The Lord’s Prayer – Line by Line Part 2

On August 25, 2024August 6, 2024 By JCIn Miscellaneous, Wounded Butterflies BlogLeave a comment

In verses Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus provides a model for believers to follow as they pray. He is speaking to crowds that have gathered around Him as He sits and preaches. Jesus is sharing that believers are not to pray to draw attention to ourselves or to just say Christian phrases so we sound good. He exhorts us to pray differently. He then shares what is commonly called the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus says, “Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
¹⁰Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹Give us this day our daily bread,
¹²and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.”

The second line, “. . .hallowed be your name” prompts our minds to focus on the fact that while God is our Dad, He is to be approached with respect and awe. This line is a reminder that as we pray, we stand in the presence of a Holy God, so we must not have unconfessed sin or be living in disobedience. We approach God through the righteousness and holiness of Jesus, standing on our belief that He died on the cross for our sins.

We are entering the holy presence of the same God Who causes all-consuming fire to fall on wickedness (Genesis 19:24) and the earth to swallow up those who are disobedient (Numbers 16:32). This is the same God Who flooded the earth due to man’s sin (Genesis 6:17) and yet cares about every single bird (Matthew 6:26). God is all-knowing and all-powerful as He reigns from His heavenly throne room. If ever we feel our hearts are too casual with approaching the Almighty God, let Revelation chapter 4 remind us.

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, thank You for showing us how to pray. May we always remember You are a Holy God sitting on Your throne with flashes of lightning, and rumblings of thunder. You shine like jasper and carnelian, and around Your throne is a rainbow and twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. Before Your throne are the seven torches of fire and a sea of glass, like crystal. Help us to approach You with awe as the Holy God You are. May we reflect Your holiness to a hurting world. In Jesus name we pray, amen.

The Lord’s Prayer – Line by Line Part 1

On August 18, 2024August 18, 2024 By JCIn Miscellaneous, Wounded Butterflies BlogLeave a comment

In verses Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus shares a model for believers to follow as they pray. He is speaking to crowds that have gathered around Him as He sits and preaches. His disciples are sitting there as well. Jesus is sharing that believers are not to pray to draw attention to ourselves or to just say Christian phrases so we look good. He exhorts us to pray differently. He then shares what is commonly called the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus says, “Pray then like this:

The first line, “Our Father in heaven” causes us to put God first, before anything we may request of Him. Jesus starts off the prayer in a way that reminds us we are to be focused on worshipping God as our Father, putting Him first in all that we do. Calling God our Father is an acknowledgement of the relationship between the Almighty Creator and His creation. Our belief in Jesus as the Son of God is the way we get to the Father. He is our Father, our Dad and loves us more than we can possibly understand. Yet, He is in heaven and we are on earth. God is all-knowing and all-powerful as He reigns from His heavenly throne room. Through this line in the prayer, we are reminded that we do not know everything. Our trust must be in our heavenly Father.

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, thank You for showing us how to pray, may we always put You first. In Jesus name we pray, amen.

Hope Deferred

On August 11, 2024July 25, 2024 By JCIn Miscellaneous, Wounded Butterflies BlogLeave a comment

There is a verse in the Bible that says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12. What does that mean to have hope deferred and how do we keep our hearts from being sick?

Hope deferred is another way of saying that there is an unmet longing; something that one hopes for has not occurred and may not. The unfulfilled desire weighs on the person causing disappointment or discouragement resulting in a heaviness or a sick feeling. Sometimes people refer to this feeling as a broken or aching heart.

What do we do when our heart is sick from hope that has been deferred? We can pray and seek whether the thing we hope for is God’s will for us. Perhaps the timing is wrong or it is not intended for us. We can read God’s Word and see what the Bible says about the thing we hope for. We could serve others while we wait and try to be a blessing. Another option is to discuss the deferred hope with our church family members who can then pray with us and for us. We can also fast and place a heavy emphasis on seeking God’s will in our fasting prayers.

There are many paths we can take to try to cease dwelling on the deferred hope and redirect our emotions and energy towards what God has for us now, in the moment. He may never deliver to us what we hope for, it may not be in His plan for our lives and we need to trust that He works all things together for our good. Even those things that we do not understand or those things that we ‘know’ are best for us.

No matter what we do while we wait, we must continue to praise God. Whether He chooses to fulfill whatever we hope for or not, He continues to fill our lungs with air and holds our hearts as they beat. Without His enduring love and care for us, we would no longer live to see another day. Another day that may just quench our deferred hope, heal our sick heart and bring us to a tree of life.

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, thank You for Your love for us. Thank You that each and every day, you cause our hearts to beat. Remind us that each breath we take is because You allow us to breathe in. Thank You that You care so deeply for us and whether you defer our hopes or fulfill them, help us to love and praise You no matter what. It is in Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

The Red Sea: On Dry Ground . . .

On August 4, 2024July 28, 2024 By JCIn Miscellaneous, Wounded Butterflies BlogLeave a comment

There is a familiar story in the Old Testament about the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years due to their lack of faith in God’s ability to deliver on His commitment to give them the Promised Land. Even though we may have read this story many times, there are lesser studied details in these cherished verses we will focus on.

In prior weeks, we looked at the cloud by day and the pillar of fire. In chapter 14 of Exodus, starting in verse 5, we read,“When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” ⁶So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. . . . ⁹The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them . . . ¹⁰As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. . . . ¹⁵Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. ¹⁶Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. . . .²²and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.”

“²⁹But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. ³⁰That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore.”

Notice how many times the Scriptures say that the Israelites walked across the sea on ‘dry ground’. If you have ever had the pleasure of walking along the edge of a sea, you know that the ground is not dry. Even though the waves may not reach where you are walking, there is still moisture in the ground. Certainly within the sea itself, the bottom is muddy and you can easily sink in as you walk. Consider that the Israelites would have had wagons and livestock to get through the sea. The weight of some of these items would certainly have sunk in the wet ground that only a few hours earlier was covered by the sea. Our God is a God of details, not only does He protect His children but He also consistently shows us that He is here and with us every single step of the way.

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, thank You so much for loving us and for always protecting us. You are involved in our lives, down to the very last detail to include ensuring that Your children walked on dry ground. We praise You for Your love! In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.