Praying the Lord's Prayer

It's the most famous prayer in the world. Jesus himself taught it to the disciples. And because Jesus himself taught it, that means we should pay careful attention to it. But just like other things associated with the Christian "religion" -- church-going, communion, Bible reading, etc -- the Lord's Prayer should never become so familiar, so ritualistic, that it loses its significance and power.

Let's look at the prayer, found in Matthew 6:9-13, line by line:

• "Our Father in heaven..." It is very clear that Jesus wants us to acknowledge God the Father in all our prayers. People pray to all kinds of gods, saints and idols. Our prayers should always begin by acknowledging Who God is.
• "...hallowed be your name..." God's name is holy! It should NEVER be used in vain. It should NEVER be uttered as a curse or as an exclamation for something good, bad, surprising or whatever. I don't mean to step on toes here, but if you're in the habit of saying "OMG," you need to stop. God's name is far too holy to be used so carelessly. 
• "...your kingdom come..." God's kingdom is a priority with him. Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God multiple times. (Read them here) And He wasn't always speaking about heaven. The kingdom of God can be here on earth, wherever people are repenting of sin and acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives. 
• "...your will be done..." The will of God is good and perfect according to Romans 12:2. The same cannot ever be said about our own will or the will of others. So shouldn't God's will be our ultimate hope?
• "...on earth as it is in heaven." Not only do we humans still on earth want God's will to be done, but so do the angels and all those folks who have gone on before us. God's will is eternal. 
• "Give us this day our daily bread..." Take one day at a time to the Lord in prayer. What do you need today? Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:8 that "your Father knows what you need before you ask him." Sometimes what He knows we need and what we think we need are two different things. He also tells us in Matthew 6:25, "Do not worry." Just pray, trust and believe.
• "...and forgive us our debts..." We are all indebted to God for the unending and free grace and mercy He gives us. We can never, ever repay Him. All we can do is ask to be forgiven of the enormous debt we've racked up.
• "...as we also have forgiven our debtors." So, if we want God to wipe out all our sin-debt to Him, shouldn't we be willing to do the same for the debts -- wrongs, sins, etc. -- owed us by others? It can be difficult sometimes, so that's why we need Divine help to do it.
• "And lead us not into temptation..." God won't ever tempt us to do wrong, but the Greek word here can also mean "test." I don't know about you, but I don't like tests. I've failed too many. I'd rather ask God not to test me at all and try to live an obedient life as pleasing to Him as I possibly can.
• "...but deliver us from the evil one." That is my daily prayer for myself, my husband and my children. The evil one is very real! He is out to destroy lives. He knows the end is coming, and he wants to drag down as many of us with him as he possibly can. His ultimate goal is to separate us from God. We can't fight him alone. We need help.
• "For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen." Some translations don't have this last sentence, but I personally love declaring these truths at the end of the prayer. The kingdom is God's! The power is God's! The glory is God's! Forever!! That can never nor will ever change! 

If you aren't already praying this beautiful, powerful prayer on a daily basis, I encourage you to begin. Say it out loud. Words spoken aloud have so much more "umph" than whispered or silent words. Tap into the power of words Jesus himself taught us to pray!

Amen and amen.

Blessings,

~Michelle

With You Always!

Tomorrow is Easter! Our church, Celebration Church of Georgetown, Texas is preparing for an amazing day celebrating our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ!! We're expecting thousands and thousands of people to join us. Our special guest speaker is NFL Quarterback Tim Tebow who will share his testimony, his faith and his hope in Jesus Christ. It's going to be a powerful time on the Hill tomorrow!! I can't wait to be part of it!

Today, however, I can't help but think about the reality of Easter and what took place on a hill called Golgotha. Two-thousand-plus-years ago Jesus hung on a cross on my behalf. He took my sins upon himself and was willingly brutalized and finally murdered. Why? Because of his great, amazing love for me! For the world! It is a love that I honestly can't fully understand but am so very, very grateful for! It was all part of a great plan. A plan that allows you and me and anyone who will believe access to God! Eternity with God! Truly, truly amazing grace!

We have a couple of really large nails sitting on our mantle. One is mine and one is hubby's. They were given to us at a one-day seminar our church offers several times a year called "Encounter." It's a day filled with learning, prayer and going deeper in our walk with Jesus. During one of the prayer sessions, each person is encouraged to write out something they've been carrying around with them -- whether it's a sin or a shame or whatever -- and then place the paper in water where it dissolves away to nothing. Afterward you're given a nail to remind you that you nailed that issue to the cross and, like the paper, it's gone.

Thinking of how Jesus was nailed to the cross for my sins, I took one of those nails the other day and  pressed the point firmly into my hand. It hurt! Tears flooded my eyes thinking of the pain Jesus bore that day for me. For you. He'd told his disciples it would happen, yet they didn't understand. I have the benefit of having been raised to know the Easter story from the time I was a child, so I do understand it. And the older I get, the more the truth of it touches my very soul.

Tomorrow is not about bunnies or eggs or even Tim Tebow. It's about Jesus Christ! He lived. He died. And He lives again! He did not stay dead in the grave nor was his dead body stolen away to make it look like he'd been resurrected. Jesus is alive! And he made us a promise I will leave with you. A promise filled with love and hope!

"And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." ~JESUS in Matthew 28:20

God bless each of you. He is Risen! He is risen INDEED!

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This week's Prayer Shout Out countries are:
USA, United Kingdom, Sweden, China, Poland, Russia, Philippines, South Africa, India

He Went to Jerusalem With Purpose

Have you ever felt like you were in the wrong place at the wrong time? You know, when something bad happens because you made certain decisions or took a certain path you wouldn't normally take? A few years ago I received a speeding ticket -- the first one of my adult life -- for going 45 mph on a 35 mph road. The road was unfamiliar to me. I had taken it to avoid a traffic jam on the main road. That decision cost me $50 and eight hours of Defensive Driving to keep the ticket off my record. I'm sure many of you have stories of accidents or other negative events that took place simply because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

One would think an innocent man who was arrested, beaten, flogged, spit on, lied about, and finally brutally murdered would feel he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Jesus was completely innocent of the charges made against him, and yet he was hunted down by a mob and was even betrayed by one of his friends. Knowing how much the Pharisee's and the Jewish leaders despised him, wouldn't it have been best to just lay low somewhere out in the countryside and wait until things simmered down? That's what most of us would do. 

Thankfully, Jesus isn't like most of us.

"Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, 'We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!'" (Matthew 20:17-19)

Those verses make one thing crystal clear: Jesus went to Jerusalem with purpose! He knew what would happen when he entered the city. He knew who would betray him. He knew the physical torture he would endure. He knew he would die a horrific death on a cross. 

But Jesus went to Jerusalem anyway! He wasn't just in the wrong place at the wrong time! 

He wasn't surprised when Judas slunk off to betray him for thirty pieces of silver. He wasn't shocked when Peter denied him or when the other disciples were no where to be found. Jesus already knew Pilate would release Barabbas to the angry crowd, and he knew his human life would end in what has to be one of the most excruciatingly painful ways imaginable.  

Why would an innocent man do this?! Why would he put himself through an ordeal every single one of us would avoid at all costs if we could?

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Jesus went to Jerusalem with Purpose. He went for you and for me. He went so we could experience life eternal and free us from the bondage of sin and death. 

That, my friend, is Amazing Grace!

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This week's Prayer Shout-Out countries are:

USA, Ukraine, Germany, France, United Kingdom, South Africa, Indonesia, Russia, Israel, China, Slovenia

Woe to the World

I think most of us are familiar with the carol we sing at Christmas called "Joy to the World." "Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let earth receive her King." But I'd wager the vast majority of people aren't familiar with the phrase, "Woe to the world."

In Matthew 18, the disciples want to know from Jesus who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Frankly, I don't get why they asked that. Did they want to know if they, because of their close relationship with Jesus, would be greater than someone else? Or maybe they were trying to figure out where the Pharisees and other teachers fit in. Whatever their reasons, I don't think Jesus' answer was what they expected.

"[Jesus] called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:2-4)

But Jesus didn't stop there. He'd answered their question and now came the teaching.

"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." (v. 5-6)

This past week I had the misfortune to catch about fifteen minutes of the Dr. Phil show while I visited one of my elderly clients. Dr. Phil's guests that day were couples with "open" marriages. I don't have any desire to know the depravity that goes on in those people lives, but what infuriated me most was that the children in these families knew exactly what was going on. They'd been brainwashed into thinking it was perfectly acceptable in marriage to have multiple sexual partners. I heard a 14-year old girl state that "staying with one person all your life is totally unrealistic." There is no way a girl that age could up with that on her own. Her parents and their partners need to read Matthew 18: 5-6!

It's that kind of world that Jesus was referring to as he concluded his lesson.

"Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!" (v. 7)

That two-sentence verse is packed with power. Jesus uses the word "woe" twice. "Woe" is not something you want directed at you. It meant, and still means, really really bad stuff. Webster's defines it as "a condition of deep suffering from misfortune, affliction or grief; ruinous trouble; calamity." One of the verses where woe is used that sticks in my mind is Revelation 8:13: "As I [John] watched, I heard an angel that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice, 'Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!''' Bad things were coming in those trumpets blasts, folks. Keep reading Revelation 9 to find out what. "Woe" is never good.

Jesus' words in Matthew 18:7 also end in exclamation points. I know the original Greek didn't have exclamation points, but the words Jesus used and the way Matthew wrote them made the men translating it into English believe an exclamation point was appropriate. And I agree. I don't think Jesus said "Woe to the world" in a calm, monotone voice. I think he said it like, "WOE, people!! Don't you get it?! Don't you get what your sin is doing to the children?! WOE to you who cause it!"

God hates sin. And He will punish those who live in it. Those who embrace it. And those who cause others to stumble into it. Woe to the world, Jesus said. What do we need to do to escape the judgement, the woe?

"Become like little children." (Matthew 18: 2)

Innocent. Trusting. Loving. In need of a Father.

That is my prayer for you this week.
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This week's Prayer Shout-Out countries are:
USA, United Kingdom, France, Japan, Philippines, Slovenia, Germany, South Africa, Australia, Georgia, Russia, China, United Arab Emirates, Turks and Caicos Islands

When You Can't See the Truth In Front of You

Have you ever been so "blind" you couldn't see what was right in front of you? Obviously I'm not talking about true physical blindness, but rather being so blind to the world around you, you can't see reality. I've been there. It's not a good place to be. Whether it's blindness about your marriage, your kids, your job, your health, your relationship with God. Whatever. It's not good to be blind. All kinds of bad things can happen while we suffer from blindness. A current example: Whitney Houston. She and the people around her turned a blind-eye to her problems. Her funeral is today. I imagine her friends, family and handlers are feeling a lot of guilt, pain and sadness because of blindness. Living in blindness is dangerous.

There is a story in Matthew 12 about some blind Pharisees. Oh, they could see perfectly well. In fact, they saw things with their eyes that made them blind to the Truth in front of them. In verse one we find Jesus and his disciples walking through a grainfield on the Sabbath. The disciples are hungry so they snap off a few heads of grain and eat them. No big deal, right? Wrong, at least to the Pharisees. "Look!" they said to Jesus. "Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath." (v. 2) Instead of seeing the situation and who they were talking to, they chose to nit-pick about a few heads of grain. Instead of saying something like, "Why don't you and your disciples come to my house to eat" or "Let me buy some bread for your disciples" they chose to go negative.

Jesus and his disciples move on. So do the Pharisees. They all go to the synagogue. A man with a shriveled hand is there. Obviously these Pharisees have knowledge that Jesus can heal people because they try to trap him. "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" they ask Jesus. (v. 10)

Let's stop a moment and think about that. How incredibly selfish those men were! They didn't have one thought for the man with the shriveled hand. They'd probably seen him many times before, probably ignored him as they went about their "religious" busyness. Their greatest concern was keeping the Law. A man with a shriveled hand and his difficulties were of little importance.

Jesus, however, cares more about people than about laws. Does that mean it's fine to break the commandment, "Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy?" (Exodus 20:8) Of course not. But do you really think God would mind it if a man's hand was healed on His day?!

The part of this passage that absolutely blows my mind is Matthew 12:13:

"Then [Jesus] said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus."

Are you serious?! They watch a miracle happen right before their eyes and all they can think about is killing the man responsible?! Wow. I've known several people who were born with hand and arm deformities. I can only imagine how amazing it would be to see that hand restored right before my eyes! But the Pharisees didn't give a darn about the hand or the man. All they knew was Jesus had defied them. They were blind to what was right in front of them. Instead of rejoicing and praising God for what they had just witnessed, they went out and plotted a murder.

Blindness is dangerous, folks. I can't say that enough.

Are you blind to some truths that are staring you in the face? Today is a good day to look around you and really see things. Who knows what you might find. A restored marriage? Healthy relationships with your kids? A Savior?

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This week's Prayer Shout-Out countries are:
USA, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Philippines, Slovenia, Switzerland, Japan, Germany, Ukraine, Singapore, Malaysia

More Body Parts

Seems I'm not alone in my war on cleavage. And lest anyone think I'm singling out and/or scolding women who simply can't help the fact that they have large breasts, I'm not. My war is against those who purposefully leave their 'girls' exposed for all the world to see.

In my previous post My War on Cleavage, I quoted a verse from Matthew 5:28. It's a quote from Jesus on adultery and lust. It's a truly important detail in my war. Women need to be aware there are serious consequences when a man looks at them lustfully.

But Jesus didn't just warn us. His next words are pretty doggone strong!

"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown in hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell." Matthew 5:27-30

Gouge out your eye?!

Cut off your hand?!

YIKES!

Is Jesus serious here?

In many ways, YES! I believe He is! Jesus absolutely knows that our bodies will not last forever, but our souls will. What is losing an eye or a hand compared to losing your eternal soul?

Does Jesus truly want us to gouge out our eyes though??

I don't think so. He would much rather we kept both our eyes on Him.

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith..." Hebrews 12:2

2 Corinthians 4:18 says, "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

He knows we will need our eyes to see Him when He comes back, as Revelation 1:7 says: "Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him."

I don't think Jesus was being flippant when he spoke of gouging out our eyes, because He is the Creator of our eyes. He knows how important they are to us. But He also understands our sinful ways. He knows people are going to abuse the special gift of sight by allowing their eyes to feast on all kinds of stuff they shouldn't.

You've probably heard the phrase "the eye is the window to the soul." Though that exact phrase isn't biblical, Jesus did say in Matthew 6:22, "The eye is the lamp of the body." Whatever your eyes take in will determine whether your heart is filled with light or darkness.

Personally, I don't want to gouge out an eye or cut off a hand. I think it'd be a whole heck of a lot easier to keep 'em in check, doin' what they're supposed to do and not what'll get me in trouble!

I like my eyes and hands, thank you very much!