All flesh is grass, and all its grace as the flower of the field. Isaiah 40:6 Grass – “The difference between truth and fiction is that fiction has to make sense.” So said the ex-Communist colonel in the recent film, The International. This is great script writing. We do expect our novels to make sense. …
for Yours is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen. Matthew 6:13 Is – Life is a struggle, isn’t it? Things don’t always go the way they should. Tragedy and trials are a part of our daily existence. In spite of prayers for bread, guidance and deliverance, bad things happen. Maybe God…
but deliver us from evil Matthew 6:13 Deliver – But do we really want to be delivered? Delivered means facing reality as it is, no fantasies, no band-aids, no idol protection. Maybe we aren’t so quick to be delivered because it’s so frightening. Isn’t that exactly what happens when we turn back to the idols…
And do not lead us into temptation Matthew 6:13 Lead Us – How are we supposed to understand this strange phrase? God doesn’t tempt anyone. The Bible is clear about that. God is holy. All that He does is holy. There is no possibility that He would ever entice anyone to sin. So, what can…
“and forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors” Matthew 6:12 As We Also – It’s such a well-known phrase that we don’t really pay close attention to its implications. It just runs off our lips like drinking from a hose. But there is something very important here; important because it is right…
“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Matthew 6:12 Debts – There are only two critical terms in a debt: who and what. Without those two terms, the debt means nothing. So, let’s ask the obvious questions. In the Lord’s Prayer, whom do I owe and what do I owe? Since…
“Our bread, our daily bread, give us today.” Martin Luther’s translation of Matthew 6:11 Daily – I am indebted to Ernst Lohmeyer for his magnificent work The Lord’s Prayer. Much of his thought underscores our look at this model prayer. His untimely death robbed the world of a man of insight and scholarship. The book,…
Give us this day our daily bread. Matthew 6:11 Shifting Gears Bread – You can’t see it in English, but in Greek the emphasis on this part of the model prayer is not on the verb. It is on the noun – bread. In Greek, emphasis is determined by position in the sentence since there…
on earth, as it is in heaven Matthew 6:10 Earth/ Heaven – Startling! Uncomfortable! Of course, it isn’t for us because we are not saturated in the Hebrew Scriptures. But the disciples were. They would have expected “heaven and earth” not “earth and heaven.” Glance through the Old Testament and you will find the phrase…
Thy will be done Matthew 6:10 Will – “But how do I know what God’s will is?” Have you struggled with that question? I have – more often than not. I long to do His will, but knowing what He wants in any of the various gray areas of my life is not so easy…
