The Lord’s Prayer

The “Lord’s Prayer” or “Our Father” (Pater Noster) is a model prayer or a prototype that Jesus taught his disciples (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4) when they asked him to teach them how to pray. It is not meant to be words that are recited to receive a blessing. It is good to intentionally pray it with sincerity and meaning, or to use it to fashion your own prayer.

In my praying of the Lord’s Prayer, I am going to use the version of the Lord’s Prayer that is commonly used in LCMS churches. It is based on the Matthew passage. This prayer was taken from the Book of Common Prayer (either the 1892 version or the 1928 version) when the LCMS was producing the 1941 hymnal which was in English and not German. I believe this English version of this Lord’s Prayer actually dates back to before the King James Bible, perhaps all the way back to Tyndale.

Our Father, who art in heaven. Heavenly Father, we thank you that because of Jesus, our high priest, you allow us to approach you and come before you (Hebrews 4:14-16). You are not a distant God but one who wants to be in relationship with us. Thank you!

Hallowed be thy name. Lord, you are holy and we are not. We sin. We ask that by our thoughts, actions and words we may live holy and pure lives for you (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8). Make your name be holy in our lives and throughout the world. Strengthen us, because you alone are worthy of praise. May our lives exhibit that praise.

Thy kingdom come. Father, we ask that by your Spirit your kingdom would come to us and among us. You are reigning now (Psalm 103:19). Help us to see your reign. We wait for Jesus’ return when the fullness of the kingdom will be ushered in (1 Timothy 6:14-16).

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Lord, your good and gracious will is being done, but we ask that it would be done among us also. Hinder the devil, the influences of the world, and our own sinful nature so that we may live our lives for you. Help us to know your will (Romans 12:1-2).

Give us this day our daily bread. Father God, we thank you for your provision. We thank you for allowing us to come to you with our needs and with our wants. In your gracious provision, you do supply everything we need (Psalm 145:15-16). We thank you! We ask that you continue to supply our needs, the food, the shelter, the peaceful environment, our faith, family, and so much more.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lord God, we sin daily. We are broken and corrupt and do not realize how thoroughly broken we are (Psalm 130:3-4). In your mercy, forgive us, renew us, and restore us, so that we may delight in you and walk in your ways. Remind us how so very much we have been forgiven so to help us to forgive others. We thank you, Jesus, for your death and resurrection so that by the Spirit we may have this new life.

And lead us not into temptation. Lord, we are asking that you would hinder the devil, the influences of the world, and our own sinful nature from leading us into sin, harmful behavior, false beliefs, and the like (1 Corinthians 10:12-13). Lord, you have freed us and so out of gratitude we desire to live life for you.

But deliver us from evil. Save us, Lord, from the evil in this world, especially protect us “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. Praise to you, Triune God, for your great love! You reign! You are above all. No one can even closely compare to you. So all honor and glory and blessing are yours (Psalm 145:1-3; Revelation 5:12). It is all yours! (This last phrase of the Lord’s Prayer is not found in many manuscripts.)

First Date

August 3, 1998 was Gail and Paul’s first date. In many ways, it was not anything special, but in other ways it pointed to our compatibility. We had started emailing each other near the end of June. A mutual friend had suggested to me that Gail needed a pen pal. I knew that she was matchmaking and I almost did not email Gail. The only reason I did, was that I was in Colorado and Gail was in Oregon. The matchmaking was not going to work because of the long distance. So this first date was just to see who I had been emailing. I was out visiting my folks, and Gail and I had planned a hike in the Columbia River Gorge and have lunch together. That was it.

We met at The Grotto parking lot in Portland. It was easy to find each other because there were a couple of bus loads of Asian tourists there, and it appeared that we were the only two Caucasians. We drove to Multnomah Falls hoping to hike to the top but the trail was closed. We did get a picture taken on the bridge there. The guy who took the picture told us to get closer together and act like we liked each other. We had just met less than an hour ago.

We ended up hiking up behind Wahkeema Falls. As we hiked up the Gorge wall, we talked and learned more about each other. We came down and had a lunch Gail prepared, and then the date was supposed to end. But we decided to drive over to Portland’s Rose Garden and there continued our conversation. We talked until it was getting late. We stopped because we had to make sure to pick up Gail’s car at The Grotto before it closed. Since it was dinner time, we stopped at a nearby restaurant, “Elmer’s”, and that was our first date.

It ended up being a lot longer than I had planned, and yet there was no spark for either of us. I did not think anything of it even though we talked much longer than planned. Gail was a nice lady and I enjoyed my time with her. I was still a confirmed bachelor. Gail learned that I was a “Lord of the Rings” fan so she read “The Fellowship of the Ring”. She struggled to read the book and was surprised to find out that it was just the first of three books. (She still ended up marrying me, and did enjoy the BBC Lord of the Rings radio drama and the movies.)

We continued emailing each other. By the time December came around, I knew I wanted to spend more time with Gail, so I took an extra long Christmas vacation to visit my folks. I did not see much of my folks, but I saw a whole lot of Gail, and at the end of the vacation I realized that I was in love.

We got engaged in February, and on August 15, 1999, I married Gail. That is now 26 years ago and it all started 27 years ago with email and that first date. I am so thankful that God has blessed me with Gail. She has been a wonderful partner in life.

*****

Gail here:

Paul captured the day well. I want to add that the timing of our meeting was God’s perfect timing. Meeting Paul at that point in my life was just right. God had been working in both of us over the years and I can see how meeting any earlier would not have worked out as well. The way we met was also perfect. We saw that we were compatible and over the months that we continued to email nearly daily, I learned so much about what Paul thought and how he lived. With the “pressure off” our love and attraction grew. We could “talk” thoughtfully about important things through email, and I learned that Paul was wise, kind, and generous. He was and is God’s gift to me. We are very different, but wonderfully suited to each other. It’s a joy to live life together!

*****

More of the story can be found with these blog posts: Before Engagement and During Engagement.

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. (Ephesians 5:31-33)

Nicene Creed

Jesus Christ Statue Photo - Myriam Zilles

This year, the Nicene Creed is 1700 years old. Way back in 325 A.D., there was the First Council of Nicaea, where a large number of church leaders gathered primarily to discuss the relationship of Jesus Christ to God. There had been this ongoing controversy (Arianism) on whether or not Jesus was created and thus not the same as God the Father. Everyone considered Jesus to be divine but what was his relationship to God the Father? It came down to two Greek words, homoousios, Jesus being “of one substance” with God the Father, or homoiousios, Jesus being of a like substance to the Father. Arianism held that Jesus was the first created being, inferior to the Father but like him, and still superior to all other beings. The Council of Nicaea firmly rejected Arianism and chose homoousios. I believe homoousios fits much better with what the Bible says.

Emperor Constantine had called the church leaders together because this controversy was dividing the Church. He got the church leaders together and he let the church leaders decide the controversy and did not influence the decision. Everyone of the church leaders voted for the creed except for two holdouts. Emperor Constantine had hoped this would resolve the issue, but unfortunately the controversy continued.

In 381 A.D., at the First Council of Constantinople, the Nicene Creed was amended with the biggest change being the fleshing out of the third article which is about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was not the focus in the original creed. All the other changes have been minor. And that is how the Nicene Creed came to be.

The Nicene Creed makes it very clear that Jesus is God who became human. It says

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made; … became man, …

And at the end of the original Nicene Creed it said

But as for those who say, there was when He was not, and before being born He was not, and that He came into existence out of nothing, or who assert that the Son of God is of a different hypostasis or substance, or created, or is subject to alteration or change – these the catholic and apostolic Church anathematizes [strongly condemns].

The original creed also made it clear what the wrong beliefs were. The key point of the Nicene Creed is that Jesus is God, a person of the Trinity, who became human for our salvation.

Today there is a falsehood going around that Emperor Constantine called the council because he wanted to make Jesus a so-called mortal human being who was a prophet into a deity and thus suppress the sacred feminine (symbolic of fertility and reproduction and being representative of mother earth). This is a completely different narrative from the historical documents, and the idea of the Trinity (three persons and yet one God) had already been established so it was not a new idea introduced at the Council of Nicaea.

And another falsehood that people believe today is that at the Council of Nicaea, the books of the Bible were selected and the Gnostic Gospels were suppressed at that time. Nothing about that is true. The Biblical Canon was not discussed at all. It had already been set by consensus. Again the false idea is that Emperor Constantine was suppressing the sacred feminine by banning the Gnostic Gospels. The funny thing is the Gnostic Gospels are much more anti-feminine than the books of the Bible. Be careful of the lies that surround the Council of Nicaea. Unfortunately “The Da Vinci Code” popularized many of these lies.

Jesus’ Resurrection

Why is Jesus’ resurrection so important? It is a major foundation of the Christian Faith. Early Christians believed in the resurrection, and a large number of them saw Jesus alive after the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). It is a critical piece of the story of God’s redemption of the world through the work of Jesus. It gives us hope, an expectation of an assured future (Romans 15:13).

We are connected to Jesus’ resurrection through our baptism. In our baptism we were united to Jesus’ death and resurrection (Romans 6:3-4). If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then we are still in our sins and our faith is worthless (1 Corinthians 15:17). If Jesus did not rise, then we have nothing to hope for. If there is no eternal life then we just live a meaningless life, recognizing that our brokenness and evil will always be around until we destroy ourselves. With no resurrection, any hope we have then is a false hope. The reality would be then our death would send us into nihilistic oblivion. Fortunately, Jesus did rise from the dead (Matthew 28:1-10). The resurrection validated who Jesus was and what he is able to do. It gives us the assurance that he was victorious over sin, death, and the Devil (Hebrews 2:14; Romans 6:23).

Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we have a new life (2 Corinthians 5:17-18; Romans 6:4). We have been reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). Because Jesus rose, we too will rise to eternal life (Romans 6:23). We will have new immortal bodies (1 Corinthians 15:42-54). Everything will be made right and we will live forever in the presence of our loving God (Revelation 21:1-4).

Therefore, because of Jesus’ resurrection, we have the hope that everything now that is broken will be made new (Revelation 21:5). There will be a perfect life for us with a new Earth and Heaven.

PS For more on Jesus’ resurrection check out “Praise God for Jesus’ Resurrection”.

Affirming People

Two women talking (Christina@wocintechchat)

Today’s culture is all about affirming people. You tell them they are good just as they are, or that they are better than good. “You are the best” is an affirmation that we all want to hear. It is good to encourage people, especially people with low self esteem, but are we being truthful when we affirm someone? Reality is we are not all hot stuff. In fact, none of us are hot stuff. We are all broken people in need of fixing.

Affirming someone means you validate, support, and/or encourage their identity, experiences, or beliefs and by doing so culture says you are recognizing their worth and value. It is good to treat everyone with dignity and respect, because everyone is of great value and worth, no matter how broken they are. God loves everyone, just as they are, but God also wants to move us to a better place, to restore us and to fix our brokenness. Why? It is because he loves us.

However, today’s culture sees everyone as naturally good, and affirming them is telling them they are okay and whatever problems they have are due to society. It is not their fault. People say “You just be you because you are the best”. Unfortunately, to some extent, it is their fault, and not society’s fault. We all are broken and sinful. It is our fault. Yes, society has its problems but it is because we are broken self-centered people. The problem is us. Each and every one of us are inclined to do evil. We are not naturally good. It is wrong to affirm harmful behavior. It is wrong to ignore our brokenness.

Over the centuries we have tried to solve this problem of our brokenness. Educating people did not change people’s behavior much. Enforcing many laws also did not change people’s behavior very much. Punishing people did not change people. Trying to change society did not fix the problem. And affirming everyone does not solve the problem and change people. All these are external actions. The real problem is internal. Deep down inside of us we are selfish self-centered people. Each and every one of us has this problem. We want things our way and we would also like to have the advantage. Because the problem is internal to each and every one of us, everytime we try to fix the issue we fail, because we can not fix it ourselves.

Fortunately, God loves us even in our brokenness, and he sent Jesus to provide a solution for our brokenness. God in Jesus took on human form, lived that perfect life free from sin and then went to the cross to pay our debt. He died on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, all who trust in him become children of God. The Holy Spirit is at work in us who believe, restoring us to become more like Jesus. Because of our internal change (which is a work in process), we can work for a better world. We can affirm God and his love because of all he has done for us.

So, affirming one another without recognizing our brokenness is harmful. This does not mean we cannot praise or encourage people for well done actions or thoughts. We can and we should, but we need to recognize that we are all still broken people. We cannot affirm people for the harmful actions and ideas that go against God’s holy standards. God’s standards are good for us. It may be kind to affirm someone with a harmful lifestyle, but that would not be the loving thing to do.

Yet, there is one way we can “affirm” everyone, no matter where they are at. It is by telling them “God loves you”. It is a truth that everyone needs to know. We just cannot affirm bad actions or bad ideas. Instead, culture today wants you to affirm everyone no matter what, but we cannot affirm bad behavior. Out of love, we need to address those harmful actions or ideas. Let us be affirming of all God has done, and let us share his love to everyone around us.

Love and Kindness

People today seem to want to replace the word love with the word kindness. I can understand since the English word love has a broad set of meanings and in society today the focus is on the romantic meaning of love, but though the words are similar they are also very different. To be kind is a good thing. In fact it is one of the nine attributes of the fruit of the Spirit. Love is another attribute. Love wants the best for the other person. Kindness does not necessarily have that motivation.

Being kind means you are friendly, generous, and considerate. Showing love (agape love) means the love is unconditional, sacrificial, and is an act of the will. Love is not a feeling, rather love acts with regard for the other person’s best interest. I like this definition from the book “God Space” (by Doug Pollock, p. 92): “Love is a commitment you make to act in someone else’s best interest. True love can only be known by the actions that it prompts.”

To illustrate the difference, suppose a grandmother was making dinner and her grandkids come up and want to have some cookies from the cookie jar. She would be kind if she handed them the cookie jar, but the loving thing to do would be to say no and say to wait until after dinner. Love puts the best interest of the other first. Being kind may not always be the best thing for the other person.

Another illustration shows that kindness is not demanding but love is. Suppose you give $10 to a homeless person. That is a kind act, but love would not give the $10 if you smelled alcohol on his breath. Instead in love you would volunteer to take him to a detox center. Love is demanding. With love you cannot keep the person at arm’s length like you can with kindness, rather you care and show concern with their best interests in mind.

There is a meme that states “Kindness is everything” and another meme that states “Just be kind”. These campaigns to be kind are good but they are lacking. They equate love and kindness, or they see kindness as love in action. By being kind you cannot use tough love. Kindness means you need to affirm and lift up the person. Sometimes you need to point out to the person some hard truths, like their actions are really destructive behavior. That would be the loving thing to do and it would not be kind.

Showing kindness is a good thing to do, but let us let our kind acts also be acts of love to show we truly care and are concerned for them. Kindness without love is empty.

Ancient Words

Ancient words ever true; Changing me, and changing you. We have come with open hearts; Oh let the ancient words impart. (Ancient Words by Michael W. Smith; songwriter is Lynn Deshazo)

The Bible is unique. It has been around for about 2000 to 3500 years and was written in 3 languages by about 40 different authors over about 1500 years. The Bible is estimated to have sold 5-7 billion copies and is the most popular book in the world for all time. It has staying power. For 2000 years it has been changing lives. The words found in the Bible are God’s words to a broken world. The story of the Bible is one of God, out of love, rescuing us and giving us a full life. The Bible is different from other religious texts. Other religious texts talk about what we have to do to get right with God or the world. The Bible tells us what God has done to make us right with him.

We know that this world is not as it should be and we desire an utopia where we all can live in peace and harmony. Through the centuries we have tried to create utopias but for every attempt we have failed. We have failed because we are all self-centered and selfish. We live lives centered on ourselves. We are broken. We cannot save ourselves from ourselves. Our self-centered brokenness corrupts everything we try. We need an outside power to save us from ourselves.

Thank you, God, for coming to save us from ourselves. God loves us so very much that he came to earth in Jesus to rescue us and restore that relationship. God saves us and gives us a new life in him. We are not there yet but God is at work in our broken lives, changing us to be more like Jesus. Today, we still many times fail to follow God’s standards even though they are good for us. Fortunately, God’s forgiveness is there for us to allow us to start afresh. He wants the best for us. One day, Jesus will return and that desire for a peaceful utopia will become a reality. In the Bible, God gives us hope and life. The Bible is about his story of restoration for us.

This is why the Bible is the best selling book in the world for all time. A good summary of the main theme of the Bible can be found in the introduction to “The Jesus Storybook Bible”. “The Story and the Song” is a video of the introduction of the book. Yes, the book is aimed at kids, but the introduction points out what the Bible is not and what is the main theme of the Bible. It is all about Jesus. These ancient words are always true and life changing.

Inductive/Deductive Bible Study

How do we read the Bible? We can read it with an inductive reasoning mindset or a deductive reasoning mindset. When you read inductively, you read a passage and from the details you derive some general life principles. It is a bottom up approach. When you read deductively, you start with a premise or a theory and you look at a passage to verify (or not) the premise. It is a top down approach. There are valid reasons to use both approaches, and there are potential problems with each approach.

When you read the Bible, context is everything. You can avoid a lot of problems if you put the passage in context. The Bible is a library of 66 books, written about 2000 to 3500 years ago by about 40 human authors. Though the Bible was written for us to read, it was written to the people of that time and place. How did the original hearers understand it? So there are several questions to ask. What is the historical context of the passage? What is the cultural context? Is it a historical document, a letter, poetry or something else? What is the context in regard to the surrounding passages? What is the context to other passages (and books) of the same time period? And what is the context in relation to the overarching story of Jesus and his work here? Context is very important!

To understand how those who originally understood it, we also need to know how life was different between then and modern day. What things are important today that were not important back then, and what are the things important back then that are not important today? This applies to the cultural context. One example is today we are very individualistic and back then they were much more family and community oriented.

This sounds overwhelming. Do not worry. There are resources available to help you read and study the Bible. Study Bibles, study guides, and many Christian books are good resources to help you interpret the Bible. I do make use of them. They are helpful. That is why it is good to also learn how Christians in the past have interpreted the Bible for the Holy Spirit has enlightened Christians in the past as he continues to do so today. The Christian faith, though personal, is a faith that is found in community. Therefore the biblical understanding of Christians in the past and the present, under careful scrutiny of Holy Scripture, can be a guide to help you interpret the Bible. Let us get back to inductive and deductive reasoning.

If you are using the inductive reasoning approach then you need to decide what general theological principles are found in the passage. Once you have determined the potential theological principles then you need to find other passages to prove that it is a valid theological principle. (There should also be one passage in the New Testament validating your principle.) Once validated then you need to put it into practice. One needs to be careful not to a priori determine the principle or principles.

If you are using the deductive reasoning approach then you need to determine whether the passage fits the premise or topic that you had a priori determined. Again, are there other passages that fit your topic? (And again there should be one in the New Testament.) Many times with a deductive Bible study, the topic has been determined by others and you are in a topical Bible study where you are reading a list of passages that should support the topic. All the passages in context should support the topic. You need to be careful of the context and your own biases.

If you want to find something in the Bible to prove your point, there is a good chance that you can find it, but it will most likely not be in context of the surrounding verses or of the Bible in general. For an extreme example. Charles Manson used the book of Revelation, in particular chapter 9, to promote his violent vision of the future and his use of the Beatles songs. (The locusts were the Beatles.) Charles Manson looked at the Bible to authenticate his violent vision. He found what he was looking for, and by his reasoning deduced his proof. The problem was that he set out to use the Bible to authenticate his beliefs, and not to discover what the Bible had to say. His proof passages were out of context and his vision did not fit with the rest of the Bible. We need to be careful to keep things in context and to be careful to let our reasoning, desires, and feelings not bias how we read the Bible. There are many other examples of people using the Bible to authenticate their beliefs or viewpoints. Avoid doing it.

Sometimes people allow tradition, a person’s writings, cultural beliefs, certain moral values, science, or even reason to have the same or higher authority than the Bible. I believe the Bible is the true and only real authority. Do not discount or water down what the Bible says. Again, so when studying the Bible, context is important and be aware of your biases. And have other Christians confirm your interpretation.

For more information on studying the Bible, check out “Read, Mark, Learn, and Inwardly Digest” and “Is the Bible Wicked?”.

Coasting

A question I am asking myself is “Am I coasting?” If I am coasting through life then I am not striving for something. When I am coasting, I am going downhill. I need to be intentional (and disciplined) in living my life. When I coast, I just live and react, and let my desires and the influences of the culture determine my response. Instead I should be living for God and responding to life’s issues in a God-pleasing way. That takes intentionality.

We live in a very self-centered culture. Today’s culture does not help us live a life for God. Comfort and convenience for oneself are promoted. There is nothing wrong with convenience or comfort, but we need to make certain that it is not self-centered desires driving our life. If I coast, I tend to let my desires as well as cultural influences determine my actions. While coasting I tend to let convenience and comfort dictate my actions. That is not good or altogether healthy. I need a plan, a “rule of life” (a pattern of habits), to live by to help me counteract my selfish desires and the cultural influences.

I set up a “rule of life” two years ago, and I found that to be quite helpful but I do not always follow it and end up coasting through life instead of being intentional. The good news is the “rule of life” has created some habits so when I am coasting many of those good habits from the “rule of life” are still active. However, when I am coasting I miss opportunities to serve God and others.

My motivation for the “rule of life” is not to do something to earn the name of Christian or to even become a “better Christian”, rather I am motivated to serve God for his glory out of love and gratitude for what he has done for me. Jesus came to earth to take the punishment I deserve. He saved me and gave me a full life. As I rest in his love, mercy and grace, how can I not seek to give him thanks and show him love by living a life he desires. Fortunately, I am empowered by his Spirit to live this full life. So all praise and honor belong to him.

I am committed to serve Jesus Christ. The “rule of life” needs more than only good intentions. It also needs discipline to do and build the habits found in the “rule of life”. And so with the help of the Holy Spirit I strive to live a life that pleases him. I fail more times than I wish, but God is a work in me to make me more Christ-like. It is with that hope or expectation I move forward. I feel my “rule of life” is a helpful tool for me.

Maybe creating your own “rule of life” would be helpful for you. I would encourage you to give it a try. It has helped me to avoid coasting through life.

Peace

Peace is something everyone seems to want. Peace in the Bible is a rich concept. It is more than just the absence of conflict. Peace is a state of wholeness and completeness. With peace what is broken is restored or made whole. Peace brings a sense of calm and renewal, especially in our relationships.

The Hebrew word for peace is shalom. The idea of wholeness and well-being comes from shalom. Shalom can be used as a greeting. It asks about our welfare. Much like our greeting, “How are you doing?”, but shalom gives that added sense that everything should be right and whole. Shalom also implies a restoring of the relationship.

We rob ourselves of peace when we worry about things. Much of our worry and anxiety is about things we have no or very little control over. There is no good reason to worry and yet we do. We fear the future. We fear the unknown and even the known. We are troubled by the events in the world. What we need to do is to recognize that we have a God who is good and loves us. He is in control and he desires the best for us, so we need not worry but instead we need to let his peace wash over us.

God showed his love for us by coming in the person of Jesus. That is what Christmas is all about. On Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus. Jesus came in love to save us from our brokenness and to restore the relationship between us and God. He brought us peace. That is why the angels announcing the birth of Jesus said “… on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14). Jesus offers his peace to us so we can no longer be troubled or afraid (John 14:27). It is a peace that “surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).

Do you want peace? Jesus wants to come and give you his peace. It is something I am thankful for and I rejoice in his peace.

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. (Isaiah 26:3-4)

This blog post was inspired by the Bible Project video, “Shalom/Peace”.
P.S. Here is our 2024 Christmas letter.