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Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10
When you are in a love relationship with someone you want more than anything else to do what they want you to do. You’ll go to any lengths to know their likes and dislikes. You want to know what they are passionate about and do you best to bring that to pass.
Your Father knows your heart. He knows your every passion, your every desire, your every concern. He knows what makes you happy and content. He knows the things that cause you to worry and fill you with anxiety. He knows your deepest, most intimate secrets and he wants to bring each of them into your life.
The problem is, sometimes the things we are passionate about and desire with all of our hearts are things he knows will harm us. No loving father will give his beloved child something that will harm him. That’s not love. That’s abuse.
Your Father in Heaven is a passionate father, a passionate lover if you will. And his passion is you! He earnestly desires you give you his very best. To comfort you in the hard times. To encourage you when you are discouraged. To bring peace in despair. To hold you in illness and when you are mourning.
When we pray the words “your will be done”, what we are really asking our Father is to do his will in us. It’s like we are saying, “I know you love me more than anything. I know you want your best to be done in my life for my sake and your glory. Now, bring it to pass in me. What can I do to bring your will into my life?”
The beauty is, much of that answer has already been done. Your Father in heaven provided his Son for us to show us the way to his heart. He’s given us his Holy Spirit to guide us and give us understanding and peace. He’s given us his word, the Holy Bible, so that we will know the promises he has for us.
You may have taken some wrong paths in life. Perhaps you are in a place you don’t want to be. A place you thought you’d never find yourself. You are wondering if he wants you back, if he can even use you after all the mistakes you’ve made and the people you’ve hurt. Face it, some of those things were just plain rebellion and wanting things your way! Can he still do his will in you?
The answer is yes! God’s forgiveness is based on His passion for us, not because we deserve it in any way. May his will be done in your life.
PRAYER: Father in heaven. I thank you that you are a passionate lover and that your passion for me far exceeds my ability to deserve it. Forgive me for the times I’ve failed you and others. Empower me with your Spirit to live in such a way that your good and perfect will would be done in my life. In Jesus name, Amen.
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. Romans 8:14 (NLT)
What does a person who is being led by the Spirit of God look like? To some he/she is a person who exhibits certain external gifts. To others a person led by God’s Spirit is someone who avoids certain places, words or activities. Some will try to put limitations on how the Spirit works in our day, thus limiting his power to express himself freely.
Spirit led people don’t worship in a particular way. They can worship quietly and solemnly or actively and loudly. Spirit led isn’t an action. Spirit led is an attitude of heart. When we decide how God’s Spirit leads us, it’s our spirit we are following not God’s. When that happens we limit God’s power to our own understanding and our own limitations.
Jesus says that the Spirit of God is one that will lead us to an understanding of what God is like. So to answer the question about what a Spirit-led person looks like we need to answer the question, “What does God look like?” The answer to that question, in my opinion is: “How do you describe God?” His word says that each of us is created in his image. Do we all look alike? NO! Do we all act alike? Definitely not! Do we all have the same likes & dislikes? Ridiculous. God didn’t create robots. We weren’t stamped from the same mold.
So then, Spirit-led people are people who exhibit best what God has made them to be. The Spirit of God empowers us to live to the fullest potential God intended for us. As Max Lucado says in his book “When God Whispers Your Name”, the Holy Spirit helps us in three directions-inwardly (by granting us the gifts of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-24), upwardly by praying for us (Romans 8:26), and outwardly by pouring God’s love into us (Romans 5:5.
The Spirit-led person then, isn’t defined by a particular style of worship songs and actions. He’s not defined by a particular spiritual gift (or the lack thereof). He isn’t defined by the name of the church he attends. The spirit-led person exhibits the image of God in their lives through their thoughts, their words and their actions.
My God, Jehovah God is a God of passion. He’s a God of creativity and diversity. He shows himself in the power of the severe storm with thunder and lightning. He shows himself in the silence of falling snow.
He shows his creativity in the sunrise and sunset and in the birth of a new-born child. My God, Jehovah God isn’t bound by the limitations of time or human nature. Nor is he affected by the decisions of political regimes or religious dogmas.
Because I am human and Jehovah God has given me free will, I will, at times, fail to live by the power his Spirit has given me. But because of Jesus I can be forgiven if I repent of my sin. I can brush off the dirt from my falling, be healed by Jesus blood, and continue on because of His mercy and grace.
PRAYER: Father God. I praise you for your creativity and passion. I thank you that even though I stumble and fall, and sometimes I fail miserably, you are always there to forgive me, and help me back to my feet. I pray that you would empower me live according to your Spirit and not the interpretations of man. May others see you in my actions, words and attitude. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 1 Peter 3:18
The Leper probably thought Jesus came to heal for, as a result of Jesus’ touch he was not only physically healed but he was able to go home to family and friends.
The woman caught in adultery probably thought Jesus came to forgive those, like her, who had failed miserably in life and found themselves in a place they never thought they’d be.
To the parents who were forced to interrupt the funeral of their little child, he no doubt came to raise the dead and restore hope to families who have suffered the loss of a child.
To those who were in bondage to a ruthless religion set on performance and rules, it must have seemed like he came to rescue them from the irrelevant and oppressive system of guilt, shame and fear.
Obviously in one sense all those people and thousands more had good reason to think that. Their hope was restored. Their emotions were healed. Their bodies, once racked with pain were healed. But, that’s not why Jesus came. Jesus Christ came for one purpose and one purpose only. Oh, sure, he gave us a glimpse of what God was like. He showed us the power of a loving Father and the emptiness of religion gone irrelevant. But Jesus came to die. That was his sole purpose in coming.
The manger. The teachings. The miracles. All valuable lessons. But if he hadn’t died for our sins all of that would have been wasted. If he hadn’t risen from the dead, none of us would have the hope of eternity with him waiting for us.
Now, you say, there are many people who have died for a cause. It’s being done on a daily basis. Many who give their lives to rescue others and help others ‘in the line of duty. You’d be right of course. But all of those people who die for a cause are still dead.
Jesus separates himself from them for two major reasons. One he was without sin himself. Jesus Christ, the son of the living God was completely innocent of any wrong doing. Secondly, unlike the others, Jesus lives! He defeated death so that you can have eternal life with him.
That’s grace! There is nothing you can do to earn it. Nothing you can do to keep it. All he asks in return is that you love him and show him that love by living for him. Jesus’ only reason for living was to die so that my only reason for living is to live for him.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, Thank you for the examples you gave here on earth of love, healing, mercy and compassion. I praise you for your willingness to die for me even though, in my rebellion, I continue to do things I know I shouldn’t do. Empower me with your Holy Spirit to show you my love by living a life set-apart from the fickle morals of our society. In your precious and holy name, Amen.
For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. Luke 22:27
When natural disasters strike we are drawn to the people who give of themselves to help the victims. Movie stars, athletes and other celebrities are held in high esteem for the sacrificial work they have done to help humanity. Those who don’t have much money, but have a passion for a particular cause will join together for marches and walks and vigils to bring attention to the victims of disease or some other calamity in hopes that their cause will be noticed by those who can help in even the smallest way.
I’m in no way minimizing the efforts of these people. They are to be applauded for their work. Some have given their own lives so that others can live and that is a noble gesture indeed. However, the one factor in all these efforts that has to happen for them to be effective is that success comes from gaining public awareness. As good of intentions as these heroes of society have, their work would not be as effective if no one notices. In fact, celebrities are sought out to sponsor a cause for that very reason.
That’s what makes Jesus’ teaching even more astounding. In the hot, dusty streets and paths of Israel, no one was less recognized than the servant who washed people’s feet. It was the dirtiest and lowest job anyone could have. The servant delegated to foot-washing was noticed more if he/she wasn’t there than for the job they did. Never a thank-you. No tips. No appreciation or recognition of any kind. If you were a foot-washer it was unlikely that anyone at Wal-Mart would stop you in the aisle and say, “Remember me? You washed my feet last week. Thank you so much!” That wasn’t going to happen. Ever. Period.
Jesus used the example of washing feet for basic reasons. First of all, he did that to show me how important I am to him. That person with the towel around his waist, kneeling before me on a hot, dusty day, to wash my smelly, calloused, crusty feet was the creator of the universe! He was the one that hung the stars in place. He was the one that created the wonder we call conception and birth. He was the one who formed the massive mountains and the fruitful plain and filled the massive ocean. Then he turned around and place hundreds of thousands of life forms in them. Yet there he was washing my feet. To the King of Kings and Lord of Lords I am held in higher esteem than he holds himself.
A second reason Jesus kneels before me is to show me how to treat others. True heroes do the little things that make others, who deserve it the least, feel like kings! As you go through the journey of life, you may come in contact with hundreds of people who largely go unnoticed for the things they do. The clerk at the gas station. The barista at Starbucks. The greeter at Wal-Mart. The list goes on and on.
So ask yourself this question. At the end of the day, have the people you come in contact with left your presence feeling like a king or a servant?
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. The visual of you kneeling before me to wash my feet is humbling. The fact that you would think so much of me that you lowered yourself to that leaves me without words. I ask that you would empower me with your Holy Spirit to see the unnoticed in my daily walk. Help me leave them feeling like kings, just as you see me. In your name I pray, Amen.
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16
This may be more a ‘guy’ thing than a trait of the human race, but have you ever noticed how hard it is to ask for help on some project? If something is too heavy for you but you can ‘manage to move it’ you risk hurting your back before asking for help. You make due with the wrong tool before going to the neighbor to borrow his when you know he has just what you need and will be happy to loan it to you. You struggle with some problem at home or at work for hours before asking for advice on how to get it done. Come on now, admit it. You’ve done it. We all have.
Why is that? What is it within our human psyche that makes us risk our very lives before asking for help? It could be that we think the job is too small to ask for help. Even though it’s more than we can handle we don’t want to bother someone else with our problems. Perhaps it’s a question of image. We feel like we’ll look bad, inadequate or stupid for seeking out assistance, or that we aren’t worthy of anyone’s help.
What’s true in our physical lives is true in the spiritual realm as well. When a severe crisis happens like cancer or job loss or relational destruction, we ask for prayer. We even pray ourselves. Usually people pray more often in crisis than any other time.
We read verses like Hebrews 4:16 and may be misled into thinking that the verse is telling us that we can (or should) only approach God in our time of need. However, we may insert ‘great need’ in there without thinking.
We look at our lives and think we shouldn’t bother God with trivial things in life, only the big things. We remember our failings and hesitate to come to him because there is sin in our lives. We look at people who don’t believe in prayer and take the attitude that ‘if they don’t need help, I don’t need help.’
Here’s a tidbit of advice for all of us as we go about our day; as we encounter the little annoyances of our life. Don’t believe the lie that God is only interested in hearing from you in crisis. He wants to hear about everything going on.
Have a problem with a co-worker talking too much at work? Tell your Father in heaven about it. Can’t quite figure out how to finish that project at home? Tell him that too. As Christ-follower we need to constantly remind ourselves that God isn’t in heaven. He’s here! We pray the Lord’s Prayer and ask his Kingdom to be here on earth but live as though he’s far away.
Your Heavenly Father is with you 24/7. No problem is too large or too small for him to handle. Nothing you can do or say to him will be considered unimportant or uninteresting. After all. YOU are HIS child! What loving father doesn’t look forward to hearing about his child’s day? He cherishes the time he can have with you.
PRAYER: Father I confess that this verse is one I think of often when I’m in crisis. There are so many times I avoid asking for help because of my own feelings of inadequacy, guilt or because I don’t think it’s important enough to bother you. Forgive me for thinking you aren’t interested or willing to help me in the mundane things of life. Empower me to see you as a constant, present and interested friend. In Jesus name, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 