March 8, 2024

Meditations on the Lord’s Prayer: The Introduction

Our Father Who Art in Heaven.
What does this mean?   With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear father.

One of my favorite hymns is Of the Father’s Love Begotten.  It is a serene hymn that recounts God the Father’s greatest gift to mankind—his Son, Jesus.  The second verse of the hymn contains the haunting words,

O that birth forever blessed, when the Virgin full of grace,

By the Holy Ghost conceiving bore the Savior of our race.

And the Babe, the world’s redeemer first revealed his sacred face.

Ever more and ever more.

The hymn describes the unsurpassed love the Eternal Father has for his ultimate creation, humanity.  Love compelled him to give his only begotten Son to a world forever lost in the utter darkness of our sin-filled world.

Forgiveness is the hallmark of our Father’s love. Through him, forgiveness was given to all humanity on the cross of suffering and redemption born by Jesus.  The forgiveness of the Father is yours. Embrace it as your Father in heaven intends.

January 12, 2024

Meditations on the Lord’s Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer: The Sixth Petition

Lead us not into temptation.

What does this mean?

God tempts no one. We pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful nature may not deceive us or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. Although we are attacked by these things, we pray that we may finally overcome them and win the victory.

We are at war. It isn’t a physical war, rather it is a spiritual war. The opponents are an unholy trinity made up of the devil, the world and our sinful nature. The Bible describes the battlefield well. The devil is identified as a roaring “seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). The world, Jesus tells us “If the world hates you, know that it hated you before it hated you” (John 15:18). Finally, we are warned in Roman 7:18, “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate”.

What shall we do as we face this evil triumvirate? Paul answers the question for us when he tells us to “put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). Just what is this armor? “Truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer” (Ephesians 6:14-18).

Each of these pieces of armor is in easy reach for those who live by faith in the Son of Man. What we are to hold onto is the promise of Jesus that he has already overcome the devil, the world and our sinful nature. That occurred on the holy cross of Calvary when Jesus shed his blood and died for you. The resurrection of Jesus on the third day is the final evidence that the unholy trinity has been destroyed. The only problem is that the triumvirate refuses to acknowledge defeat. Thus, we have the battle against that which is not made up by flesh and blood, “but against the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). So, we stand firm in the gospel of peace which is found in the Lord Jesus Christ.

December 1, 2013 Link

The Santa Lie Author: Kati Kleimola

 

Dear Daniela,

 

You asked me if Santa is real and I didn’t give you an answer. I want you to decide for yourself if Santa is real, but first I want to tell you a little more about where he lives. Santa doesn’t live in the North Pole; he lives in a place called imagination. We all have imagination, but children have more of it than adults. Imagination lets you take bits of things that are real and string them together to make a story that is magical. The story of Santa began after a kind man named Saint Nickolas gave gifts in secret. Over the years people used their imagination to make that story bigger and more beautiful. As you get older it will be harder and harder to keep this imagination. People will tell you that it is silly to believe in a man that comes down a chimney, that fairies are just pretend and that dragons only live in story books. And even though you might not be able to see those things they can still be real if they live in your imagination.

 

Someday you will also be told that the story of Jesus being born in a manger isn’t real either. They will say that Jesus was a man that lived, but over the years people created a story about him just like they did Santa.  That will be a lie. Unlike Santa, Jesus does not live in a place called imagination. He is as real today as he was the night He was born. He is in your heart and you don’t need imagination to believe in Him, you need faith. And unlike the story of Santa, the Bible is full of true stories that are meaningful and have the power to change your life.

 

So my prayer for you is that you never lose your imagination. I hope you always chose to believe in wonderful stories that make your heart happy. I hope someday you are able to use your imagination as you surprise your children with gifts under the Christmas tree. But what I hope and pray for most is that you never lose sight of the meaning of Christmas. That as you lose a little bit of your childhood imagination each year, your faith in God grows more each year. Please never confuse the fun of Santa and the realness of Christ.

 

Love,

 

Mom

 

March 3, 2013

The First Service . . . Dietrich Bonhoeffer

From “Life Together”: The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists in listening to them. Just as love to God begins with listening to His
Word, so the beginning of love for the brethren is learning to listen to them. It is God’s love for us that He not only gives His Word but also lends us His ear. So it is His Word that we do for our brother when we learn to listen to him. Christians, especially ministers, so often think they must always contribute something when they are in the company of others, that this is the first service they have to render. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking.”