Today's Word

"Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Matthew 6:10
  
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." Matthew 5:3

The Kingdom of Heaven is Here

Where Mark records Jesus speaking of the Kingdom of God, Matthew records Jesus speaking of the Kingdom of Heaven. Both refer to the same thing. The point is that with the coming of Jesus, God’s Kingdom has arrived.

But what about all the dirt poor, suffering people all over the planet? Where is God’s Kingdom for them?

Jesus addresses this right at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3). He says that the poor in spirit have the same access to blessedness and happiness as do the rich, even more so, because the rich always have the barrier of their comforts coming between themselves and God. The poor do not. “Poor in spirit” (Luke just records “poor”) means the person who has become completely detached from things and has become completely attached to God. One scholar translates Matthew 5:3 like this;     

O the bliss of the man who has realized his own utter
     helplessness, and who has put his whole trust in God,
     for thus alone he can render to God that perfect
     obedience which will make him a citizen of the kingdom
     of heaven!

If you have traveled in the third world perhaps you have noticed a happiness among the poor that results from the freedom they have from the ways that material wealth owns the souls of many of us in the developed world.

Prayer  

“Lord, may it be that, rather than my owning things, they instead own me. And perhaps they own my soul. Lord, forgive me and give me both the discernment to hear your call on me and the courage to follow it. In Jesus' name, Amen”

Today's Word

"Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."  Matthew 6:10 
 
“after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the good news.' " Mark 1:14-15

What is the Good News?

Mark 1:15 records Jesus saying that with his arrival the Kingdom of God is here. Heaven has come to earth. Mark calls this “good news”. The rest of Mark records miracle after miracle. “Miracles write for us in small letters what God has already written or will write in letters almost too large to notice”. They are small pictures of God’s renewal of fallen creation. They are moments of God’s righting the world.

Dave, Ce and Hope Rooney, Donna Elmore and Judi Gawlikowski have returned from 9 days doing medical and children’s ministry mission in an extremely primitive indigenous Indian culture in a remote mountain region of Panama. There they joined God in bringing signs of the presence of the Kingdom of God to them. They just signed up and went. They gave out of their wealth to those who had no wealth. The wealth of western medical expertise brought health to children who were vomiting up worms. The wealth of the American church’s biblical knowledge brought the salvation message to those who had not received it. One dying woman discovered and received eternal life beyond the grave.

The team said that serving there was brutally difficult in the oppressive heat and humidity with no electricity, bathroom facilities or anything else we take for granted. But “to a man or woman” they will all return. Why?

Mark does not record how to accept Jesus as Savior so that you obtain your ticket to heaven. He only records Jesus saying, “if you lose your life for my sake you will find it. You must take up your cross and follow me”. Therein is salvation. Take up your cross and follow Jesus. Ironically it is in suffering for Jesus that the highest form of joy is found.

Prayer
 
“Lord, please give me a discomforting internal discord about living a comfortable that is so often all about me. Lord, today please nudge me with your discernable whispers and promptings toward the mission you have through my life so that I expend my time, my efforts, my wealth, my resources, whatever I know or have learned, for the sake of other people whom you want to bless. In Christ’s name.  Amen”

Today's Word                                       

"Father in Heaven, help us to honor your name."  Matthew 6:9(CEV)  
Honor God's name at work
Why Busy-ness is a form of Laziness

Eugene Peterson writes,
"Sloth is most often evidenced in busyness. . . . in frantic running around, trying to be everything to everyone, and then having no time to listen or pray, no time to become the person who is doing these things."

Commenting on this, one very busy person wrote,

"Part of the problem is that paying attention to God requires unglamorous practices like prayer, time in Scripture, and attentiveness to what God is doing in the people around me. Telling me, 'Prayer promotes spiritual growth and will help you be more effective at work and for God' has as much wow-factor as announcing, 'Reducing calories leads to weight loss!' I want something new--a development that will lead to breakthrough. Peterson observes that spiritual disciplines have 'not been tried and discarded because (they) didn't work, but tried and found difficult (and more than a little tedious) and so shelved in favor of something or other that could be fit into a bust (person's) schedule.'

But nobody gets paid for doing this. It's inefficient in terms of workplace demands in a society that says, 'getting things done is next to godliness.' If I don't get things done I'll get fired.

It makes sense that the sloth is the official mascot of spiritual lethargy. I've begun to see my incessant busyness as the set of claws that keep me holding on for dear life, dug in, hanging upside down, not getting anywhere. With God's help, I want to let go, trusting him to show me how to live right side up. My job is to pay attention."

Prayer
 
“Lord,  I am beginning to see that my hyper busy-ness does not reveal you, nor does it honor Your Name when it replaces receptivity to You with getting my list of things done. Instead by busy-ness reveals only a me who is holding on for dear life to life on the treadmill instead of You. I am sorry Lord. Help me to start paying attention. Amen”

Today's Word
                                      
'Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. . . may your Name be honored. . . reveal who you are. . .'   Matthew 6:9  

"Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interest, but take an interest in others, too." Philippians 2:3-4  


Attitude

I encourage you to make the following passage your primary meditation this week, perhaps even memorizing it as the early church did by turning it into one of their songs.   If you need an attitude adjustment, this passage is the perfect place to go. If you think your attitude is just fine, this will passage will test your hypothesis! 

“You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.
instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11 (NLT)           

Prayer
 
“Lord,  please help me with discipline I need to read scripture. Please use today's scriptures to mould me into the person you want me to be. Give me, Lord, the attitude of Christ. I yield myself to that end. Amen”

Today's Word

'Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. . . . may your Name be honored. . . reveal who you are. . .' Matthew 6:9

Honor God at Work - Part 2

C.S. Lewis wrote,
"Authority exercised with humility and obedience accepted with delight are
the very lines along which our spirits live."

In the various translations of the Lord's prayer we see that Jesus was teaching us to ask God to help us to live in such a way that our lives reveal who God is, that we live so that God's Name is honored.

Jesus was a servant. Jesus taught that true leadership is influence through serving one another. He taught that we should “wash one another’s feet” and “love our enemies”. He also spoke the truth. “Speak the truth in love” writes Paul to the Ephesians. “Jesus humbled himself” says Philippians two.

Which of these work habits of thought and attitude do you need to adopt today? In what way can you honor a superior today, regardless of his or her deserving it? In what way can you show humility by encouraging a subordinate today regardless of her or his deserving it.

Prayer

“Lord, please help me to exercise whatever authority over others that I have been granted in way that is genuine and humble. Please help me to obey you with delight and to take my assignments at work from my boss in ways that display delight in my work and willing attitude toward those who direct me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen”

Today's Word

'Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. . . .
may Your name be honored. . .
reveal who you are. . .' Matthew 6:9

Honor God at Work 
       
Part of the problem in Eden was that the first human beings would not accept their assigned roles in creation. That role included accepting their status as subordinates to God.

Therefore things went badly for them and ever since work has been difficult and, from what others tell me, the biggest problem at work is workers’ bad attitudes.

The Bible, not endorsing slavery but speaking to life as it was among the Christian community, says this about attitude in the work place;

" 5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. 6 Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. 7 Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 8 Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free." Ephesians 6:5-8(NLT)  

Prayer
 
“Lord, help me to honor my superiors and in that way to be a strong witness for you. Protect me from an 'I know better' attitude. Silence me when I am tempted to speak unfavorably of a superior. In the name of Jesus into whose image I wish to grow. Amen"

Today’s Word

The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need.

With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:
“Our Father in heaven, Reveal who you are”. Matthew 6:7-9 (MSG)

Today’s Reflection

Today’s scripture version is a paraphrase called the Message. In a paraphrase the translator is afforded the freedom to render the scripture into today’s idiom and cultural context. In other words in a good paraphrase (and the Message is a very, very good one) we can often more easily grasp what the Bible is saying. In fact from that perspective there is a sense in which a paraphrase is more ‘accurate’ than a word for word translation in communicating the truth of what the passage is saying.

Notice then how The Message renders the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer. Instead of “hallowed be Thy Name”, we pray “Reveal who You are”.

Now I get it. When I go to work, the unemployment line, mom’s play group, the YMCA, out to dinner, or home, my job first and foremost is to “reveal who you (God in Jesus Christ) are”.

I was asked recently to write down 5 things that I am (man, husband, etc). It occurred to me the most important of them is “Christian”. I am first and foremost a Christian, one who’s task it is to reveal Jesus.

How did it go for you today? Take a moment to review your day. Did your thoughts, words, actions, attitude, reveal Jesus or conceal Jesus? If the former, you were blessed and were a blessing. If the latter, a little face time in the mirror is never a bad thing. Confess it, repent of it and do tomorrow better.

Prayer

“Our Father in Heaven, reveal who you are. Reveal yourself to me. Reveal yourself through me. And when necessary reveal yourself in spite of me. I love you Father. Amen”