Hey again! Sorry about the brief hiatus… such is life. Let’s pick up where we left off. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go back and read parts 1, 2, 3 & 4 of this post when you get a chance. They’re short and will catch you right up to what we’ve been talking about.

So far, we’ve discussed the fact that the beginning of this prayer found in Matthew 6 and Luke 11 centers on the person of God. Who He is and how we approach Him. He’s our Father who is in Heaven and who is Holy… From there, we discussed in our last post, that our response to who God is and where God is isn’t to get where God… it’s to get God where we are. Our goal should be for His kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth like it already is in heaven. Ok, so now for the next part. Ready? Good.

“Give us this day our daily bread.” -Matthew 6:11

Such a simple statement, with such significant implications. What does this teach us? Why is this important to include here? First, let’s look at another story in Scripture that this reminds me of. The Exodus account. As the children of Israel were being led out of Egypt by Moses in the book of Exodus, they found themselves in the desert without food or water. God, being the good God that He is, provided food for them in the form of manna. When this happened, it revealed an interesting aspect of man’s character and God’s character. God would bring them new, fresh manna everyday… but people began to take more than they needed and store up excess. God’s response to this was to cause the manna to spoil overnight. Humanity had a trust issue that manifested in an impulse to hoard its provisions in order to have more “just in case.” God, however, wanted His people to learn that they could depend upon Him daily and didn’t need a safety net. The character flaw in mankind that existed back then, and has persisted until today, is an addiction to excess. To reject God’s provision in lieu of a tangible guarantee.

Now, jump back to Matthew 6… Jesus teaches us to pray “Give us this day our daily bread.” He’s trying to teach us once again what God tried to teach the Israelites in the wilderness. Dependance. Don’t we trust that God will give us what we need? Do we really believe He will take care of us? We say yes, but we can’t seem to escape our propensity to hoard. We are still compelled to have savings accounts, credit lines and back up plans. I’m not saying it’s wrong to save, but we have to honestly evaluate where our confidence lies. Often times, our faith in Jesus wanes because we have no reason to have faith. We have our excess and safety nets instead.

It’s also important to note here that Jesus told us in John chapter 6 that He is the bread of life. His body is also represented by bread in communion. Jesus, who is the Word made flesh, is also our daily bread. Our experience with Jesus, and our revelation from His Word, should be new, fresh and ongoing. Think of it this way… When you get hungry, you don’t close your eyes and picture yesterday’s lunch, do you? You can’t survive off of the nourishment from last week, you need new food each day. Why should it be any different with our spirits? The revelation and encounter you had yesterday was for yesterday… What about today? Is Jesus your daily bread? Or just a great meal you remember having once upon a time?

Whether spiritual or physical, I believe this part of the prayer teaches us one major thing. Dependance. We must learn to trust that God can provide daily. Whether our physical needs or our spiritual strength, He can bring us new provision every single day. Do you believe that? Do you believe it enough to fully consume what He has given you and waste yourself on His purposes because you know He will fill you again tomorrow? Or will get by on shadows and memories all the while hoarding excess that takes your complete trust off of God and places it squarely on your back up plan? The choice is yours. The choice is daily. Choose today…

(This is the fourth part of a series of posts, please take a moment and read from the beginning. Thanks!)

Up to this point, great attention has been given to our posture in prayer. I hope this has caused you to realize how very important our mindset and perspective is when we pray. The place we pray from, the heart with pray with, and how we view who we pray to is extremely vital. The book of James says the “prayers of a righteous man avail much.” To be righteous means to be in “right relationship,” to be in the right place. When you pray from the right place and the right mind, your prayers are effective!

Now, our response. The first part of this prayer decreed who God is, it set the tone for who we are praying to. “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name…” Now we’re ready to pray. To petition. To request. What is our first response to establishing the character, quality and location of God? Read on… “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Amazing! Our response to recognizing who God is, and where God is, is not to get where God is. It’s to get God where we are. He didn’t say, “Take me into Your kingdom,” He said, “Your kingdom come!”

Jesus strategically began with the essential revelation of the person and place of God… But then His first request after that was uncommon. It was manifestation rather than visitation. It was redemption instead of escape. He didn’t teach us to escape the woes of this existence to visit with Him temporarily in a heavenly realm. No. He taught us to pray for the manifestation of His presence and culture right in the midst of our fallen world in order to redeem our environment. There is a big difference there. The goal of the Christian existence is not getting to heaven, it’s getting heaven to earth. If we were honest, we would admit that we have often separated most of God’s promises from our life today. We have taken concepts like heaven, eternity, encountering God, joy, abundant life, etc… and set them afar off. Our current Christian culture has convinced us that the bulk of our experience with God will come after this life is over. That is not stated, nor is it supported, anywhere in Scripture!

Jesus came and taught the kingdom. He instilled in us certain truths and released us to be the kingdom. To establish the rule and reign of our Maker in this earth. To manifest the culture and quality of heaven all around us. To walk in eternity now! To setup the kingdom of God in our homes, schools, business, neighborhoods and churches. To be consumed with bringing His will and kingdom here, not obsessed with abandoning our mission to see His kingdom there.

Heaven is not a distant hope, heaven is what we are called to experience today. That may sound strange to some of you, but what makes heaven heaven? Heaven is heaven because God is there. If by our worship, praise, obedience, honor, prayer and intimacy God is present with us… what is wrong with calling this heaven? If God is with us, if we can walk with Him, if He is here, what makes that any different from heaven? Heaven is where God is. Heaven comes when God comes… To be clear, I’m not saying there is not an eternal abode of God called heaven that we go to for eternity one day. I believe in that. But I also believe we don’t have to wait to encounter heaven. Jesus tells me that I can bring heaven to earth.

Through my expression of Christ in my life, my heart’s desire should be to redeem existence. To manifest heaven and kingdom to the people and places all around me. It’s easy for us to have an escapist mentality. To be tired of this life and ready to fly away. But we’re here. God has placed us here. And He is calling us to bring His kingdom to earth.

(This is the third part of a series of posts, please read Part 1 and Part 2 first)

Ok, let’s move on to the next part of the prayer. We started with just the first two words, “Our Father,” which shaped the way we perceive who God is. Now, let’s look at the next two words, “in heaven.”

After helping us to be settled on who God is, Jesus proceeds to define where God is. God is in heaven. Now, you may think this is one of those “duh” moments – that everyone knows that already… So why put it in there? There is a certain amount of freedom and power found when you realize that the One we pray to is in heaven, not on earth. God is not from here, He doesn’t live here, He’s in heaven. And for all of you who are now boldly arguing that God is “in you” or “everywhere” not just in heaven, I understand, and agree. I’m not saying He is restricted to heaven, but that is His dwelling place. Jesus said so, and taught us to pray to Him there.

This fact should not cause us to feel like God is distant or disconnected, He’s not… He’s set apart. The issues and limitations that we face in this earth don’t apply to our God. When we pray, we must be assured of the fact that our God is limitless and not bound by our economy or conditions. If not, we can potentially limit God with our prayers. Praying within the bounds of negative circumstance can cause you to pray with doubt, contradiction, frustration and even anger. We must be intentional about lifting our eyes off of our environment and praying to a God in a heavenly environment.

God is high and lifted up. An exalted King. The King of all kings with the Name above all names. He is all powerful and everlasting. Nothing is impossible with God. Your circumstance is not too big nor your issue too great. Just because your environment tells you it’s impossible doesn’t affect your Heavenly Father. He’s not within your restricted environment, He’s in heaven. He moves in the earth, but His abode is in the heavens. And there is no one like Him in all of existence. He’s holy.

That’s the next part of the prayer, “Hallowed be Your Name.” God is holy. Do you know what holy means? Set apart. Sacred. Consecrated. Unique. There is nothing and no one in all of creation that is anything like our God. You could search for eternity and never find what you will find in God. He is the answer to every question, the solution for every problem, and He is disentangled and unhindered by all the noise we are crowded by in the earth.

So, now that we have established the importance of prayer, and the power of the prayer lesson Jesus gives His disciples, let’s search this passage and see what things we can learn. Here’s the prayer:

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 forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

The first lesson I want to share with you is found within just the first two words of this prayer… “Our Father.” Notice here, when Jesus is instructing His disciples on how to address their prayers, that He does not say, “All powerful Lord,” or “Omnipotent God.” He doesn’t pray to an “Almighty King” or an “Everlasting Ruler.” He simply speaks to a Father. This is the very first thing Jesus said! He was attempting to shape the way His disciples perceived their God, to influence the place from which they prayed. This is a fundamentally necessary truth that so many Christians have yet to grasp… Who are we praying to?

This is the very reason Jesus came. Before Christ, the concept of God as Father didn’t exist. Search it out. Check and see if anybody else before Jesus ever referred to God as Father. Then, even more interestingly, check and see if Jesus ever referred to God as anything but Father… Here’s some help, He didn’t. Jesus came to introduce the world to God the Father… That’s the very reason He came as the Son, to prove God could be a Father. Jesus being a Son had much less to do with His ability to be a son and much more with proving that God could indeed be a Father. That was the only thing the devil was concerned with, and that was the only thing that upset the Pharisees. When satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, his only concern was the Sonship of Jesus. The devil didn’t ask, “If you really are the Mesiah,” or “If you really are God incarnate.” No, he asked, “If you really are the Son of God…” (Matthew 4:1-4) When Jesus was being questioned by the council, nothing really seemed to bother them until Jesus said He was the Son of God! (Matthew 26:63-65) Jesus being a Son is so important, because it solidifies our relationship with God as Father.

There is so much power to us grasping this concept, our prayer life depends upon it. Why? Because it shapes the way we approach the one we are praying to. Regardless of what type of relationship you have with your earthly father, I guarantee that you would approach your dad with a request much differently than you would the President. The way you would talk to your dad is a far cry from how you would talk to a king, a lord, a dictator or a ruler… It’s your dad! You know him and you can talk to him whenever you want… He’s quick to forgive, understands you better than most and does his best to give you what you ask for. Now, I understand that might not be the case with some of you. Maybe your dad isn’t around (or you wish he wasn’t). But that’s the big difference. God is a perfect Father. God makes no mistakes. He doesn’t lie and He won’t ever let you down. And you’re His child!

This is the first and most essential truth about prayer. When you pray, you are not petitioning a king or approaching a taskmaster. You are talking to your Daddy who loves you more than you could ever imagine! Pray from that place. Pray with confidence and security knowing that your Dad owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and His heart is passionately after you…

See you next time.

Prayer. What a loaded word. For some people, it means so much. For others, it means almost nothing. It can mean a beautiful commitment to seek the Lord, or it can be an empty promise said in lieu of doing anything else. What does prayer mean to you? Are you a person of prayer? Do you have a prayer life? Or do you reserve prayer for extreme cases after you’ve done everything else you know to do? I believe prayer is one of the most important things in the life of a Christ-follower, and I would like to share a few insights with you about it.

Over the past year, I have been considering a common passage of Scripture with new perspective and intrigue. It is very familiar, you most likely have it memorized. It is found in Luke 11 and Matthew 6, and you probably know it as “The Lord’s Prayer.” I began to search this portion of Scripture for direction and instruction after realizing it’s not the Lord’s prayer at all… it’s our prayer. This was what Jesus gave to His disciples after they asked Him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” If this was Jesus’ prayer instruction, I wanna learn from it…

If you noticed, the title of this post includes the suffix (Part 1). That means this will be a multiple part entry spanning a few weeks in time. There should be seven or eight posts in total, just breaking down this prayer into the important lessons I believe it gives us. It’s not about the specific words found in the text, or about memorizing and repeating them (Jesus warns against vain repetitions in Matthew 6 just before He teaches this to His disciples). It’s about learning what the words teach us. What is the heart, position and attitude in this prayer? I hope you will follow along.

Before I get into the prayer itself, I will use this post to paint the scene and show you why I believe this prayer is so powerful. First, I think it is notable that they wanted to pray like Jesus prayed. Prayer wasn’t a new concept, and I’m sure all of the disciples already knew how to pray (they were all Jews). So why did they ask Jesus to teach them? To me, this says that there must have been something exceptional about the way Jesus prayed. The disciples must have witnessed something uncommon and enticing to drive already praying people to go back to prayer school.

Second, it is incredible that this is what they asked for… Think about it. Think about all the things the disciples had seen… Miracle after miracle had been done before their eyes! Why didn’t they say, “Lord, teach us how to walk on water,” or “Lord, teach us to turn water into wine.”? They could have asked to be taught SO MANY other things. This is what makes me take notice of this story. This is what makes me believe it is powerful. The disciples knew, somehow, that Jesus was able to do the miraculous as a result of how He prayed. The disciples saw a connection between Jesus’ public ministry and His private prayer life. They knew if they could just pray how He prayed, they could do what He did. Do we value prayer that highly? For the most part we seem to be much more concerned with learning how to preach, how to succeed, how to sing or dance… Those closest to God in the flesh just wanted to learn how to pray like He did.

Lastly, what stands out to me is the simple fact that Jesus answered. He didn’t say, “Oh, just pray however you want! What you’re doing is fine…” Nope. He gave an answer. He said, “In this manner, pray.” In my book, that makes the next words to come out of His mouth some of the most important words ever spoken by anyone, anywhere. There’s so much to learn from what Jesus says next, and I hope you will check back in a day or two to join me as we begin walking through it.

I will be starting 2012 with a 21-day fast. I don’t normally announce things like that, but I have invited our entire church to join me, and I thought some people may have some questions about fasting. I would like to share, very briefly, the why and the how of fasting. I hope this is helpful to you as you decide how you will begin your New Year.

First, it is very important to note that all of the central figures in Scripture, including Jesus the Christ, fasted at some point. Everyone you find that is significant, that made a difference, that had a close relationship with the Father, all of them fasted. From Abraham to Daniel to David, from John the Baptist to Jesus to His Disciples and the Apostle Paul… all of these experienced the power of fasting. I think that is extremely noteworthy. If they saw the value of fasting, certainly I can as well.

Secondly, we are promised a reward for fasting. In Matthew 6, Jesus said…

Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,  so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

God sees something in you when you fast that He finds worthy of reward. I like that. What is it that He sees? I believe it is the willing, humble heart of sacrifice that draws His attention. What fasting means to me is this: I am denying my flesh so my spirit can increase. I am telling my flesh, “You are not the most important thing to me, and I am willing to deny you certain pleasures so that you know you’re not in control.” For me, every hunger pain I feel, every tempting moment, every time it’s hard, it reminds me that my flesh is decreasing and my spirit is increasing. When God sees that you are willing to deny your flesh because you know the things of the Spirit are more valuable, He sees something praiseworthy… something deserving of reward. That is the heart of fasting. It’s not starving yourself or dieting, it’s not some religious, empty act. It’s the beauty of growing intimacy as God finds you willing to sacrifice in order to find Him more. Fasting also simplifies your life to some degree, allowing more focus on God and His Word.

So, now you know why, and you’re ready to begin. But how? Where do you start? There are so many different ways to fast and things to fast. The key is finding something that is genuinely a sacrifice for you. Something that really costs you. David boldly declared that he would not offer to God that which costs him nothing (2 Samuel 24:24). This could be food, or just certain foods, or TV, internet or even video games… Something that is a sacrifice so that your flesh knows it is being denied so that your spirit can thrive. It should also provide time within your day for prayer. I believe fasting without prayer is a waste of time. To simply deny your flesh without refocusing that time and energy on the things of God is a missed opportunity indeed.

Final note: If you are going to do a complete fast (water only) it is important that you prepare your body for that change. I highly recommend that for every 2 days of fasting you allow yourself one day of special diet going into the fast and coming out. This means that for a 3-week fast you should spend a week and a half preparing and recovering. You should slowly eat cleaner and eat less over a period of 10 days to prepare your stomach. Then, slowly work your way back to solids over 5-7 days. How you begin a fast and how you break that fast can make all the difference in how successful your time is.

Here’s my personal plan: My fast begins on January 1st, so I began eating differently last Wednesday. I first cut out meat, soda and coffee. Then, a few days after that I cut out bread. When I’m only a few days away from the fast, I only eat raw fruits and vegetables. The last day before the fast, just raw vegetables. Throughout the fast, I drink one glass of juice in the morning and one in the evening, while drinking lots of water the rest of the day. To break a fast, I always begin with yogurt. Within a couple days I’m back on raw fruits and veggies. From there, I generally just pace myself depending how I feel, but I usually won’t eat any meat for a week.

Well, that’s just a little info for you. Hope it helps… If you have any further questions about fasting, feel free to email me at devin@judahcc.com.

God bless and Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas! I hope your holiday was great. I rather enjoyed my Christmas, albeit a hot, humid, Florida Christmas morning… I was thinking a little about the Christmas story. About Mary, Joseph and little baby Jesus. It’s a story we have all heard so many times, but one that is so very important. As I was pondering this classic tale, I wondered what little nugget of truth might touch my life today. Is there something in there that can be new to me? Something that can be meaningful over 2,000 years after the event took place? I like to do that, to reexamine oft visited stories and look at them with new perspective. As I did that with the story of the birth of Christ, I discovered a simple truth that I would like to share with you…

There are two great lessons within the Christmas story. The first, which I wrote about last Christmas (read that here), is the power of incarnation. The fact that God put on flesh and became like you and me. That is so powerful because my God knows what it’s like to be me. He can relate to me. He became like me to provide a way for me to become like Him.

This year, I saw something new, another little lesson that touches my life today. Along with the power of incarnation the Christmas story teaches us about the power of process. What do I mean by that? Jesus didn’t come as a man, He came as an infant. He didn’t just put on flesh and become a human, he became a baby. God, in His wisdom, chose to put Jesus through a process. He didn’t skip any steps, He didn’t start out at 30 years old, He didn’t even age faster than normal… He went through the process of life. In my imagination, I see Jesus as a little baby, crying, drooling and spitting up. I see Him as a toddler trying to walk and falling down. I see Jesus as a preteen with acne and a squeaky voice. I see Him going through the same process I did. That tells me that process is important, that process is powerful. If it wasn’t, God would have sent Jesus as a 30-year old man to get straight to work. Process equals power. Why?

There’s something about the path we travel that is more valuable than we think it is. We humans are destination oriented, we are obsessed with arriving. God is journey oriented, He is consumed with the process. Everything about the life of Christ was necessary and was just as vital as His ministry and His death. This Christmas, as you consider the Nativity story, learn to appreciate process. Learn to value the journey you’re on. Decide to accept the fact that God is madly in love with the work in progress that you are today. Don’t skip any steps, don’t miss any part of the beautiful, powerful, necessary process God is walking you through. Happy Christmas!