Thy Will Be Done

The Third Petition.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

What does this mean?--Answer.
The good and gracious will of God is done indeed without our prayer; but we pray in this petition that it may be done among us also.
How is this done?--Answer.
When God breaks and hinders every evil counsel and will which would not let us hallow the name of God nor let His kingdom come, such as the will of the devil, the world, and our flesh; but strengthens and keeps us steadfast in His Word and in faith unto our end. This is His gracious and good will.

http://bookofconcord.org/smallcatechism.php

 

Do we really want His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven? I know we pray this often; but, do we really mean it? Are we really willing to let our own selfish wills die in order that His will be done for the greater good; for the good of others? If it were not so, why would He be willing to send His only begotten Son to suffer and die for us? Jesus died for others. He was willing to suffer all hardship and die for us. Our will is usually only for our own personal good. God's will is for the good of all.

 

The devil, and we, can throw all kinds of obstacles in the way of God's will being done; nevertheless, ultimately, His will is done (He is; after all, God) so I am not sure why we are always fighting His will. 

 

May God keep us all steadfast in His Word and in faith, according to His good and gracious will.

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

1 Thess 2 - Persecution For The Good News

1 Thessalonians 2 NIV
The gospel is not always received well. There will be opposition to the good news of salvation through Jesus the Christ. St. Paul continued to proclaim it for the sake of others in the face of much opposition. The truth can be quite offensive to those who follow in their own ways. The light of truth can bring us to rejoice in in Jesus; but, for those who reject the truth it sometimes sends further into the darkness in attempts to hide from the truth. The truth sometimes stirs up fear and hatred and with that persecution of those who believe. In spite of hardship and persecution, those who follow Jesus will continue to share the good news with others so that all might know the joy of living in relationship with God our Father and our Lord, Jesus Christ.

May God grant us the knowledge, wisdom, courage and strength to speak the truth no matter what the opposition might be so that we might all know the glory of God.

God's Peace - Pr. J

John 20:19-23 Peace Be With You

John 20:19-23 NIV
"Peace be with you!" "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." How and why exactly did the Father send Jesus so that we might know how it is the Father sends us. He sent Jesus into a broken world; a world full of sin, of anger, hatred, self-centeredness and of violence. He sent Jesus into the world that by his sacrifice the world might be forgiven; might be reconciled to one another and to God the Father through him. He sent Jesus into the world to proclaim this Good News of the Kingdom. And, so He sends us promising us peace, breathing on us the Holy Spirit, that we might go forth proclaiming the Good News of reconciliation with God and with one another. This will not be without hardship. It will not be without pain. Jesus suffered much in order that we should know our Father in heaven; so shall we suffer if our brothers and sisters are to know and love Him. But, knowing that God can and will work all things for the good of His Kingdom gives us the peace of heart and mind to be able to continue in His way.

God's Peace -Pr. J

Jeremiah 52 - In and Out of Exile and Captivity

We have come to the end of the Book of Jeremiah with Chapter 52. Chapter 52 is basically an encapsulated history of the Babylonian Captivity to ensure that we and all who read or hear Jeremiah understand that the Word of the LORD prophesied through Jeremiah was fulfilled. It is a remembering of their history.

It is good to remember the history of the children of Abraham, so that we do not repeat it. Sadly, I think we do continue to repeat it. We follow in the footsteps of Abraham's children, into the wilderness of sin. As we are  strengthened by the hardships, we return to the LORD and to the promised land. And... once, safe in the land, we take for granted the LORD, our God, and back to the wilderness, in exile, we go.

"When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him. For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath." (Deut 4:30-31 NIV)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Jeremiah 27 - Nebuchadnezzar; The Servant of God

"Now I will give all your countries into the hands of my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him.  All nations will serve him and his son and his grandson until the time for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will subjugate him." (Jeremiah 27:6-7 NIV)

We all have those days when we just can't figure out why our enemies prevail; when we beg God to intervene. Can you imagine what God's people thought when they heard Jeremiah's prophecy concerning Nebuchadnezzar being the servant of God? I'm thinking, it probably would have been pretty hard to believe Jeremiah and much easier to believe the false prophets. Of course, many of God's people have already been exiled to Babylon, so maybe they should be listening a whole lot closer to Jeremiah.

But, God has a plan and that plan includes restoring His people in the long run. Nebuchadnezzar has been chosen by God to help in that plan. The people have been yoked, for a very long time, to their false idols. Now, they will learn what it really means to be yoked by something, by someone, who is not God Almighty. They will learn this and turn to the LORD. They will then return to the land promised them.

Sometimes, hardships, may not be so much about our enemies persecuting us. Sometimes, they just might be about our LORD softening our hearts toward Him, as well as others.

May God bless your day as you go about serving the One God with an abundance of joy!

God's Peace - Pr. J