Healing Rays of Righteousness

Lead Us Not into Temptation

The Lord’s Prayer is realistic and reminds us that we are human and prone to sin. And so, even after we have pleaded for God to “forgive us our debts,” and are assured of his forgiveness, we still need to pray for God’s daily help to think and act as righteous persons.

To pray “And lead us not into temptation” is to admit our spiritual weaknesses and selfish desires. The Greek word that is usually translated “temptation” can also be translated as “testing.” I think this is a more helpful word in praying as “And keep us from being tested.”

Just as Jesus was tested in his wilderness experience immediately after his glorious baptismal experience (Matthew 4:1-11), so likewise, will “temptation” test the character and commitment of all who claim to be Jesus’ disciples.

Both “temptation” and “testing” refer to everything that could endanger our relationship with God. This includes those very difficult and painful wilderness situations that test our faithfulness to God, and in which we will be tempted to give in to sinful unbelief or behaviors.

In this petition, we are asking God to protect this relationship. We are pleading for God to spare us situations and testing so deep and compelling that they may overwhelm and tempt us to be unfaithful in our commitment to his love and lordship.

After admonishing his disciples for sleeping during his agonizing prayer time in Gethsemane, Jesus urges them to pray for God’s enabling strength to stand the test. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41).

However, we are encouraged by Apostle Paul’s reassurance to the Christians in Corinth that “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

The second half of this petition, “But deliver us from the evil one” is about the ever-present reality of spiritual warfare. Satan continually tests us to destroy us, and Jesus teaches us to pray for God to spare us from Satan. This petition can also be read as “Allow us to be spared circumstances that would tempt us into sin” or “Deliver us from every peril that awaits us.”

“Temptation” is the opportunity to do evil. But the “evil” referenced here is something done to us. Of course, we may choose certain evils and suffer its consequences, but this petition is for protection against becoming a victim of the “evil one” who is Satan. He is truthfully named the deceiver, slanderer, accuser, destroyer, tempter, and father of lies.

Given the reality of evil assaulting us, we hear the cry to “deliver us” as a cry of panic. It is something we would only ask of someone whom we know has power over the desperate circumstances of our situation. And so, to pray “deliver us from the evil one” is a confession of our ultimate trust in God.

We know we are weak and cannot stand against Satan’s testing, so we pray that God would deliver us from the possibility of failing the test and bringing dishonor to God’s name. We pray, believing that God in his wisdom and love may block Satan’s effort, or help us through the testing toward making us stronger in character and commitment (Romans 8:28).

This petition realistically recognizes that we will be exposed to evil and victimized by it. But it also reminds us that evil will not have the last word. It claims the promise of the resurrection which gives affirming evidence that even during evil and trouble God can bring about goodness, life, and peace.

The great hymn “Amazing Grace” sings of being brought “through many dangers, toils, and snares” and reminds us that God has ultimately conquered the evil one and that he faithfully walks with us toward complete and eternal deliverance in his Kingdom.

Whenever my faith in Jesus is being tested, I am encouraged by a song I love, “What God Hath Promised.” I hope its message encourages you as well.

God hath not promised skies always blue, Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain, Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.                                     But God hath promised strength for the day, Rest for the labor, light for the way,                  Grace for the trials, help from above, Unfailing sympathy, undying love.
God hath not promised we shall not know / Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;
He hath not told us we shall not bear / Many a burden, many a care.
          But God hath promised strength for the day, Rest for the labor, light for the way,
          Grace for the trials, help from above, Unfailing sympathy, undying love.
God hath not promised smooth roads and wide, Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;
Never a mountain rocky and steep, Never a river turbid and deep.
          But God hath promised strength for the day, Rest for the labor, light for the way,
          Grace for the trials, help from above, Unfailing sympathy, undying love.

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – March 25, 2020
http://www.geigler13.wordpress.com
Ray M. Geigley

Forgive Us Our Debts

I think it is significant that the word “And” links our first petition “Give us today our daily bread” to this petition for God to “forgive us our debts.” It seems to me that Jesus intended for us to understand that just as our physical person cannot live without the bread that God gives, neither can our spiritual person survive without the forgiveness that God alone can give. No less important than bread for our bodies is forgiveness for our sins. Like daily bread, we need God’s daily grace and forgiveness in our lives.

To pray “Forgive us our debts.” is to affirm that God is our Savior and will forgive our sins. You and I both know that we cannot live a single day without sinning either by not doing what we know we should be doing, or by doing what we know we should not be doing. To pray “Forgive us our debts” is to confess and repent of our wrongdoing, being confident that God greatly loves us and will completely forgive us through Jesus’ death in our behalf. What amazing love and grace this is given us!

In this prayer sin is spoken of as a “debt” we owe God. Because God created us and so loves us, we owe God everything. Specifically, we owe God love and honor as his adopted children and willing obedience as his servants. We sin when we do not give what is owed to God. We become indebted to God and need to ask God to forgive this debt, whether little or huge.

Rather than the word “debt” Luke uses the word “sin” in his version of this prayer (Luke 11:4). Matthew also uses the word “sin” in 6:14-15. It was not uncommon in Jesus’ day to use a financial metaphor for sin and forgiveness, as seen in his parable about the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:23-35.

This parable also underscores the importance of the second part of the prayer which teaches us the need to examine our relationship with others. In the first part of this petition we ask God to do something for us – “forgive us our debts/sins” and we promise to always be forgiving toward those who harm us in some way. Jesus clearly states that this response of forgiving others is required of us if our plea for God’s forgiveness is to be heard and granted.

Forgive “as we also have forgiven” doesn’t mean God is to forgive like we forgive or that he must do so. It’s the other way around. God’s forgiveness precedes and underlies our forgiveness of one another, as is seen in Jesus’ parable of the unmerciful servant.

“Forgiveness” as used in Scripture means “to release” someone from an obligation or debt, whether legal, financial or moral. Have you ever had a financial debt you couldn’t pay? One with disastrous consequences? Can you imagine having it forgiven? Well that’s what sin and forgiveness is like. That’s the picture this request uses.

Jesus insists that our receiving forgiveness from God is connected to our forgiving relationship with those who wronged us. Our unwillingness to forgive those who deeply hurt or abused us, cancels out God’s forgiveness and blessing in our own life. This is the ultimate sin and Jesus made this a matter of great importance and consequence. Forgiveness opens the door to relationships, both with God and with other people. Loving and forgiving is not always easy, but it is always essential.

It is very apparent that our society is more focused on retaliation and “getting even” than it is about forgiveness. And neither does it care much about the destructiveness of unforgiveness. This in turn has caused unforgiveness to be one of the major contributors to the destruction of relationships in our families, churches, and communities.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we know that the call to forgiveness is not necessarily practical or realistic. Nevertheless, we forgive because God forgave us through Jesus Christ and to be obedient to him is to be forgiving like him. We forgive because this faithful imitation is the most appropriate way to show our gratitude to God and indeed to worship God.

To pray the Lord’s Prayer is to admit that we are sinners. We pray, not as righteous people, but as forgiven sinners. And in the Lord’s prayer we find the consolation of God’s forgiveness. Forgiving others is the inevitable result of knowing and deeply appreciating God’s forgiveness.

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – March 18, 2020
http://www.geigler13.wordpress.com
Ray M. Geigley

Give Us Today Our Daily Bread

“This, then, is how you should pray: … Give us today our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11).

I think the Scriptures indicate that our “daily bread” is about more than just our food, which, along with water, is the most basic of our physical needs. Even in our time the word “bread” is often used to talk about all kinds of food, and it is also used to talk about the money or job needed for all our daily provisions.

In the biblical setting of this prayer, Jesus would want us to know that in asking for “bread” we are asking for our basic needs to be satisfied. In Exodus 16:4 God tells Moses to instruct the people about gathering the manna that he would be sending them during their wilderness journey. He says, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day.”

The emphasis on God’s instruction is in the people gathering only what is needed for that day, and to also trust God to faithfully supply enough for each and every day.

So, when we put these two words together – “daily” and “bread” – we are asking “our Father” to sustain us by providing our physical and material needs in sufficient amount for each day. This would suggest that we should be very grateful when our daily physical and material needs are supplied.

By giving us this guide to our manner of praying, Jesus is teaching us to trust God for our daily needs. He is teaching us to believe “our Father” hears and knows our needs. He is also teaching us to learn contentment and a trusting relationship with God’s daily provision. These attributes seem so foreign to modern thinking.

Jesus teaches us to pray for “daily bread” – not for gathering or storing up for tomorrow. We are taught to pray each day for the bread we need for that day. This is a difficult lesson to learn when our culture continually tries to convince us that having more is better and having the best is gratifying. As Jesus teaches in Matthew 6:32-33, we are not to be like the pagans who devote their whole lives to the pursuit of material things and trust in their own powers to provide them. Instead, we are to “seek first his (God’s) kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.”

A few verses earlier, Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do no sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”  (Matthew 6:25-26).

However, another question also needs our consideration. What does it mean to pray for daily bread in our cultural context of affluence where most of us have more than we need for the day? And yet all around us in the world there are those who don’t have their basic needs met.

Please note that this is a corporate prayer, “Give us.”  It is not just about us. We don’t just pray for our material provision, but also that “our Father” would supply the needs of all his people, throughout the world. Jesus would have us understand the prayer to be both a petition for our own needs as well as an intercession on behalf of the others who have need of bread.

I do believe that God provides more than enough food for all the world. And that he gives some more and some less with the expectation that we will share the supply with each other. When we get more than the daily bread we need, it is not to hold on to it for our own security and tomorrow’s comfort. We are given the more so we can share it with those who need it. In doing so we bless others and are blessed with God’s goodness to all the world.

Our prayer for “daily bread” challenges us to be part of the healing of the world in our sharing and ensuring that those who are hungry will also graciously receive their “daily bread.”

However, the question keeps coming back to us daily: Will we who have more from God than we need, share with those who have less than they need? Will we choose to learn contentment so that our excess can become their provision of daily bread from God.

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – March 11, 2020
http://www.geigler13.wordpress.com
Ray M. Geigley

On Earth As It Is In Heaven

“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.” (Matthew 6:9-10).

The word “hallow” means to regard as sacred or holy, to set apart or make different, that is, make different in the sense of being better or special.

And so, to pray “Hallowed be your name” is not offering praise to “Our Father in heaven,” but rather it is asking him to act in revealing himself as holy, supreme, sovereign and high above all other powers and authorities.

We are saying, “Exalt yourself. Magnify and glorify yourself in my life and in our world, so that your name will be revered, glorified, and praised, ‘on earth as it is in heaven.’”

Jesus taught that God’s kingdom is where God rules as the only and supreme King, and his will is done. Jesus also taught that our greatest desire and priority should always be for God’s kingdom to come and God’s will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. It is where his righteousness, peace and joy prevail.

This is the reality we desire and express in praying “your kingdom come, … on earth as it is in heaven.” It is to pray for God’s rule and transforming power to come, a power that sets people free to do his will, that overcomes the kingdoms of this world, and that completely defeats sin, Satan and death.

It is also to pray for the time to come when Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of the universe, is obeyed fully by all, including me and you, “on earth as it is in heaven.”

Max Lucado has written – “When you say, “Thy kingdom come” you are inviting the Messiah himself to walk into your world. “Come, my King! Take your throne in our land. Be present in my heart. Be present in my office. Come into my marriage. Be Lord of my family, my fears, my doubts.” This is no feeble request; it’s a bold appeal for God to occupy every corner of your life.”

I agree and further believe that God’s primary will for all of us is that we would daily experience a life filled with his abundant joy, peace and healing goodness. I believe this is his promise to all who live in obedience to him as their Father and King. And to pray “Your will be done” is to commit myself to live in love and obedience to him as my Father and King.

The question we must ponder is whether I am willing to let God have his way in my life, or do I really want God to do things my way? How serious am I when I pray “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” or when I sing the lyrics of the old hymn; “Have thine own way, Lord, Have thine own way. Thou art the potter, I am the clay.”

I believe we all would agree that heaven is the place where God’s intentions are perfectly fulfilled, where his name is hallowed, his rule obeyed, his will is done. And I would hope you also believe with me that God has those perfect intentions for earth as well. In teaching us this prayer, I believe Jesus wanted us to know and understand that “as in heaven, so be it on earth” is the essence of his promise and our purpose on earth.

And so, when we pray:
– that God’s name be hallowed (made holy) “on earth as it is in heaven”
– that God’s kingdom come “on earth as it is in heaven”
– that God’s will be done “on earth as it is in heaven,”
we are anticipating that life on earth as we know and experience it, is going to be changed, transformed in the light of God’s will and purposes for mankind.

I believe that to be a disciple of Jesus, is to commit myself to fully participate in God’s grand transforming, redemptive work on earth, giving witness to a “new creation” made possible by Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection.

I believe God put us here to enjoy him and his good creation, and to do his work of caring for his good creation, and to establish and enlarge his holy, awesome and glorious kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven.”

We live on the earth as citizens of heaven, seeking to live in obedience to God’s rule, and giving witness by what we say and do, to the priorities of God’s kingdom, awaiting the day when we see “the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” (Revelation 21:2).

And someday, someday, our prayer will be answered. God’s name will be “hallowed” on earth, and we will be able to sing with the angels and all of creation, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Isaiah 6:3).

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – March 4, 2020
http://www.geigler13.wordpress.com
Ray M. Geigley