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OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN

How much do you love your kids?  That question is almost unanswerable, isn’t it?  We cannot measure the love we feel for our kids.  And Jesus is trying to remind us that He loves us THAT much and more! 

Let me give you a brief historical context here.  The Jews had always viewed God in two ways: as the Father of Israel and as their spiritual Father.  This is taught in the Psalms.  But through the sinful history of the Jews involving foreign cultures and their pagan gods, they had lost and forgotten that second fact.  When the disciples made the request, “Master, teach us to pray,” Jesus first reminded them that God is their FATHER … and He used the Aramaic “Abba,” translated “Daddy.”

Can you remember when you called your father “daddy?”  Isn’t it a wonderful sound when your little one calls out, “daddy!”  How intimate.  How touching.  How pure is that love.  That term could represent joy, excitement or even fear, and so it is when we begin our prayers with “Our Father.”

Author and pastor John McArthur states it so well in his book The Lord’s Prayer.  Allow me to paraphrase his comparison of an earthly father’s love for a child with God’s love for us.

We need not fear – we can approach Our Father

We have hope – how much more does God love us than we love our kids

We can conquer loneliness – Our Father will never forsake us

We have infinite possibilities – Our Father controls all of Heaven and earth

Our Father — how much He loves, accepts, forgives … US!

That is Who you are praying to!

You could probably recite this prayer from memory.  It may be a part of your worship service today.  Since childhood, we have called it The Lord’s Prayer; others describe it as The Disciples’ Prayer.  It is recited often in many different venues, but ask yourself … are the powerful truths within, sadly lost in a corporate recitation of the prayer?  Is there any thought actually given to the real meaning and power that this prayer contains?  Do we realize that these words are the guideline for our praise and adoration of our Lord, not to mention how to take our petitions to Him?

What do Abraham, Jacob, Hannah, Elijah and Jesus, all have in common?  Their prayers are documented in Scripture.  Jesus especially spent a great deal of time in prayer during His three years of earthly ministry.  He often rose very early in the morning and went again in the evening to pray, going to a secluded, quiet place in order to talk to his Father.  Jesus teaches and uses the specific words we are reading this week on two different occasions; first, in full form, as we are reading this week as a part of his “Sermon on the Mount” and second, in a bit shorter form, in Luke’s gospel in response to a direct request from the disciples, “Master, teach us to pray!”  I think it’s quite fair to say that special notice and deeper consideration is warranted when Jesus repeats himself.

As you looked at the words of Jesus reading schedule this week, I bet some of you wondered what in the world we were thinking … reading this same familiar passage every day this week?!  And that is the issue; these words can be too familiar, too mundane.  We forget, or maybe we never realized, that this passage must be studied, understood and applied! To underscore that (pun completely intended), we at Journey onWord wanted to offer a daily study prompt to help bring these words into laser focus and further encourage you to dive deep.  Our hope is that a new awareness of what these words truly mean in our daily lives will be revealed to us as we read this week … not to be overly dramatic, but almost creating a mini epiphany of sorts.

Prayer works

Prayer can make a difference

Prayer can be effective

The Lord’s Prayer can “teach US to pray”

When the disciples asked their question, Jesus answered, “Pray in this way.”  Think about that – Scripture does not tell us where to pray, what time to pray, what to wear to pray, or what specific words to recite … yet we can indeed learn how to “pray in this way” from these words of Jesus.

We challenge you to look with fresh eyes on these words that are so familiar.  Open your heart, open your thoughts and gaze beyond these words you can recite by heart.   Pray the Spirit works within you to restore or increase the power of prayer in your life.

From childhood we have recited it … It’s Time We Learned It!

I wonder what it was like to be in the crowd that day.  What was it like to hear Jesus speak?  In reading this past week, I’ve experienced times where I closed my eyes and tried to imagine myself in the scene.  My senses were fully engaged, listening for the voice of the One who was speaking, visualizing the crowd that was gathered, envisioning the natural surroundings.  How I have longed in the past for the gift of even just a few moments to experience the people and places of Jesus’ earthly life.  In teaching Sunday School, I’ve “re-enacted” Old Testament stories several times.  I get excited about the opportunity, and strongly encourage the children and adults present to dive in and experience the physicality of the story.  I have witnessed and personally experienced so many transformative moments when the story or a truth came alive in a new way, having just “participated” in it.

What would it have been like to have taken in the breadth and depth of wisdom and truth Jesus shared that day?  My grandfather was a pastor.  I loved sitting up near the front and listening to him preach.  I have a few of his notebooks.  Each sermon was a half-page, typed out, meticulously outlined and three-hole punched.  How many pages would the outline for Jesus’ sermon that day have taken up in my grandfather’s notebook?

I wish I could say that I’ve been able to experience even a glimpse of the scene that day, and I cannot imagine what I would have walked away thinking or talking about.  I have the benefit of it all being written down, and of reading it a handful of verses at a time.  But I could still spend days (or even longer) diving deeper into single phrases within single verses … so much wisdom and truth.  I have no doubt there were men and women who left that day with pieces of His words etched on their hearts and minds.  A man convicted by the truth that in simply looking at another woman in lust, he was guilty of adultery in his heart.  A woman in mourning, who heard with her heart and soul the desperately needed promise of comfort.  Men, women and children who left that day challenged to love … not just those who were easy to, but those they considered as enemies.

In taking it all in, I have a longer list of questions than truths (and that list is long).  But more than that, I have a heart that is growing in gratitude for the gift of scripture.  Being there that day would have been amazing.  Holding the sacred text in my hand, with the opportunity to read and re-read, study and commit it to memory, however, is priceless.  This is our gift and treasure; to read and experience the words of Jesus … to pour over them, to meditate on them, to bind them to our hands and forehead, heart and soul, and allow them to change us.  This is our gift and treasure.

I’d like to share a short and personal story from last week that I recorded in my journal and is locked in my memory.  It was early on the first day of the new year and I was sitting, Moleskine notebook open, talking with God, and wondering through prayer what this year would be like.  The word “posture” entered my mind, and very soon after, my youngest son walked into the room.  We are both early risers and often share morning moments together, but because of the holiday schedule, it had been a couple of weeks since we sat together in my sacred spot on the living room couch.  With my only prompt being a welcoming smile, he walked over and snuggled into the space next to me, laying his head on my lap.  He sat quietly for a minute and then began with the questions (he is an inquisitive soul).  In an instant, I “saw” the word that had entered my mind only moments before this precious boy entered the room.  The scene of he and I, was the scene of He and I.  This would be my posture this year … curled up, head on my Father’s lap, resting, talking and questioning.

Your journey with Him through this year is absolutely your own.  What will your posture be?  I pray you experience an enduring closeness like the one illustrated in my early morning moment.

His words … they are our gift and treasure.

For some, the new year is welcome and anticipated.  It offers the opportunity for a fresh start, a clean slate, and is embraced with a genuine sense of hope.  But what if you aren’t one of those people?  I’ve had a fair amount of experience with first days of the new year in my lifetime.  One thing I have found to be true is the potential that day holds does not always translate to promise.

In both small and capital “T” truth, a calendar date holds no tangible power over the circumstances of our lives.  We do not wake to the dawn of a new day having had all our troubles erased by the sunrise.  As brilliant and blazing as it is, the sun can only do what God authored it to do.  It was set in the sky by the very voice of God to rule the day (Gen 1:16).  The darkness that it breaks is a celestial one.  It was not given the power to touch and change a human heart or soul.  So what now for the one who awoke on January 1st with the very same darkness that ruled their life on the eve of the new year?

I pause at the end of every question now, although that’s not how I used to be.  I have learned through the lives of others and my own, the value of leaving a question unanswered and perpetually asked.  In my research for this year’s journey through the words of Jesus, I have observed the great value He places on questions and how many times He “answers” one with another.  I have set these thoughts in my mind for the new year … to sit longer with the questions, to be quick to hear and slow to speak (James 1:19).  My research also spoke the truth that this was not always Jesus’ pattern.  And I firmly believe the question that ended the previous paragraph commands an answer.

I humbly but boldly offer an answer I found as I sat in my sacred space this past Friday morning.  I was reading what seemed to be a quiet aside to the bold and brilliant events of Jesus’ baptism and temptation in the desert.  Reading in Matthew 4:12 we find Jesus “withdrew,” or took an abrupt turn as He began His ministry journey.  He chose to go and stay in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali (Mat. 4:13).  He did this to fulfill the words of the prophet Isaiah, and it was in the words of that prophesy that my heart swelled with the only Hope that is sufficient in response to my question.

In noticing the footnote to verse 16, I thumbed back to the book of Isaiah to get the full context.  I read verses 1 and 2 of chapter 9, and then thumbed back to the end of chapter 8.  I had to find out what the “Nevertheless” that opened verse 1 referred to.  Here is what I read…

Isaiah 8:20-22 (NIV)
Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.

Does that resonate with anyone that may have woken up on January 1^st with the very same darkness that ruled their life on the eve of the new year?  No amount of the great light in the sky can penetrate even the surface of that darkness.  But here comes the real power and promise … the words of the opening to Isaiah chapter 9…

Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan — The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.

Were those few verses in Matthew a quiet aside to the bold events of baptism and temptation?  Absolutely not!  No word or act of Jesus ever is.  Why did Jesus choose to go and stay in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali?  … because He was the great Light!  Not the great light in the sky that rules the day … the great Light that was promised by Isaiah, the great Light that came to be with us, to redeem us, to touch and change the human heart and soul.

I pray this shouts hope today, no matter where you find yourself in the first few days of this new year.  Take a few minutes and repeatedly read the closing words of Isaiah 9:2.  Let them wash over you.  Let them fill you with hope.  Let them fill you with peace … His peace.

on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.

Yesterday as I started back to work, I was amazed at how quickly the pace quickened. New Year’s Day had been quiet, uneventful and maybe even a bit blah.  By January 1st, my wife and I are worn out with all of the festivities of the Christmas season. You would have thought that going back to work would have been just a calm, regular day. But no! Snow was everywhere, appointments were canceling and the day seemed to be a bit chaotic (not bad, just chaotic). It reminded me that life never seems to just go along at a calm, regular pace. I ended New Year’s Day a bit bored, but by lunch yesterday, I was almost out of breath. That is just the way life is; wouldn’t you agree? Looking at the life of Jesus in the last two days gave me a great lesson of how quickly our world can change.

As I started my personal journey yesterday into a deeper understanding of the life and words of Jesus, I was astounded by the scene surrounding the baptism of Christ. The events that are involved in the launching of His public ministry have a crescendo effect for me. When I think of Jesus coming out of the water, heaven opening and  the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove, plus the very voice of the Father affirming His Son, it’s hard for me to even fathom the greatness of that scene.

I really wrestled with writing about those majestic moments, but how could I have done them any justice?! Yesterday morning my mind awoke to what happened immediately after Jesus’ baptism … talk about life taking a quick and dramatic turn! Matthew 4:1 says, Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. Even those who know very little about the life of Christ have heard about the temptations that He faced from Satan. The way that Jesus handled the temptations is a model for all believers as they are attacked by Satan. But my thoughts yesterday weren’t so much about the temptations that He faced, but that the Spirit of God would lead Him into the wilderness right after such a glorious launch into public ministry. Can you think of a more abrupt change?

Why would the Spirit of God lead the Son of God to such a hard place? Why does the Spirit of God lead you and me into hard places? Why do the moments of our lives have such abrupt changes from the hand of the Father? None of these questions deserve quick answers.  I wonder if your heart and mind asked any of them as you read?  One thing I am sure of, is that God had a plan in letting His Son be assaulted by temptations from Satan.  And Christ gave us a masterful plan of defense – the Word of God. My purpose in this space is not to answer all the wilderness questions….but to challenge you and me with an important thought.  Does God have the right to lead us into hard places?

The answer is a secure and resounding, “yes!” But are we willing to accept the abrupt changes with a heart of submission, which I believe Christ modeled for us in the wilderness?  There will be challenging events for all of us this year. It may not be a massive temptation, but it could be a job change, a financial reversal, or any number of painful circumstances. When you come to that hard place, will you remember to acknowledge the Father, yield to His will and learn the lessons that He has chosen to teach you?

This week I learned through His baptism, was instructed from the temptations He faced, and also reminded that God’s Spirit has the right to lead me where He chooses.  What a great reminder for me, and I hope for you! When you think of the hard places, let the words of a plaque hanging in my office encourage you.

The will of God will not lead you where the grace of God will not protect you.

It was a cold and rainy day, my football team lost … again, and our daughter headed home to Los Angeles.  That’s a lot to handle in one day. But before you start feeling sorry for me, you must know that I am very thankful for what God taught me this year, and thrilled to be starting a new year. What about you? As you review 2013 and look ahead to 2014, how are you feeling? You may be thrilled about the possibilities, you might fear what 2014 will bring, or you may even be resigned that 2014 will just be another year of the same.  None of us knows where the journey will take us in the next twelve months, but we at Journey onWord are determined to make it a Red Letter year.

My wish for you (and me) over the next year is that the words of Jesus will literally change us from the inside out. It’s easy for us to recite verses that relate to Jesus, but infinitely more difficult to live out the life of Christ as revealed in those verses. It was popular a few years ago to see the wrist band WWJD. It’s a great question. But I wonder how many times people genuinely knew, or searched the scriptures for the answers.  And how many then, acted in accordance.  In truth, doing what Jesus would do on a consistent basis is a result of seeking Him, being willing to submit to the Spirit, and then living out the principles that guided His life. Do you know many people who really live that radically?  It is our firm conviction at Journey onWord that taking a year to intentionally saturate our hearts and minds with Jesus’ words will be … life changing. It will be a Red Letter year!

In preparing to encourage you to spend a year reading the words of Jesus, I have determined to immerse myself in everything I can find on the life of Christ over the next year. Words from the back cover of a new book (my wife just bought) by Mark Batterson reminded me of the struggle to really follow Jesus.  The book All In states, “Many people believe they are following Jesus, but they have mistakenly invited Jesus to follow them.” Mark Batterson calls it “the inverted gospel.” He challenges you to go all in and all out by fully surrendering your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. That is when the true adventure begins. Candidly, the words, “they have mistakenly invited Jesus to follow them,” can easily be a picture of my life and yours. But 2014 can be a Red Letter year.

With the above words as my passion, I would like to ask you a simple question. Would you be willing to let 2014 be a personal Red Letter year for you? Starting this Wednesday, we will be publishing a very unique Bible reading plan.  For an entire year, we are going to study the words of Jesus.  It will be far different from reading through the Bible cover to cover. Our goal is to help you slow the pace of your devotional time, by being able to focus on His words. Since there will be less to read, you may want to study the words in different Bible translations, look at Bible commentaries or intentionally meditate on each day’s passage. We will also be focusing our twice-weekly devotional articles on the truths and questions revealed and raised from the very words of Jesus. Do you believe looking daily at the Red Letters can change your life?

In three short days, a new year begins. Putting Christ at the top of your New Year’s focus and resolve will help you begin the next phase of your journey in the best way possible. Beginning a new diet, starting to workout again, and beginning 2014 with a new attitude are all great resolutions. But they pale in comparison to intentionally studying and applying the words of Jesus for an entire year.  Having a Red Letter year will change your life and mine!

Watch for the Red Letters this Wednesday!

Today is two days after, and still the week before. The pace and distractions of Christmas can be staggering, and then we are confronted with another year. We have a few days in between to prepare ourselves for next year’s journey. Maybe, just maybe, the following words are appropriate for you today. They are for me!

Quiet down before God, be prayerful before Him.

Those words, taken from Psalms 37:7 in The Message, sum up the desire and struggle that I have faced this year. In an effort to intentionally move at a slower pace (internally and externally), I have been keenly aware of my desire vs. my struggle. It only makes sense to me that every Christ-follower would want to live with a quiet center and prayerful heart. Why is it then that so few live with ears in tune to what the Lord is trying to convey? My personal conviction is that the quiet center available to us is filled with noise (I battle the noise, do you?). We can all find excuses for the noisy and distracted lives that we lead, but when the noise and distractions cause us to miss what God is saying, no excuse is good enough. Is your heart quiet and prayerful heading into a new year?

My personal reading has taken me to a book called Thirsting for God by Gary Thomas. Really thirsting after God will cause redirection in anyone’s life. I find that seeking the Father slows me down internally, and fuels the desire for that quiet center. See if the following quote from Thomas’ book resonates with where your journey is currently.

Living a busy life is like running a marathon—we tax our ability to care, our ability to focus, our strength to manage disappointment, our sense of peace and rest. Consequently, we live on the edge of exhaustion, irritation and anger. We have to re-gather ourselves, guard our peace, and focus so we will be free to care about the things that really matter and fully give ourselves to the tasks God calls us to address.

Are those first two sentences true of your life? Have you felt that guilty tug when someone needs your assistance but there is little energy or emotional reserves to help? We are all human and subject to seasons that are extremely busy and taxing. But to live with noise, distractions and chaotic schedules that limit our listening to God and hinder our walk with Him is unacceptable. You and I can quiet down and be prayerful before Him in 2014.

In the book, Thirsting for God, there is another penetrating and very convicting statement that we all need to hear.

The spiritual life is impossible in a heart full of noise and occupation.

Our lives can easily become about fitting God in, and less about living life from that quiet center. The noise around us does not have to invade us.

Countless times, I have read of Jesus getting away and praying. Luke says, But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. I can imagine those were special moments and times of refreshment. I need exactly that in my life. But, oh how the distractions and noise become addictive! For me, it’s a choice: Will I, or won’t I live with a quiet heart and seek to embrace God in each moment? How about you? There can be no greater indication of our need to fight the noise and distractions than looking at Christ’s pattern. He needed to get away from the crowds, and He needed to pray. None of us can claim lives with more noise and chaos than the Son of God. But listening to the Father was obviously important to Him. Could it be any less important for us?  I believe a quiet center is available to me; do you?

My goal in this post is not to instruct, but to relate. My selfishness often drowns out the voice I most want to hear. This year, I have sought to grow quieter, and embrace Him in each moment. Progress is slow, but I’m determined to have what is available to me. For me, it starts in my time with the Father. But then there has to be a conscious choice all day long to slow down, relax, and be a listener. I want to hear what He has to say. Your noise and distractions are probably different from mine, but you have them. Are you working from a quiet center, or just fitting God into your busy schedule (easy to do)?  I’ll admit that my thoughts in writing this were a bit skeptical … that no one would really take the challenge. But if there is one person reading this that is ready for a quiet center (and I hope it’s you), I am praying for you!

God still speaks … slow down with me and listen.

I have vivid and treasured memories of Christmas Eve’s from my childhood.  It was our family tradition to have my grandparents, my Uncle Rich and Aunt Linda, cousin Andelyn, and Aunt Gerrie at our house for Christmas Eve dinner.  My mother made her famous spaghetti, and we would sit at the table for what seemed like hours, telling stories, laughing and eating.  Most times we’d clear the table after dessert and play a game, and the stories and laughter would build to a crescendo and spill over the edge of our proverbial cup.

At some point late in the evening, we would all find our way to the living room.  What followed was intended to draw our hearts and minds to the real reason we were all gathered together.  The joyful “noise” of the previous few hours were briefly replaced by a quiet reverence as we found a comfortable spot and listened to my grandfather read the Christmas story.  I wonder if my grandfather knew how much I looked forward to that small and sacred part of Christmas Eve?  I’m sure I told him, but I wonder if he really knew.

It was not only the same person, it was also the same passage every year … from my recollection, Luke 2:1-20.  I loved sitting “at the feet” of my grandfather and listening to him read.  It happened so often and meant so much, that I rarely ever read that passage without thinking of him.  And the repetition was welcome to me.  You might find that odd, especially for a young man (that I was back then), but I relished it.

Something happened along the more recent portion of my journey, as I began to experience Advent.  I came face-to-face with the truth that the Christmas story had become a pretty small box in my life.  If it didn’t exist within the confines of Luke 2:1-20, it didn’t exist in my Christmas consciousness.  The story of how I got there is too big for this space, but suffice it to say it was absolutely true.

As I began to sit longer with the story of the nativity, as I began to read and re-read the stories (not to learn, but to experience), my Christmas box became visible.  This year’s Advent posts have really been years in the making.  The past three weeks have focused on stories and truths that used to exist just outside the boundaries of my box.  They are the first few things I discovered or wrestled with as the story of the nativity began to grow wider and deeper, and they have quickly become essential elements in telling the full story.  I don’t feel an ounce of regret, nor do I pronounce even a hint of judgement on the tradition of my adolescence.  I choose, instead, to express eternal thankfulness to God for the full extent of my journey with Him, which includes revealing the box.

I wonder if any of you will find yourselves in a similarly reflective and thankful place in the shadow of our focus next year on the words of Jesus?  I wonder if any boxes will be revealed around the Jesus you know (or thought you knew)?

Be present in the here and now of these last days of Advent.  It’s never too late to begin preparing your heart for the celebration of His birth.  Be present in celebrating on Christmas Day.  Enjoy the time with those you love, experience the wonder of His and your story, and be like the little child that Jesus said the kingdom belongs to.  And then, in its proper time, join us in 2014 as we immerse ourselves in the words and person of Jesus.

Three years ago our family visited the world’s largest department store. It was a time of joy for us as we met our daughter during the Christmas season. As we entered the Macy’s store on 34th street in New York City, I was confronted with their Believe It meter. It reminded me of Santa and the movie, Miracle on 34th Street. Children everywhere love to believe in Santa, his gifts, and that magical chimney. But the miracle we should be celebrating is that God became man. Now that’s a miracle! Do you still believe in miracles?

A friend once shared with me what he considered to be a miracle.  During the course of our discussion, he was passionate about God doing the unexplainable, yet undeniable. From the pages of Scripture and the recordings of history, God’s love and grace can be seen in events that are unexplainable and undeniable. Psalm 78:14 says, “You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.” But a constant stress point is moving our intellectual understanding to a faith that expects the unexplainable. I can promise you that walking by sight and not by faith will keep your journey explainable. But is that where anyone wants to live? Do you believe in miracles?

A personal confession might give more insight to my premise. Throughout my spiritual journey, I have seen God do the unexplainable. His protection, provision and grace have been undeniable to me. But sometimes I have sensed a distractedness that leads to living earthbound and not really expecting God to do much. It is easy to believe in miracles, but just not expect them in my own life. I asked someone last week if they believed in miracles. The answer was “yes”, but the sense was, not for me. You probably have felt the same way. We accept that God hung our world in space, sent His son as a baby, and raised a crucified Christ from the grave. But it is easy to lose sight of His desire to do the unexplainable, yet undeniable in our lives. Do you believe in miracles?

God is a miracle worker. He still does miracles today. Santa and a Macy’s Believe It meter get us in the Christmas spirit. But what about living every single day believing that the Spirit of God cares enough to do the unexplainable, yet undeniable in your life? I have found that by simply living out what I believe, the unexplainable often happens. But too often, I live and pray too low on the real Believe It meter. It’s easy to live in the “not for me” world of believing in His miracles. Do you believe in miracles?

To be clear, we should not live with a faith that just treats God like a Santa – We ask and He is bound to give. Nor should we live with a faith that believes in miracles, but not for me. God in His sovereignty knows when to do the unexplainable, yet undeniable in our lives. And He wants us to live by faith, not sight. His design is for us to walk with a surrendered, faith-filled heart. In this season of celebration, we have the opportunity to redirect our thoughts around our faith, His power, and His ability to do miracles, even for me. Will you believe in miracles?