Archive for March, 2025
Thy Kingdom Come
“Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen” (Matthew 6: 9 – 13).
Note first this is not the “Lord’s Prayer.” He didn’t pray for it because it includes “Forgive us of our debts (sins). It is the “Model Prayer” He taught His followers to pray as a pattern for our prayers. It is not meant to be recited, but prayed.
We are to pray “Your kingdom come.” It is yours so come and reclaim it.
A kingdom coup decant occurred in Eden when Satan successfully tempted Eve and through her, Adam. God’s perfect world was despoiled when evil entered the moment mankind rebelled.
Ever since Jesus gave us the Model Prayer we have been entreating Him to come again and restore His rule. We pray, “Your kingdom come,” meaning please come and restore your rule. The prayer concludes “Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory.” What kingdom? The one for which we pray “Your kingdom.” It is yours Lord, come and completely restore it as in the creation you designed it to be. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Heavenly rules prevail in heaven. That rule on earth is what we are praying for every time we pray the Model Prayer. Come, dear Lord, and enact that rule.
In the restored kingdom there will be no more temptations. The tempter will be in chains.
What a day that will be. Oh glory!
Unfortunately many “pray” this prayer nonchalantly not realizing they are asking God for a completely new world order. Followers of Jesus hunger and thirst for God’s righteousness to be established on earth.
Whenever you pray be more conscious of the one to whom you are praying than about which you are praying.
It is not to be prayed with a desire to be personally delivered from the world’s disorder, though we will be, but by submitting to the will of God. The purpose of prayer is not to get my will done on earth; it’s to get God’s will done.
Our desire is for Him to triumphant in reclaiming control over what is His, He created it. “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1: 3).
Pray that His name be sanctified and glorified throughout the universe. Therein His name would surely be “hallowed.”
Our prayer is for God’s kingdom and God’s will to be done. Till then we are to live like kingdom people in obedience to our all glorious King. Live within your sphere of influence, claiming it as a bit of His kingdom.
Trump’s Triumph
America has been blessed once again a privilege few societies have been blessed to do, we have transferred from one administration to another as chosen by the people.
You may not like the people involved.
You may not like partisanship.
But you have to like the process.
It is indeed a privilege you have to cherish.
Donald J. Trump is now officially our President. In his Inaugural Address he called this the Golden Age and pledged himself to an unimaginable series of actions. Bottom line, there is no way he can achieve all he has pledged himself to do. However, based on his past you can be confident he will try.
Challenges abound, such as, making our borders secure, bringing law and order to our cities, purging our educational systems of non-academic subjects and returning to a basic core educational curriculum. Returning our armed forces to a position of power purged from misdirection WOKE indoctrination will be a heady responsibility. Closing the border and deporting illegals will be popular, but have emotional acts. A popular promise met with standing applause was, “We will drill, baby, drill.”
The president also repeated his claims that the Justice Department was weaponized against him. As his “top priority” he would be creating a country that is “proud, prosperous and free.” Sounds good.
A plethora of other promises were made, none greater than going to Mars. Hopefully that won’t sidetrack some more earthly needs. Reclaiming the Panama Canal which was given to Panama is a complex matter. The issue of tariffs is an iffy matter that hopefully will not apply to all countries, only China. That is a two edged sword.
How does the Gulf of America sound?
Many of his promises are virtually impossible. Knowing that he said, “Impossible is what we do.” May it be, by God’s good grace.
Expect failures, the agenda is too extensive not to have some failures. Don’t become preoccupied by them to the point of overlooking the success.
The president declared that he believes his life was spared “for a reason….” I was saved by God to make America great again,” he said. Hopefully it was, and hopefully he will be used to that end. In that light every member of the praying population should make and keep a commitment to continue to pray for him.
A former governor of Louisiana told me that when he made a decision with which the Christian community was not pleased they abandoned him. However, when he made decisions that displeased the antithetical groups they were right there the next day as friends continuing to plead their case.
Let’s not fail to prayerfully support the Trump administration. It appears the proposed members of his cabinet will all be approved. Each has the capacity to serve well. They, too, need our prayers.
President Trump said, “National unity is now returning to America and confidence and pride is soaring like never before,”He continued, “In everything we do, my administration will be inspired by a strong pursuit of excellence and unrelenting success. We will not forget our country, we will not forget our Constitution, and we will not forget our God.”
Awakening from what the opposition might consider a stupor, criticism has begun and can only be expected to rise from anger to a vitriolic crescendo.
There is another group of opponents that pose a threat to the life of our president. Ask the Lord to shield and defend him …. and for God to bless America.
The Triumph of Trump
January 20, 2025! It is Martin Luther King Day, the NCAA D-1 National Football Championship, and the Inauguration of our 47th President.
Each event has its own constituency. To each their own is the one of importance. To them all congratulations.
The one with the most long lasting result is the inauguration.
Many Christians prayed for Trump to be elected.
As a result Donald J. Trump is now officially our President. In his Inaugural Address he called this the Golden Age and pledged himself to an unimaginable series of actions. Bottom line, there is no way he can achieve all he has pledged himself to do. However, based on his past you can be confident he will try.
The President declared that he believes his life was spared “for a reason…. I was saved by God to make America great again,” he said. Hopefully it was, and hopefully he will be used to that end. In that light every member of the praying population should make and keep a commitment to continue to pray for him.
“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (I Timothy 2: 1, 2).
I have prayed for some presidents I didn’t like, but I have prayed for them because of this passage.
President Trump is an imperfect flawed person like the rest of us, so we can’t expect perfection from him. Neither does it mean he can’t be used by the Lord to achieve His will. God can use a crooked stick to draw a straight line.
At 8:00 AM, just before the Inauguration the President, Vice President gathered in St. John’s Church, Lafayette Square, known as the Church of the Presidents, for a worship service. This is a tradition begun 92 years ago. The press reported every president since then has gathered there for such. Not so. Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States, was inaugurated on Thursday, January 20, 1977. Hours before the inauguration he, Vice President Mondale, the President’s Cabinet, the Joint Chiefs, their wives and other dignitaries gathered in the First Baptist Church in Washington, NOT St. John’s, for worship. I know because at the request of the President I planned the service and spoke at it. He asked me to do both.
As such, I had to provide the Secret Service a list in advance for them to do a security check. When I arrived at the door, the agent in charge told one more person than the number on the list was there. Panic! I checked the list and identified the “extra” person. It was me. I left my name off. Fortunately I had worked with the election enough that I was known by the agent and he cleared me to enter.
Improve Your Upward Vision
The land of Israel is slightly more than 70 miles at its widest and a little more than 200 miles long. Yet, once more it is the sight of strife gaining global interest. The struggle over the land began a little over 3,000 years ago in a Bedouin’s tent in a barren land. There two sons of Abraham were born, one by Sarah his wife and the other by Hagar the handmaid of his wife.
God promised to bless the descendants of both. Isaac gave rise to the Jews.
Of them God said his descendants would be as numerous as the stars (Genesis 15: 4.)
God said of them “I will bless those who bless you; And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12: 3).
Evidencing proof regarding by them all nations have blessed is the fact that of the 965 individual recipients of the Nobel Prize and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences between 1901 and 2023, at least 214 have been Jews or people with at least one Jewish parent, representing 22% of all recipients. Jews comprise only 0.2% of the world’s population, God did not choose them and bless them as His pets, but as His pattern for how nations should conduct themselves.
The other, Ishmael, was the heir who gave rise to the Arab nations. Of them the Lord promised, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.” (Genesis 16: 10). God further appointed a specific land for each.
After the end of the Six Day War (1967) Israel ceded the land of Gaza to the Palestinians. It was so beautiful Israel offered to help develop the area as a beautiful beach resort hoping it would attract tourists. A militant revolutionary group, Hamas, developed within it and took control. Ever since they have been tempted to disrupt Israel, including the incursion October 7, 2023. This began the current conflict.
There will come a day, perhaps soon, when all the nations of the earth (“all” includes America) shall turn on Israel. Before His exodus Jesus said.“you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” (Matthew 23: 39). This will be an appeal for His Second Coming. That will happen when it appears all is lost.
That does not have to be in our lifetime, but it may.
After a discourse regarding His second coming Jesus said of the things noted therein these words: “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near” (Luke 21: 28).
There are several more detailed insights regarding these issues but may this cursory insight inspire greater vigilance and devotion.
Be a Truth Talker
That is just blarney!
Our visit several years ago to the Blarney Castle, a medieval stronghold in Blarney, near Cork, Ireland gave occasion to learn of the origin of the epigram.
The Blarney Stone is among the machicolations of the castle. It is located in a precarious place several stories high requiring anyone desiring to kiss it to lean over backwards in space and kiss the stone above them. Legend has it that if you do it will give you the ability to speak eloquently.
Some say the expression was given the place by Queen Elizabeth I, who – after failing multiple times to steal the stone for herself – labeled the stone’s powers useless and utter “blarney.”
A story told me while visiting there was that a man named Blarney lived in the castle. He was known for making promises and not keeping them. Soon any unfulfilled promises by any person resulted in people saying, “That’s just blarney.” Really it is a synonym for a lie.
The Scripture promises a blessing to the person “…who swears to his own hurt and does not change…” (Psalm 15: 4). Such a person keeps his word even if it works in an unexpected way to his disadvantage.
Scripture notes that we are to engage in “speaking the truth in love….” (Ephesians 4:25). Note two principals in that verse. First, the person who speaks must speak the truth. Secondarily he is to do it in love. Even if it is true whether or not it is spoken is determined if it is spoken in love. If it isn’t, don’t speak it.
Shane Claiborne said, “My goal is to speak the truth in love. There are a lot of people speaking the truth with no love, and there are a lot of people talking about love without much truth.”
A worthy byword is: “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary, that it may impart grace to the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29).
This requires thoughtful discipline in determining whether or not to speak. Run a thought through the final filter of love. “Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit” (Proverbs 15:1).
Thomas Jefferson said, “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” Read that book for the sake of your friends.
For, “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, But those who deal truthfully are His delight” ( Proverbs 12:22).
The great Indian Chief Joseph who was betrayed by many whites left us this apothegm, “I am tired of talk that comes to nothing. It makes my heart sick when I remember all the good words and all the broken promises. There has been too much talking by men who had no right to talk. It does not require many words to speak the truth.”
Concise communication is a virtue. Say what you want to say using the fewest words possible. You will be appreciated all the more if you do.
Live as you pray, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer” (Ps 19: 14).