Granny's Jack Booted Thugs

Romans 12:9-12 ESV

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

This is a nice, feel-goody sort of reading to end our journey on.  I am reminded again of Thomas Kempis.  To practice the presence of Christ is the same as to be constant in prayer.

I have really enjoyed this series.  If nothing else, it dusted off the cobbwebs and got me writing theology again.  It didn’t answer some of my nagging questions, but I honestly didn’t expect for it to do that anyway.

Mark 11:24-25 ESV

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

Verse 24 is one of the strangest verses in the Bible.  I’ve heard it several times, and I will not comment on it now without the aid of my research tools.  Taken at face value it has always given me pause, but for some reason, I have never looked into it.

Verse 25, however, is a wonderful concept that is repeated all over the New Testament.  We are to forgive those who owe us pennies in order to show gratitude to the one who has forgiven our debt of millions.

There have been many examples over the years of people publicly forgiving things that to most of us seem impossible to forgive.  In particular, I am reminded of a documentary that I saw last year.  It was about a Jewish lady who had undertaken to forgive the Nazis for the pain that they caused her during the holocaust.  Her actions horrified many of her contemporaries, but she persisted anyway.

If someone can forgive such horrible things, and my Creator can forgive me for my own sins, then how can I possibly refuse to forgive anyone else? 

Isaiah 56:6-8 ESV

“And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,

to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,

and to be his servants,

everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,

and holds fast my covenant—

these I will bring to my holy mountain,

and make them joyful in my house of prayer;

their burnt offerings and their sacrifices

will be accepted on my altar;

for my house shall be called a house of prayer

for all peoples.”

The Lord God,

who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,

“I will gather yet others to him

besides those already gathered.”

This is a great scripture to follow the previous one.  Christians are hard wired to love the inclusiveness of it.  Through scripture like this, the mandate for the early Christians to go out into the world was bolstered.

This scripture really brings home our brotherhood with Judiasm.  We are gathered to their house.  Sure, we’ve built on many handsome additions, and brought a ton of baggage with us, but it was definitely their house first.

Matthew 26:36-44 ESV

Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again.

I wonder how he walked away.  Was the dominant emotion frustration? Was it sadness, or dissapointment?  Was he somehow content, to see them like babies, woefully unaware of events soon to transpire?

I don’t pretend to know the answer, but I bet that a novel could be written with the supposition of every emotion known to man inserted at this point in the story.

Here again, we have an example of a desperation prayer.  Not even Christ was immune to what must be the physiological response to impending mortality.  I hope that the sight of his disciples, even in their weakness and inability comforted him in some way.

If I were to give an honest guess though, I would say that they didn’t.  Their failure to keep watch with him might have been the most important dissapointment that they provided.  For through this, we know that Christ, like ourselves, has truly been alone.

This kind of alone is different than his time in the wilderness.  For those days and nights of fasting, he wished to be alone.  Now, in the garden, he asked for comfort and got none.  Without their support, he could have bolted and run away.  He was truly on his own, to choose to do the will of God. 

You cannot say that Christ did not suffer your pains and temptations.  You cannot say that he had help unavailable to you.  He did not.

Are you perhaps, feeling a little too good about yourself? If so, simply turn your Bible to the book of Ecclesiastes and start reading any random chapter.  Or you could, if you like, just take today’s reading on the subject of prayer:

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 ESVa

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.  Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words. When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear.

So there you have it.  You talk to much when you pray, and you had better do what you say, but you’ve already said too much.

Man, that was some harsh scripture.  I am reminded of previous days in this series when we learned that through Christ we have a gracious leader and not a high priest that will condemn us.  I hope that applies to Ecclesiastes as well.

Colossians 4:2-4 ESV

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

We pray that the Father’s will should be done, not to grant permission, but to remind ourselves to be a small part in that will.

I love how Paul reminds us of the trite old phrase (probably already trite and old by the time this was written) that the Lord works in mysterious ways.  I wonder how that may have comforted him during his imprisonment?

Psalm 88:13 ESV

But I, O Lord, cry to you;

in the morning my prayer comes before you.

This reminds me of a childhood sermon.  Our preacher, Brother Speed, said that you should pray while you brush your teeth.

Of course you should pray at night, but there would be plenty of times when you fell asleep from being too tired before you completed, or even started your prayers.  Aside from that, you are rarely at your best at the end of the day.

But, hopefully, you brush your teeth every day, and if you made a habbit of praying then, you might say at least one prayer every day.

I personally think that it’s a good idea to start your day with a prayer.  Ask to be set right with God, and to be cognizant of his will for the rest of the day.

We’re two thirds through this thing now, and we’re still slowly working our way through types of prayer, and the general idea that prayer is our best shot at true communion with our Creator.

I liked Clarke’s commentary on Day 9′s reading.

Verse 44. If thy people go out to battle] The SIXTH case refers
to wars undertaken by Divine appointment: whithersoever thou shalt
send them; for in no other wars could they expect the blessing and
concurrence of the Lord; in none other could the God of truth and
justice maintain their cause. There were such wars under the
Mosaic dispensation, there are none such under the Christian
dispensation: nor can there be any; for the Son of man is come,
not to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. Except mere
defensive war, all others are diabolic; and, query, if there
were no provocations, would there be any attacks, and consequently
any need of defensive wars?

I suspected at the time that this reading did not mean wars in the traditional sense, but being an old testament reading, I was highly uncertain.  I like Adam Clarke a great deal.  His commentary has been one of the most valuable tools in my Christian journey.

Finally, I feel like I should say something about day 12.  I love the message of trusting in Christ over any religious authority.  It is an ideal that we protestants have taken and perfected.  The concept of a personal God is most clearly defined in us, but was most elloquently spoken of by a Catholic, G.K. Chesterton.

“Moderate strength is shown in violence, supreme strength is shown in levity.” - The Man Who was Thursday

Our earthly leaders, be they secular or religious, will fail us and be unable to sympathize with our plight.  Christ will not fail us in this way.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

This passage reminds me both of Surprised by Joy and Practice of the Presence of Christ.  Which is funny in a way, as I never found Practice to be a joyful sort of book.  I think that Kempis intended parts of it to be joyful, but I never made the connection.

At any rate, a constant dialog with your Creator does help to bring joy.  You are always thankful. You are often comforted.  If you do not practice this, then read the two books mentioned above, and give it a whirl.

Philippians 1:3-5 ESV

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

Prayers of thanksgiving are such important things.  They are important for the vital services that they provide to the one speaking the prayer.

Consider the above prayer.  It serves to remind the one praying that he is in contact with great people on whom he can rely.  This both comforts him, and reminds him of those that he can look up to.

Philemon 1:4-6 ESV

I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.

This is more of the same.  I urge you to find someone or even some group to give thanks for in your prayers.  I, personally, give thanks for my beautiful wife.  She is so much my better in all matters religious.  She is my guiding light in all matters of concious, and I am forever grateful to my Maker for the gift of being her husband.