The Scripture reading for October 29, 2014 is Luke 11:9-13 (Gospel) 9 So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 11 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! Yesterday, we talked about the Lords Prayer, and we said that its such a perfect prayer because its timeless. Its such a perfect prayer because it isnt selfish, at least not in the sense that were usually selfish. The Lords Prayer doesnt ask for wealth, and fame, prosperity or even good health. The Lords Prayer asks for bread, for forgiveness, and deliverance from evil. These arent selfish wants; theyre needs. Its not selfish if you need it (its also less selfish when youre depending, faithfully, on someone else to provide it). Lastly, the Lords Prayer is perfect because it reveals to us the will of God for our lives. Some people spend their whole lives trying to discern Gods will for them, but Christians shouldnt. We already know: God wants us to be worshipful; he wants us to be content; he wants us to be holy. Simple, right? In todays passage, Jesus unpacks his prayer for us. He makes it a bit easier to understand, a bit more accessible. He compares our relationship with our heavenly Father to that of an earthly father. As children, we are completely dependent on our parents. They wash our clothes, they bathe us (when were still very young), they prepare our food, they feed us our food (again, when were very young), they provide us with shelter and love. Well, Jesus says, God does the same thing [read: Hes more than willing to do the same thing], but even more so! Thats encouraging to know: that God cares about us even more than our parents can. He loves us unconditionally and provides for us abundantly! But how many of us actually believe that. Do you remember what I said in yesterdays post? I said, I think we as Christians forget that Jesus taught us how to pray. Thats true; I stand by that statement. But do you want to know another sad, complementary truth? I think a lot of us dont pray the way Jesus told us to, because we dont need to. Now, understand what I have said correctly! I do not mean that we do not need to pray. We do need to pray. But, because of the way we live our lives, because of the way we hoard our wealth (and stock our fridges), because of the way we hold the actions of other people against us over their heads (but fail to see our own offensive, arrogant actions), because we would rather glorify ourselves than glorify our Creator, we have very little need for God, for a heavenly Father. We stand as self-made, independently wealthy and successful , self righteous men and women who scream at the top of our lungs, God?! Who needs God? I AM GOD! You may not actually say those words out loud. You may not actually say, Who needs God? or Im the lord of my own life, but do your actions? Do you save money and possessions because youre just trying to be financially responsible, or do you do it because youre afraid God wont take care of your needs? Do you justify your sinful actions because you actually think they can be justified, or because you dont believe God is willing to forgive you? These are heavy questions, but they are questions that, I believe, every Christian could benefit from asking themselves. Who is the lord of your life? Who is the master of your house? Who is your familys provider? Dad, maybe? Mom, maybe? God, maybe? As for me and my house, we will serve [and depend upon] the Lord (Josh. 24:15). Amen.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 15:06:12 +0000
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