Theme: Matthew 6:9-13

“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”

Let’s be honest.  This text leaves us a little bewildered.  Can it really mean what it says?  Surely God doesn’t lead us “into temptation”.  James plainly says that God tempts no man nor can He himself be tempted (James 1:13).  Must be a textual problem…right?  But, the text is authentic.  And, that leaves us staring into the face of a disturbing possibility:  Can God – does God – lead us into moments of temptation? 

The question is a complicated one to be sure.  The spiritual life in general is characterized by a lot of mystery.  It’s sort of like looking at a beautiful island through a porthole in a ship’s cabin.  Our range of vision goes only so far.  This text puts an idea about how life in the Spirit works into our “line of sight” that is a little unnerving to say the least.  The answer, I think, begins with how we understand “God’s leading”.  If God isn’t against us and if it’s true that He doesn’t use us as human toys for His amusement then we are left with a higher purpose in the text’s/prayer’s meaning. 

Take Jesus’ own life for example.  Luke 4:1-2 says Jesus was led of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  Hebrews 5:8-10 reminds us that although he was a Son he learned obedience through the things which he suffered. Jesus described his own coming as “being sent”.  The Father placed him in the world of sinful humanity for the purpose of redemption.  “I have come to do the will of Him who sent me,” Jesus said.  The night Jesus was betrayed, he predicted the disciples would be scattered.  In particular, he told Peter that Satan had demanded permission to sift him like wheat (Luke 22:32-33).  Their trials created a temptation experience that tested their faith. 

“Lead us not” strikes at the heart of many things.  It reminds us that we live in a spiritual atmosphere that engages us, whether we want to admit it or not, in battle.  Consequently, we should meet each day in a genuine humility about our frailty as human beings.  And, this should compel us to seek the Lord’s leadership through the uncharted waters of each day.  Saying such in prayer is our personal declaration that we realize the kind of atmosphere we live in.  It is a declaration of our need for guidance and strength.  It is a declaration of our desire to live out intentionally the experience of sanctification.  To be vigilant about “lead us not into temptation” means that we are serious about “thy kingdom come.”  The two requests temper one another.  They imply the existence of the other. 

I like these words from Charles Spurgeon.  Listen carefully to the perspective of  “lead us not into temptation” that he provides.  May it bless your life as you travel with God this day.

You feel that you are about to follow the course of Divine Providence, that whatever happens to you will be according to your Father’s will, and you put up this prayer, “Lord, You are to lead me this day. I would follow close to Your footsteps as a sheep follows its shepherd. But since I know not what is to happen to me, suffer me to ask one thing of You. Do not, I pray You, lead me away from sorrow or trouble—do as You will about that, O my Lord—but do not, I beseech You, lead me in Your Providence where I shall be tempted. For I am so feeble that, perhaps, the temptation may be too strong for me. Therefore, this day make a straight path for my feet, and suffer me not to be assailed by the Tempter. “Or if it must be, if it is better for me to be tempted, and if You do intend this day that I should fight with old Apollyon himself, then deliver me from evil. Oh, save me from the mischief of the temptation. Let me have the temptation if so it must be, but oh, let it do me no hurt. Let me not stain my garments. Let me not slip nor slide, but may I stand fast at the end of the day. May this temptation, though it be not joyous but grievous, have so worked out in me the comfortable fruits of righteousness, that it may be a part of that grand method by which You shall ultimately deliver me from all evil and make me perfectly like Yourself in Glory everlasting.”

O Father, we continue the prayer we began with these simple thoughts.  Give us the strength to follow you wherever you lead us.  In moments of testing when we can feel the gravitational pull of temptation, may evil not get its hooks into us.  May your word be strong in us.  May your Spirit rise up within us against the powers of the flesh and overthrow them.  And, may we emerge on the other side of the moment of testing in strength and peace demonstrating that your kingdom has once again come.  Because of Jesus…Amen

Randy Daugherty

Stephenville, Texas

Theme: Matthew 6:9-13

Forgive Us

And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.  Matthew 6:12

Jesus’ model prayer is an introduction for us of what it’s like in His kingdom.   As He teaches us to pray He is opening our eyes to what being His follower is about.  Here Jesus shares what I call the Golden rule of forgiveness.  “Forgive us for our sins, just as we have forgiven those who sinned against us.”  He introduces a powerful truth.  I will be forgiven in the same measure as I forgive others. To the extent I forgive, I will be forgiven.   

In Matthew 18 Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like a king who forgave the multi-million dollar debt of his servant after he begged for forgiveness. In John 8 a woman caught in bed with a man not her husband, is thrown at Jesus feet, no doubt she is guilty, an adulteress, yet she is not condemned by Jesus. In Luke 7 another sinful woman is at Jesus feet and is forgiven.   In each of these stories guilt is clear, condemnation is appropriate, and punishment is deserved, yet in each case mercy and forgiveness are given.   

A pivotal realization of these stories is that you and I are the servant, the adulteress, and the sinful woman.  We have no defense, no justification, and deserve condemnation.  We are forgiven with the realization that relying only on God’s mercy is our only hope.  Said another way “Blessed are the poor in Spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.   Only when I realize my brokenness, my utter failure, my utter helplessness to save myself, that I am unworthy, my debt is too great, and I cannot pay it in a million years. That realization, that falling before Him is what changes us.   It is God’s will in His kingdom when we pray with a true understanding of “forgive us like we forgive others”.  I will forgive because He forgives me.  Jesus forgives those caught in adultery, prostitutes, dishonest, and un-religious people, and says these are welcome in my kingdom.  We have distorted the message to say if I'm good I’m forgiven, if I perform God will forgive me and save me. If I follow the rules He will show mercy. And so we treat others this way.   Show me you're serious about being good, perform for me and I'll forgive. Conform and you'll be in my good graces. Agree with me and I'll consider mercy. I place conditions on my forgiveness.  Yet, Jesus forgives those who fall at his feet offering nothing, making no excuses, just begging for his mercy.  It is all that he asks. Come to me and just believe me.  Ask me, seek me and I will forgive millions of times, even when you don't deserve it.  We are called to forgive in the same way.  If we place conditions on our forgiveness God says so will I.

Father, may I be able to forgive like Jesus did when he prayed “Father forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing”

Scotty Elston
Shallowater, Texas

Theme: Matthew 6:9-13

“Give us this day our daily bread.”

That’s the only request for (or reference to) something tangible in the Lord’s Prayer. . .or is it?
In John 6 Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” Sounds like Jesus isn’t referring to the bread we eat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The life in the spirit that Jesus offers is (or, should be) our daily bread.

Sometimes people fast from food. Some people don’t have the means to obtain food to eat on a daily basis. Daily bread is about much more than remembering to ask God to provide for us tangibly, then, because God doesn’t forget to provide. Jesus reminds us of this earlier in the Sermon on the Mount when he talks about the sparrows falling from their nests and clothing the wildflowers of the field. We know He’s going to provide. Why ask for something that we already know He’s going to give?

Prayer is communal. Why doesn’t Jesus say, “Give me this day my daily bread?” Instead, he says, “our.” Give us this day life in the spirit. . .together. Jesus calls us to share the joys of daily bread with each other. People who live life in the spirit share their tangible bread with those who don’t have any. In giving us community, God gives us the means to take care of each other. Often, God provides for His people, through His people. The more we seek daily bread in the spirit and through relationship with Jesus, the more we have to share with others. . .in the spirit.

It also shows the interplay between body, mind, and spirit. Our bodies aren’t the only things that need nourishment. The idea of Jesus being “the bread of life” reminds us that we need to be fed holistically.
The question still awaits: why ask for something that we already know He’s going to give? Maybe it’s also supposed to be a reminder to us. Think about the bread that God gives the Israelites as they wander around in the wilderness. The manna comes to them each day and He commands them to gather just enough for one day. Why? So that they will learn to trust that God will give them more the next day, just as He said. Asking God to provide bread “daily” reflects an attitude that is completely willing to trust that God will be faithful day in and day out.

God calls us, individually and as community, to trust that He will provide for our body, mind, and spirit, both tangibly and spiritually. I like how John sums up this idea in his version of the Lord’s Prayer:
“Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me” (John 17:7-8).

Asking for daily bread reaffirms our acceptance of God’s holy Word, revealed through Jesus Christ.
Lord,

Give us this day our daily bread, indeed. Give us full life in your spirit and the nourishment that can only come from intentional relationship with Jesus Christ. We love you.
Amen.

Erin E. Daugherty, Abilene Christian University

Theme: Matthew 6:9-13

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

I have often missed the kingdom that is alive and well all around me.  Instead I fight through my days trying to get my will done and thinking little of God’s will.  How do I get sidetracked so easily?  I want my life to matter and I spend time analyzing the better deal between Dish and DirecTV.  I want to live for God and his desire but after I catch each game during March Madness and whenever the Rangers aren’t playing.  I want God’s kingdom to come and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven as soon as I get in a bigger house and can drive a newer truck.  

I know I’m not alone.  I talk to friends daily who want a life that is worthy of our calling, a life lived in the freedom, peace and joy we have experienced at times (but not all the time).  We all want a life that is worth dying for because anything that good is very good.  The question boils down to whether I really want the kingdom to come on earth and what I am willing to give to make it happen.  

I don’t fit your typical rapper profile but I do like my rap music and I like it loud with lots of bass.  One of the new Christian-themed rappers I have listened to recently is PRO and I was struck by the spoken lyrics of his song “A Life Worth Dying For”.  

Within all men, there's a desire

To push through the pain and not burn as we walk through the fire, see

Though we know there's something much greater than us,

Our hearts desire, tells us the only thing important, is us

From life's first cry to our final resting position

Is a constant jockeying for significance and attention

And as we chase the Grim Reaper with his diamond covered sickle

Or send our brothers to meet him with vanity's pistol

It's clear that we are craving life!

Yet misdirected, trapped in the snare of night

Who can save us from this dastardly device?

Give us purpose as we claw and we fight?

This can't be it, I'm sure there's more.

Show us a life, worth dying for...

What would you give to see the kingdom come?  I question just how much I’m willing to give.  

This I do know, if I diligently seek God’s will to be done on earth, I will see the kingdom come and I will experience the joy and excitement that God has always intended for each of us.  I want to see the kingdom come.  I want to see men, women and children brought together:  sharing instead of fighting, rejoicing instead of shouting, dying to live instead of simply living and dying.

Choosing to follow the will of God, choosing to follow Christ and become his disciple, this is what will allow God’s kingdom on earth to do things in mankind’s heart, mind and soul we only scratch the surface of dreaming about.  

Show me a life worth dying for...

Grace and peace.

Jeff Jones

Decatur, Texas

Theme: Matthew 6:9-13

The Lord’s Prayer:  A Primer in Power

“When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking,” Leif sang loudly as he put on his pajamas. Our oldest is learning to read.   Our days are filled with phonics, spelling rules, and primers.  To see the triumph on his face when he sounds out a complex word correctly is a mother’s delight. 

We could swim a lifetime in the vast pool of subjects contained within scripture and never reach the other side.  Thankfully our loving Father gave us some “primers” to help us learn basic truths about Him and his creation.  This week we will be examining the Lord’s Prayer.  When Jesus shows us how to do something, we should take note. 

On February 16th, Scotty Elston gave us some beautiful insights into the “Kingdom” referenced in the Lord’s Prayer.  Since then I have been praying through God’s powerful “primer” daily.  Like a child acquiring new knowledge, this exercise has been exciting and renewing.  The following is the prayer recorded in Matthew and then my prayer as I began this morning.

Matthew 6:9-13

 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
 Give us today our daily bread.
 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.

“Our Father in heaven:  Our, mine… MY Father.  Humbly, I come to you as your child and am bowed low that you would call me, ‘daughter’. 

Hallowed be your name:  Today, I sanctify… set apart…YOUR name. You Lord, are set on high and lifted up in my home and in my heart. 

Your Kingdom come:   YOUR Kingdom, not mine.  I choose YOU.  Over and over I choose you and your will for my life. 

Your will be done:  Take over and take control of the parts of me I still hold on to.  I surrender all that I am to your masterful hands…shape me into your vessel.  I don’t just want to walk with you…I want to run with you. 

On earth as it is in heaven:  I begin with “the end in mind,” Lord.  Heaven is where I long to be.  I joyfully walk through today with eager anticipation of an eternity spent basking in the direct warmth of your love. 

Give us today our daily bread:  Thank you for the bounty of my table.  My family eats more in a day than most of the world does in a week.  Help me to share your rich provisions with gladness in my heart and a smile on my face.  YOU are the bread of my life.  You sustain me unlike anything else.  Help me to share this bread by physically and spiritually feeding others. 

And forgive us our debts:  Wash me clean, Lord.  Shine your light into the dark places of my heart. 

As we also have forgiven our debtors:  Heal my hurts with the power of your love, so that I may let go of all resentment and bitterness towards others.  Free me from the expectations I may have of other people, so I may see and love them as you do.

And lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from the evil one:  Lord, I set my mind and my heart on you.  Fill me with your desires, so that I may not be tempted; and when temptation arises today, help me to see an escape route.  In the battle that wages around me, you are the victor.  Amen.”

"Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work."
Oswald Chambers

Dana Jaworski
Anchor Point, AK