OUR DAILY BREAD

Time with Jesus - Sunday, 14 October 2012

Hi all,

Today’s meditation continues examining the Lord’s Model Prayer with our focusing on “Give us today our daily bread”. Matt 6:11 TNIV We see that this is the first reference to ourselves in the prayer. We look at some of the background and ask if this sequence is important.

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Sunday, 14 October 2012			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
©	These devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian purposes					©
INTRODUCTION			DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	OUR DAILY BREAD
Have you ever wondered why things are recorded in the Scripture the way they are set out? In most cases, it’s because it’s the actual sequence of events in life. At other times, words are recorded in terms of their relative importance. The Lord’s model prayer illustrates this very well. Two accounts are given associated with this prayer. There is Matt 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-4. The Luke account explains the background to the prayer. It was the one Jesus taught His disciples in response to them asking Him to teach them to pray. 1 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." Luke 11:1 ESV. The model prayer was given in response to this request. It follows that the sequence in the wording followed a pattern that He believed is important. We see that prayer commences with focussing on the Father rather than ourselves. This is very important. It shows us that prayer begins with the acknowledgement of the greatness of God. We need to be aware that the One to Whom we are praying is our Almighty Father. This is not just protocol. We don’t interrupt our superiors without being aware of who they are. We need to establish precisely Who we are praying to. This is Almighty God, not just a junior clerk from the Council offices. I’d be very surprised if the Lord insisted we go through this preliminary. We do for our own sake! It would be much like our walking unannounced into the office of the President and started making demands without any introduction. This is most likely the reason why Jesus included a deeply respectful preamble as an integral part of His model prayer. From this it seems logical that all prayer should commence with an acknowledgement of Almighty God. Jesus then turns to the needs of the individual. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Matt 6:11-12 Some have suggested that the sequence was deliberate. In other words we should pray for our needs before we ask for our forgiveness. I would go along with this if the word “and” was not included in our translations. To me this suggests that both are equally important. We will look at the forgiveness issue in more detail in tomorrow’s meditation. Could it be that the provision of our daily bread depends on our sins being forgiven? This is quite possible. Perhaps God will only see to this provision if we are walking in forgiveness? In brief, how can we expect God to provide anything for us if we are not walking in forgiveness with our brothers and sisters and with Him? If we bear in mind that without repentance there is no forgiveness; and without forgiveness there is no salvation; it follows that without forgiveness there would be no provision. Could it be that provision also depends on forgiveness? What do you think? Jim & Phyllida Strickland			11 Give us this day our daily bread, Matthew 6:11 ESV 25 Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread. Psalms 37:25 NLT 16 these are the ones who will dwell on high. The rocks of the mountains will be their fortress. Food will be supplied to them, and they will have water in abundance. Isaiah 33:16 NLT 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he drank from the brook. 1 Kings 17:6 NLT 19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 NLT 5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Hebrews 13:5 ESV 3 He humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. 4 Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. Deuteronomy 8:3-4 ESV 32 Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 34 They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." 35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. John 6:32-35 ESV	You have imagination! It is God’s gift to you. To think and to imagine, no other creatures do. Of course I cannot prove this; perhaps I’ve got it wrong? But I have never heard a camel sing a brand new song. Because that doesn’t happen I feel I may assume, That only homo-sapiens, can write a brand new tune. We’re fashioned in the image of The God who reigns on high. That’s why we have emotions; we can both laugh and cry. This makes us kind of special. With the ability; To exercise the special gifts He’s given you and me. So based on this assumption, here’s a scenario: - Think about it carefully, because I’d like to know, How you’d design a person if God gave you that right? Would it be much different from what is now in sight? The creature must exist upon a world that’s ready-made. Let your mind flow freely; your thoughts go on parade. Would you give the creature two hands, two legs and knees? Would you give it hearing and a pair of eye’s to see? Would you give it fingernails and cover it with hair? Would it be attractive; and would you make a pair? Would it have a stomach and would you let it sleep? What of waste disposal? Would that be on the cheap? What about the fuel it would need from day to day? Would it have a diet? Would it ever pray? If you want to feed it, how would you want it done? Work on solar power, provided by the sun? Frankly it’s a nightmare. The one that He’s designed, Fits our situation with a keen and active mind. Daily you would feed it! Without food it will die! You would have to listen and hear its every cry. What about its nourishment; its food for every day, If you failed to feed it, it would just fade away! So you’d be responsible for all its food and drink. You’d cater for its diet. Somehow, I rather think, The ones the Lord created; the real life me and you; Could never be an accident. Such thoughts would be untrue. They’d have to go the distance and not run out of steam. That’s why we are the outcome of our Creator’s dream. Jim Strickland – Written 14th October 2012

THY WILL BE DONE

Time with Jesus - Saturday, 13 October 2012

Hi all,

The prayer the Lord taught His disciples in Matt 6:9-13 is frequently referred to as the Lord’s Prayer. Some see this as a misnomer. The Lord’s High Priestly Prayer in John 17 could also be called the Lord’s prayer. My solution is to refer to the “Our Father” as the Lord’s model prayer and John 17 as the Lord’s prayer. I don’t know if this helps you. It certainly helps me. Our meditation today focuses on the Will of God.

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Saturday, 13 October 2012			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
©	These devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian purposes					©
INTRODUCTION			DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	THY WILL BE DONE
I’ve never believed in “Dot Theology”. Dot theology tells us that God’s perfect will for us is in the very centre of something like a dartboard. Anywhere else on the “dartboard is His permissive will. To miss the dartboard entirely, is not His will. It sounds very simple and logical. Frankly, this is a load of nonsense. Paul put it as follows; 2 Don't copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 NLT This does not mean that God has three “wills”. A good will, a pleasing will and a perfect will. A better way of stating it today would be to say that when you are in His will, you will find it good, pleasing and perfect. It implies that everything else is not His will. Frankly, God has only one will. Everything else is not his will. There is no such thing as the permissive will of God. Show me a permissive Bible and I’ll acknowledge His permissive will. So we are either in it or not in it. To my way of understanding, anywhere on the dartboard is His will. Off the dartboard isn’t His will. Think about this for a moment. This morning I got out of bed at 05h45. If it had been 05h44 or 05h46 would I have missed His perfect will? When I brushed my teeth, I started at the top and worked down. I brushed tooth number 12 before number 11. But if I’d brushed number 11 first, I would have been in His perfect will. Later on I chose to put on green socks. What if God’s will for me was to be barefoot. Am I now out of His will because I chose to wear green ones? Of course not. What I could say is that God wants me to brush my teeth. Whether or not I do is up to me. Another illustration is to consider what I should be doing each day. His will is for me to work. Perhaps He has a reason for me to work in a bookshop. Let’s assume I get a job in a bookshop. He is satisfied. If I am cleaning shelves or serving a customer, He is satisfied. I am still in His will if I serve customer A or customer B. That’s why He gave me free will. He wants me to decide. He is not standing watching to see if I cleaned shelf a or served customer C. That’s up to me. Note that if I’m in the shop working within the law and not doing anything contrary to His commands, He’s happy. But if I steal from the till it’s a sin! To find His will is not too difficult. First ask Him what it is. If you are a six foot 150kg rugby player, don’t ask if you should be a ballet dancer. You would rebel! In most cases, His will for you is what you like doing. I like writing. I would not be interested in flower arranging. He’s made me the way I am. I like it this way. If you want to be a ballet dancer or a flower arranger and are talented that way, go for it! It’s most likely His will for you. Don’t make it so complicated.  Ecclesiastes tells us 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. Eccl 9:10 NIV. That’s where you’ll meet with God. He doesn’t guide people who aren’t busy. That’s where you’ll find His will. For you it will be good, pleasing and perfect. The secret is to carry on doing what you are already doing. Then watch for his instructions to go left or right. They will shine out to you like traffic lights. Then do what he says. That way, life will be abundant and exciting. You will be kept on the edge and you will know His peace. That’s where you will find God’s will for you. Where He directs and where His peace is found. OK so you make a couple of mistakes! Get up and carry on! It’s not His will for you to quit. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10 ESV 17 Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Ephesians 5:17 NLT 14 In the same way, it is not My heavenly Father's will that even one of these little ones should perish. (lost sheep) Matthew 18:14 NLT 3 It is God's will that you keep away from sexual sin as a mark of your devotion to him. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 GW 2 That way you won't be guided by sinful human desires as you live the rest of your lives on earth. Instead, you will be guided by what God wants you to do. 1 Peter 4:2 GW 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. James 1:18 & 21 ESV 16 since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." 1 Peter 1:16 ESV 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother & sister & mother." Mark 3:34-35 ESV 24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. Matthew 7:24-25 TNIV 17 The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out--but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity. 1 John 2:17 MSG	Jesus prayed, “The Father’s will, that’s done in heaven each day. Will also come upon the Earth in every little way!” It sounds so complicated. But why should that be so? It’s not as though the Father’s will on Earth we do not know! He spelled it out quite plainly, on tablets made of stone. The concepts are so beautiful; they clearly have been shown. To always love the Lord your God with spirit, heart and soul. To make your love for neighbours your sure and steadfast goal. There also is a rider. To love your enemy. These two “commands” of God sum up the things He says must be. He spells out the specifics we all can understand. Like “Don’t commit adultery”; such actions have been banned. Only married couples should ever copulate. “Don’t commit adultery and do not fornicate!” We know this isn’t popular. But Father makes the rules And blatant disregard for this is only done by fools. Of course we all have weaknesses. There’s yours and there are mine. But we resist temptation through Jesus Christ Divine. So if you look at someone with an attitude of lust. You are an adulterer. Perhaps that seems unjust. But if you love your neighbour, you won’t harm him or her. So only do the things you know that Jesus would prefer. All of these commandments are generalities. Do not murder; do not steal and liars do not please, The Maker of Creation. These are a bagatelle, To keep your eyes on heaven and not be sent to Hell. Now this is just the framework, of how we ought to be. Let’s be more specific. What is God’s will for me? How do we detect it? How can we ever know, That what we’ve started doing, is the way we ought to go? Here’s a little rule of thumb, I think may well assist. If you keep it in your mind, His will should not be missed. Think about the High Street than runs right through the town. There are many traffic lights, to slow the traffic down. When you reach a corner, keep looking straight ahead. Listen for the Master’s voice ringing in your head. If He says turn left or right, then that is what to do. If He tells you nothing, the way in front of you, Is how you should be going. I’ve never known it miss. You’re walking in the will of God. You can be sure of this. He’ll give you confirmation, just keep on keeping on; And vain imaginations will very soon be gone. So walking as God told you within His will each day Is how we ought to live our life and do it Jesus’ way. Jim Strickland – Written 13th October 2012