The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse reading–Matthew 26:36-46 (day four)

Jesus was tempted just as we are, but He was without sin.  The struggle against the temptation to escape the cross was real.  Jesus returned three times to acknowledge His faith in God to choose the right course of action.  Many times, we struggle and ask God to deliver us from our circumstances.  We don’t always believe that God can or will deliver us, so we descend into fear.  Our focus is more often our own comfort rather than God’s overall plan.  Jesus knew that God could and would deliver Him if He asked…twelve legions of angels awaited.  In faith though, Jesus was willing to accept God’s will for His life.  His faith overcame the temptation to fear.

What if, what is most uncomfortable to us, is the best to fulfill God’s plan?  Are we willing to be so used of God that we would give up our safety and comfort?  Can we say, like Jesus, “not as I will, but as you will?”

Re:Verse reading–Matthew 26:36-46 (day three) 

“He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him.”  Who do you take into your darkest, weakest, most horrifying moments?  Our Lord knew it was unwise to keep others from seeing him shaken to the core.  How much of your life are you editing before others can view it?

Re:Verse reading–Matthew 26:36-46 (day two) 

And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed.  Then He *said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” vs. 37-38

The apostles’ role in this story has always been one that garners derision from the reader. Rightly so, they were to watch and pray and they fell asleep. This is a cautionary tale that we should all remain vigilant. I never considered, however, Jesus’ desire for company. He went and prayed alone, but before that he took with him some of his closest friends that they may share this time with him. They came to mourn with Jesus, to pray for him, and to protect if need be. Is Jesus giving us a pattern for grieving here? Knowing what lay before him, Jesus took with him friends to share in this trial. Are you there? Have you considered bringing others to watch, pray, and grieve with you? Maybe you should.

 

Re:Verse reading–Matthew 26:36-46 (day one) 

“My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death”–v 38.

Know anyone who suffers from lupus?  An inflammatory disease characterized by joint pain and fatigue, and it takes its name from the Greek word for pain (lupe)

It is what Jesus described on the night before his death.  (Peri lupe–“surrounded by pain”)  A wave of sorrow had crashed over Him.  Emotional.  Physical.  Spiritual.  It overwhelmed Him.

Ever been there?  While I think we should be careful comparing our sorrows to His, I am glad that the Lord has sympathy for this very human experience.

What did He do?  In the midst of such sorrow, with confidence in God, Jesus knelt to pray.  He fought His way up and through the wave of sorrow and pain to the place where He could breathe again–the air of God’s truth.  In pain, He found His footing in prayer.

Lord, help us do the same.

Re:Verse reading–Luke 12:22-34 (day seven)

“Let the wicked man forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his THOUGHTS. . .and He (God) will have compassion on him.”–Isaiah 55:7.

What if our real problem is not what we do (or don’t do)?  What if the deeper issue is what we think–what we think about?

Jesus called us to repentance (meta noia–“to think again”), and one of the most powerful “brain changes” for the believer is a new conception of God in our conscious and unconscious thoughts.

“Consider the lilies” Jesus says in Luke 12:27.  It is word of intentional, logical thought.  Think about them!  Observe!  Consider! Let the created world guide you to some new conclusions about God!

Many think that life is hard and stingy.  Not true, says Jesus.   God is dependably generous, extravagant even.  The proof is all around us.

To have new lives, we will need to think this new thought. God is generous and good!

 

Re:Verse reading–Luke 12:22-34 (day five)

Luke 12:31-  “But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.”   Jesus’ language signals a deeper thought that we might miss because we lose the first century background and understanding with today’s western cultural perspective. Jesus strategically uses the word kingdom. He was signaling to His listeners that in fact God (His Father) was The King of a real and present kingdom where there is an active, caring, generous, and powerful ruler on the throne. A kingdom in which men can belong and find peace and trust in its King. A kingdom where the King lovingly and graciously meets the needs of His subjects. A kingdom that signals to the world that The Living God is in control, His will is done, and His purposes are accomplished.
Seeking His kingdom directs us to constantly focus on the King and His greatness. Sounds like worship to me!  Worship and worry don’t go together.

Re:Verse reading–Luke 12:22-34 (day four)

This passage culminates in v. 31.  Luke records the Lord’s words to consider the ravens…consider the lilies…don’t seek what you will eat…don’t focus on the things that will distract you.  Verse 31 then says, “But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.”

The best commentary on Scripture is Scripture.  In Matthew 6:33, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus adds, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.”  When we are focused on God, and having our lives paint an accurate picture of His holiness, we will have our needs met.  Out of reverence to God for what He has done for us, we should live our lives in obedience to Him.

Do you ever get distracted?  Have you been given the riches of the gospel, but live as if you are a pauper?  When we live our lives in the grace of the Lord, a lost world can witness the truth of His word, in our lives.  We give glory to God’s name!

Re:Verse reading–Luke 12:22-34 (day three)

“Consider the lilies.”  Considering, mulling something over, or––more to the point––meditating, just seems a little…weird.  But so what?  So is the entire Christ life when compared with the world’s way of living.  Meditation means holding something before the mind in such a way that it overwhelms all other thoughts for a time.  In this way, we will come to know and believe the things that Jesus teaches.  Meditation will seem difficult to most of us.  But let’s understand something.  We already practice the harmful mirror image of mediation.  It’s called worry.  Worrying, too, is holding something before the mind so that it overwhelms all other thoughts.  Jesus tells us to use these skills to meditate instead of to worry.  When we do, when we consider the lilies, then we will know that we are in his care.

Re:Verse reading–Luke 12:22-34 (day two)  But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? vs. 28 

I’m not a native, most know that I am very proud of my Missouri roots. There is one thing that I adopted as soon as I got here 18 years ago…the bluebonnets. There is just nothing that compares to driving down a country highway and seeing that feast of color. Did you know that there are fields of flowers that sometimes go completely unseen? Can you imagine? Why did God make such vibrant beauty and not force folks to take a look at it? As a matter of fact why did he need to create so many different kinds of flowers, with different shapes, colors, and smells at all?

If God would take such care for something so transient, shouldn’t it make you take a breath? Maybe that’s why he did it after all, so that the next time you saw those patches along the highway you would stop, breath, and let go of all the stuff that is cluttering your mind.