Daily Bread

I woke today with anxiety– many things to do, concern for time to do them.  I don’t often wonder where the food I need for a particular day will come from.    I do often wonder where I will find enough time or energy or wisdom.  My sinful tendency is to “internalize” these needs, to find an answer within the very “small circle”  of my own abilities.   What I don’t  naturally do, and never would have without the instruction of Christ, is to ask for help.  Maybe I feel guilty asking for more, when He has already given so much.  Maybe I don’t know whether I need something or just think I do.  Or maybe, I need to learn the Jesus-life of open dependency on God.   No secrets, no pride, no anxiety, no “days off” from trusting Him.  Who knew that the everyday prayer would teach me everyday trust? More on this tomorrow. . .

(re: post from Jan 11)

Thy will be done

I can never tell, when I pray these words, whether the Lord wants me to emphasize thy will (as opposed to my will) or be done (as opposed to just talked about or considered).  Perhaps  both.  Today, I am thinking of the second.  I am asking Him to move me to action,  to see His will and do something about it.  And not only me but the whole human race. (Here the prayer will move back toward the desire for all to hallow his name, for allto do his will.)  I wonder what life on this planet would be if we prayed this prayer and He answered with a fresh wave of energy for obedience.   Jesus said “my food is to do His will and finish His work” (John 4).  Heavenly Father, make me like your son!

(re: post from Jan 10)

As it is done in Heaven

How would you describe the activity of Heaven?  How do the citizens of that BRIGHT LAND do God’s will?  Joyfully?  Immediately?  Wholeheartedly?  Completely?  The Puritans used to say that “God loveth adverbs”.  ie how we do God’s will is as important as that we do it.  Honest, what is your attitude about doing God’s will today?  Do you complain? procrastinate? accomplish the bare minimum?  When I pray the Lord’s prayer, I sign up for more than  doing His will.  I surrender myself to doing it in a heavenly way!  May this reflections on the words of Christ and our memories of  His wholeheartedness inspire all of us as we make our way to a place of worship this morning.  What would worship on earth look like if it were patterned  after the worship in heaven?

(re: post from Jan 9)

If God is our Father

If God is our Father, then we must be children.  “Unless you are converted and become as children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven, and whoever humbles himself, even as this child, is greatest in the kingdom” (Matt 18:3-4)  Praying the Jesus-prayer means that we embrace the joyful dependence of a child.  It means we reject any sense of self-sufficiency, every burden of self-reliance.  The aspect of childlikeness that Jesus is affirming is humility, says John Piper.  ” If my people will humble themselves and pray”. . .either you will be certain that you are adequate for the challenges of life, or you will be certain that He is adequate.  When you pray, today, will you be a joyful, confident child?

(re: post from Jan 8)

Holy ground

Have you ever been to a holy place, a place where you felt the need to be silent and respectful?  Maybe a cemetery or a sanctuary?  William Barclay says that  “hallowed be thy name” is often the least understood part of the Lord’s prayer.  When  Jesus used an adjective (holy) as a verb (let it be regarded as holy), he was teaching me to pray that people (all people, including me) would have a similar reaction of respect and reverence for God (His name).  God’s command is “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:12) but stillness, much less reverence is, often, NOT what we give Him.  Today, ask God for this miracle!  Ask Him to open our eyes so that a deep stillness will come over our hearts as we think about the Lord and speak to Him in prayer.

(re: post from Jan 7)

Thinking about Heaven

I’m convinced that one of the reasons  Jesus wants me to think about Heaven (and teaches me to do so in His prayer) is the encouragement that comes from it.  “I’m just a poor wayfaring stranger, a traveling through this world of woe, but there’s no sickness, toil or danger in that BRIGHT LAND to which I go.” I wonder what my life could be if I carried an accurate perception of that BRIGHT LAND.  Keep praying, dear friends.  He is not only teaching us how to pray, He is teaching us how to think.

(re: post from Jan 6)

 

Which art in heaven

Whenever we pray “which art in heaven”, the Lord is teaching us to THINK about a PLACE that is very DIFFERENT than where we are.  Most of us don’t.  It’s easy to get trapped into thinking that where we are and what we feel is “all there is”.  Take a minute and try this exercise.  What is life like in Heaven?  It may feel strange at first.  Most of us are so focused on the material world that we barely have a concept of the spiritual.  This is NOT what the Lord wants for us.  “Set your minds on what is above, not what is on earth” (Colossians 3:2).  Praying the Lord’s prayer will help.

(re: posted from Jan 5)

 

Our Father

The moment we say these words, we realize that we are not alone.  The Lord does not teach me to say MY Father, He teaches me to say OUR Father.  As I pray, I imagine (not because it is imaginary, but because we are, typically, so strangled with images of our isolation) a great group of people who are praying this prayer, loving this Father, with me.  Be strong today.  You are not alone.  The Lord has a BIG family and we are seeking him together.

(re: posted from Jan 4)

 

Deja Vacation

Dear Friends,

The pastor is away for a few weeks (first for vacation and then for youth camp).  In his absence I hope you will find encouragement from a few ‘repeat blogs’.  The pastor will begin blogging again (in real time) on July 23.

Thanks for your support.

Mikel Allen
Director of Communications.

 

Praying through disappointment

This is going to be a good week!  Our read-this-together-with-your-friends-at-FBC-for-a-blessing-from-God passage this week is 2 Samuel 11 and 12.  It is a study of Samuel as an old man.  Samuel after he counsels Israel not to choose a king.  Samuel after they go ahead and do it anyway.  Samuel who feels, unappreciated and rejected.  ” far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you”, he says in 12:23.  After praying for Israel his whole life, Samuel is unwilling to let a chapter of disappointment, legitimate as it was, keep him from his task.  He is determined to “pray through” his disappointment.  Not to do so would be sin.  The kingdom of Christ would advance faster if His sons and soldiers would learn this lesson.  I do not pray because I feel loved and appreciated by others.  I pray because I have been loved and blessed by God.  It is something I do for Him.