Shortest distance between two points (Romans 1:16)

This is a very popular verse, but it’s quite possible that you haven’t heard it in it’s entirety. We like to read the word “everyone” in the first half of the verse, but some people tend to leave off the ending where the Jews get first dibs. The Good News of Jesus was initially only brought to the Jews because God had been preparing them since the days of Abraham to understand His plan and seek out the saviour. By the grace of God it was later entrusted to the Gentiles in equal measure.

It’s interesting to read how a select few commentaries interpret “first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” They explain that the reference is merely a historical sequence not showing significance in preference. It’s strange that our culture might claim this as merely a historical order while this is the same culture that favors the victor, i.e. second place is just the first loser. It’s ridiculous to think that the last person to finish the race would get the gold medal simply because he crossed the finish line most recently. In the same way, it’s absurd to claim that God’s favor for the Gentile pushes the Jews out of the way.

The idea of Jews being first in line is rather ironic to me since visiting Israel. Soon after I arrived at Ben Gurion International Airport, I observed a phenomenon that I didn’t quiet realize until I noticed that it happened everywhere. For the most part, Israeli’s don’t wait in lines. They don’t even have lines. They walk right up to the counter, and if you’re dumb enough to stand behind other people, they will pass you by. So while we’re getting all uppity about who’s first in line, they’ve bypassed the whole argument and have already taken care of what they needed.

If you bring 11 items to the ‘10 items or less’ line:

Pound for pound (Deuteronomy 7:7-8)

So I just recently got back from from a 10 day trip in Israel, so I foresee several Israel related posts in your future.

One of the biggest surprises to me when we traveled around the area is how small the country really is. When I read about it in the Bible, I imagine all these fairy tale landscapes of vast proportions, but in a tour bus it took us about 3 hours to get from the northern tip of Israel to it’s near geographic center in Jerusalem. Statistically among all countries, Israel ranks 97th in population size and and 152nd in land area.

As a display of my nerdy side, today’s picture is a graphical representation of the population sizes of the 15 largest nations in the world (their flags are strung across the rafters) as compared to Israel (in the hand of God). I did some rough calculations to make each flag comparatively as large as it’s population. Israel is basically the size of the tip of one of the stripes in the U.S. flag (in actuality it’s roughly the same land area as New Jersey).

The amazing thing is how successful such a “small” country has been in just 63 years since its formation. Israel’s economy ranks 50th in the world when comparing GDP. It ranks in the top 20 in the Human Development Index (a comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education and standard of living). Israel ranks 4th in the world in scientific activity based on the number of scientific papers per person. Their high-tech industry region has been nicknamed Silicon Wadi (wadi being the Arabic translation for valley) because Israel is second in importance only it’s cousin in California. Israel has produced six Nobel Prize-winning scientists since 2002 (and that’s not including the Jews from other countries). The point that is becoming clear to me is that God is still blessing his people just as he promised in the Old Testament.


If you drive a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport at top speed from the northern most point of Israel to the southern tip (meaning you make the drive in a little over an hour):

Pity party (1 Corinthians 15:19)

As background to this verse, apparently members of the church in Corinth were telling people that it is not possible for a person to be raised from the dead (possibly in following with the Greek philosophy of the day that the spirit leaves the body upon death never to return). At the basic level, this seems like a perfectly intelligent statement. Except for the fact that it conflicts with one of the cornerstones of the Christian faith. Paul claims that if no one can be raised from the dead then Jesus could not have been either. If Jesus was not resurrected then not only is our faith futile, but we are also spreading lies about God. Paul concludes with the idea that if Christians only have hope in Jesus for this lifetime then they are to be pitied more than anyone. Paul goes on to reassure everyone that this whole line of thinking is ridiculous based on all the evidence of Christianity.

Today’s verse is the mirror image of an idea expressed in many places throughout the Bible (such as the last post): Christians are to live to God’s standard which can not be understood by this world. However this new perspective (if Christianity is a lie then Christians are the most pitiful of all people) opened up a different line of thinking for me. We should be invested in this lifestyle so much that non-Christians should pity us. Pity, as defined by Dictionary.com, is “sympathetic or kindly sorrow evoked by the suffering, distress, or misfortune of another, often leading one to give relief or aid or to show mercy.” Now I’m not saying that you better be suffering otherwise you’re not doing it right. But what hit me is the question “Are my actions so skewed towards God’s thinking that other people are taking notice in a big way? Do my non-believing friends want to hold an intervention for me because they think I’m taking this ‘Jesus-thing’ too far?” I don’t want pity. I just want to make sure I’m doing it right.

If “taking this Jesus-thing too far” means you’re trying to lead God instead of follow him:

JC meets J-pop (Romans 12:2)

When I was growing up, I basically had 4 mothers. My group of friends all came from similar backgrounds with similar values so my friend’s mothers were sort of like an extension of my own mom. Over the years of college and jobs my friends and I have parted ways, but one of my friends and (by association) his Mom are still around. So after years of staying power, she has finally clawed her way to the top of the “other mother” heap to be my “2nd Mom.” Long story short, this drawing (as well as Romans 12:1) was her request for a church retreat she was leading not too long ago.

If you’ve been living under an internet-rock for the past few years, you may not recognized the first picture. On a Japanese game show there is a segment called “Nōkabe” meaing “Brain Wall.” (It became popular on YouTube as “Human Tetris” and even made a short run in the U.S. as “Hole in the Wall”.) The simple idea is that you have to contort your body to fit into cutouts in a giant wall of Styrofoam otherwise you’ll be pushed into a pool of water.

Now if the rock you’ve been living under is REALLY big, you’re one of the last people remaining unaware of Transformers, the toy line of robots that transform from everyday objects (commonly vehicles) into humanoid form. However the toy industry could not contain them so they transformed into TV shows, comics, and even a few recent movies that I heard did okay at the box office.

The idea is that we should avoid fitting into the mold of this world and focus our minds on God. The goal of these actions is to discern God’s will for us (his good, pleasing, and perfect will). Perhaps the idea following someone else’s plan is difficult for you to handle. Think about it like this: What if someone you trust 100% and you know has your best interest at heart planned a very special day just for you. Wouldn’t you want to stick with them all day so you didn’t miss a single moment? Now multiply that by an eternity.


A very special 谢谢 to my 2nd Mom.

Raise the roof (Leviticus 23:42-43)

The seventh and last appointed feast listed in Leviticus 23 is the Feast of Tabernacles. (The Tabernacle which translates to “dwelling place” was the portable holy place used in Israel’s exodus from Egypt prior to the building of the temple.) This feast is more commonly know as the Feast of Booth or Sukkot (literally meaning booths). For seven days, the “native-born Israelites” are to live in temporary structures reminiscent of the housing conditions experienced during Israel’s 40 years of wandering in the desert. Each family builds one of these booths where they will eat every meal and should spend as much time as possible including sleep.

Verse 40 commands to rejoice before God using four plants which have become known as the four species. In one hand you hold the etrog (a citrus fruit like a lemon). In the other is held a bundle of three types of branches known as the lulav which literally means palm, but that is only the largest of the three. The other two are the aravot (willow) and hadassim (myrtle). Each day of Sukkot a special prayer is recited with the four species in hand. This prayer is known as Hoshanot because it’s refrain is "Hosha na!" which translates to “Please save us!”


If your sukkah could pass for a 3-star hotel:

Happy new year! Again! (Leviticus 23:24)

In the seventh month of the Jewish calender (known as Tishri for you overachievers), the first two days are set aside to celebrate the new year. You may ask “How can you celebrate the start of the new year in the seventh month?” Well Judaism actually has four “new years” observances: counting the months (also for the reigns of kings), counting animal tithes, counting first-fruit tithes, and counting years.

This celebration is most commonly known as Rosh Hashanah which literly means the “head of the year,” but this name does not appear in the Bible. The Bible refers to it as the day or memorial with blowing of horns. And when Jews bring out the horns they don’t mess around. The specific horn is called a shofar which is typically made from a ram’s horn for religious purposes. There are four different notes that are played at the synagogue during this celebration. Rather that just explain them myself perhaps you should just hear them as performed by Zechrah. You should also check out Dennis McHugh cuz he’s a shofat-blowing beast.

Rosh Hashanah begins a time of introspection for the next ten days. This allows for the opportunity to repent before Yom Kippur. It’s the Jewish version of the new year’s resolutions with a lot more chutzpah!

For all you foodies out there, Rosh Hashanah is a time to eat apples dipped in honey. It represents the hope for a sweet new year.

As an interesting side note, the Bible designates only one day for Rosh Hashanah, but it is now celebrated for two. This is because timekeeping was difficult in the days of lunar calenders (basically eyeballing to see if the moon was full). The leaders would send messengers to declare a new month, but this is tricky for Rosh Hashanah since it starts at sundown on the first day of the month. Just to make sure they didn’t miss it, they celebrated both possible days.

If you double up on non-religious holidays:

Better Than Bob the Builder (Romans 8:1)

From the tract '10 Reasons Jesus Came to Die' by John Piper

#3) To take away our condemnation

The first thing that came to my mind when I thought about freedom from condemnation in the context of this verse was the “Get Out of Jail Free” card for the death row inmate. It seems that this may be what Paul had in mind when he wrote this verse. However, after a day or two of mulling over how to draw that, I was inspired to take a different path. A governor’s pardon for a convicted felon shows the immediate impact of faith in Jesus, but we've heard this version of the metaphor enough that it's easy to reflect on it for only a moment and then toss it aside. Beyond the boredom of a cliché, I've also been trying to drill home the point that Christianity isn't meant to be a quick fix. Perhaps the idea of a condemned house may stick with you longer and hit you deeper.

First off, the actions resulting in a house being condemned don't require anything so drastic as a murderous rampage. All it takes is neglect over time. The average homeowner can paint the walls or install carpet or maybe even replace some drywall, but unless you're able and qualified to handle structural, electrical, or other issues all you're doing is fixing superficial problems. Eventually the makeup will wash away to reveal a house unsafe for human occupation.

Likewise, in a swift moment Jesus can rip down the bright colored sign out front that yells “CONDEMNED,” but it takes time for him to rebuild the house. He has all the tools to fix it right up, but he can only put in the hours while you're there to let him in.

If you've ever removed wallpaper without getting angry:

Isn't it ironic? (Galatians 2:20)

From the tract '10 Reasons Jesus Came to Die' by John Piper

#4) To show Jesus' own love for us

I think that the modern view of crucifixion is the greatest irony in the history of capital punishment. We sort of grasp the concept of pain that Jesus endured (the word “excruciating” literally means “out of crucifying”). However the cross has become overwhelmed by it's own symbolism in Christianity that the original purpose of crucifixion seems to be mostly overlooked or forgotten. The reason Roman's would use this execution method was to dissuade others from committing similar crimes.

First off, this punishment was very public. This is an obvious necessity for the execution to be a warning to others. There are historical references to crucifixions in established places outside city gates. The most famous mass display followed the slave revolt lead by Spartacus where 6,000 men were crucified spanning about 125 miles along the Appian Way which was one of the most prominent roads of the time.

Next, the execution was meant to last a long time. That way more people could experience the show of suffering. Depending on the physical state of the person before they were hung, crucifixion could last from hours to days. Pierre Barbet popularized the theory that the placement of a persons arms while on the cross made it difficult to breath resulting in death by asphyxiation. Later experiments by Frederick Zugibe showed that, while incredibly painful, arm placement didn't cause breathing problems. Death was usually from a combination of slow traumas including blood loss, infection, or eventual dehydration.

Lastly, this punishment was incredibly humiliating and dishonorable. Roman citizen were exempt from crucifixion in all but the most extreme cases such as treason. Unlike most artistic representation from the Renaissance, Jesus didn't wear a loincloth on the cross. Criminals were hung in the nude. This was a display of disgrace in front of all passers-by with the humiliation multiplied when the commended person ultimately needed to “releave” themselves (which also attracted insects). Now combine this with the utter mutilation the body had to endure simply in the logistics of crucifixion and the fact that the body usual didn't receive a proper burial or at best it was extremely delayed.

A historic understanding of crucifixion gives you a much better picture of Jesus' immense love for us. He endure such extreme pain and humiliation to save us. Which leads us to the irony of the cross. The Romans meant for the cross to prevent other people from committing the same actions of the criminal. Jesus changed the cross into the ultimate example of sacrificial love for Christians to follow.

If you knew that, contrary to Kubrick, Spartacus was not crucified:

I fought the law and the law lost (Galatians 3:13)

 

From the tract '10 Reasons Jesus Came to Die' by John Piper

#7) So that we would escape the curse of the law

You are a rebel. You robbed 'em blind and got away scot-free. (In medieval Britain a “scot” was a tax paid to the local ruler, so if you were a tax evader you got off scot-free.) How did you pull of the greatest crime know to man? The way any good criminal does it. You let someone else do all the dirty work. You just sat there in the getaway car while some other chump busted open the safe. All you had to do was open the car door when he came running up with piles of loot. You peeled tire getting outta there with the goods while the cops threw your accomplice to the curb. And the best part is you don't have to go into hiding because your partner-in-crime willingly took the fall for it all. Maybe that sounds harsh, but you wouldn't survive a minute in prison. You have sensitive skin. Besides your buddy has some pull in the legal system since it's run by his dad. He'll be back on the streets after a few days.

This may sound like a pretty ridiculous scenario in the modern world of law and order (especially after all the TV spin-offs), but we've broken a law far greater than any government or person could create. The ultimate laws were established by the creator of the universe. Feel free to go through the CliffsNotes of God's Law, the Ten Commandments, and see how far you get before you find one you've broken. If you even get past the first one you're probably lying to yourself. Even if you've lived a better than average life, you can't plead for leniency for just breaking one of the smaller laws. They come as a indivisible group. If you break one, you're guilty of breaking them all (James 2:10). To really drive the point home, God had the Israelites shout a curse upon all who break the law (Deuteronomy 27:26).

Jesus fulfilled our capital punishment and took the curse for us (Deuteronomy 21:22-23). Just remember one of the unwritten street rules: you look after the guy who did jail time for you. Now our responsibility is not to the law, but or redemption is in faith and obedience to Jesus.

If you got a cheesy Valentine's Day card for Jesus:

I Choo-Choo-Choose You!

Super Bowel Movement (1 John 4:10)

From the tract '10 Reasons Jesus Came to Die' by John Piper

#8) To absorb the wrath of God

God is perfect. As such, imperfection must be separated from God. Therefore, in order to be with God, you have to be perfect. We aren't perfect, but God has made a way for our rightful punishment to be transferred to another worthy entity. Long ago in the first few Books God published, He implemented something of a stopgap solution. A specially ordained priest would follow the appropriate procedures to transfer the punishment for imperfections to certified livestock, birds or harvested produce that were deemed of the highest quality. The inherent problem with this whole scenario is that perfection can not come from imperfection. Both the person preparing the sacrifice and the animal being sacrificed are imperfect. The whole thing also required a lot of upkeep. If we were still bound with this solution we'd probably all have to be farmers to keep up the amount of barnyard animals and crops to fulfill the redemption requirements just for ourselves. And thus, God sent the ultimate solution, Jesus. The perfect man / God hybrid. 100% man + 100% God = 200% awesome. He fulfilled our need for a perfect high priest and a perfect sacrifice at the same time. The best part is that His sacrifice is one and done and good forever. (Well, in truth the “Sell-by Date” is the apocalypse so you have to get your fresh sin atonement by then.)

The translations of this verse most commonly use the verb propitiation to describe the act of Jesus atoning for our sins. According to Dictionary.com, propitiate is “to make favorably inclined; appease; conciliate.” John Piper describes it as absorbing the wrath of God. I was trying to think of a picture example of absorbing, but at time I was having trouble thinking about anything but sports references. As God would have it, there was some kind of event yesterday that I think a few people watched. In the game of American Football (Sorry every other non-U.S. country in the Americas. Not only do we claim exclusive rights to the name of all the continents in this hemisphere, but we use it to redefine the most popular sport in the rest of the world), when a quarterback is throwing the ball (why is it called football again?), sometimes he doesn't have enough time to throw it and avoid getting hit by the other team. He can either curl up in the fetal position for protection or he can throw the ball and leave himself completely vulnerable to get obliterated. The first option is better for his personal health, but will be sending the team backwards. The second option takes no regard for himself so that the team as a whole has a chance to prosper. Jesus is the kind of quarterback that takes one for the team. But if you look closely at the picture, not only is he getting destroyed, he's throwing the ball to the most unlikely of receivers. Who is that fat guy? Holy crap! Did He just throw the ball to a lineman? There's no way that guy can catch the ball! Is he even an eligible receiver? (see NFL rules on the forward pass) When you think about a perfect individual making the ultimate sacrifice for an imperfect person it doesn't make any earthly sense (just like a Hail Mary to a lineman), but Jesus loved you that much. And you know what? Fat guys have the best touchdown dances.

If you get Jesus a flak jacket:

Middle East Peace Talks (Ephesians 2:14-16)

Not too long ago my mom handed me this religious tract that she really liked. It was entitled 10 Reasons Jesus Came to Die by John Piper. Before opening it up, I tried to guess what 10 things it said inside. The good news is I knew the #1 reason and a few others, but many of them came as a something of a surprise to me. Sure, I had heard all ten reasons throughout my career as a pew warmer, but I hadn't fully grasped their connection with Jesus' death. If Jesus had merely been this perfect dude who preached to a ripe old age, I bet he still would have touched millions of lives, but his true mission would have failed. Without his sacrificial death the following ten actions would not have been fulfilled.

#10) To destroy hostility between races

Well this is an awkward way to start. I dunno about you, but I've never considered Jesus' homeland to be the picture of racial unity. From a Biblical perspective, fighting in the Middle East goes all the way back to the family feud between Abraham's children in Genesis 16. While this fighting will probably go on until the end of days, Jesus' death ended a different hostility. Before Jesus, the Jews were God's chosen people. Everyone else, known as Gentiles, could only come to God by integrating themselves into Jewish society, but even then they were considered inferior. For instance, they were only permitted in the outermost parts of the temple. Jesus' death reconciled all people to God. 

In discussing the idea of Jesus dividing this “wall of hostility”, the first imagery that pops into my mind is the fall of the Berlin Wall. While that's a great mental picture I just wanna say that this verse isn't a metaphor, people. Jesus' death physically divided the wall separating God from the masses. Check out Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, and Luke 23:45. The parochet (translated to veil or curtain) in the Jewish temple concealed the most sacred part of the temple. Once a year only the high priest could pass through the parochet to enter the presence of God to atone for the sins of the Jews. The moment Jesus died, the parochet tore in two. The thing that can be overlooked about this miracle is that a “veil” or “curtain” gives me the idea of a smaller or more delicate fabric. The Jewish historian Josephus reports in his writing the War of the Jews that the parochet was at about 60 feet high and 30 feet wide. Some rabbinic literature claims it was as thick as your hand, but this reference is probably hyperbolic. Either way this was a massive curtain that took an act of God to tear from top to bottom. This opening of the parochet unveiled (pun intended) the presence of God. It also established Jesus as the new high priest for the rest of time. Best of all for us Gentiles is that Jesus was atoning for the sins of all people of all nations. And thus Jew and Gentile were made equal. 

If Jesus' death inspires you to go all Hulkamania on your curtains at home:

Jewish Arbor Day (Leviticus 19:23-25)

This January 20^th (or more accurately the 15^th day of Shevat on the Hebrew calendar), is the minor Jewish holiday Tu B'Shevat, also known as the New Year of the Trees. In short it's kinda like the end of the fiscal year for fruit-bearing trees. Wait? Do you mean to tell me you haven't been keeping the books for your trees? It's not like their going to do it themselves! Well, I guess in theory they kind of do if you use a wooden pencil and write the details on a piece of paper. But if you really loved trees you'd go green and keep digital records instead. (No one seems to care if you make the electrons in your computer mad.)

So what should you be recording? Each Tu B'Shevat a tree advances one year in age. If you plant a tree on the 14^th of Shevat it turns one the next day, but if planted on the 16^th you've gotta wait anywhere from 355 to 385 days for Tu B'Shevat next year. (There's a large variance in the year-to-day ratio for the Jewish calendar. I'm still working out the math.) For the first three years, a tree's fruit is forbidden. On the forth year, it's fruit should be presented as an offering to God. Finally on the fifth year you can eat the fruit. That's a long time to wait for some apple sauce. 

Holiday customs include planting a tree and eating dried fruit, especially from the Shivat Haminim, also know as the Seven Species. The Shivat Haminim is listed in Deuteronomy 8:8 as the main produce of the land of Israel which consist of the following: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and honey/dates. How can honey and dates be one in the same? It is generally believed that the word “honey” used here is not the honey from bees but the syrup of dates. For some reason that doesn't sound as appetizing. Anyways... almonds are also a big deal since the blossoming of the almond tree occurs around this time. 

If you celebrate Tu B'Shevat on January 20^th next year:

(It's on February 8^th in 2012.)

I wanna rock! (1 Peter 2:5)

This verse references the less than famous metaphor of Jesus as a stone. (Peter, apparently aware of the unrenowned comparison, conveniently provides references in his following three verses.) As a follower of Christ we're supposed to be like living stones. When you cram us all together we form a church. The thing that is lost on so many people is the idea that the church is a building were you go on Sunday to freshen up your Jesus Points. The real church is built of living stones and by living stones. That's us. Christians are the church. That building we meet in may have stole our name, but without us it's just a conference center. It's up to us with the help of Jesus to build a spiritual house that is pleasing to God. 

This verse caught my attention when I recently found out that it is something of a “life verse” for my church. And with that I have successfully divided everyone reading this into 2 categories: those people ready to shout out their own life verse and those people who have no idea why the other guys are yelling scripture at them. For the latter, a life verse is a single passage from the Bible you've selected based on its personal significance, be it comforting or inspiring or whatever. It can be a very powerful tool, but it sometimes comes off as a sort of secret handshake between super-Christians. (Pssst. What's your life verse? Philippians 4:13. A'ight. We cool.) So don't let those Life Versers, pressure you into picking one all willy nilly. Take your time and the verse will find you. It's kinda like in the movie Avatar where the guy connected to that weird bird thing with his magic ponytail. Except your verse shouldn't try to bite your head off.

If you knew I meant tsaheylu with an ikran:

 for the ladies

for the closet nerds

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Matthew 6:13*)

This is the doxology of the Lord's Prayer. A doxology is an expression of praise to God. In general it may be a short song attached to the end of a longer hymn or passage or sermon, but from what I've read that's not required. Perhaps the most famous example is commonly know as “The Doxology.” The real title is "Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow," if you know that little ditty. The doxology here in Matthew concludes the Lord's Prayer with praise for God as a confirmation that he will hear us.

Perhaps I should rephrase that. This doxology used to be in Matthew. It is still in some versions, but is now usually only mentioned as a footnote. It has fallen out of favor with most scholars these days because it is nowhere to be found in the oldest known manuscripts of the Bible. The oldest available usage is in the Didache (otherwise known as the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. didache means teaching) which is traced to the late first, early second century. For my tastes that's old enough to be worth mentioning even though Jesus probably didn't end his prayer with it.

The most confusing part of my pictorial representation may be the singing cornucopia. By process of elimination, I'm sure you figured out that it symbolizes glory. After mulling over several definitions of glory (none that were easy to draw), I found one directly referencing God as “adoring praise or worshipful thanksgiving.” The cornucopia, being an ancient symbol of food and abundance, has come to be something of a school-age logo for the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving. Add some music behind it for praise, and BAM! You've got yourself some glory.

In closing out this series, I would like to brag about all this awesome commentary I came up with for the Lord's Prayer, but in truth, a lot of the general outline came from “God's Psychiatry” written by Charles L. Allen. It's a good read for fundamental principles of Christianity and includes three other famous passages from the Bible. I expect I'll be pulling from it for future posts.

If your cornucopia doubles as an mp3 player:

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (Matthew 6:13)

What do you pray to be protection from? In 2006, Forbes Magazine listed the nine most common fears as the following:

● Bugs, Mice, Snakes, and Bats ● Heights ● Water
● Public Transportation ● Storms ● Closed Spaces
● Tunnels and Bridges ● Crowds ● Speaking in Public

The article quotes Jerilyn Ross, president and CEO of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, as saying, "They all have some potential threat of danger. The higher the person's perceived threat of danger, the more frightened the person will be."

Jesus prayed for protect not from these types of fears but from temptation. Why don't we pray for this? As Ms. Ross stated above, many people don't fear temptation because they don't see it as a big threat. In fact, we can be so overconfident in our resolve that we often hang around the things that tempt us the most. In terms of modern military tactics, a full frontal assault is an unlikely threat because it attacks the enemy's strongest point which requires lots of resources and has a high likelihood of failure. But if the line breaks, the defender is quickly scattered in confusion and obliterated. In spiritual warfare there is an unlimited supply of temptations. If you are always taking risks with these temptations, you are setting yourself up to fail. (Check out 1 Corinthians 10:12 and keep it open because we're going to get back to it.) A christian doesn't wake up and think “How can I sin today?” It's the temptation that eventually breaks your defenses and causes your defeat.
 

If that's the case, why would God lead us into temptation? (See James 1:13-14.) It's not that God tempts you but he allows it to happen. So how is that any different? It's the consequence of free will. In order to have the freedom to do the right thing, you also must have the freedom to face plant. But God's got your back. (Did you keep 1 Corinthians 10 open? Because now you should check out verses 13 and 14.)
 

Charles Allen wrote, “The biggest lie of the devil is that we have to sin. ‘After all, you are human’ he says, and thereby our high resolves are destroyed. We surrender and quit the struggle.” We are always taught in Sunday School that only Jesus could live a live without sin. Then why does he tell us to do exactly that in Matthew 5:48? It's true that you can not be perfect by yourself, but you can do anything with God's help (Philippians 4:13). So how do we get this supernatural backing? Oh, I dunno, perhaps through a prayer like this one.

If your military strategy is to take off your clothes and run right at the enemy because no one wants to fight a naked guy:

Thy kingdom come (Matthew 6:10a)

Why is it that all functional governments are essentially just a variation of a monarchy? Is it that the vast majority of the human race is: (a) incapable of leading, (b) has a desire to be dominated, or (c)  is just too lazy? At this point, most red-blooded Americans should be pulling out their commemorative 1776 flags and waving them loud and proud as they shout in opposition. (One slight problem is that the US didn't have an official flag until 1777 and until that point our flag still paid tribute to the British in the upper corner. Oops.) When you get down to it, aren't we really closer to a monarchy than a direct democracy? Sure our “king” is split between various checks-and-balances of multiple people with a lot of complex voting to move around the pieces, but our government is still based on a few people at the top and the vast majority sorta saying, “Meh. I'll do what you say.”

The real reason that most of world gave up on a monarchy is that we had enough with crappy rulers. If there was a single person who could fairly rule a large chunk of people wouldn't we jump at the chance? Let me introduce you to God, the perfect king. Oh man, you just walked right into that didn't you? Good news! God is already in control of everything. As a tangible example, think about the laws of nature such as gravity. Go ahead and try to break that one. Bend it? Yes. Break it? No. Last week we talked about knowing God which also results in us knowing the rest of his less naturally publicized rules. Here's where it gets interesting. We have this perfect king, and we get to the point where we know him and what he wants, and we still don't do it. That's like God saying, “Here, I made you a sandwich,” and us responding, “Nah. I think I'll eat this broken glass instead.” Our sinful nature leads us to disobey. So we have conflicting natural instincts to be a follower and a rebel at the same time. That's where this part of the prayer comes in. We are submitting to God's authority and requesting his help to properly follow his commands.


If you make a point to obey the laws of thermodynamics:

Hallowed be thy name (Matthew 6:9b)

Now that the formalities are out of the way we can get to the meat and potatoes. The rest of the Lord's prayer is made up of 8 petitions divided into “thy” and “us” categories. First comes the “thy” stuff which focuses on God.

Sooooooo... who knows what hallowed means? There's gotta be at least one brainiac out there with the answer, but for the rest of us: hal·low (verb) to make holy or sacred, to sanctify or consecrate, to venerate. This line translates to “Holy is your name,” right? Hold up. Remember this isn't a statement. This is a petition. Old school grammar has messed up your sentence structure. “Name” is the noun and “hallowed” is the verb so the switcheroo gives us, “your name be made holy.” And who makes God's name holy? Not you. He does. Well that seems like an odd prayer. “Hey, God, keep it up with that whole holy thing.” Remember a while back when I talked about a name representing the person (John 17:11)? This line is really asking for God to reveal his holy nature to us.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy. God, just pop down here for a moment and show us some of that holiness. Why doesn't he do that? Because your head would explode from his sheer awesomeness. (Don't believe me? Check out Exodus 33:20.) As a result, God indirectly reveals himself to us in at least 3 ways.

(1) The most obvious reveal is the complexity and beauty of creation. Devil's advocate says: Statistically speaking, the microscopic probability of a planet being created in perfect positioning to facilitate life is outweighed by the vastness of the universe thus making this unlikely planet, in fact, probable. Without going into too much counter-counter-argument, all theories of the origin of our planet are based on faith. I just depends if you believe this is all a sweet coincidence or a divine plan.

(2) We see God in other people. The Bible is a biography on God written by the people seeking him. But it's not just through old stories. We see God in everyday actions. Do I want to go out of my way to be nice to you? Straight up N-O. I'd rather be over here fixing my own problems thank you very much. It's God's love in me that fuels my desire to help others.

(3) On very rare occasions, God does show up. Not head-popping type show up, but you can clearly hear his voice or feel his presence. Now I mean way beyond answered prayers or stuff often classified as “the Holy Spirit moving.” I'm talking straight up, “Who just said that? Cuz it weren't me.” It's like with little Sammy in Samuel 3. In my entire life I've experienced the clarity of a drive-by holy on two occasions.

We're not praying for knowledge of God just to be smarter. You're “acquiring satellites” to align your spiritual GPS.


If you can properly use the word “hallowed” in a sentence: