, and merciful enough to come and rescue us from the danger we knowingly put ourselves in.

    Because he loves us.

    Whaddaya say we try to minimize the number of rescues required today, eh Beloved?

    Let’s play Follow the Leader.

  • One-a-Day Wednesday, 12/10/14

    number 1Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors   (Matthew 6:9-12). 

    Depending on your translation, this could read debts, or this could read trespasses.  Either way, it amounts to the same thing: we’re in the wrong, and there is no way we can dig ourselves out.

    The story that comes to mind is from Matthew 18.  Jesus tells of a man—let’s call him Michael—who owed his king a ginormous amount of money, more than he could ever hope to repay.  The king, out of his own goodness, cancelled the debt.  Michael danced the boogie dance of delight.  Later, Michael encountered a fellow servant who owed him a few bucks.  Michael was brutal toward his fellow servant, showing no mercy whatsoever.  When the king found out about Michael’s behavior he was, shall we say, unhappy in the extreme.

    Yeah, so on second thought, let’s not call him Michael, hmm?

    Beloved, as you wend your way through Wednesday, you will encounter people who desperately need a smack upside the head.  Please remember that, even more than a smack, they need grace.

    As do you, Beloved.

    As do we all.

    Happy Wednesday.

  • One-a-Day Tuesday, 12/9/14

    number 1Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread (Matthew 6:9-11).

    We did this verse yesterday.  I know.

    If I keep pausing like this, it will take forever to get anywhere.  I know.

    But I had this thought…

    Jesus said to them…”The bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world…” (John 6:33)

    Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life.  He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty…” (John 6:35)

    I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever… (John 6:51)

    Your daily bread awaits, Beloved.

    Partake.

  • One-a-Day Monday, 12/8/14

    number 1Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread (Matthew 6:9-11).

    Frankly, this verse bugs me.

    I know…I know!

    But really—why couldn’t Jesus have told us to pray for our yearly bread?  It would have cut down on the uncertainty, the stress

    the trust

    the faith.

    Sometimes I feel like one of the wandering Israelites, wondering each day if the manna would be there.

    Of course…it was.

    Every day.

    Chew on that today, Beloved.

    Pun intended.

  • One-a-Day Friday, 12/5/14

    number 1Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9-10).

    I have to be careful with this one.

    I mean, it’s easy to say I want God’s will. “Thy will be done” sounds so spiritually mature, so wise and strong and Godly.  And most of the time I have a pretty good handle on what God’s will is, particularly in my own life and circumstances.  I mean, he wants me happy, strong, prosperous…pretty much to have a great life, right?

    Um…yeah.

    You see sometimes, when God’s will actually plays out, I discover to my chagrin that it really had very little in common with my own will.  That’s frustrating and frightening and, frankly, a trifle annoying.

    That’s when I have to decide: Do I really want God’s will?  No matter what that may be?  Do I trust that he knows what he’s doing?  Do I love him enough to put his desires before my own, just as I should—but often don’t—with Cathy and the kids?

    God’s will is a frightening concept…but a very safe place.

    Happy Friday, Beloved.

  • One-a-Day Thursday, 12/4/14

    number 1Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come… (Matthew 6:9-10).

    It’s that glorious Someday.

    There will be no more pain

    or fear

    or suffering

    or loss

    or loneliness

    or sin

    or death

    or shame.

    There will be only, always, ever…him.

    Oh, Glorious Someday.

    Even so, come Lord Jesus.

    Can I get an Amen, Beloved?

  • One-a-Day Tuesday, 12/2/14

    number 1Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, (Matthew 6:9).

    Holy.

    His name is holy.

    I had a friend once upon a time who pursued holiness with an intensity you rarely encounter.  He told me that, each night, he would lie in bed and review the events of the day, looking for areas in which he had fallen short.  He would then take the time to pray and seek forgiveness.  The process sometimes took an hour or more. I loved my friend, but I thought he was being legalistic an over the-top.

    And yet…

    God told the Israelites, “I am the Lord who brought you up out of Egypt…therefore be holy, because I am holy” (Lev. 11-45).    OK, I’ve never been to North Africa, but I’ve been in my own personal Egypt, if you get my drift.  God brought me out, as surely as he parted the sea for Moses.

    And in his prayer, Jesus emphasizes God’s holiness.

    His name is holy.

    We are called to be holy.

    We are called to be like him.

    Of course, I’ll never attain true holiness this side of Heaven.

    But…should I not make the attempt?

    Hmmm.

    Something to chew on, Beloved.

  • One-a-Day Monday, 12/1/14

    number 1This, then, is how you should pray:

    Our Father in Heaven… (Matthew 6:9).

    Jesus taught us how to pray.  It’s probably worth paying attention, hmm?

    For the next several mornings, let’s take a look at the model prayer that Christ gave us in Matthew.  I don’t think it’s a mantra that we’re meant to recite; I do think it’s an example that we would be wise to follow.

    First thing to notice—Jesus directs his prayer to the Father.  He could have called him “Lord,” or “Master,” or even “God.”

    But he didn’t.

    He called him Father.

    Do you have Dad issues, Beloved?  When you think of your father, do you see an always loving, completely understanding, thoroughly trustworthy, totally forgiving man of perfect wisdom and strength who makes it easy for you to identify with an all-loving Lord of the Universe?

    Yeah, me neither.

    Nor do my kids, come to think of it.

    Look, this isn’t a therapy session—it’s just a One-a-Day.  Let’s keep it simple.  No matter how your earthly dad stacks up against Perfection, no matter how hard he tried—or didn’t—he’s gonna fall short somewhere.

    And that’s OK.

    You have a Father in Heaven who is strength and wisdom and compassion and love personified.  He is your glorious Father, and he loves you…gloriously.  He is worthy of your praise, your devotion, your trust

    And your prayers, which brings us back to where we started.

    He is God, and King, and Lord.

    You get to call him Father.

    Because you are his Beloved.

    Remember that…no matter what Monday brings.