November 18, 2012

Jesus' Prayer of Thanksgiving To His Dad

Luke 10: 21 - 24

Luke

Then Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit and said, "O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise, and clever, and for revealing it to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way.

"My Father has given me authority over everything.  No one really knows the Son except the Father, and no one really knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

Then when they were alone, he turned to the disciples and said, "How privileged you are to see what you have seen.  I tell you, many prophets and kings have longed to see and hear what you have seen and heard, but they could not."

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Thoughts.....

Praise the LORD, I tell myself.  I will praise the LORD as long as I live.  Psalm 146:1-2a

How exciting to hear so much joy in Jesus' voice!  Let's go back to last weeks scriptures for a moment.  Do you recall why Jesus was so filled with joy?  The 70/72 disciples had just reported joyfully to Jesus about how even the demons obeyed them when they used his name!  Note exclamation point from them!  And Jesus said, "Yes, I saw Satan falling from heaven as a flash of lightning!  Note exclamation point from Jesus!  And I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them.  Nothing will injure you.  But don't rejoice just because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered as citizens of heaven." 

Jesus was as excited as his disciples!  What joy!  Can you imagine hanging out with Jesus?  You've just rushed in from a trip and reported back to him with much fervor.  So much excitement to have so much power from Holy Spirit manifested and to see it!  And Jesus was thrilled!  Can't you just see his eyes smiling....glistening with joy?!  He sees they've FINALLY 'gotten it'.  They exercised their faith and it paid off.  People were being healed!  Glory!  And not only that, he realizes he's done his job well.  He came to earth to teach and his pupils have learned.  Imagine him now going to his Dad and saying, "See Dad....I did it.....what you told me is working.....I hope I've made you proud.  I'm humbled to have brought you such joy and to honor you in this way."  Are you doing what Father God has asked of you?

And then Jesus shares more....he was excited for his disciples, and he was extremely excited to see Satan falling from heaven.  Maybe this was a revelation for him!  Maybe he was seeing prophecy fulfilled finally, too!  And if that was not enough, listen....can't you just hear the honor, the passion, the warmth in his voice as he joyfully tells his disciples that they should not just rejoice because evil spirits obey them, but....big but...."rejoice because your names are registered as citizens of heaven."  They've 'arrived'.  More prophecy has come to fruition.  Jesus has been instrumental in teaching the disciples enough for them to 'see the light', turn it on....enact their faith for God, and with God, so that they are guaranteed a place in heaven.  Glory hallelujah!  You can get there, too, doing just as they have done.  Believing and enacting your faith.  Going forth for and with God.

Then Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit!  Have you ever been filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit?  It's remarkable....no it's awesome.

And Jesus prayed....he thanked his Dad.  He said,

"O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise and clever, and for revealing it to the childlike.  Yes, Father, it pleased you do it this way." 

Have you thanked your Father, Lord of heaven and earth lately?  Have you made God your Father....your Daddy?  Is he Lord of heaven and earth TO YOU?  He is already your Father because he designed you in your Mother's womb and gave you life.  Psalm 139.  Also see Genesis....in the beginning.  But have you made him YOUR Father in a personal way?  Can you look up to him and talk to him?  Get answers on how to do and what to do regarding your life?

Praying is a 2 way street.  It's a form of communication.  If only one of you is talking, you are not communicating, certainly not listening, but is it him, or you, who is not listening?  Should God listen to you?  Why?  Just because he is your Father doesn't make him your Daddy....LORD of heaven and earth to YOU.  Or for you.  Do you respect him?  Honor him...like doing for him instead of just doing things for and by yourself?  Are you doing for others....with love and joy....or do you begrudge what you 'have' to do for others?  Where is God in your life?  IS he even IN your life?  

You might want to take a look at your life and see how very much he has been there for you....perhaps waiting in the wings....err on the wings.  Life is bad, you say?  REally.  Couldn't it be worse?  Ahhhhh.  There is always going to be a railroad track or another green yard on the other side of the street.  Have you dreams?  Who is in your way?  Hmmmm....do you think it could be you?  Satan?  God is NOT the God of failed promises, forgotten hopes, dead dreams.  EVerything he knows and does, lives and breathes is about breathing life....into....giving life....and giving it abundantly.  Now don't go making him Lord from your lips just so you can get what you want. The big guy can see through that.  Think about this for a couple days.  How your life has been, where it could go.  Think about what you have to be thankful for and then thank God....not just this Thanksgiving, if you are in America and celebrating, but everyday of your life for the rest of your life.  'Little things mean a lot', as the song goes.  He'll be grateful.

So, has the truth been hidden from you?  Perhaps you think yourselves wise and clever  Yet, Holy Spirit comes to the childlike, in their hearts.  It is there your faith will grow and from which it will be manifested.  The authorities in the temples didn't want to believe in Jesus or what he did.  The whole of Judaism does not want to believe in him as Messiah.  They think themselves wise and clever.  Yet God, Jesus and Holy Spirit will come to those who ask him.  Won't you ask them into your life today?

"Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way", Jesus prayed.  Why?  God is selective.  Like any quality employer or marketer knows, you only surround yourself with those whom you like, who are receptive to your ideas, who helps to complete your heart, embraces your passion for the plan, so that a strong foundation is built to insure everything that surrounds doesn't fall, get hurt, get destroyed.  If Jesus had surrounded himself with skeptics and naysayers, where would the world be now?  Praise God!  Praise Jesus!  Praise Holy Spirit!   I'm just saying......

Luck has nothing to do with life.  Perseverance within a common cause of strongly held beliefs in the creator of the universe, his son, Jesus, Savior and Lord, and Holy Spirit, comforting and teaching to this day.....embracing the passion for the plan of salvation and eternal life; promoting it; rising above that which seeks to kill, steal and destroy; moving forward at all times within the framework of all that was, is, and will be; to have manifest everything possible through the gifts given....that is a mere speck of a picture of all that God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit have planned and offer us today with themselves from their love.        

Jesus continues speaking to the disciples saying,

"My Father has given me authority over everything.  No one really knows the Son except the Father, and no one really knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."   

What does this mean to you?  What can it mean FOR you?

God has given Jesus authority over everything.  It seems God decided his son had learned his lessons well.  Jesus fully believed and enacted his faith in God.  Miracles occurred as a result.  People were believing in God and Jesus in droves.  And as the new believers enacted their faith, more miracles occurred.  And the greatest thing of all....their names were registered as citizens of heaven....I say softly....gently....with awe....and an embrace of the heart....humbly.    

DO you believe in God and Jesus?  Have you enacted your faith?  Are miracles occurring around you?  They should be....because he passed on his authority to all believers everywhere.  I hope to hear yes.  If not, why not?  You know the answer....and fear is not of God.  It is of Satan.  Fear keeps us from moving forward in life.  It can cause us to stumble, fall, crash, be stymied, put the covers over our head and stay in bed...symbolically and literally. 

You may be thinking, "I'm not afraid."  Then why aren't you out and about telling others about Jesus, sharing the salvation message, healing people, helping them have their names become registered as citizens of heaven...and your own?  Like I said, fear has a lot of control.

I know, you're going to say it's about what people will think of you.  Ya, well....and how is that not fear based?  And shouldn't you be more worried about what GOD will think of you?   ........    .........    ........  Have you thought of that now? 

Ok, so you say, you are not called.  "BALONEY", to quote Joe Biden, the Vice President of the United States, and many more Irish around the world....including me.  EVERYONE is called to share the Gospel.  If Jesus didn't tell anyone about himself, or God, or perform any miracles, or die on a cross and go to heaven for you....and me....where would we be today?  And if those around him didn't listen and share the truths and step into his shoes, as we are all called to do, where would we be today?  And if Holy Spirit was not alive and well and teaching us more truths everyday, surrounding us with miracles, as we 'go forth', where would we be today?  These are not rhetorical questions.  They are meant to be answered.  To help you understand what you are called to do, what everyone is called to do.  And some mighty fine reasons to be thankful. 

"No one really knows the Son like the Father, and no one really knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." 

God KNOWS you, just like he knew his Son Jesus.  Jesus said here that no one really knows the Father except the Son.  ARE YOU a child of God?  Shouldn't you know....KNOW....God, too?  He sure wants you to get to know him.  And for the record, he is way less......'attitudinal' than I am.  Sometimes you just have to get the message out to those who will listen by the way they talk.  My true walk is a little less 'snippy'.  I leave the full pruning to the Lord.  Ouch!    

"And to those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."  Let me tell you, if everything Jesus did when he walked the earth, to include all that he taught, the miracles, his death from being nailed to a cross, being buried yet coming back from hell in spirit form, disfigured for your sins....and mine....going to be with the Father and then coming back yet again alive to impart even more information, and so Holy Spirit could then take over once he went to heaven for the last time to sit at God's right hand....breathe....if that is not enough to reveal that there is a God, who he is, and how wonderful he is, then you are NOT paying attention.  I was going to say 'on this planet', but only God knows how many others of us there are on other planets.  Say, did you see the thing on the news zipping through the sky in Denver, Colorado the other day?  And NORAD, space command center in Colorado Springs, is saying they don't know what anyone is talking about.  'What's up with that' as my friend would say.  Ok, back on track.

The point I am trying to make is, Jesus has been trying earnestly, Holy Spirit has been trying earnestly, probably many Christians, certainly me, have been trying earnestly for you to realize the SON, and everybody else (???How bad is it???), chooses to reveal God to you.  God wants to be known by you.  He wants to have a Father - child relationship with you at any age....at every age. 

God, and Jesus were not just guys who were a part of some ancient landscape or story.  Jesus' history is documented...his real life 'walked the earth come hither and I will heal you' life story is documented in history.  That means that it really ocurred.  He really lived.  He really died....just the way it says he did per the Bible.  EVEN Jewish scholars will tell you that.  Just because THEY don't accept him a Messiah, Lord of their life and the world, doesn't mean they don't have a book of info on him and his journey.  They most certainly do.  The Old Testament is prophecy of his life.  The New Testament is fulfillment of that prophecy.  Those who accept the fulfillment call Jesus LORD.  All who know God, call him God the Father....Dad....Daddy.  Abba Father, and bow down.    

Get to know the Son, Jesus.  Get to know his Father, God.  God wants to be your Daddy, too.  Jesus....he's already died for you....maybe it's time to just accept him as Savior and make him Lord of your life.  LOTS to be thankful between God and Jesus.  And you must thank Holy Spirit for bringing you truths.  1 John 2::27 reads, "But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true.  For the Spirit teaches you all things, and what he teaches is true - it is not a lie.  So continue in what he has taught you, and continue to life in Christ." 

Do you have the Holy Spirit living within you?  Ask him into your life today.  And thank him for entering in. 

Scriptures go on to read, "Then when they were alone, he [Jesus] turned to the disciples and said, "How privileged you are to see what you have seen.  I tell you, many prophets and kings have longed to see and hear what you have seen and hear, but they could not."

Jesus is talking about those who had died before his time, yet had prophesied about his coming or knew it had been prophesied.  They knew the glory that was coming.  They bowed down to the God who gave you....and me....and the world....the Messiah, Savior, LORD....Jesus Christ.  And they thanked God.  They thanked God for Jesus before he even came to earth.  Surely you can thank God....for all he's done.....and for giving you Jesus, for all he's done in your life now. 

What a privilege it has been for me to be able to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.  I pray I've brought the Trinity honor and glory by doing so.  I pray thanksgiving that my name is registered as a citizen of heaven for having obeyed God, done for him and with him, for reaching out to believers and non-believers in the world, telling them about God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, and for enacting my faith in all ways, as I press on.  Will you press with me?

Will you say this Thanksgiving...and everyday....

"O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you." 

I would like to enccourage you to read todays scriptures from 'The Message', which is on this site always towards the bottom of the page.  May it touch your heart in a way it has not been touched before.    

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!  Thank you for giving me strength to carry on....because you are there....listening to my heart, as you read the Gospel message week after week.  May God richly bless you in all ways.

Oh, if you haven't scrolled down in a while to the latter part of the page, you may not know that I've provided you the option of donating through Pay Pal now. 

Don't forget to check out our new 'rooms' in 'The Family Room'.  I've added Dove Of Christ and Be Healed! 

May your holiday be a blessing to you and those around you!  Thank God!!! 

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Let Us Pray

God, Jesus, Holy Spirit thank you.  Thank you for giving me life, giving me hope and a future, giving me truth and promise.  I love you and I bow down to you.  This Thanksgiving, may everyone who call themselves Christian, thank you.  At this time in the world when folks experience an autumnal season, may they, with the trees, shed all the old and bad from within themselves, to make way for a quiet time to renew inner strength, in preparation for the new life expected to sprout up from within them.  May that new life be you, Lord.  May they take the quiet time to spend more time with you, be filled with all Holy Spirit has to share with them, gift them, so they may be better prepared to birth fruit from all that sprouts from within.  Father God, I know you, and the Son who sent me to you.  I know your Holy Spirit who dwells within, and, bless his heart, has to deal with me daily on a personal basis.  I thank you all for giving me life, and giving it abundantly, manifested or not.  I thank you that the greatest life will be in your arms when the last fruit falls at the sounding of the trumpet.  Thank you for the family you have given me.  I am so blessed....so blessed.  And for the new life I am about to walk into with you, in your name, bringing you honor and glory as I go.  I continue to be so excited to be called by you....to be your child....to do for you and in your name.  I am also grateful that you created all of the world as one, in your sight, and that this glorious gift you give is not just for the wealthy or those in power or knowledge, but also to the poor, the needy, the meek in spirit....though no less empowered, as well as the middle class....what is left of it.  Sick or healthy, rich or poor, you are an equal opportunity magnate.  Have you ever been called a magnate before?  That word surprises me as it comes to me.  Hmmmm.  Lord, God, Holy Spirit, may this Thanksgiving be a time that YOU are grateful for those of us on earth attempting to go forth in your name.  May we bring you honor and glory and praise...IN everything with thanksgiving...for this is your will, Father.  I thank you.  I praise you....for so much....in everything and for everything....understanding or not.  And I bow down.  May my worship of you be seen, felt and embraced....with all my love....this Thanksgiving as always.  Bowing down, Father God, bowing down.  Amen.     

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If you get a chance, grab a copy of Prison To Praise by Merlin Carothers.  It's about how to unleash God's power through  praise.   It's timeless.   It's brief, but powerful.  Google him to find his website.  

Lord,LordJesJeJeJJjEJJJ     JJThe LORD is king!  Let the nations tremble!  T***

More love.... 

  Benediction....Blessing

Let us hear from Paul as he prays:  

When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.  I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit.  And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him.  May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it.  Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now glory be to God!  By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope.  May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages.  Amen.  Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT         

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Scroll down to read Jesus' Prayer of Thanksgiving...'The Unforced Rhythms of Grace'.

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Definition of a Christian:  Anyone who believes in God, Jesus and Holy Spirit, and accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Regardless of church name or religious affiliation. 

It is not how we worship, but that we worship....the Trinity!   

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 to

 "Go and make disciples out of all the nations

baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.  And be sure of this:

I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

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  Our Current Cause

It is time to reach into the community and the world around you to see wherein lies the greatest need.  As you choose to focus on these areas, do so with a servant's heart.  Whether the need is for children, adults, or animals, or any cause in between that will help those in need, ask God how you can best serve his needs, what path you must take, and how long you should persevere.  Sometimes we are to be in the lives of others merely as stepping stones.  Sometimes we are to touch those lives forever.  Whatever journey you are called to take, whatever team you will be a member, know this:  God is with you always...even til the end of time.  He loves you, is grateful for you, and will help you along life's way, especially if you are helping others along theirs, persevering with a servant's heart.  

Please accept my sincerest thanks....and God's....and may God richly bless you! 

BesidesBesid   

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    One last thing....

 Jesus' Prayer of Thanksgiving

'The Unforced Rhythms of Grace'

"Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer:  "Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth.  You've concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people.  Yes, Father, that's the way you like to work."

Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly.  "The Father has given me all these things to do and say.  This is a unique Father - Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge.  No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does.  But I'm not keeping it to myself; I'm ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen."

"Are you tired?  Worn out?  Burned out on religion?  Come to me.  Get away with me and you'll recover your life.  I'll show you how to take a real rest.  Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it.  Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.  I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn how to live freely and lightly.

   Matthew 11:  25-30

  The Message

And the people said,

"Amen."

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I now write most prayers in the position of ' I ' (first person) because most people are sitting at their computer alone, not in groups, and it allows those reading and praying to personalize the prayer as coming from them going to God.  Variations may appear on holidays when families may wish to use the prayer provided. 

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  Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189.  All rights reserved.

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