How to Pray Jesus' Way # 6 - "Thine is the Kingdom"

For the past several weeks, I've been sharing about the Lord's Prayer.  We've talked about each phrase in detail.  Finally, we get to the famous expression, "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, amen."  That's the way we've been taught the Lord's Prayer.  But the interesting thing is, it's not in most modern Bible translations, because it's not in most of the oldest manuscripts.  Christianity Stack Exchange explains:

In Eastern-rite usage, the doxology is recited in the liturgy after the Lord's Prayer; this is probably how the phrase crept into Eastern Greek mediaeval manuscripts of the New Testament. These manuscripts are ultimately the ones on which the KJV was based. The KJV served as the Bible for English liturgy for a long time, thus becoming traditional for Protestants. 

On the other hand, the doxology never made its way into the text of the Latin Bible, which was the basis of Western-rite (Roman Catholic) liturgy. So it is not understood as part of the Lord's Prayer proper in the Catholic Church. 

Newer Protestant translations make use of a scholarly critical text of the New Testament. Biblical scholars stand in general consensus that the original Gospel of Matthew did not have the doxology. They believe this because the earlier Greek manuscripts don't have the phrase, and neither do early translations of the text, while there is a clear motivation for adding it in later Greek manuscripts. So the phrase is absent from the text of most modern translations (though it might be noted in a footnote).

         Even though it wasn’t part of the original prayer, it’s such a favorite that I want to talk about it anyway.  When we pray this phrase, we remind ourselves that when it's all said and done, it's all about God's kingdom, power, and glory anyway--and not about ours.  We begin by praying for God's kingdom and God's will, and we end by reinforcing the idea.  In Mark 8, Peter starts out by affirming Jesus' kingdom "You are the Messiah (v. 29 NLT)," but then turns around and reprimands Jesus for predicting the cross.  In other words, Peter is all about the Messiah working for Peter's will, but not so keen on Jesus doing the will of God.  In response, Jesus tells him that he was behaving as an agent of Satan, and that he is "seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s (v. 33 NLT).”
When we pray the Lord's Prayer, from beginning to end, we remind ourselves that it starts with God's kingdom, power, and glory--and it ends the same way.  When we come to church, too often we become like Peter, seeking after our own kingdom, power, glory, and will.  When we do this, we become puppets of the devil, working from an earthly perspective and not from God's.  Jesus gives a solution to this kind of selfishness in verses 34-36 (NLT:

“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.  If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.  And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?"

Praying the Lord's Prayer is a model for living the Christian life.  It's letting go and letting God have control.  We do this each day, no matter what challenges arise.  We do it at church, in the office, at school, and in the community, wherever we live our life for God's kingdom, power, and glory--and not our own.

How to Pray Jesus' Way # 5 - "Not Into Temptation"

Today, we continue our discussion on the Lord’s Prayer.  We’ve seen how each phrase draws us closer to God.  This week, we come to this phrase, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,”  in which we ask God for protection against those things that entice us away from true relationship with God and other people.  This simple phrase might make you think sometimes God tempts people to evil—otherwise why would you have to ask God not to do it?  But Jesus’ brother James explains it like this: 

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.  (James 1:13-15)

While God doesn’t specifically tempt us, God does allow temptation, knowing that “suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope (Romans 5:4).”  Temptation happens when we decide to gain pleasure or end suffering by our own devices, rather than following the will of God.  By bypassing suffering or overdosing on pleasure, we keep that maturity from doing its work in our hearts.  Essentially, temptation is impatience.  Adam and Eve were tempted by the serpent to end their ignorance and gain wisdom by eating forbidden fruit, rather than gaining it over time in their relationship with each and with God.  Jesus was tempted in the wilderness to turn stones to bread , ending his fast prematurely before he had developed the self-discipline that God was working in him.  No matter the temptation, it’s always based on impatience, and a desire to take charge of things yourself, rather than letting God be in control.

Now, some people have a tough time fasting, or going any time at all without food.  I know a couple who does things the old-fashioned way, where she has dinner ready before he gets home from work.  It works for them—sort of.  The problem is that often he gets hungry on the way, and he’ll stop at Hardee’s for just a little snack—you know, one of those bags with two sandwiches and fries and a pie.  Of course, you know where this is going.  When he sits down to dinner, there’s no room for dinner.  She gets upset that he won’t eat her cooking, and the kids learn from his example that they don’t have to eat their vegetables—or anything, for that matter.  And what really takes the cake after dinner, is when he takes the cake after dinner!  He’s filled up on junk, leaving no room in his life for what will nourish him.  

You do the same thing when you get to the end of the day and are too tired to have your quiet time of Bible reading and prayer.  I do it when I fill up my mind with worry and overthinking things, rather than simply trusting God to handle life’s problems.  A teenager does it when he says yes to sex before he’s ready for lifelong commitment.  We do it whenever we take a shortcut around God’s will, letting impatience lead to rash decisions that get us into trouble.  Temptation is the drive-thru window on the way home, choosing the devil’s fast food over God’s home-cooked meal, and stuffing ourselves on life’s distractions that crowd out God’s intentions.  Jesus teaches us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” because He himself was tempted, and He knows it sucks.  But He also models how can be delivered from evil.

When He was tempted, Jesus answered the devil by saying, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).’”  This is the solution to every temptation—to get so close to God that “the word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart (Romans 10:8)."  Every time Jesus was tempted, He responded by quoting the Bible.  After three tries, the devil realized he had to abandon the effort.

Now, does that mean that you defeat temptation by memorizing scripture and quoting it very time you feel tempted?  Nope.  Been there, done that, didn’t even want the ugly tee shirt.  Most Christians have tried resisting temptation by an exercise of willpower and quotation of Bible verses.  It’s not Bible verses that will save you—it’s being so close to God, so full of God, that there’s no room for the devil and his schemes.  If temptation is like filling up on junk food so that there’s no room for dinner, then resisting temptation is like filling up on a healthy meal so that there’s no room for dessert.  You don’t resist temptation by trying harder—you resist temptation by just eating more of God.  “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him (Psalm 34:8).”  Perhaps this is partly what Jesus meant when He said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty (John 6:35).”  It’s only when you’re hungry or thirsty that you are susceptible to temptation.  When you’re full of God, you can push away from the table and say, “No, thanks.”

Of course, that’s when the devil comes along and says, “There’s always room for Jell-O.”  But who really likes Jell-O, anyway?  I mean, of all the desserts in the world, Jell-O isn’t very tempting.  When you’re full of God, it’s easy to say “no.”  As the song says, “Temptations lose their power when Thou art nigh.”   When you pray the Lord’s Prayer, you’re claiming that as God’s promise.  Being full of God is what delivers you from evil—not willpower, and not keeping the law.  Being full of the bread of life, you don’t have room for anything else.

How to Pray Jesus' Way # 4 - "Forgive Us Our Trespasses"

When I was a kid, my brother and I used to trespass all over the neighborhood.  It was a rural area, and there was always somebody’s patch of woods to explore, or a neighbor’s pond to skip rocks into, or an abandoned house to investigate.  We thought of it as archaeology when we discovered what was inside those collapsing homes.  Trespassing would have been a harsh word in our minds, but that’s exactly what it was.  If our mother had only known!  First, trespassing is dangerous—you could get yourself hurt.  Second, trespassing is rude—even though it’s not your place, you don’t have permission, and what if you break something.  Third, trespassing is illegal—what if you get arrested?  (Almost happened to me, once, but that’s another story.)  The fact is, I certainly have a past (and might have gotten a record) of trespassing—and if you’re honest with yourself, you do too. 

This is why, in the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught His disciples to say, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  Since my childhood, I now realize just how many trespasses I need to have forgiven!  And if God has forgiven me, then I’m under obligation to forgive those who have trespassed against me.

In Matthew 18, Jesus tells the story of an employee who owes his employer an astronomical amount of money that he could never repay—but in his mercy, the boss forgives the debt.  Then the employee turns on his friend who owes him a small sum, choking him and demanding repayment.  When the friend can’t pay, the employee has him thrown into prison.  The employer hears of this and says, “You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?”[i]  As a harsh lesson, he has the employee thrown into debtor’s prison until he could pay this unpayable debt.

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus says to forgive others AS we have been forgiven.  This little word “as” means at the same time, in the same way, and to the same degree.  In Luke 6:37-38[ii], Jesus says, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”  This means if you want to use a tiny amount of grace, you can expect a tiny amount of grace.  If you give a heavy helping of judgment, God will give you the same.  So we pray that God will forgive us AS we forgive others.  For our sake and theirs, that needs to be a lot.

In Luke 6:39, Jesus asks, “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit?”  Picture this ridiculous image of a blind man reaching out for someone to lead him—yet the person who offers guidance can’t see, himself!  “Sure, follow me!” says the blind guide, as he leads them both to destruction.  That’s the way religious people are when they think they can lead other people spiritually, but they themselves are so blinded by unforgiveness that they can’t see two feet in front of them.  Jesus continues with the blindness analogy by saying:

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye (verses 41-42).”

            Now, nothing is funny about blindness—and nothing’s funny about spiritual blindness, either.  Though Jesus might make His audience chuckle with this outrageous picture, unforgiveness and judgment are no laughing matter.  They blind us from our own condition, causing us to focus on other people’s faults instead of our own.  The Lord’s Prayer teaches us to give grace at the same time, the same way, and the same degree that we’ve received grace.  Any less, and we’re not loving people the way that Jesus loved us.  This is the only way we can relate to God honestly in prayer—if we’re also relating to people honestly, recognizing that “all have sinned (Romans 3:23),” including ourselves. 

            When I was a teenager, one night I sneaked out of the house with a friend and climbed one of those old fire observation towers—just to say we’d done it.  Whenever cars drove by, we flattened our bodies out on the platform we were on, so nobody would see us.  One of those times, the car slowed down and came to a stop just beneath the tower.  Our breath came heavy as we waited to see what would happen.  Then we heard the squawk of a police siren, and saw the blue light rotate just once, before the gravel crunched again and the car drove away.  In one squawk, that unseen officer spoke volumes to us.  He said, “Ok, boys—I was a teenager too, and I did things I could have gotten in trouble for, myself.  So instead of getting in trouble, why don’t you just come down before somebody gets hurt?”  And that’s all he needed to do—we scrambled down, and never climbed that tower again.  The officer had the power to bring judgment down on us, but chose grace instead.  He embodied Colossians 3:13, which says, “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

            So the next time you’re tempted to judge someone, choose grace instead.  “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  It’s more than just a line in a prayer.  It’s the only way we can relate to a God of grace—by also being gracious to others.

           

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[i] Matthew 18:32-33

[ii] All scripture quotations taken from the NIV.

How to Pray Jesus' Way # 3 - Our Daily Bread

When I was in high school and college, I worked at a grocery store. I worked as a bagger, cashier, and in the produce department. But my favorite was when I worked in the bakery. I gained so much weight when I worked in the bakery! When new products came in, we were supposed to sample them. When they didn’t sell, we were able get huge discounts for cakes, cookies, and pies bring them home. And the donuts—oh, my—the donuts! When it was my job to ice and fill the donuts, I put extra on and in them, because I knew I’d be carrying some home. In fact, I hoped that some of them wouldn’t sell, so I could bring some home.

“Give me this day my daily donuts!”

Unfortunately, many of us approach prayer this way. It’s a method of getting what we want from God, as if God were behind the bakery counter and we were placing our order. “I’d like a birthday cake with Happy Birthday to Me written on it in green icing.” But prayer doesn’t work like that. So Jesus gave us the Lord’s Prayer as a way of relating to God in humility and love.

Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. This teaches us to honor and worship God for who God is, not for what we can get out of prayer. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In this, we learn to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33[i]).” By praying this, we remind us that it’s all about God, and not about our desires. Which brings us to the next phrase, Give us this day our daily bread. It’s such a short sentence, but it holds so much for those who want to relate to God. And much of it, I learned from working at the bakery.

GIVE US…OUR. The first thing I learned was it’s not good to be whiney and demanding. At the bakery where I worked, we had a policy of giving small sample cookies to any child who asked, or whose parents asked on their behalf. Don’t get me wrong—I appreciate the commercial purpose for this. Samples encourage purchases. Plus they keep loud children from squalling in the store. But the down side is that it encouraged toddlers to march right up to the counter and say to the adult working there, “Gimme my cookie!” It became about “me” and what’s “mine” by right—I deserve to have a cookie! No matter that they’d tried those same sample cookies a hundred times, those selfish customers would rather get for me, what is free, rather than simply buying the bag that was for sharing. So the next thing I learned is that it’s not good to be selfish. When you pray, remember that there’s a difference between “gimme” and “give us.” When you pray, “Give us…our,” you’re praying for the whole bag, not just a cookie for yourself. And you’re not doing it selfishly. You’re asking for a blessing to share.

THIS DAY…DAILY. Now, there are two ways to look at this. The first is to misunderstand and think that Jesus was modeling the selfish “gimme” and adding “NOW” to it. Jesus isn’t teaching us to be like Veruca Salt in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, who stubbornly and selfishly declared “I want it now!” But if not that, what does Jesus mean? By emphasizing the present tense, Jesus is telling us to live in the moment. In Matthew 6, verses 25, and 34, Jesus says:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?... Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

The longer version of the Serenity Prayer teaches us about “Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time.”[ii] Living in the moment means we don’t get disappointed if we don’t have as much today as we did yesterday. It also means we don’t get scared that we won’t have enough tomorrow, or so excited about tomorrow’s abundance that we lack gratitude for today. “This day…daily” means we’re storing up our treasures in heaven rather than hoarding more than we need here on earth. It promotes a sense of having enough, which creates inner peace and contentment. Besides, you don’t have to work in a bakery to know that the freshest bread is baked the same day. God’s best for you means trusting God for today, each day.

BREAD. Nothing is simpler than bread, in this culture. In Jesus’ culture, it was the same way. In eastern Asia, Jesus might have said, “Give us this day our daily rice,” and it would have meant the same thing. Or in Ireland, “daily potatoes” would make sense. The point is that you’re asking for God to give you what you need, rather than what you want. You’re not praying for daily donuts, but for sustenance. If you want donuts, that’s okay—but you’ve got to work for them. And by asking God for something simple, you’re not trying to control the details. Notice that Jesus didn’t say, “Give us this day our daily cinnamon-raisin swirl bread with icing on top. Oh, and be sure to bake it at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.” Daily bread. That’s all. God already knows you’re hungry, anyway—God can handle the details and give you what’s best.

So that’s it—what I learned about prayer from working in a bakery. “Give us this day our daily bread.” It’s okay to pray for yourself—to ask God to provide what you need each day, for the common good. So go ahead, and trust God for the bread. And maybe every now and then, when it isn’t too bad for you, he’ll throw in a donut as well.

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[i] All scripture quotations are taken from the NIV.

[ii] http://www.lords-prayer-words.com/famous_prayers/god_grant_me_the_serenity.html.  January 11, 2018.

How to Pray Jesus' Way # 2 - "Thy Kingdom Come"

When I was a kid, I was confused about the meaning of the expression, kingdom come. It’s a spiritual term, but I always associated it with things being blown up. When I’d watch movies and hear people say, “I’m going to blow you to kingdom come,” I’d imagine (in cartoon-fashion) an explosion where someone is projected all the way to some other country. I thought I knew the other name for this place called Kingdom Come. I figured it was called Timbuktu, because in my child’s mind, that’s where people flew off to once a cartoon-prize-fighter rolled up his sleeves and walloped them one. So when it came time to say the Lord’s prayer, “Thy kingdom come” sounded odd to me.

What comes to mind when you pray those words? If you’re like many Christians, nothing at all comes to mind—because so many believers rattle off the Lord’s Prayer without even thinking about its meaning. But maybe that phrase conjures images of Christ coming in the clouds to claim an earthly throne. Those who believe in a literal second coming long for the day when evil is defeated and God’s victory is complete. And I think that this is partially what we’re praying for when we use that phrase, “Thy kingdom come.” After all, Revelation 22:17[i] says, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’” And the book ends with “Come, Lord Jesus (22:20)!” But perhaps there’s more to it than simply an expectation of physical kingdom.

Theologian and poet François Fénelon said, “The kingdom of God which is within us consists in our willing whatever God wills, always, in everything, and without reservation; and thus His kingdom comes; for His will is then done as it is in heaven, since we will nothing but what is dictated by His sovereign pleasure.”[ii] This means that in the Lord’s Prayer, the phrase, “Thy kingdom come” is inextricably linked to “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

To pray for God’s kingdom is to pray for God’s will to be accomplished as perfectly here on earth as it is in heaven. Do I believe God’s will is always done on earth? Certainly not! I don’t believe genocide and child abuse and marital unfaithfulness and climate change are God’s will—but God gives us free will as a free gift, and humanity has paid dearly for it. So we recognize that for God’s kingdom to come, Jesus’ followers must be able to discern God’s will. Then, we have to be willing to put our own desires aside and embrace God’s will instead. Alan Redpath said, “Before we can pray, ‘Lord, Thy Kingdom come,’ we must be willing to pray, "My Kingdom go."[iii]

There was man who desperately wanted a pet snake. He also wanted a divorce, but he didn’t want to be the one to leave his wife. But he knew she hated snakes. Time and time again he’d heard her say, “If you get a snake, I’m out of here!” So he got a snake—and she left. Later he told a friend at church, “You know, I really wanted to stay married, but I guess God had other plans.” Folks—this is what people do with God’s will. They shape their lives any way they please, and then when they finally get what they forced to happen, they say it was God’s will. And what does God not want? Anything that displeases them. No—for us to pray God’s kingdom come, we must pray, “My kingdom go.” And then give up control.

What does this look like—this giving up of control? When my kids were younger and I took them to the beach, we had fun facing the waves down and karate chopping them when they crashed on them. We’d shout taunts and kick them as they washed over us. “Is that all you got?” We’d ask—just before they bowled us over. A lot of us end up doing that with God. The psalmist writes, “all your waves and breakers have swept over me (Psalm 42:7).” But instead of fighting against God, giving up control means you turn the opposite direction, hop up on your surf board, and ride the wave. In these two situations, the wave never changed—but how you respond to the waves makes all the difference. To ride the wave means you let your kingdom go, and you seek God’s kingdom and God’s will instead.

But how can you know God’s will, when it seems those breakers and waves are making so much noise? It can be really hard (but very important) to know what another person wants, especially if there are barriers to understanding. For example, if you speak another language. Once when I was working as a hospital chaplain, I was called in to help translate for a Spanish-speaking patient. My Spanish is a little rusty now, but it was pretty proficient in those days. Still, nothing will make you second-guess whether you’ve understood something simple like the difference between “left” and “right” than when your translation will determine which side of the body an appendage is to be removed. Other times there are barriers like bad sound systems at drive-thru windows. If we’re honest with ourselves, sometimes trying to understand God’s will is like trying to discern the garble that comes out of those speakers. We know someone is talking on the other end, but just can’t make English out of it. But if you sit still and listen with a discerning heart, you can hear clearly.

In prayer, listening becomes all important. Perhaps there should be a pause written in the text of the Lord’s Prayer. “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven (pause).” Because this is the phrase where you stop and focus not on your own will, but on discerning and doing God’s will. Ever tried putting your head all the way under the water when the waves crash? When you’re immersed in the ocean, beneath the waves, the crashing becomes quiet. How can you understand God’s will and surrender your kingdom to God? Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Today I challenge you—not in public but in private, when you pray this phrase of the Lord’s Prayer, take several minutes to pause, reflect, and listen to the voice of God in the waves. Feel the press and surge and current and flow—then align your body with it and not against it. This is how you ride the wave.





[i] Scripture quotations taken from the NIV.


[ii] Quotes reported in Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895). Pg. 269. https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_F%C3%A9nelon. January 4, 2018.


[iii] http://www.azquotes.com/quote/545361. January 4, 2018.

How to Pray Jesus' Way # 1 - "Hallowed Be Thy Name"

Recently, I read about a little boy kneeling beside his bed with his mother and grandmother and softly saying his prayers, "Dear God, please bless Mummy and Daddy and all the family and please give me a good night's sleep."  Suddenly he looked up and shouted, "And don't forget to give me a bicycle for my birthday!!"  His mother said, "There is no need to shout like that.  God isn't deaf." The little boy replied, "No, but Grandma is."[i]

            A lot of people grow up learning to pray this way—enumerating a wish list as if God were a grandparent in the sky, waiting to grant their requests.  The disciples likely heard their religious teachers doing the same thing, but noticed that Jesus never prayed this way.  So they asked Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples (Luke 11:1).” [ii]  In response, Jesus gave what we call the Lord’s Prayer—and there are two versions found in Luke 11:2-4 and Matthew 6:9-13.  Over the next few weeks, we’ll learn to pray, Jesus’ way. 

Matthew 6:9 begins the prayer, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”  From the very beginning, Jesus wants us to understand that the name of God is sacred and holy—that’s what the word “hallowed” means.  “Hallowed be thy name” means that God’s name is so much higher than any human name.  In fact, God’s name is so holy that God didn’t want us human beings to name God—because God knew that we’re bad at coming up with names.  For example, have you noticed how bad some of the names of Bible characters are?  Some of them are hard to pronounce, but I’m talking about some Bible names that are just bad.  Like…

There are three separate guys in the Bible named Dodo.  Seriously, can you imagine being David and going into battle and saying, “Yeah, I’d like to take Samuel and Daniel and Dodo over there.”  Yeah, Dodo—I’m sure he’ll have your back.  Then there’s a guy named On.  I don’t know what to say about that, so I’ll just move On, and talk about someone else.  Abraham’s nephew was probably the youngest of a big family.  They had such huge families in those days—Finally, after maybe fifty kids or so, when Daddy named this little baby, he wiped his forehead and said, “Now that’s a Lot!”

See, I’m pretty sure that people giving their babies names like this proved to God we weren’t good at naming things.  God wanted to name Himself instead.  If we got to name God, we’d probably call Him something like Sky Daddy, or Super Judge, or Thunder Chief!  And, unfortunately, that’s how many of us see God.  But instead of letting people name God, God defined Himself.  Exodus 3:13-15 says:

Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’

“This is my name forever,
    the name you shall call me
    from generation to generation.

In Hebrew, I AM is YHWH, because Hebrew has no printed vowels.  If it were pronounced, it would be Yahweh, but this is a name so hallowed that many devout Jewish people refuse to pronounce it.  To avoid pronouncing Yahweh, some have altered and Latinized the name as Jehovah.  Even in English, some who refuse to pronounce the name of God render it as G-d instead.  The translators of the King James Version of the Bible chose to honor God’s name by substituting the phrase LORD (all caps) whenever YHWH is found.  All of these are ways of honoring the name of God by avoiding pronunciation or printing—which is silly, considering God told Moses and the people to actually use the Divine Name.

So, perhaps instead of avoiding God’s name, we ought to call God by the many names we find in the Hebrew and Greek scriptures, which all point to aspects of God’s character.  The Bible uses male imagery for God such as lord, king, father, and defender.  Yet it also compares God to a mother bear, mother eagle, mother hen, a woman in childbirth, and a nursing mother.  Still other names for God are genderless—images such as a rock, or light, strength, song, beginning and end, or living water.  Jesus started The Lord’s Prayer by honoring the name of God.  Perhaps one way to do this is to recognize the attributes of God when you pray.  Make your understanding of who God is more complete by calling God by different names, perhaps according to the way you’re feeling that day, or depending on your situation. 

Another way to honor the name of God is by not taking it in vain.  This is perhaps the most misunderstood of the commandments God gave Moses.  Many people think it means that we shouldn’t use God’s holy name as a curse word (which we shouldn’t).  But I think it goes deeper than that.  When one person takes another person’s name in marriage, they fully identify with that person, and become part of their family.  To then be unfaithful, or to act as if they weren’t married, would be taking that person’s name in vain.  In a country where claiming to be Christian can be advantageous, many politicians and people of business join religious organizations or call themselves Evangelicals, all the while behaving as if they’d never heard of Jesus.  If you pray, “Hallowed be thy name,” you’ve got to be kind of person who strives to live the principles of God.  When you pray, “Hallowed be thy name,” perhaps in addition to recognizing God for who God is, you’re saying, “May I honor Your name, not just with the words I say but the with the things I do.”  To call yourself a Christian means to try to live the character (or the names of God) in your own life.  Only when you do this, does the rest of the Lord’s Prayer make any sense.

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[i] http://jokes.christiansunite.com/Prayer/Speak_Up.shtml.  December 15, 2017.

[ii] Scripture quotations taken from the NIV.

Kickstarter # 4 - "Know Your Audience"

             Over the years, I’ve had a lot of jobs besides ministry, to help pay the bills.  When I was young, I sold meat from a freezer off the back of a pickup truck, door to door.  It was a tough sell, and often quite sketchy.  The guy who trained me showed me how to know your target audience and sell your meat in different ways, depending on who your customer is.  He told me, “If it’s a married man, you sell the steaks, you sell the sizzle.”  I tried it, and I was surprised that it worked.  He told me, “If it’s a married woman, you sell the marinade chicken, you sell the convenience.”  I tried it, and was impressed that it worked.  He told me, “If it’s a single man, you sell the seafood, you sell the romance of a preparing dinner for his date.”  I tried it, and was astonished that it worked.  “What if it’s a single woman?” I asked him.  He told me, “Flirt.”  I decided that wouldn’t work, because I didn’t have much to sell, and this meat was off the market.

            When you’re selling something, it’s important to know your customer base.  You don’t change the product, but you change the way you market it, to appeal to different potential buyers.  Over the past weeks, we’ve talked about catching a dream for new ministry, finding friends and partners to help make it happen, and making capital investments in entrepreneurial ministries to make them successful.  We’ve looked at how Kickstarter[i] connects inventors with investors and funds new business ventures.  The church needs to be in the same business of promoting people with ideas for innovative ministry, matching them up with those who can partner with them in terms of help and funding, and assisting them to launch their new endeavors. But no matter how good the product of the Gospel is, or how helpful your ministry, you’ve got to know your target audience in order to get buy-in from both partners and investors on the one hand, and your ministry recipients on the other.

            For example, the inventors of the Fidget Cube[ii] used Kickstarter to get them in touch with their customer base.  They didn’t market their product as a toy, but as a solution to a problem for people who constantly fidget.  They knew their target audience, and tailored their sales pitch directly to them.  In the same way, BauBax chose not to advertise their travel jacket[iii] as the height of fashion.  Instead, they knew their audience valued comfort and practicality over fashion, so they had no issue with creating four kinds of jackets full of pockets—even a blazer with a hood.  As weird as that is, customers are buying them up.  Knowing your target audience makes all the difference in a successful venture.

           

            The same is true in ministry.  When Jesus sent His disciples out on mission, He knew that the Gospel isn’t one-size-fits-all.  He sent them to a variety of audiences, each of which would take a different approach.  In Matthew 28:19[iv], Jesus says, “Go and make disciples of all nations.”  Following up on that Great Commission in Acts 1:8, Jesus says, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  All nations.  All people groups.  All kinds of folks, from all races, all orientations, all languages, all socioeconomic backgrounds, all levels of education.  Every little subculture you can imagine—bikers, Rastafarians, school teachers, white supremacists, people in the fitness culture, soccer moms, heavily-tattooed and pierced people, pagans, gamers, liberals and conservatives—take the blessing of God to them.  Remember—the Gospel never changes, but the way we present it certainly changes, depending our audience.  When Jesus ministered to different people, He knew that some people needed physical healing, while others needed a word of grace, and still others needed to be told to quit being so religious.  Some needed to be challenged to live differently, while others needed no challenge, but simply needed to be lifted from despair.  Jesus understood that knowing your target audience makes all the difference in a successful venture.

            The problem is that the church often takes a cookie-cutter approach to ministry. “Who’s your target audience?” we might ask, and the church answers, “People.”  And when you ask them what they want these people to do, their answer is, “Come to church.”  But Jesus’ commission to go to the ends of the earth means more than putting “Y’all come!” on the church kiosk.  It means finding the specific problems that are in your neighborhood or society, and offering a solution.  Fidget too much?  Here’s a solution.  Traveling uncomfortably?  Here’s a solution.  Need a little more meat in your diet?  Here’s the solution.  What if the church understood our target audience and offered solutions and approaches to real needs that are around us?  Illiteracy?  The church offers an after-school program.  Poverty?  Why doesn’t your church offer a clothes closet or food pantry?  Racial tension?  Let your church be the one to bridge the divide and promote reconciliation and real relationships.  To follow Jesus’ commission, you’ve got to know your target audience and offer a solution to meet those needs.

            Now, I’ve heard it said, “They won’t listen to the Gospel if their bellies are empty, so you’ve got to feed them to get them to listen.”  While this may be true, this smacks at a disingenuous kind of marketing strategy, where Christians do good things so that people will listen to them, so that Christians can convert them.  Instead, let’s think of it this way: It’s not until you begin living out your faith that anybody’s going to be interested in hearing what you believe.  So instead of clothing the naked for the sake of drawing in a target audience, offer them clothing because it’s the right thing to do.  Go ahead and shelter the homeless or offer English-as a-Second-Language classes or A.A. meetings.  That’s what the church should be doing.  But not so that you’ll look like you care, so that they’ll come to you, so you can evangelize them.  Instead, start with actually caring about your community, learning the needs of your target audience, meeting those needs, and then maybe, just maybe, you’ll have an opportunity to tell them about Jesus.  Because only then will you really be living like Him.  Rather than having a conversation with your Buddhist, Muslim, atheist, Jewish, or Hindu neighbor so that you can give your personal testimony and win them to Christ, how about having an open conversation with them because by doing so, you’re acting like Jesus?  And then, when there’s a true relationship, you can have faith-based dialogue based on mutual respect.  That’s knowing your target audience—because kickstarting ministries doesn’t mean you’re selling something.  It means you’re giving something away—the love of God and hopefully the love of Christ-followers who act like the One whose product they represent.

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[i] http://kickstarter.com

[ii] https://www.antsylabs.com/products/fidget-cube?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2qyR57nR1AIV1I-zCh0KgwHUEAAYASAAEgL7-fD_BwE. 

[iii] https://www.baubax.com/. 

[iv] Scripture quotations are taken from the NIV.