2So he said, "When you pray, say, Father, Reveal who you are. Set the world right. 3Keep us alive with three square meals. 4Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others. Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil."
Not as long as the version I had to memorize all those years ago, but kind of a refreshing take on talking with God. The following verses serve as a reminder that God really is our Father, and just as we love our children, he loves us even more.
We don't have to follow a ritual to talk with our God. We don't have to schedule a time to talk with our God. We don't even have to close our eyes to talk with our God. (Fellow motorists on Highway 33 are very thankful for that!) And we don't have to use flowery prose or Latin phrases to talk with him. However - if we want to do any of the above, God is okay with that. He just covets time with us. Yep - that's right - he's jealous of the time we spend away from him. For those of you with family living far away - or perhaps family that's close in proximity, but distant in other ways - don't you wish you could have more time with them? What do you talk about when you are together?
It may seem silly, or unsophisticated, but I do picture God as my Father. Throughout my day, I will often utter quick little one phrase lines to him. "Lord, please help me handle this situation. I want to run away, but I know that I can't." or after a long day where I keep faltering, "Father - thank you for being patient with me and thanks for not giving me what I deserve." Often times it's a simple "Thank You God!" after a near miss with a deer or some distracted driver. Then again, there are those days that a little humor leaks in. "God, please keep one hand on my shoulder and the other one over my mouth!"
Granted, others in my vicinity probably wonder who I'm talking too. And sometimes, I'm sure they're content in thinking that I'm just talking to myself. Remember - talking to yourself is fine and dandy - until you start talking back.
The Six Woes - or Whoaaaa Boy!
Jesus was again invited by a Pharisee to join him for dinner. I'm thinking the Pharisee got a little more than he bargained for when he chastised Jesus for not washing up before dinner.
Here's the response as in the Message Bible from YouVersion.com. Jesus really knew how to speak to people in a memorable way!
But the Master said to him, "I know you Pharisees burnish the surface of your cups and plates so they sparkle in the sun, but I also know your insides are maggoty with greed and secret evil.40 Stupid Pharisees! Didn't the One who made the outside also make the inside?41 Turn both your pockets and your hearts inside out and give generously to the poor; then your lives will be clean, not just your dishes and your hands.
42 "I've had it with you! You're hopeless, you Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but manage to find loopholes for getting around basic matters of justice and God's love. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required.
43 "You're hopeless, you Pharisees! Frauds! You love sitting at the head table at church dinners, love preening yourselves in the radiance of public flattery.44 Frauds! You're just like unmarked graves: People walk over that nice, grassy surface, never suspecting the rot and corruption that is six feet under."
45 One of the religion scholars spoke up: "Teacher, do you realize that in saying these things you're insulting us?"
46 He said, "Yes, and I can be even more explicit. You're hopeless, you religion scholars! You load people down with rules and regulations, nearly breaking their backs, but never lift even a finger to help.
47 "You're hopeless! You build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed.48 The tombs you build are monuments to your murdering ancestors more than to the murdered prophets.49 That accounts for God's Wisdom saying, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, but they'll kill them and run them off.'50 What it means is that every drop of righteous blood ever spilled from the time earth began until now,.51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was struck down between altar and sanctuary, is on your heads. Yes, it's on the bill of this generation and this generation will pay.
52 "You're hopeless, you religion scholars! You took the key of knowledge, but instead of unlocking doors, you locked them. You won't go in yourself, and won't let anyone else in either."
53 As soon as Jesus left the table, the religion scholars and Pharisees went into a rage. They went over and over everything he said,54 plotting how they could trap him in something from his own mouth.
As I read on in to Chapter 12 in this same translation, I'm reminded just how cherished we are as children of the living God. Instead of impossible rules and regulations to follow, he gives us guidelines to living as his heirs:
We're not supposed to hide behind a mask of religion. We're to "practice what we preach".
We're not to cower and shirk away from those who attack us for believing in God. Instead we're to stand tall knowing that the Holy Spirit is with us and will give us the words we need. And if our physical body is affected by these "bullies", and we die, then the joke is on them. They can't hurt us any more and we're in heaven enjoy our eternal life!
If we do say something out of line about God - but we're not aware of it, then no harm done. However, if we knowing say something that is untrue or attack God, then get ready for some fallout.
If we fill ourselves up with things of this world, what happens to those things when we die? We can't enjoy them anymore. But if we fill our selves with God things, then those worldly things will seem trivial.
My favorite part - we're to steep ourselves in a God-Reality - not a World reality. Sometimes this is easier said than done.
We're supposed to ponder the flowers of the field and how beautiful they are. And - we're to wonder about those flowers that are in far off lands that we may never see. If God took the time to create these unseen flowers - and I"m sure they're beautiful - then don't you think that we're even more precious to him. We're not supposed to worry about what the fashion models are wearing, how skinny they are, what they do for entertainment. We're not supposed to worry about the pro-athlete and how muscular he is, how successful he is, or what kind of car he drives.
If we focus on God, and his plan for our lives, then we'll be taken care of by God. His light and graciousness will shine though our lives.
We're then reminded that God can come at any time. And we get some Oklahoma weather education too. (Clouds in the west mean rain...winds from the south means a warming trend.) And he says that his time on Earth wasn't to bring peace. Instead he came to start a fire and he was kind of sad that the fire wasn't raging more while he was here.
But the thing I like the most is the verse below. I'm grateful that I don't have to be a genius!
57 "You don't have to be a genius to understand these things. Just use your common sense,58 the kind you'd use if, while being taken to court, you decided to settle up with your accuser on the way, knowing that if the case went to the judge you'd probably go to jail59 and pay every last penny of the fine. That's the kind of decision I'm asking you to make."
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