“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this:

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 also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.(ESV)
Matthew 6:7-14

During the sermon on the mount when Jesus showed us how to pray he starts by addressing God. He could have started with a different word such as King, Creator, Lord, Judge, Savior. But he starts with a more personal note, Father, the picture this paints for us sheds light on how prayer works. If you ever watch a child after they learn something new often their reaction is to run home and tell the parents all about it. The parent already knows that a caterpillar becomes a butterfly but they listen lovingly to their child inform them all about it. In the same way when we pray to God we are like a child running to their parent. He already knows our praises, our thanks, confessions, petitions. But prayer isn’t for his benefit it’s for ours. Like the parent, God listens to us because he loves us. And because the problem of sin is taken away we can run to the God who created the universe and call him Abba, Father.(Galatians 4:6)

John the beloved lived a life customary of that of a Christian. He suffered greatly, but was also blessed in his ministry. John began his spiritual journey on a harbor in Galilee and finished his journey in Ephesus, the same place that was written to by Paul in the book Ephesians. It is believed that John was one of the youngest disciples, and that he was also one of the disciples that was the closest to Jesus. John wrote five of the sixty-six books of the bible. He wrote one gospel, the epistles, and Revelation, the book of the bible describes the full glory of Jesus and things that are to come. John the beloved was the first living man to see Jesus both fully crucified, and fully basking in heavenly glory. In essence, John lived a full life.

John the Disciple

John’s gospel is unique. John places a great deal of emphasis on the personality and feelings of Jesus. John includes narratives such as the “wine into water” miracle that is not found in any other gospel. John’s relationship to Jesus is one of friendship. This gave him a unique view into what Jesus felt and why He reacted how He did.

John learned a lot from Jesus. He passed out bread and fishes that had miraculously been multiplied to feed the multitudes. He saw Jairus’s daughter raised from the dead. He feel asleep in the garden of Gethsemane. While it cannot be proven by scripture, most biblical scholars agree that John was one of the disciples who went to check the empty tomb. John was instructed by Jesus, led by Jesus, and loved on by Jesus.

John’s book emphasis love between believers. On top of correcting different churches doctrine, John also emphasized that a community of believers was essential to a Christian’s spiritual prosperity. 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd John all emphasize different themes of Christian community.

The last book that John was inspired to write told the end of the story. Revelation is a prophecy about how the story of humanity will end. John was the very first living man to see Jesus in all of His glory. John saw the beast, the angels, the saints singing and praising the Lord. He saw all that would happen, and that in the end, how all the believers would go to be with the Lord.

What does your relationship with Jesus look like?

John enjoyed physical community and interaction with Jesus Christ. To John Jesus was the Savior, but He was also a compassionate and loving friend. John and Jesus ate together, walked together, joked together, and worked together. John served the Lord Jesus Christ, but he also played and hung out with Jesus. A funny, if not extremely corny, Youtube video is “Jesus Is My Friend.” This entire song is dedicated to the fact that Jesus is my friend, and that I have a friend in Jesus.

Is Jesus your friend, or is He a tyrant that you fear will strike you with a lightening bolt the next time you sin? Friends rarely, if ever, strike friends with lightening bolts. As John has recorded, there is an eternity of suffering awaiting those who do not repent of their sins. The people who do not repent are not friends of Jesus. They are His sworn enemies. Yet, those who repent of their sins become friends of Jesus, and while they should respect His power, they should not fear that He will smite them from the face of the earth.

Jesus wants to see you grow in your faith. He will instruct you like a good friend will. He will encourage you when you are weak, but discipline you when you do not recognize your error. John got this level of personal treatment physically, but we today experience that level of friendship through the Holy Spirit.

When David wrote Psalm 2 chances are that he was talking about a specific enemy. Whether it be the house of Saul, the nations around Israel, or even in his own house there were many people who wanted to see the mission of the Lord stopped. God laughs at them according to verse four. The will of the Lord is accomplished no matter what. Those who try to thwart his will ultimately become a part of it by giving him glory in feeling his wrath over sin. God has made his decision, his will is set, his king is decided.

David was the king referenced in verse six, but there was a greater king who came. Jesus came in the line of David to fulfill what the house of David could not do. This was achieving glory for the nation of Israel. Such glory was given to the son from the Father after the Son lived the perfect life, was crucified, and rose on the third day. Now those who try to stop the mission of Christ are laughed at by God. The early church was persecuted, and because they were persecuted they dispersed, and because they dispersed more people heard the word and were saved. God got the last laugh.

Psalm 2 ends in a warning:

 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;

be warned, O rulers of the earth.

Serve the LORD with fear,

and rejoice with trembling.

Kiss the Son,

lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,

for his wrath is quickly kindled.

Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

(Psalm 2:10-12 ESV)

Those of you who are young and are deciding what to do with your life understand this: those who try to attack the mission of God are laughed at, held in derision, and then put under wrath. Come to God in humility, repent of sin, and take refuge in him.

How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing

and fools hate knowledge?

(Proverbs 1:22 ESV)

Proverbs is commonly called the book of knowledge or the book of wisdom. In truth Proverbs is a part of a collection of books that are known as the “wisdom literature” of the bible. This part of the scripture focuses on the practical nature of the Word of God. Proverbs itself gets very specific and almost comical in discussing many aspects of life. Proverbs is, in and of itself a very practical book that focuses on the glory of God found in everyday life as well as larger concepts. Proverbs 1 talks about the nature of wisdom. Proverbs 1:20-33 talks about wisdom as if it is a woman on the side of the road, a good woman who is full of virtue. True biblical wisdom is the ministry of the Spirit and is not hard to find when one’s heart is opened to it.

When I first became a Christian I podcasted and read a lot, however the scripture was not my friend. I thought that it was too intimidating or hard to understand until I started reading it. Of course there were parts that were difficult to understand and even harder to read. However what I found was that the wisdom of the scirptures was not hard to mine. I didn’t have to apply myself to deep devotionals to understand even the lightest concepts.

When Christ left earth he promised us that we would not be alone. Rather that he would send us a gift to help us. “And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49 ESV) This power from on high is the Holy Spirit illuminates scripture in a supernatural way. “The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:14-16. We have the mind of Christ and therefore we can understand.

Of course it’s not just that we can understand, its that understanding is calling out to us. It’s a free gift. It’s well advertised. Christian, if you love Christ, please get wisdom! Don’t just sit there in complacency, rather pursue God’s grace and hope. If you are not a Christian please don’t be too  surprised when the things of God do not make sense, rather come to Christ and repent of your sins.

“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 also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.” (Mathew 6:9-13, ESV)

Over the next few weeks we are going to dissect the Lord’s prayer from start to finish. This prayer is what Jesus used to instruct the original 12 disciples on how to talk to the Father. This prayer is guideline on what to ask God for, and what a Christian’s mentality should be towards God.

A Word On Prayer

I would like to stress the point that prayer should not be ritualistic, and should definitely not includepassionless chants. Prayer is personal or corporate communication with God. Prayer, like human communication, has several different forms such as petitions, thanks, laments, and just catching up.

Prayer should not be formal or pompous. It is important to remember that God is our Father and we should talk to Him as such. I have never said thee or thou to my earthly father, so I see no reason to use such language with my Heavenly Father. God is not interested in banter, and He knows your heart. Putting up a front to Him is useless and disrespectful.

This series is designed to assist you in your prayer life. We pray the ideas you read in these articles will strengthen your personal relationship with God.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (1 Timothy 4:7, NIV)

Paul had an amazing life. He went all over most of the Roman empire, preaching and ministering to people. He wrote a large part of the new testament and is credited with bringing the gospel to the Gentiles. Paul actually started his religious career a Pharisee, who went from town to town in ancient Israel stirring up hate against the Christians in that town. As a matter of fact the bible tells the story of Stephen, a young man who was killed for his faith. The bible says that a man named Saul held the coats of the men so they would not get in the way as they stoned Stephen. Then that man Saul went on his way to Damascus, where Jesus met him on the road and struck him blind. He continued along his way to Damascus and prayed and fasted for three days until Jesus sent a man named Ananias to pray for him and remove the scales from his eyes. From that point on Paul traveled around the world preaching Jesus.

It was never easy for Paul though. Starting his ministry was difficult, considering that his reputation for killing Christians was well known. It is never recorded that he was slow or cautious in speech, and it got him in a lot of trouble. Paul had to be lowered down the wall of the first city that he is recorded to have ministered to. They wanted to kill him. Paul had several ships sink out from under him. Paul was deserted by most of his friends. He was bitten by a poisonous snake. He was flogged, beaten, spit upon, and insulted by members of his own country. Paul never had it easy. He was always working, always traveling, always giving of himself to the people that needed the gospel in their lives.

What was it about Paul that made him so impactful and so successful? He persevered, kept the faith, and loved Jesus his whole life. Paul remained humble, he never took things to seriously. It is never recorded that he railed against anyone who beat or whipped him. Paul just kept going, he never slowed down. He always kept his eyes focused on Jesus, and he understood that true contentment and joy were only found in Him.

Let me ask you something: under what circumstances have people come back to life? Has it been because of their great wealth? Has it been because of their scientific knowledge? Has it been because of their great families? What brings men from death to life? Truly there is only one man who has walked this earth who has controlled the realm of life and death. This man is Jesus Christ. He followed the law of God in every way and was counted as righteous and he was given righteousness.

Psalm 1 is a celebration of this fact:

(The righteous man) is like a tree

planted by streams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so,

but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

(Psalm 1:3-4 ESV)

The wicked cannot face the judgment of God and in the end their ways lead to death. Consider today what kind of sins we are allowing to control our lives. In what ways do we listen to the wicked counsel of the world? How do we neglect the law in pursuit of the ways of this world. This is the greatest part about Christianity: you will not be able to keep up constantly with the law (which leads to life). Christ already did that. The life of the Christian is spent keeping the law out of love for Christ, repenting of sin, and rejoicing in the glory of the completed work of Jesus on the cross.

A misogynistic king divorces his queen because she will not come strut her stuff in front of his friends. To find another queen he lives with young virgins who have undergone a six month beautification process. For all intents and purposes this king is, as some would say: a pig. He does not allow his wife to be politically involved and does not even allow her to come and see him under the penalty of execution.

When the king threatens the family of the queen she steps up to the plate and breaks all the rules of her gender boundary and changes the face of a nation. She stops genocide. She breaks a glass ceiling or two, and she saves her family. She does the righteous thing before God.

The difference between Esther and modern feminism is respect and calling. Misogynistic systems are not biblical, but throwing a hand grenade down that rat hole is likely to cause a lot of harm. Esther went before the king knowing that she could be killed for doing so. Her motivation was not breaking a system but following a call from God to save her people. When she talked to the king she did not compete with him, she invited him. She invited him to eat with her. She invited his friends. She was not crude, she was not mean, she was humble.

Then she really changed things. She saved her people by the hand of God because she was humble, gracious, called, and given power by God. She was empowered to follow God’s will by the Spirit. If you are a feminist I would say it is fine to fight misogyny, but do it for the right reasons. Don’t hate for the sake of hating, and fight for real change. Don’t fight for a position at the top when the people at the bottom are still stuck in their ways. Instead pursue people with kindness and pray that God would transform their hearts to see both genders as God made them to be: created in his likeness.

Some would have you believe that Jesus was not famous. Jesus was very famous for a time. Giving away free food and miraculous healing will get you on the tongue of the local population. At the height of Jesus’ ministry he had people following him around getting close to him and touching him (Mark 5:24). He boated away from crowds (Mark 14:13). Jesus fed large crowds because they flocked to him. He fed a crowd of 5,000 men. Just the men numbered 5,000, not to mention their sisters, mothers, wives, and children. Was Jesus sinning by preaching in front of a lot of people? No, he was not.

Jesus’ ministry reflected the nature of God in two separate and equally glorious ways. The first was in reflecting the glory and love of God through healing and serving the needy. This is a great way to be attractional in ministry. Giving away free food and healing all the sick people who come into your church will attract people. Jesus also said heartwarming things like that we should love our neighbors and treat others as we should be treated. He was counter-cultural. He was against a powerful religious superstructure and was seen as a patriotic figurehead that would throw off Rome and unite the peasants of Israel and rid the land of the pagan Romans.

However Jesus’ ministry also revealed God’s justice and wrath. Jesus once met a young man and presented an ultimatum and watched him walk away (Luke 18:18). He also mourned the city of Jerusalem (Luke 13:31). Jesus did not shrink back from teaching hard words when the need arose and his ministry oftentimes suffered numbers wise. In the end Jesus’ ministry dwindled and he died alone.

If you are a bible preacher please preach Christ in season and out of season. Preach the full counsel of Christ (Acts 20:27) and do not neglect any part of the counsel. As reflected in Paul’s letters to the various churches we should always preach the gospel. However there are elements of the gospel that may seem good to the culture and parts that seem offensive to the culture. The idea of damnation is often seen as offensive while the idea of equality under the eyes of God could be considered a very good thing. The beauty of the gospel is that we can preach Christ in the good parts and preach Christ in the hard parts. In Jeremiah the prophet Jeremiah confronts preachers who preach good words.

In Jeremiah the walls of Jerusalem were under siege and some were saying that they have received prophetic words that everything will turn out fine when they knew it would not. They were preaching a false gospel. Some preachers will not preach the full counsel to make themselves famous. They will say things that are sweet to the ears, and neglect those things which will seem offensive. This is not preaching like Christ preached, this is preaching a false gospel.

So preachers, don’t be celebrities unless you are going to preach the gospel. It is best to be humble in that you reflect the gospel no matter where you are. A great example of this ideology is Matt Chandler, who could be considered a celebrity preacher. He goes to make conferences where the gospel may not be preached in it’s entirety and he is clear in his presentation of the Word. He doesn’t forsake the hard truths of the gospel in order to appease audiences. He preaches Christ. Preach Christ. Serve others with good and hard truth. Love others, and bless them with the gospel.

(Matthew 7:1-5 ESV)

Oftentimes this set of verses is interpreted using the very first line that Christ says: “Judge not, that you be not judged.” This is interpreted to mean: “If you judge others you will be condemned by God to hell, therefore judge not.” Of course this is not what the verses are saying, rather these verses are saying that with the standard that we use to judge we will be judged. If I, someone who is prone to lying, walk up to someone who has lied and say, “You are destined for hell and there is no hope for you” I would be judging their speck in spite of my plank which is hypocrisy. I think a better interpretation is that we should thank God for the specks in our neighbor’s eyes because they grant us the opportunity to check for planks in our own.

By nature I am not a good sin checker. When it comes to blind spots there are many in my life. So when meditating on this scripture I am generally pleased because it provides me with a way to see my own sin. Instead of looking at my neighbor as an evil person and saying, “I am so much better than them” I am called by Christ to say, “How am I like them? What do I need to repent of? How is my sin limiting my potential to preach the gospel to this person regarding their sin?” Seeing a speck in a neighbors eye provides introspection which, by the grace of God, leads to conviction which, by the blood of Christ, leads to repentance. Thank God for specks.

Do not be timid in judging sin. Do not be timid in judging your sin. Do not be timid in judging the sins of your neighbor. Do not condemn your neighbor but instead point them to the cross of Christ. Do not condemn yourself, but instead preach the gospel to yourself. This is the essence of what it means to see a speck, and why Christ calls us not to judge others as we would not ourselves.