Day 40 – Some Final Thoughts

So we come to the end of our journey. Easter morning is on the horizon. Our words proclaim today, Amen! So let it be here and now O God. How can this prayer serve then as a guidance for our church? Is it a summary of Jesus' ministry? Indeed in this prayer we have a wealth of mercy and an opportunity to find God's plan for the human race. Hint – it won't be easy. We may get what we don't expect. But that is the God we believe and confess.

Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. We have the assurance to know that we can call on our God as we would an earthly Father, that we have a relationship and an intimate connection with the Creator of this world. That out of His divine and fatherly goodness we are blessed by his love, his forgiveness, and the ability to have a relationship to God.

Hallowed by thy name. God name is holy and precious not to be taken in vain.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. As Luther suggests God's will is done without our doing or work but we ask in this prayer that God would include us in this work. That we yield ourselves to God's work – not my will be done but your will be done O God.

Give us this day our daily bread. God gives us everything we need from day to day – food and clothing, shelter, family and friends – everything. We ought to then thank God for these blessings and see life itself as a gift.

Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Going hand in hand forgiveness of our sins rides on our ability to forgive.

Lead us not into temptation. Help me O God because I do what I ought not to do and need your guidance and loving hand to show me the way to walk.

For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever Amen.

Day 39 – The Doxology

The "Doxology" as I learned it became a part of the liturgy of the church early in my memory. The tune (Old 100^th) became a prayer and a mode for giving praise back to God where it belongs. When we pray, "For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours – now and forever, Amen" we are giving are all and all to God. It is to say my allegiances lie not in my own greatness, not in the conquests I make happen, nor in the relationships that I have. Rather my allegiances lie in the realms of God's power, mercy, and grace. As a Boy Scout I remember the pledges toward God and country – the allegiances to insuring we are doing are absolute best to better all around us. For you O God are the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever, Amen.

Day 38 – And deliver us from evil…

"There is a yearning for God to put things right, to replace human sorrow with joy, human tears with laughter, human fear with peace." (Henry French, 118) I am afraid now more than ever when I pray these final words. Why? After all I am the hired holy man, the pastor who is supposed to have all the answers, the cleric, the man who has his stuff together. Beloved I am terrified. If I pray for deliverance to happen and to be real in my life what happens then when I fall back into sin, when I fail to be that stellar super disciple, when I tarnish the office of pastor and fail to complete what people would hope me to be? Deliverance takes me stepping aside and asking for God to intervene and make things right again. To go from sorrow to joy, from tears to laughter, and from fear to peace. This is good news and the longing of this fumbling disciple.

Day 37 – And deliver us from evil…

What is our struggle against in this world? I struggle with how many cups of coffee I can truly stomach without the feeling of it gurgling like a rusty tea kettle all day. I struggle with the temptations of greed, power, self importance, and the reality of my humanness. I fight the urge to flee when the going gets tough – because the tough get going right? If 2 Timothy 4:18 is true can I hold fast to such words – that "the Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom" then truly I have nothing to fear, nothing to dread, and certainly could cut back on the coffee. The apparent evil in our world is ever around us – we don't have to look far. It is the evil that declares keeping ones distance to our neighbors valuing private distance rather than finding community with those around us. The evil of greed which speaks against holding things in common and giving to all according to their need. We would have a very hard time existing in this modern age as an Acts 2 type of religious community. We would be called fanatics, people who have fallen off the hay rack, and those who take it too far. But perhaps our Lord is saying that we haven't been radical enough. We need to as Christians be able to define evil for what it is and be prepared to deal with it in a way which mirrors how our Savior Jesus lived, died, and rose again.

Day 36 – Save us from the time of trial

We Christians can receive much flack for our faith. Of course here in the United States it comes in more tame fashion than what our brothers and sisters in Christ might face in other parts of the world. Yet have we tasted the bitterness of indifference? It can be frustrating lately in the church. The world around us just doesn't seem to notice that we even exist as many find other things to do on Sunday mornings – like for one sleep in. Or maybe it's the "only time I have to spend with family day". Or the ever popular "I can do laundry on Sunday and get ready for the week day". Either way we have to find a way to break into this world view with the hope and promise of what God offers when faced with trials. No amount of laundry nor sleep helps me get through the trials that come. It is my faith in the Lord Jesus and the assurances of his word.

Day 35 – Save us from the time of trial

I can't tell you how many people have come to me and shared their fears about the end times. We are living in a very violent and emotionally turbulent time. But yet is it any different than ages past? Or is it the fact that we have become more sensitive to the difficulties around us? Jesus talked about the calamities that would come. Jesus was real with his followers about the suffering that would come and be a part of living as people of the Way. We may be living in a moment of pain free existence while another Christian suffers extreme persecution. While we may experience suffering because of the collapse of the American ideal for a perfect life another bears the pain of a natural disaster. Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias offers some insight into human suffering and evil. Hope the clip below offers some insight.

Day 34 – Save us from the time of trial

I am often tempted by the bread this world offers. Flip through a Best Buy ad and it sparks that internal lust for things that I cannot nor should have. It sparks the inequality and old Adam in me that yearns for a nice 42 inch decoration on my wall that comes with the power to captivate my hunger for more stuff. I may drive past Pladsens in Waukon and look on with intense hunger at the new cars that shimmer in the spring sunshine. The trouble with this kind of bread is that it leaves me hungering for even more. In likeness Jesus also was tempted by bread in the wilderness. Why then hunger for the things which will never satisfy? What about power? I am thankful to God for his ways of humbling me and reminding me of my place in this world. As a servant I am no greater than my master Jesus nor am I any greater than my neighbor. The allure of earthly greatness and power only follows certain downfalls. To the church leaders who have surcumed to the temptation of power they usually started off innocently enough being attracted to the attention greatness brings. The old saying rings true in this respect. Never forget where you have come from. Take away all the successes that God has granted me, leave out the degrees and accomplishments. What I am left with is the nakedness of being a child of God and a father, a husband, a friend, and a servant to the cause of the Gospel. Rabbi Harold Kuschner wrote a widely popular book examining human suffering and how one could grasp the concept of bad things happening to seemingly righteous people. Faced with a child who would never see past his teenage years they were faced with the reality of their very concept of faith being turned upside down. If you love me God why let suffering happen to me? Jesus was tempted by this as well in the wilderness. Our prayer must be that we would have the courage to entrust the unknown, the pain of suffering in the here and now, and all that we are to God.