All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. [2nd Timothy 3:16-17]

Forgive

Matthew 6:12
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
—

Forgive. This word, this idea is so central to the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) that Jesus felt it necessary to elaborate on it even after He said “Amen.”

—
Matthew 6:14-15
14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15 “But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
—

Please note that Jesus uses two different words here. In verse 12, the Lord says “debts” but in verse 14 He says “trespasses.” In the prayer, Jesus tells us to ask forgiveness for the debt of our sin. The Greek word used in verse 12 is “οφειληματα” (“opheilemata”), which comes from a root that means “to pile up” – e.g. a heaping pile of debt. But after the prayer, Jesus uses the word “παραπτωματα” (“paraptomata”), which literally means “side slips” – i.e. deviations, mistakes, or faults. We’ll come back to these words in a moment, but for now let us focus on forgiveness.

One of the things for which Jesus became notorious is His forgiving of sins. From His earliest healings and miracles, He was always forgiving people their sins, often telling them “Go and sin no more” or similar commands. The Pharisees were especially offended, because their view was that holiness came from strict adherence to esoteric rules and expansions of God’s laws. The forgiveness of sins simply wasn’t part of their world-view, it wasn’t found anywhere in their philosophy. The Jews as a whole clamored for a Messiah, crying out for an heir to the throne of David, and yet they did not pay much attention to what David, the friend of God, had written.

—
Psalms 51:16-17
16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
You do not delight in burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart -
These, O God, You will not despise.

Psalms 103:2-5
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
—

God forgives! Did they not remember that? Did they not see how God relented from Israel’s destruction time and again? Did they not see how David was blessed despite his great sins? Did they not hope for a Messiah from the line of David and Jacob and Abraham, who had ALL offended God and yet been forgiven by Him? Did they not listen when Solomon shared the words of God at the dedication of the Temple?

—
2 Chronicles 7:12-14
12 Then the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.
13 “When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people,
14 “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
—

God forgives! God wants to forgive! How could they return from captivity in Babylon and then forget the words of the prophet Jeremiah?

—
Jeremiah 31:34
“No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
—

Why were they so opposed to forgiveness? Why are WE so opposed to forgiveness? I am sure there are many who wallow in their sin while believing that there is no way God could ever truly forgive their sin, that their transgressions are too great, that the heaping pile of sin debt is too huge for a holy God to overlook. And yet that is exactly what God does. Is the arm of the Lord too short to get past our sins and pluck us from fiery death into glorious life? NO! In fact, just to be sure that His own righteousness was satisfied, He sent His only Son to pay our debt, to buy our forgiveness, to sweep away the giant mound of our sin so we could stand clean and whole before Him.

—
Matthew 5:44-45,48
44 “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
45 “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
48 “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
—

You see, if our holy and perfect God can love us and forgive our sins, forgive our debt, our spitefully using Him, our defiance and denial, then why cannot we also forgive? “Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2 King James Version) How can we be holy like God if we are not both forgiven AND forgiving?

We stumble, we fall, we slip to the side and have hidden faults which we do not know. Like David, we need to ask God to cleanse us of those things that cause us to stumble. (Psalm 19:12) We need God to overlook our mistakes and help us to stay focused on Him. God does that through His unending mercies, which are renewed every morning. (Lamentations 3:22-23) When we repent and seek His forgiveness, He hears our prayer and forgets our debt. He watches and listens to our hearts, and He knows we seek His face even when we don’t know what to say. And if we seek His Son, if we cry out to Jesus as our Lord and Savior, then He hears, He knows, He forgives.

Forgive: that is the plea, that the commandment. God loves and forgives. We also ought to love and forgive. If we can pray this Lord’s Prayer – glorifying God through exalting His name, calling for His kingdom to be living and vital among us, seeking His providence of spiritual power to enact His will alone – then we need also to be holy like the Father to whom we pray. We need to be wholly forgiven and wholly forgiving. That is our prayer.

Our Father in heaven, forgive us. Forgive this wayward land and heal it. Forgive this wayward city and revive us. Forgive me, O Lord, for the sins I fall into every day. Thank You, Lord God, for the priceless gift of Your Son, who alone paid my debt, who alone removed the heaping pile and stench of my sin. Teach me, Father, to be holy as You are, and bring me the daily bread of Your Word to empower me to forgive and to do only Your will on the earth. Amen.

Give us this day our daily bread

Matthew 6:11
Give us this day our daily bread.
—

The Word of God is the richest mine where you could ever dig. Each book, chapter, and verse is filled with connections and implications and hope and love and glory. The Bible is an inexhaustible treasury of wisdom, a place where we can always find more to learn and to know and to teach. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar. A person who tells you they already “know the Bible” is someone who doesn’t really read it.

Look at the short verse above from the Lord’s Prayer. It says just, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Only seven words in English and eight words in Greek, this short verse is as rich as “Jesus wept” (John 11:35) or “Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” (Genesis 1:3) This verse speaks of God’s providence, our hope and faith, His love and power, and even of salvation.

• “Give us” – This is supplication, pure and simple. No beating around the bush, no hemming and hawing. We are not to ask “I would LIKE for you to give me…” No, we are to boldly ask for what He has promised us. Note, too, that this is a corporate request, a prayer not just for oneself but also for the community of believers. “Give US…”

• “This day” – The Greek word is “σημερον” (“semeron”), which means “on the day” or “today” or “right now.” This is not a future request nor an ongoing request for perpetual providence. This is an immediate request, a prayer for God’s promise to be fulfilled this day.

• “Our daily bread” – There are two common interpretations of these words. In one sense, we are asking God to allow us to have our physical needs met by receiving nourishment for the day. Literally, we are asking for “our allotment of bread,” our share from God’s storehouses, asking God to meet our daily needs. In another sense (and this is the most common one today), we think of “our daily bread” as our daily portion of God’s Word. After all, Jesus reiterated what Moses had shared from God, that “man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.” (Deuteronomy 8:3b, Matthew 4:4) And since we know of the Bible as the Word of God, it seems logical that we ask Him to give us more of it every day in order to enlighten and encourage us. God’s Word is thus our spiritual nourishment for the day. We could even combine these two interpretations and say we are asking God to satisfy our physical and spiritual hunger as only He can. But there is a third sense for “our daily bread” that we can see from that connection to Jesus’ temptation in the desert.

In the desert, the devil comes to Jesus after our Lord has been fasting forty days and forty nights. Satan says, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” (Matthew 4:3) We have no doubt but that Jesus could easily have spoken the words that would turn stones to bread. We know He can turn water into wine with barely a thought, so bread from stones would be little different. Jesus has that power. For that matter, WE have the power to work and earn money and buy bread for ourselves and others. Yes, there is famine and want in the world, but yet there is also such great bounty that no one truly need go hungry. In short, we humans have the capability to provide ourselves with much more than just our daily bread. But when Jesus and Moses said we live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, they were reminding us that it’s not about the bread itself but about the Power that gives it to us.

The earth and the heavens were created through the power of the Word that issued from the mouth of God. The waters were parted by the Word given to Moses from the mouth of God. David was anointed king and united Israel because of the Word that came from the mouth of God. Salvation came to all mankind because of the promise spoken to Abraham in a Word from the mouth of God. Jesus received His power and blessing from the Father in the Spirit descending like a dove, with a Word spoken from the mouth of God: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)

THAT is the daily bread we should seek: the power of God moving in our lives every day to bless us and to empower us to do His will. It’s about far more than just our spiritual or physical nourishment, it’s about receiving the very power of God to enact His will on earth just as it is in heaven.

“Give us this day our daily bread” is a call to God to share the riches of His grace and power so that we can be sure to do only His will, to follow His purpose for our lives. God prepared good works for us to do (Ephesians 2:10), and now we are asking for the power to do those things. God gives spiritual gifts to each of us according to His will (1 Corinthians 12:11), and now we are asking for those gifts to fill us up as bread and words (however holy) cannot. “Give us this day our daily bread,” we say with bold confidence that God can and will provide us with whatever we need to accomplish His will for us on earth today.

As we look into the Lord’s Prayer and speak it aloud, let us reflect on the richness of what He has given us. Let us meditate on the bounty of His Word and on the blessings He has provided each of us. And let us live our faith in Him so boldly that our prayer is no longer about our physical or spiritual needs but about His will, about His salvation, and about His love for all mankind.

Our Father in heaven, blessed indeed are You for providing so bounteously for our physical and spiritual needs. Give us all this day whatever we need to do Your will, to perform the good works You have prepared for us to do. If we need wisdom, then share it with us. If we need to be able to heal, then allow us to. If we must help others discern evil, then open our eyes to see and our mouths to speak what is necessary. Give us our daily faith, our daily power, our daily Word for the working of Your will and Yours alone. Amen.

Your will be done on earth

Matthew 6:10
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
—

One of the biggest struggles in Christian life is trying to know the will of God. As in the verse quoted above from the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13), we may pray that the Lord’s will shall be done in our lives, but the real request underlying that prayer is this: we want to know God’s will ourselves. We stumble through our lives from one decision and crisis to the next, in each moment wishing we knew God’s will for us so we could act accordingly, but quite often we just go ahead with the actions that are simply easiest or most pleasing, never really sure if those are part of His plan for us. We struggle to live by the age-old question “What would Jesus do?” And even as we try to live in answer to that question, we still stumble a bit in our imagination, and often end up gratifying ourselves simply because we’re unsure how to gratify God.

Is there some way to know the will of God? Is there some criteria by which we can measure our lives so that we might better conform ourselves to God’s will, so that it is indeed done “on earth as it is in heaven”? Yes, there most certainly is a way to know the will of God.

Our first clue about the will of God comes from the Lord’s Prayer itself.

—
Matthew 6:10
(Robert Young’s Literal Translation)
“Thy reign come:
Thy will come to pass, as in heaven also on the earth.”

(American Standard Version)
“Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.”
—

There is a place where God’s perfect will is always enacted, where without question all of creation conforms to the choices God makes: heaven. Our vision of a heaven with pearly gates and streets of gold is actually based on John’s vision of the New Jerusalem that will descend to the new earth at the end times. (Revelation 21:1-21) The New Jerusalem is the physical embodiment of the perfect will of God, and although it is certainly “heavenly” (or “heaven-like”), it is NOT heaven itself. Therefore, let’s get that notion out of our heads right away. Doing away with the sight of gemstone walls and bright lights, let us focus on what makes that place so much like heaven: it is a place of eternal life and of peace with God.

The other thing we know from the Lord’s Prayer is that God’s will is typically NOT enacted here on earth. In fact, as Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, the will of God is in opposition to the world and its ways.

—
Romans 12:2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
—

The beloved apostle John takes that a step further, reminding us that the will of God not only opposes the world but it also flows out of the love of God.

—
1 John 2:15-17
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world.
17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
—

Love of worldly things, physical desire, greed, and pride: these are in opposition to the Father. But the mind transformed by the Spirit, the person who does the will of God, that person loves the things of heaven, seeks God’s face in all things, and humbles himself before the throne of grace.

Of course, such submission and humility is impossible without faith in God and Christ. We cannot even begin to fathom the will of God without letting go of the world and trusting that God’s will is better than our own.

—
Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Romans 10:17
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
—

Therefore, we see that there is one more step to take before we can discern the will of God: we must increase our faith through studying the Word of God. The will of God becomes clearer and clearer to us as we study His Word, as we see how He has acted through the ages and see how people of faith have conformed themselves to the will of God.

So when we pray “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” let us be mindful of our own role in enacting God’s will. Let us abandon worldly notions of conformity and correctness, and let us “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” (Matthew 6:33) Let us humble ourselves before God, truly becoming subjects in His kingdom, and trusting that His will is far better than ours. Let us study His holy Word to increase our faith in Him, allowing His written Word (“logos”) to become His living and spoken Word (“rhema”) in our lives. And as we, through the power of Christ, cast off the shackles of this world and its ways, let us pray to the Father with our hearts set on bringing His will to this earth just as it exists in heaven.

Our Father in heaven, we seek Your will today. We want to know how we can best serve You, how best we can act and live and love and be. Increase our faith, Lord God, so that we let go of our own willfulness and pride and instead seek Your will, Your way, Your truth, Your life. Let Your will be done here in this world, in this lifetime, even as Your will is and shall forever be done in heaven. Amen.

Your kingdom come

Matthew 6:10
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
—

Why do we call Jesus “Lord”? We speak of Christ as our “Lord” and “Savior” primarily because, in our helplessly fallen state, we know we need His sovereignty and salvation to restore us to life. Our own “reign” over our lives is and has been insufficient to save us from the sentence for our sins, to achieve the repentance we hardly knew we craved, and so we turn our lives over to Jesus – and by extension, to God – to bring us back to the proper path.

There is no magic formula to achieve this transformation from sinner to saved. Yes, saying something like the so-called “Sinner’s Prayer” – as popularized by altar calls and tent meetings – might help get someone in the right frame of mind, but it is not the prayer itself that does the deed. Rather, when one puts oneself in the right spiritual place through prayer and an openness to the gospel, then one opens the way for the Holy Spirit to take over and move one to repentance and faith. The imagery throughout the Gospels and the Epistles is of submission to higher authority, of allowing God to reign in our lives, of calling for our own entry into the kingdom of God. Prayer is our way of knocking at the gates of God’s kingdom.

Before we came and called out for Jesus to rule over us, we submitted ourselves to worldly rulers. Not only did we set up idols for ourselves, but like the ancient Israelites, we called for worldly kings to guide us and fight our battles. In First Samuel chapter 8 we read about that pivotal historical moment when Israel called for their first king – a moment which paved the way for the coming of David and Solomon. That story is a wonderful parable for our spiritual journey. When the people clamor for a king over them, the old prophet Samuel disagrees with them and prays to the Lord for guidance.

—
1 Samuel 8:7
And the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.”
—

At that moment when they sought a worldly leader to rule over them and to fight their battles for them, the Israelites were rejecting God and His reign – rejecting the divine wisdom, power, and glory which had been theirs for the asking. When we seek worldly guidance and we are tempted to worldly ways and sin, when we say we want the “freedom” that the world promises us, then we are making ourselves subject to the ruler of this world: Satan. Christ, however, has given us a way to get out of this kingdom, because He came to restore the kingdom of God and to cast down the ruler of this age and bring the reign of God. (John 12:31)

In the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13), our Lord and Savior says, “Your kingdom come.” The words are simple and direct, saying that the kingdom of God is so imminent that we can already consider it here. In a way, Jesus is saying we ought to pray “May Your kingdom come” or “Let Your kingdom come,” and we thus we call God to reign over us. In another way, He is saying we should affirm God’s reign by saying “Your kingdom has already come” – i.e. “You are now King and Lord of my life.” In either case, we are saying we want God to rule over us. The “kings” of this world – Satan, lust, greed, pride, politics, sin – are no longer good enough. We’ve had enough of the kings Samuel warned us about (1 Samuel 8:11-18), and now we want God to take the reins again.

The kingdom of God is not a temporal kingdom, not a worldly political institution that rules from some distant court. The kingdom of God is a spiritual demesne where the Holy Spirit of God enacts God’s will through us, where Jesus Christ is Lord of our lives. The wonderful thing is that when we become citizens of this heavenly realm, it influences our view of and our actions within the worldly realm. The more people who subject themselves to the authority of God in Christ, then the closer this world comes to mirroring the kingdom of heaven, that place where God’s will is always done.

So when we pray “Your kingdom come,” let us remember that we are not just talking objectively about some heavenly ideal of justice and peace. We are calling for the reign of God to begin anew every day in our lives. Having called out to our Father in heaven, and having glorified His named, hallowing the name of Jesus, it is now time for us to call for God to become our one King, our Lord of lords, and our Faithful and True Savior.

Our Father in heaven, please reign in me. My own life is a shambles, and my sin too great to deal with on my own. Forgive my sins, Lord God, and bring me Your salvation. Let Your Christ, Your blessed Son, become King of kings in my heart. I reject the ruler of this world, and I call for Your kingdom to come to me. Lead me to repentance, Father God, and I shall praise You and be Your subject, Your servant, a vessel of Your will forever. Amen.

Hallowed be Your name

Matthew 6:9
“In this manner, therefore, pray:
‘Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.’”
—

We really don’t use the word “hallowed” anymore. It is kind of an archaic word, and, to be honest, the only time most people ever use it is in saying the Lord’s Prayer. (Matthew 6:9-13) Since “hallowed” was written into the English translation of the Bible four centuries ago, English-speaking people have said it countless times. But “hallowed” has become a rote word, one which people speak but which most people have no idea what it really means. We have a vague notion that “hallowed” has something to do with reverence or holiness, but the word just doesn’t enter into our everyday conversation.

You might be surprised to learn that the verb “hallow” (or its past tense form “hallowed”) has the same Old English root as the adjective “holy.” Now we DO use the word “holy” quite a bit, don’t we? So, as you might have guessed, “hallow” is a verb that means “to set apart as holy, to consecrate, to revere.” In the Greek New Testament, the verb used here in Matthew 6:9 is “αγιασθητω” (hagiastheto), which means “to make holy, to sanctify.” “Hallowed” is an almost perfect translation…if we remember what it means.

Almost by definition, one might think that God’s name is already holy, that He certainly doesn’t need our help in making His name holy. But if that were so, then He would not have needed to tell us this:

—
Exodus 20:7
“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”
—

We do remember that part of the Ten Commandments, don’t we? Of course, we usually take it to mean that we are not to demean God’s name, not to use His name willy-nilly for every useless thing in our conversation. We often assume that the third Commandment is simply about not swearing by the Lord unnecessarily. But in the Lord’s Prayer, we see that this Commandment is about something else: We are not just to AVOID using the Lord’s name in our own vain pursuits, we are to SET ASIDE His name as revered, holy, and consecrated for HIS will and HIS purposes. By saying “Hallowed be Your name,” we are telling God that we will KEEP His name holy.

But what name is it we are to keep holy? Jesus doesn’t tell us. In Hebrew, the name of God is written as “YHWH” – which in English is sometimes written out as “Yahweh” or “Jehovah.” Out of respect for God’s name, in many English translations of the Old Testament, “YHWH” is written as “the LORD.” Yes, that is the name found in the third Commandment.

—
Exodus 20:7 (American Standard Version)
Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
—

But that name of God (“YHWH” or “Jehovah”) isn’t used in the New Testament at all. So what name are we to “hallow”? Perhaps we have a clue here:

—
Philippians 2:9-11
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
—

Since Jesus was so focused on glorifying His Father, it would have been terribly presumptuous of Jesus to tell people to make His own name holy. His point is more that we are to make the Father’s name holy, to sanctify God’s name so that it has power and authority. We are to hallow God’s name so that His name – whether “YHWH” or “LORD” or “Jesus” – is not just bandied about like some pagan spell or ward to gain God’s favor. Rather, if we truly bow our knee and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, then we will respect His name and keep it holy. We will not take the name of the LORD our God in vain, but instead place His name above all other names, revering Jesus as Lord and Savior to the glory of God the Father.

“Hallowed be Your name” is our way of telling the Lord God that we will honor Him by not wasting His name and His holiness on our own vain things. We will instead revere the name of God and revere the name Jesus Christ. We will remember that His name has power. Furthermore, we are telling Him we know that if in faith we are attuned to His will, then in His name we may boldly ask for anything – healing, forgiveness, miracles, salvation – and expect that it will be done.

We will close with the Lord’s Prayer today, but before we do, let us meditate on that name that is above every other name: “Jesus.” His name literally means “Savior,” and as such it is more than just a name, it is a promise, an affirmation of our hope, a focus for our faith. Speak the name of Jesus with faith, and pronounce His name willingly, knowing deep in your heart that He IS Savior and He IS Lord. And now say this with me:

“Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Amen.”

Our Father in heaven

Matthew 6:9
“In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.”
—

I was forty-three years old before I first sought the Lord on my own. The seeds of the gospel had been planted in me when I was a child, but because I rebelled against God, because I loved my sinful life far more than I ever feared Him, because I could not see how He moved in my life, I did not seek nor find Him. But in my middle age, with my life as I knew it crumbling around me, I finally sought the Lord, and I found something wondrous: He had never stopped seeking me.

Of course, once I realized that God was really there, that He really would listen to me, it occurred to me that I didn’t know what to say! How does one approach the throne of grace? How do we address the Almighty God, Creator of all things? How do we speak to the Father of Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior? And more importantly, what kinds of things should I ask? I wondered if this God whom I’d found was truly a God who would respond to my questioning mind. I wondered if He would listen to my rants and raves, my pleas and petitions, my sorrows and my happiness. How could I bring those things to Him?

At the same time I was wondering all this, I came across some very good advice: read the Psalms as prayers, and then you’ll see what prayer is like. While the one-hundred-fifty chapters of Psalms are indeed a wonderful guide to prayer, reading them and distilling them into your own prayer language can be a daunting task. Fortunately, Jesus has done that job for us, taking all the praise and prayer of the Psalms and putting them into a form we can use as a template for all our own prayer. We usually call it the “Lord’s Prayer,” and it is found in Matthew 6:9-13.

In the Lord’s Prayer, the Savior begins with a direct form of address: “Our Father in heaven.” A few things should strike us right away:

• The prayer is spoken in the first-person plural. In other words, this is not just a personal prayer but a communal prayer, a prayer not for ME but for US, the whole body of believers.

• God is not addressed by one of His usual names but by a title that defines His relationship to us. Rather than saying “Almighty God” or even just “Lord God,” the Savior tells us to address our Creator as our “Father.” This not only defines His relationship to us, but also OUR relationship to HIM. We name ourselves as His obedient sons and daughters when we address God as “Our Father.”

• We also place God in His natural realm. God is not a man nor a created thing of metal or stone or wood. He is not a God of the mountains only, nor the sea, nor the sky. God is above all things, inhabiting the heavens He created. So even as we name Him “Father” and pull Him down into direct familial relationship with us, we are also saying He remains “in heaven,” a place far removed from this mundane and sinful world. God is our Father but He is also holy, set apart on high.

In this simple opening to prayer, Jesus is reminding us to pray not just for ourselves individually but also to pray for each other. And by addressing our Creator as “Our Father,” we not only define our relationship to Him, we also announce our dependence on Him, our reliance on His providence, His grace. We are calling upon the Father God to hear our pleas, and because of His Word, we know He will hear.

—
Isaiah 65:24
“It shall come to pass
That before they call, I will answer;
And while they are still speaking, I will hear.”

Jeremiah 33:3
“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
—

Knowing that God will listen when we call is what gives us the boldness to address Him, to call upon Him in plenty or in want. We call God “Our Father in heaven” because that is exactly who He is to us: the Creator and Protector and Provider of all mankind, the Holy One of Israel who reigns in glory, the One who spoke the heavens and the earth into being, the One whose Spirit dwells within the hearts of all believers who accept His salvation.

Today and every day, remember who God is. Remember that He belongs to all peoples, to all nations, and that the gospel of peace has been given to all men and women. Remember that although He is the Almighty God, He is also our loving Father. Remember that although He is in heaven, He has also sworn to never leave us nor forsake us. (Joshua 1:5) So follow our Savior’s simple prayer, and call upon our Father in heaven, and know that even in those times when you don’t know what to say, you can always call upon Him that way and He will listen.

Our Father in heaven, we are truly blessed to have such a caring and mighty God as You. Who has ever had a God so loving and holy as You? What man has ever been a Father as powerful and forgiving as You? You alone are Almighty God, and yet even in our sins You loved us and sent Your Son to save us. We praise and thank You for that, and for adopting us as Your sons and daughters, covered as we are by the blood of Jesus Christ. Thank you, dear Father in heaven. Amen.

Who has believed our report?

Isaiah 53:1
Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
—

Of all the things we as Christians are called to do, evangelism is probably the hardest. It was Jesus’ last commandment to us, this commission to go and make disciples of all nations, to preach the gospel to all creatures. (Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15) I suppose He was saving the tough words for the last, waiting until after the Resurrection to be sure He had a faithful group who would do as He directed them. That’s all well and good for the men and women who knew our Savior personally, but what about later generations who simply hear the gospel and yet are expected to believe?

—
John 20:29
Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
—

Jesus knew that the gospel would be hard for many to believe, and yet He also knew that in order to be saved, in order to accept the saving grace of God, then people would have to trust that He had indeed taken the sins of the world to the Cross. And so His commission to His disciples was that they would tell everyone, that the word of His life, death, and resurrection should be presented to every living thing. Jesus wanted the bread of life – the Word of God – to be given to everyone so that His “sheep” might be fed, nourished by the one thing that gives life: the gospel.

But Isaiah asks, “Who has believed our report?” He has just spent the previous two chapters telling Israel that redemption is coming, that they shall know freedom and abundance, that they shall have peace with God at last. And that peace shall come through the Messiah, the One who shall bear the sins of all men. Today we read that He was “a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” and we automatically associate that with the suffering of our Savior, but in Isaiah’s time, few took him seriously. So the prophet was quite right to ask “Who has believed our report?”

“To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?” the prophet goes on. Who among us recognizes the work of the Lord God in our salvation? God is not a man that He should be seen going about His work of salvation. As Jesus alluded, God’s Spirit that works in men’s lives is like the wind in the trees: we don’t see Him or know where He has been or where He is going, and yet we can see the result of His presence. (John 3:6-8)

So who is going to believe? Who will see and understand that God is moving in their lives? I can tell you from my own experience that sometimes we need a true epiphany – a real, live manifestation of God’s presence – to bring us to faith. I had heard the gospel and read bits and pieces of the Bible, but I had avoided God for three decades, sure that my sins were far too great for any God to forgive. And then He orchestrated my return to a Bible-believing church, and I could deny Him no more. I believed the report and I saw His arm and hand and heart revealed in my own life. And it didn’t take a Bible-thumping preacher or amateur evangelist at work to bring me to belief. All it took was the seed of the gospel dropped in the broken ground of my heart, and then God watered that with His own Spirit, touching my life in undeniable ways to bring me to Him. And now, just five years later, that belief that started off as baby steps has grown into a fiery run to the finish line, a passionate call to help others believe, to be the one planting the seeds in other lives.

“Who has believed our report?” We don’t know, and it is not up to us to decide. God alone knows who shall be moved by His gospel of peace. He knows who will answer His call, who will come forth to be conformed to the likeness of His Son. Call it predestination or call it omniscience, but in either case, the knowledge of who shall believe is God’s alone, and the only control we have over it is in presenting the gospel.

—
Romans 10:14-15
14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
—

No, not everyone will believe, and as much as God wants everyone to repent and be saved, He also knows that some will refuse Him. But that is not our worry. Our sole concern is to take the belief that we already have and share that with the world. Our mission is to speak boldly and without shame, knowing that, even when we are persecuted for our beliefs, there will yet be some who hear and are brought to belief in the Lord.

“And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?” To you and to me and to every Christian who truly confesses Christ Jesus as Savior and Lord. To the believers who have gone before, and to believers who will come after. To everyone who will listen with an open heart for God. But the arm of the Lord will not be revealed if we keep it hidden away, if we make a secret of the gospel. Our mission is to follow the example of the angels who announced the arrival of our Savior, who said “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you thus day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11) That is good news indeed! Who wouldn’t want to believe that?

It’s okay to doubt, to wonder if you’re being a good witness for Christ. And it’s alright to join with Isaiah and ask “Who has believed?” But we can’t let out own fears and wondering get in the way of our witness. We cannot let the questions outweigh the gospel itself. Jonah moved the city of Nineveh with just eight words! (Jonah 3:4) Imagine what you and I can do with eighty, with eight hundred, or perhaps even with just six. “Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15b)

Today, my friends, our Lord is calling. His Word is going forth throughout the world, being spoken on all the continents, being read aloud or read in secret, being preached in the open air or spoken in hidden rooms. Who has believed? God alone knows. A better question is this: Who has spoken the gospel so that others can believe? I pray that the answer is you and me.

Lord God, You are sovereign in all You do, and You alone know whether Your Word shall fall on fertile ground or a stony heart. I trust in Your Word, and I will speak it today to at least one other person, and hopefully to more. May Your Word go forth from me, may I be bold and faithful to the gospel I believe. Amen.

Jesus wept

John 11:35
Jesus wept.
—

Why do we weep? Weeping is not just crying. Crying is something we might do if we drop something on our foot, or if we are terribly afraid. Weeping is something different from that. According to the Random House Dictionary, “weep” has couple of meanings that pertain to people and emotion:

• to express grief, sorrow, or any overpowering emotion by shedding tears; shed tears; cry: to weep for joy, to weep with rage.
• to weep for (someone or something); mourn with tears or other expression of sorrow
• to shed (tears); pour forth in weeping: to weep tears of gratitude.

So we might weep for sorrow or joy or rage or gratitude. I know why I weep: two years ago today, my newly wed wife died very suddenly and unexpectedly. It was horrifying and disheartening, and I wept for losing her. Even as I tried to rouse her, to breathe into her and start her heart, I wept and cried out to God. I wept in rage and fear and sorrow. Mine was nonetheless a silent weeping, because I did not want to scare the children. And so behind the rush to call paramedics and keep the children out of the way, I wept. Behind the very business-like way I coordinated things and explained to the police officer the details of how I found her and what I did, I wept. While trusting that God is sovereign, that His will is perfect, and that I would one day understand it all, I wept. As we laid her body to rest in sub-zero weather a week later, surrounded by close family and friends, I wept.

Jesus wept.

In the Greek, John 11:35 says “εδακρυσεν ο ιησουσ” – “Edakrusen o Iesous.” Jesus shed tears. Strong’s Concordance makes a point of distinguishing between “dakruo” and “klaio,” another verb that is translated as “weep,” saying that the verb “dakruo” here in verse 35 pertains to shedding tears quietly, whereas “klaio” denotes crying out, a loud mourning.

Jesus wept.

The Lamb of God wept. In the midst of coming to perform His greatest miracle, the event that confirms that the coming resurrection is real, our Savior shed tears. As He walked to the tomb of His beloved friend Lazarus, this Christ – who is Himself the Resurrection and the Life – wept.

Jerome translated the Greek and Hebrew of the Bible into Latin, the language of the Roman Empire, and he wrote this verse like this:

“et lacrimatus est Iesus”

And Jesus wept.

From the context of chapter 11 of John’s Gospel, it would seem that Jesus wept for sorrow, that He was mourning something. All around Him were people weeping.

—
John 11:33-36
33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.
34 And He said, “Where have you laid him?”
They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”
35 Jesus wept.
36. Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”
—

Jesus wept in sympathy with His friends Mary and Martha, because He had loved Lazarus as a friend and brother. He wept for the Jews who did not yet understand that He was their appointed Messiah. He wept for Jerusalem, the city where God Himself had dwelt for a time in His holy temple. He wept for unbelief. He wept for belief. He wept for joy at the moment that was to come when He would demonstrate God’s enormous love and grace. He wept for sorrow that He Himself must die to truly bring God’s forgiveness and peace to mankind.

Jesus wept.

The Son of God shed tears for the lost, the unrepentant, the proud, the oppressed, the broken, the lonely, the fearful. Emmanuel – God With Us – wept for friends and enemies, for those who knew Him and those who did not.

Jesus wept.

The author and finisher of our faith wept for those who were yet to come, who would all be sinners, and who would all be forgiven through Him.

Jesus wept.

He who soon would send His Spirit into the world as our Comforter and Helper, He wept for the comfort of those standing nearby. He wept to let them know that God cares, that the Father feels the sorrow of His children just as much as they do. He shared the tears of Mary and Martha even as He shed tears of His own.

Jesus wept.

I weep. Although I know one day we who believe shall be resurrected in His name, I miss my beloved wife and I do not understand why she left us as she did. Along with Mary and Martha, I say to my Lord, “If You had been here, she would not have died.” But even as I say it, I know it is a lie. It is a lie because we are all bound to die in this life. We must die to this life to live in Christ. It is also a lie because He has ALWAYS been here, He never left my side.

Jesus wept.

Mourn with me today, if you must. Weep. Jesus wept. Join with Jesus as He wept for the world, as He wept for the City of David, as He wept for Lazarus, as He wept for the Cross He would soon bear to Calvary.

And when we are finished weeping, join me in rejoicing. Let us rejoice in the Resurrection and the Life. Let us rejoice in the mercy of God. Let us rejoice in the forgiveness we once never thought we’d see. Let us weep and mourn and grieve so that our rejoicing is that much sweeter when we see our Lord coming on clouds of glory. Jesus wept.

—
Revelation 21:3-4
3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.
4 “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
—

Lord God, Father of our Savior, Creator of the heavens and the earth, I weep today for those who have passed away before me. I weep because I miss their presence, and I weep because I am lonely. But I am never alone, and although today I weep, I yet rejoice. I rejoice in Your grace, O Lord, and I find joy in You. You are my strength and my song. And although my voice quavers with my weeping, still I raise my voice to You and sing “Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!” Amen.

The fruit of her hands

Proverbs 31:31
Give her of the fruit of her hands,
And let her own works praise her in the gates.
—

I always felt my late wife was underappreciated for all that she did. She was a professor, a social worker, a mother to her own and others’ children, a counselor and friend of families of children with disabilities. She loved the Lord and wanted her son to grow up loving Him, too. And she did all of that without accolade or recognition while facing disability and discrimination herself. My late wife was a lovely and passionate woman who went home to the Lord too soon, and she didn’t receive much praise until after she was gone.

We are a society that is remarkably stingy with praise. Despite all that someone may do for us or alongside us, we only grudgingly acknowledge their contributions. While our schools work to instill a sense of self-worth in all students through frequent praise and varied awards, our society as a whole tends to reward fame and fortune to those who do the least for society. Have you ever heard of a firefighter with a multi-million-dollar salary like a professional basketball player? When was the last time that the great work of an individual police officer made the headlines on page 1 of any newspaper? Our supposed “role models” are no longer those who selflessly serve society, no longer the heroes of peace time or war. Our idols these days are singers and actors and people who play professional sports. Even our legislative representatives get less of our attention and respect than the latest “American Idol” or reality show star. If Shakespeare were living today, I think his Mark Antony would say “The evil that men do is celebrated, and good people are utterly ignored.” (See Act II, Scene 3 of “Julius Caesar.”)

But today’s verse from the very end of the book of Proverbs tries to tell us a different story. Look at it again.

—
Proverbs 31:31 (New International Version)
Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
—

Please note that this is no longer about the virtuous woman but about our reaction to her. This is not about how she (or any good person) is to act, but about how society is to notice and treat such people. Solomon is giving us two different but related ideas.

First, he tells us to give her what she has earned with her hands – the fruit of her labors. If she labors to put food on the table, do not begrudge her that food. If she works to bring freedom to her family, then give her freedom. In short: follow the lead of the virtuous woman, and don’t work against her but with her. Too often, we each go our own way, never realizing that we all seek safety and security and love. If there is one among us who points toward God, then we ought to not only remove the obstacles to her goals, we ought to go along with her.

The second thing we see here concerns reputation. In ancient societies, it was not unusual for wealthy and respected men to sit by the city gates, screening newcomers, interacting with locals, and generally getting and sharing news. If you remember the story of Ruth, you’ll remember that Boaz had to go to the city gate to speak to his relatives about redeeming Ruth’s inheritance. (Ruth 4:1-12) But do you remember what Boaz had said to Ruth the day before that?

—
Ruth 3:10-11
10 Then he said, “Blessed are you of the LORD, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich.
11 “And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman.”
—

The little that Ruth had done – in being faithful and caring for her mother-in-law Naomi – had already won her a reputation among “all the people of my town” as “a virtuous woman.” Would such deeds accomplish that today? Not very likely.

So the call in the second part of today’s verse is to recognize virtue, to acknowledge faith. But we are not to honor faithfulness and virtue simply to reward the faithful, we are to acknowledge the faithful as models for how we ought to live. The woman who lives a fruitful life and whose deeds bring her praise, she is to be the role model for us all. Yes, by all means, allow her the work of her hands and let her deeds praise her at the city gates, but more importantly, follow her lead! Live fruitful lives, perform worthy deeds, see with eyes of faith, live in the spirit, put God and others first. If we are faithful to God and His commandments, we shall have our reward both here and in heaven.

Yes, my wife was underappreciated in her lifetime, but she as not unfruitful. On the contrary, her life has had a profound influence on my life, prompting me to do more, to see deeper, to live more faithfully. The fruit of my wife’s labors will be seen in the children she cared for, the students she inspired, the family who carries her memory into the next generation. That is how we honor such a woman, by becoming the living fruit of her hands, and by allowing any praise we receive to become praise of our Lord and Savior, without whom none of this would be possible.

Lord God, I thank You for the roles played by faithful people everywhere, people who influence us to live better and more fruitful lives for You. I praise YOU, O Lord, for their lives, for their virtue, for their good deeds. Teach me, Father, to live such a life, to reflect Your goodness and mercy into the world, to be salt and light. Forgive my sins and mold me into the image of Your Son, Christ Jesus, my Lord and my Savior. Amen.

Beauty is passing

Proverbs 31:30
Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
—

Last night, a new Miss America was crowned in Las Vegas. It all began in 1921 as a publicity stunt for Atlantic City, New Jersey, but it has since evolved into a larger competition, with thousands of dollars in scholarships going to contestants for their talent, their beauty, and even their contributions to society. The top prize is a large scholarship and the year-long opportunity to bring humanitarian causes into the spotlight. But if you’ve watched the news over the years, you realize that behind all the glitz and glamour, those young ladies are just as prone to sin and degradation as anyone else, with several well-publicized scandals rocking the organization every few years. As today’s proverb reminds us, “charm is deceitful.”

But the verses above are not just about women who misuse their God-given beauty for personal gain. By saying that charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, Solomon is also telling us about the fickle heart of anyone who does not love and fear God. Shakespeare wrote that true love “does not alter when it alteration finds” – i.e. love that is born from faith is constant and true, lasting through seasons and years without wavering. That is a major problem in our world: men and women both look at outer beauty as a primary criterium for selecting a mate and for maintaining their love. It’s truly ridiculous to expect someone NOT to age, not to change and grow, not to mature. And yet, that is what happens, and fickle folk shed their spouses like winter coats as they look for more beautiful – i.e. younger – mates. To borrow from Ecclesiastes, chasing after beauty is “vanity and chasing after the wind.”

—
Mark 14:38
“Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
—

Flesh is weak in that alone it cannot accomplish God’s will. Flesh and bone lead us astray and deceive us into thinking things are better if we serve our lusts, and then as flesh fades – our faces change, our joints ache, our minds wander – we grasp at anything to try to renew that flesh. And yet, beauty IS fleeting, and charm is just an outward show that often is not part of one’s inward being.

—
Hebrews 9:27-28
27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,
28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
—

We will die. That is our lot, the truly inevitable result of Adam’s sin. We live for our appointed time, our lives measured by God and woven into the warp and weft of His divine purpose. Then comes the judgment, and that is when we are either saved or condemned. There is no in-between. And so Solomon concludes that fearing God is the rule by which we should live our lives. It is no accident that the book of Ecclesiastes concludes the same way.

—
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.
14 For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil.
—

“Including every secret thing,” he says. Including the things not seen on the surface, the things that people do not see as beautiful, charming, graceful or noble. Including the inward portion of the heart. Including the motivations and desires of our souls, the hidden fears and covert failures of our character. No matter how much we desire and achieve success or fame or wealth or power, God will not judge on those things. God will judge on how our love and fear of Him has shaped our lives, how we have written His Word and His commandments on our hearts and lived by them.

And any praise we receive will not be for our glory, but for our service.

—
Matthew 25:21
“His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’”
—

Our faith in God and His salvation, our respectful and awe-filled fear of the Father, our love for His beloved Son as Lord and Savior: these are the things God will judge, the things that He will see behind our masks of beauty and charm. While our hair goes grey and wrinkles crease our faces, while our bodies creak and sag and slow down, our faith and love should blossom and grow. This is the end of the matter: our fear of God should strengthen and sustain us, that our love for Him should bring us closer to Him, and that His love for us should enter into our hearts to bring us eternal life even as our mortal lives end. Then we will indeed enter into the joy of our Lord and receive the praise only He can give.

Father God, blessed be Your name in all the earth. Where beauty and charm and success flee, there You will be to help us grow and flourish in You. Where human desires deceive and change, You, Lord, are true and constant. Thank You, Lord God, for being the same for all ages, and thank You for Your salvation that even today is transforming me to eternal life as my mortal life fades. To You alone be all glory and praise. Amen.