Today’s Word

The following dialog has been around for many years. We actually performed during worship years ago. It’s very good. I hope you spend some time on it. I think it will help many of you to pray the Lord’s Prayer more deeply.  
God Bless! Pastor Jeff

"Our Father Who Art In Heaven.
Yes?
Don't interrupt me. I'm praying.
But -- you called ME!
Called you?
No, I didn't call you..
I'm praying.
Our Father who art in Heaven.
There -- you did it again!
Did what?
Called ME.
You said,
"Our Father who art in Heaven"
Well, here I am..
What's on your mind?
But I didn't mean anything by it.
I was, you know, just saying my prayers for the day.
I always say the Lord's Prayer.
It makes me feel good,
Kind of like fulfilling a duty.
Well, all right.
Go on.
Okay, Hallowed be thy name .
Hold it right there.
What do you mean by that?
By what?
By "Hallowed be thy name"?
It means, it means .. . Good grief,
I don't know what it means.
How in the world should I know?
It's just a part of the prayer.
By the way, what does it mean?
It means honored, holy, wonderful.
Hey, that makes sense..
I never thought about what 'hallowed' meant before.
Thanks.
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in Heaven.
Do you really mean that?
Sure, why not?
What are you doing about it?
Doing? Why, nothing, I guess.
I just think it would be kind of neat if you got
Control, of everything down here like you have up
There. We're kinda in a mess down here you know.
Yes, I know;
But, have I got control of you?
Well, I go to church..
That isn't what I asked you.
What about your bad temper?
You've really got a problem there, you know.
And then there's the way you spend
Your money -- all on yourself.
And what about the kind of books you read ?
Now hold on just a minute!
Stop picking on me!
I'm just as good as some of the rest
Of those People at church!
Excuse ME..
I thought you were praying
For my will to be done..
If that is to happen,
It will have to start with the ones
Who are praying for it.
Like you -- for example ....
Oh, all right. I guess I do have some hang-ups.
Now that you mention it,
I could probably name some others.
So could I.
I haven't thought about it very much until now,
But I really would like to cut out some of those things.
I would like to, you know, be really free.
Good.
Now we're getting somewhere.
We'll work together -- You and ME.
I'm proud of You.
Look, Lord, if you don't mind,
I need to finish up here.
This is taking a lot longer than it usually does.
Give us this day, our daily bread.
You need to cut out the bread..
You're overweight as it is.
Hey, wait a minute! What is this?
Here I was doing my religious duty,
And all of a sudden you break in
And remind me of all my hang-ups.
Praying is a dangerous thing.
You just might get what you ask for.
Remember, you called ME -- and here I am.
It's too late to stop now.
Keep praying. ( pause .. . )
Well, go on.
I'm scared to.
Scared? Of what?
I know what you'll say.
Try ME.
Forgive us our sins,
As we forgive those who sin against us.
What about Ann?
See? I knew it!
I knew you would bring her up!
Why, Lord, she's told lies about me, spread stories.
She never paid back the money she owes me..
I've sworn to get even with her!
But -- your prayer --
What about your prayer?
I didn't -- mean it..
Well, at least you're honest.
But, it's quite a load carrying around all that
bitterness and resentment isn't it?
Yes, but I'll feel better as soon as I get even with her.
Boy, have I got some plans for her.
She'll wish she had never been born.
No, you won't feel any better.
You'll feel worse.
Revenge isn't sweet.
You know how unhappy you are --
Well, I can change that.
You can? How?
Forgive Ann.
Then, I'll forgive you;
And the hate and the sin,
will be Ann's problem -- not yours.
You will have settled the problem
as far as you are concerned.
Oh, you know, you're right.
You always are.
And more than I want revenge,
I want to be right with You . . (sigh).
All right, all right . .
I forgive her.
There now!
Wonderful!
How do you feel?
Hmmmm. Well, not bad.
Not bad at all!
In fact, I feel pretty great!
You know, I don't think I'll go to bed uptight tonight.
I haven't been getting much rest, you know.
Yeah, I know.
But, you're not through with your prayer, are you?
Go on.
Oh, all right.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Good! Good! I'll do that.
Just don't put yourself in a place
where you can be tempted.
What do you mean by that?
You know what I mean.
Yeah. I know..
Okay.
Go ahead. Finish your prayer.
For Thine is the kingdom,
and the power,
and the glory forever.
Amen.
Do you know what would bring me glory?
What would really make me happy?
No, but I'd like to know.
I want to please you now...
I've really made a mess of things.
I want to truly behave like Christ
I can see now how great that would be.
So, tell me .. . .
How do I make you happy?
YOU just did".

Today's Word
                                      
"Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."  Matthew 6:10
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."  Matthew 6:33(NIV)   

Practical Advice on How to Let God's Joy Find You
 
· Find out what it is that is godly that you most easily get lost in. Jesus said when you lose your life you find it. Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added. Seek heaven and get earth thrown in. Get lost in scripture and prayer and God and everything else finds you.
· CATCH 22: if you decide to get lost in scripture and prayer and God SO THAT you get rest joy then you are serving yourself and you won’t get there. You are built to desire laughter and joy and good times and happiness and contentment for a good, good life. But if you seek it you won’t find it.  If you seek Jesus and God first for the sake of finding joy, you still won’t find joy because it’s still about you. If you forget about joy and happiness and put the things of God first and others first, then joy will sneak up on you.
· What works best in finding joy, happiness, laughter, Sabbath rest, has to do with getting yourself out of the way. What works for you? Writing? baseball? Theater? A hike? Serving? Going on Mission?
· What is it that energizes you? What is it that you do where you are so self unaware that you are not aware that you exist, but in that moment you are more you than you ever are when you are aware of yourself?
· “Our American culture which is based on buying things says you gain your life by getting more and more and more and more, but Jesus says ‘no, that leads to death. You get it back by giving it away and when you give it away you get it back.’" Philip Yancey
· Obey: instead of getting things done, obey the Sabbath commandment and spend one seventh of your time resting from your work. It’s a start. It’s getting yourself behind Jesus command
· Do a vacation: think of vacating and doing something that you can get lost in. Snorkeling. Hike the falls. Drive the winding roads of north Carolina.
· Play tennis with someone of your caliber.
· Sign up to serve. VBS, KidZone, greeter, sign up and serve.
· Do what someone else wants to do and be all there when you do it.
· Don’t take work home with you.
· Get into the world of your child.
· Stop thinking about you and your needs and duties while you are with others.
· In the hall way after church or at work, be “all there” in a conversation
with another person.
· Have people over and get into their world.
· Being about anything but you is good practice!
· Gardening is good ( except when it gets compulsive and expensive)
· Learn the joy of yearning for something more, knowing that it’s a sign post to the reality of the resurrection and restoration of all things. Do not follow the signs which point to immediate and false gratifications.
· Hike, but when you hike for the purpose of meeting Him you may be diminishing your chances, but when you hike to hike (one of the things of the Kingdom of God ) He meets you.
· God comes in sideways when I’m out of the way.
· “Seek and you will find, knock and the door will be open” Even then it is  more about my releasing and submitting than it is about my search. When I open the door, I don’t enter, it is He who walks through and enters me.
· It’s about Him not me.

Today's Prayer
 
“Lord, I commit myself to seeking first your Kingdom. I will do what you have shown me to do from today's reflection. In Christ's Name. Amen”

Today’s Word

“Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” Matthew 6:10
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Colossians 3:1-4 (NIV)

How to be Happy Because the Kingdom of God is Here

Colossians 3:1-3 captured my imagination many years ago and it still rings as true now as it did then. In one way it’s a difficult passage to get your head around. For me it means that if Christ lives in me because I’ve received Him, then there’s a new life at work and growing within me. There’s an “old me” that is clinging to life, but dying, indeed, from God’s perspective, is already dead.

When I “set my mind on things above” I am not thinking of myself and my happiness. I’m not thinking of myself at all. I am out of the way.

Has this ever happened to you? Have there been times when you have been so absorbed in something beyond yourself such as another person’s need, a piece of artwork, nature, beauty, in short “things above”, that you were entirely self forgetful, yet more fully you, more fully alive, more fully “joyful” than at any other time?

The key to getting yourself out of the way is not focusing on getting yourself out of the way. The key is focusing on “things above”. Then the real you, the one “hidden with Christ in God” will appear, even today.

Today’s Prayer

Lord, please lead me to things above. Please place them before my eyes and give me the energy, courage and deep desire to pursue them. I trust that as I do you will take me to where you want me to be. Amen

Today's Word                                       

"Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."  Matthew 6:10  
“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;
10 for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.
11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience." Hebrews 4:9-11(NIV)       

The Kingdom of Heaven is not a Place of Striving

Thomas J. DeLong, a professor at Harvard Business School, wrote this:

“A former student of mine who graduated 10 years ago and has a terrific job at a Fortune 500 company still suffers from comparison obsession. She is not happy. At least it seemed like a terrific job until she received her alumni newsletter and learned that a fellow alumnus, who was in the MBA program with her, had just been named VP at a Fortune 100 company. From that moment on, she could barely hold a conversation without bemoaning her lack of VP and Fortune 100 company status; on more than one occasion, she told others she felt like a failure.

It's telling that in my 500 interviews of "high-need-to-achieve-professionals" over the past three years, more than 400 of them questioned their own success and brought up the name of at least one other peer who they felt had been more successful than they were. Many of these individuals are considered among the best and the brightest, yet they are trapped by their comparing reflex. When you define success based on external rather than internal criteria, you diminish your satisfaction.

"It may be that Americans are among the unhappiest people on earth because we have the most which means  that  someone always has more than I do. Take a moment to read Matthew 5:1-12 (the beatitudes) where the word “blessed” can be equally accurately translated “happy”. Notice who’s happy!

Can you find a “Sabbath rest” from your striving for the “next thing”?

Prayer  

“Lord,all my efforts to find happiness on my own have been abject failures. I choose today to be content with being faithful to what you give me today and to allow my happiness to be in your hands, not mine. In Jesus' Name.  Amen”

In God's Kingdom There is No Need to Worry"                     

"Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."  Matthew 6:10  
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:6-7(NLT)
      
What Good News Did Jesus Give About Money, Having Enough to Live on and Worry?

Shortly after teaching his disciples to pray, “Thy Kingdom come”, he taught them this:

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

“And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today." Matthew 6:24-34(NLT)

Prayer

“Lord, please cause me to relax. Help me to live each day the very simple words of the old hymn, 'Trust and Obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey.' In Christ’s name.  Amen”

Today's Word
July 18, 2011                                       

"Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."  Matthew 6:10  

“The time has come," he said. "The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news!" Mark 1:15(NIV)

Is Christianity Fun for You?

I think Christianity should make life better not worse for believers. It has always made sense to me that I should be happy if I am a believer in Jesus Christ.

My goal for this coming Sunday’s message  is to help you to know how to find joy and happiness and rest and good times, in short how to experience eternal life, not just after death and resurrection, but now. . . . .how to experience heaven on earth.   After all,  just what exactly was Jesus’ reasoning in telling us to follow, obey and trust him? He gave this answer;

“ . . . so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
John 5:9-11(NIV) 

With summer here, vacations upon us, rest needed, what does the kingdom of God have to do with fun, happiness, enjoyment, rest, laughter, playing tennis, having a good time, hobbies, bird watching, things that some consider a waste of time?

Jesus was God having come to earth to help us and make life better not worse.  His described the coming of the Kingdom as good news. What life-giving, fun things, consistent with Jesus’ teachings, have you been missing out on? Why don’t you go do some of them?

Prayer
 
“Lord, Your Word calls Christianity “the life that is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:19). Please help me to identify and then do those things that bring life to my soul. In Christ’s name. Amen”

Today's Word                                       

"Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."  Matthew 6:10
  
“Not my will, but your will be done." Luke 22:42

How to say, "Thy will be done"

There are three ways to pray “Thy will be done”
 
1. With defeated resignation. I say this because I have no other option. I feel helpless and give up. This is not Christianity.
2. With a tone of bitter resentment. Beethoven died all alone; and it is said that when they found his body his lips were drawn back in a snarl and his fists were clenched as if he were shaking his fists in the very face of God and of high heaven.
3. With trust because the Christian can be sure that God knows what He is doing and because the Christian can be certain of the love of God.
 
"He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him?" Romans 8:32 

Praying “Thy will be done” is an act of trust, of faith, of belief. It contains hope, even optimism about what kind of future hard acts of obedience will bring.

Today's Prayer
 
“Lord, the truth is that I know more often than I like to admit what the right thing is and what the wrong thing is. The bigger thing is obedience. Lord, please lead me to acts of courage when faced with the hard choice of obeying you when everything in me wants not to. In Christ’s name.   Amen”