Thy Will be Done

I remember the first time I looked up the meaning of my name and discovered “Elsie means being consecrated to God.” Since then, other meanings come up but that one stuck because it filled me with wonder and delight.

The word “consecration” means to make or declare sacred, and sacred means holy, devoted to God, worthy of awe and respect. This is a lofty description and much more than anyone could ever deserve, so it makes me wonder why some people resist being consecrated to God?

Today’s reading says that some have a different definition of that word. One person said, “It means that all that is bright and pleasant in your life will be taken out of it and that every hard and sad thing you can conceive of will come into it. It means that you will have to do impossible things and that your ease and comfort will be gone forever.”

Obviously this shows a faulty understanding of God and His will, which is usually the root of any  misconception about Christian teaching. How is it that we can so misunderstand and misjudge our Lord, whose will can be nothing but goodness and love, since He himself is these and these only? Only because that old and sinful nature, plus the lies of the enemy are at play. This could be due to 1) not being in the Word of God, or not believing what we read, or 2) not recognizing or confessing our selfishness. How many times have I gone my own way only to find out how flawed it is!

When Jesus was asked how to pray, He began with:

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)

Praying for God’s will to be done is asking Him to make earth like heaven — and that is going to be a forever loss of ease and comfort? No one would want to go to heaven if they thought it was like that.
Furthermore, the Bible says: “This is the will of God, your sanctification…. (1 Thessalonians 4:3) Sanctification also means much the same as consecration. Either word refers to something God did when Christ came into my life:

And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption. (1 Corinthians 1:30)

It is also what Christ did so that I might be sanctified (or set apart) for Him: “And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.” (John 17:19)

How terribly sad that God’s people listen to that old nature or to Satan and become convinced of what is not true. How important to read and believe the truth about God and realize He is a joy-giver and not a joy-robber.

PRAY: Jesus, help me today to speak the truth in love and to be totally aware of and set free from any false ideas about You or Your will for my life and the lives of those I talk with.

Your kingdom come . . .

When I pray, “Your kingdom come,” I am praying for Christ to reign on earth as He already does in Heaven. I did that yesterday, partly because prayer requests from various places overwhelmed me. The messes in the world are like the devastation from a massive earthquake. I look at it and think ‘where do I start praying’ and wonder what it would take to ‘fix this mess.’ I know God is capable, but it seems that it could take the Second Coming to make it happen.

We are living in a culture that says people alive today are responsible for what their ancestors did hundreds of years ago, that it is illegal to criticize evil, and that people who want to change genders are more likely to get government funding than those who are homeless. Value systems and common sense are warping at a speed that invites despair.

The idea of ‘kingdom’ that Jesus told us to pray for is about ruling or reigning. This means we pray asking that the rule of God would be established on earth as it is in heaven. Remember, heaven is a place where:

(God) will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away . . . . But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death . . . . And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (Revelation 21:4; 8; 23–27)

No death, no sorrow, no pain, no evil in the kingdom in heaven. Some of God’s people live here with some of that already ruling their heart. Almost everyone longs for such perfection, yet the world is filled with those who say of Jesus, “I will not let that man rule over me.”

His Kingdom is about “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17), yet the Liar has deceived many to think that having Jesus rule is more about making us do what we don’t want to do — give up running our own lives and being miserable in the process.

God’s people have just a taste of it. We know the righteousness of Jesus Christ and experience His peace and joy. But we also know that His rule is not fully here and we know it must happen before this world experiences the righteousness, peace, and joy that He talks about. We also know the challenges of living under the rule of Someone we cannot see. As our son said this week, being a Christian is not easy. Satan is like a roaring lion who seeks to ruin us. His time is limited and yet he appears clueless to his defeat; he attacks God’s people as if he thinks he will win, not realizing that “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37)

This is the reality: the King is just that — the King. What He says and does signifies His rule. He will do all that He promises to do and even this gigantic mess in our world cannot stop Him. The prophets declared His words:

“ . . . . I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it. (Isaiah 46:11)

“Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.” (Jeremiah 32:17)

“I am the Lord. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; I will not spare; I will not relent; according to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 24:14)

Jesus, I know that sin and rebellion are now rampant, but when Your Kingdom comes, all that will be done away with. For now, the work of the Kingdom continues. My part it to promote it in prayer and faithful testimony to your grace and power. Someday You will reign in victory and will be glorified forever. In the meantime, I ask again, Thy kingdom come — on earth as it is in heaven.

READ: Matthew 13:1–52. How do these parables describe the Kingdom of Heaven? What was the bottom line at the end of this chapter? How does that affect the way I pray and the way I live?

 

Not in heaven yet . . .

 

READ Mark 1–4

Yesterday a younger woman and I shared a bit about self-esteem struggles, chuckling that despite our age difference, we had so much in common. At the end of our conversation, we felt that we had known each other forever, even though we just met. After thinking about this and other similar experiences, I am convinced of the value of transparency, being open about our problems and failures. It binds us together. Sharing accomplishments or hiding behind layers usually does not do that.

Today’s reading begins with John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus by proclaiming a baptism of repentance. People responded in droves. Whatever motivated them, they knew the value of being transparent by admitting their sins and they did it publicly.

When Jesus asked to be baptized, He explained that it was an act of obedience. John knew repentance was not the issue. This was the Father’s will so he did it. Obedience was the issue, just as it always is for me. Everything God asks me to do involves obedience — based on faith. I trust Him and demonstrate it by doing what He says, even if it seems illogical . . . unlike the OT people in Judges who “did what was right in their own eyes.”

After Jesus obeyed, He was tested even more. “The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan . . . .” (Mark 1:12–13)

He passed the tests, began to proclaim the Gospel, initiated followers, demonstrated His power over evil spirits, illness, even the weather, and showed how vital prayer is when trusting the Father’s guidance. As I read these chapters, I could see the results of His obedience. Sometimes I expect a ‘rose garden’ but that was not true for Jesus and it is not true for me. A quick outline shows some results for Jesus, many that I experience or can expect when I do what my Father wants me to do.

One note: He may ask me to be quiet. For example, a leper came to him asking to be made clean. Jesus was moved with pity and stretched out his hand and touched him saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. Then Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away saying, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” However the man “went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.” (Mark 1:40-45)

This story tells me that speaking when I am told to shut up can limit Jesus’ activity. I cannot stop what He is doing, but could change the parameters. Not good.

As well as that lesson, I can see that by obeying His Father, Jesus lost popularity with some. He also forgave sins and demonstrated supernatural power. The crowds loved Him but some wanted to destroy Him because of these things. If I am more like Jesus, would these things also happen to me?

Jesus also ate and drank with sinners, accepted those others rejected, refused to get involved in meaningless religious rituals, did good on the Sabbath, experienced family members thinking He was crazy and others decided He was demonic (and as long as they do, that is unforgiveable), and considered Himself a brother to all who believed.

These results also happen to those who follow Jesus. Yes, we are blessed yet the blessing is not always a rose garden; it can be deep peace and joy in the midst of very difficult circumstances. The point is, when we share with others the roses and leave out the weeds, it creates in them a sense of being inferior, of somehow missing out on God’s best. But when we share the trials and troubles those who hear it are actually edified and blessed — just the opposite of what seems right.

Paul learned this. He wrote about his experiences and shared a major problem by admitting this one:

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7–10)

He realized that in sharing his lows as well as his highs, he did a great service to anyone who wants the Christian life to be totally wonderful yet sadly realize that we are not in heaven yet!