2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Friends,
I just couldn’t leave the subject of “Your Kingdom come” without adding that wherever Christ is present, the Kingdom is there. When you include this phrase in the Lord’s Prayer, you are saying you desire that its influence should fill the world. For those who find the Kingdom, that is have faith in Christ and live by it, it is a treasure in which they find great joy. Look at MT 13: 45-46, the parable of the pearl. “Also, the Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man is looking for fine pearls, and when he find one that is unusually fine, he goes and sells everything he has, and buy that pearl. “ Parables are not the only way Christ taught us about gaining the Kingdom of God. JN 12: 24-26 reveals the way to it. “I am telling you the truth: a grain of wheat remains no more than a single grain unless it is dropped into the ground and dies. If it does die, then it produces many grains. Whoever loves his own life will lose it; whoever hates his own life in this world will keep it for life eternal. Whoever wants to serve Me must follow Me, so that My servant will be with Me where I am. And My Father will honor anyone who serves Me.” And in the parable of the talents, MT 25: 14-30 which I hope you will read, all who identify with the reign of God in this way bear a responsibility to be faithful servants in helping it to grow.
“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” is the next phrase of the Lord’s Prayer. Can you see that each petition follows logically the one that preceded it? It is not until God’s will is recognized on earth as it is in heaven that the rule of God is achieved. Unfortunately if you look at this from a human perspective, that is going to be awhile in view of the present condition of the world. I don’t know about you, but it seems there are more people who reject God’s teachings right now than there are those that live by them. That is why we need to look at it from a perspective that God offers us. Look at these citations: MT 19: 26, MK 10: 27, and LK 18: 27, “Jesus looked straight at [His disciples after saying in (24) ‘It is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle”] and answered, ‘ This is impossible for man, but for God everything is possible.’ “ Three Gospel authors felt this was important enough that it needed to be repeated. We should find real encouragement in that and take it seriously. That is why we as believers in Christ today live and work in faith that the call of the ancient prophet, Amos, can indeed be realized. Amos 5: 24, “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like a river that never goes dry.” Justice is also personal. We can rejoice when we sense that God’s will is being done in our own personal lives and in the lives of those with whom we share our faith. That joy can be shared as we sense God working through us to carry out His will. In that growing through God’s grace, we can make this petition of the Lord’s Prayer come alive.
“Give us this day our daily bread,” is the next phrase. The word, bread, refers to our physical sustenance in general. This is the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer for our needs. We can get God’s perspective on that from MT 6: 33-34, “Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what He requires of you, and He will provide you with all these other things. So do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings." Now, there’s a message I needed to hear right now! How about you? God is asking us to trust Him to sustain us every day. While we might slack off from our jobs from time to time, our loving Abba and His Son, our Intercessor, are on the job 7 days a week, 24 hrs. a day! With that, how can you miss feeling blessed for your faith in Him? Bread as it is meant in the Scriptures doesn’t just mean physical sustenance. Look at JN 6: 35 to see another meaning for this word. [Jesus said] “I am the Bread of Life He who comes to Me will never be hungry; he who believes in Me will never be thirsty.” Bread used this way is spiritual sustenance.
“Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” You have heard me repeat the title of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s wonderful book, “No Future Without Forgiveness.” You have seen the forgiveness that Christ granted over and over again to sinners in the Scriptures. That is the model that God gives us in His efforts to show us how to pattern our lives after the ideal set by His Son. While we can’t erase the scars of past mistakes, we can note that they mean the wound has healed. When one goes back to the original Greek for the word, forgive, as it is used in Luke, it implies a continuing action. That means that when you forgive, you must pattern your forgiveness after that of the Savior-ongoing forgiveness that doesn’t get forgotten. We keep on forgiving all, and God keeps on forgiving us. If you find comfort in this, then we are thinking alike. God’s forgiveness is inextricably tied to our forgiving. This is shown eloquently in the parable of the unmerciful servant which I hope you will read [ MT 18: 21-35].
I will have to finish the last two phrases of this all-important prayer tomorrow. It has been very instructive to me to see just how much is in it for us to learn and make our own. When we take the time to look at the Lord’s Prayer the way we are doing, we find hope, a sharing of our faith, encouragement that all we suffer now is worth the reward God offers us, and comfort in the model of forgiveness that the Son has set for us to follow. I after reading these devotions on the Lord’s Prayer, I hope that you will never say it simply out of rote in church again. Every time you say it, I hope it will be as precious to your life as it is to mine.
PRAYER: O Lord, we acknowledge Your supreme power to bring about Your Kingdom when You feel the time is right. In the meanwhile, we dedicate ourselves to making Your will done here on earth. You have given us the model of forgiveness that Jesus Christ shows us, and we will strive to conform ourselves to it by thought, word, and deed. We put our trust in You to supply us with our physical and spiritual needs while we put our attention to the matters of Your Kingdom. In Christ’s name, amen.
Pete and I send you our love and encouragement today. We hope you feel the blessing of knowing that your Advocate and Intercessor is working in heaven for you. He hears your prayers and takes them to the Father. Hallelujah!
His Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn