I read this today about hard times and suffering. It was talking about how at times in our life it feels like we are walking up hill and our struggle is so hard. But, it reminded us of our destination in the midst of our suffering… the loving arms of God…
“The road may indeed wind uphill all the way, but it leads to our heavenly Father, who awaits us with open arms.”
What book could you read over and over again?
Today’s WordPress question of the day is “What book could I read over and over again?” Hands down it is the Bible for me.
In saying that though, the Bible is a collection of 66 books. So if I had to drill down further it would be the Book of Luke from the Bible.
Why Luke? Luke covers all of Jesus’ life, miracles, interactions with all types of people, His death and resurrection.
Here is a snippet from my study Bible about Luke…
“Luke is the most comprehensive of the Gospels. Its general vocabulary and diction show that the author was educated. He makes frequent references to illnesses and diagnoses. Luke stresses Jesus’ relationships with people; emphasizes prayer, miracles, and angels; records inspired hymns of praise; and gives a prominent place to women. Most of 9:51–18:35 is not found in any other Gospel.”
I guess as a relational person, who loves to prayer and hearing about the miracles of Jesus, it makes sense.
The other reason I love Luke so much it has a sequel by the same author – the Book of Acts. You can read Luke and Acts together and get a good understanding of Jesus’ life and what the early church was like.
So what book could I read over and over. The Bible, but more precisely the Book of Luke.
Matthew 6:9-13 NLT – Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. [10] May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. [11] Give us today the food we need, [12] and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. [13] And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.
The rabbis in Jesus’ day taught people the idea of ‘index praying’. An index is usually at the beginning of a book, giving chapter numbers and titles.
That’s exactly what index praying was all about. The rabbis would provide the points for prayer, like an index or outline, and the people would fill in their own prayers.
Some Bible scholars tell us this is the method Jesus was teaching in the Lord’s Prayer. Can you imagine using the Lord’s Prayer as an outline to pray in a sense?
1. Worshiping the Father
2. God’s kingdom
3. God’s will/guidance
4. Our daily needs
5. Forgiveness/relationships
6. Spiritual warfare
For me this is a very interesting idea that would provide a great structure to wrap our prayers up in. It would help us to cover all aspect of giving honour to God and covering our needs too.
I saw this image today. My first reaction was to laugh. But then I realised we do need the Bible to give us CPR like help. We need the Bible to restart our hearts and lives to help us to follow God’s ways, not the worlds ways.
Many years ago I came to realise that Jesus died for me. This was a complete revelation of something I didn’t understand. There was a big disconnect.
Like most people in Australia I enjoyed the Easter public holidays each year. We would get Good Friday and Easter Monday off school or work. It was a long weekend!
I knew that Jesus died on the cross on the Friday and He rose on the Sunday, but I did not know why. I didn’t understand why it was necessary or what it meant.
In 1989 I read a pamphlet given to me by a friend. It told me that Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for our sin. He took our punishment on the cross, so we could be right with God.
The pamphlet also listed some common things we all do wrong. I realised I had done most of them. I also realised that as a sinner I needed God’s forgiveness. I needed to confess my sins to Him.
This is where the disconnect made sense. I was a sinner. Jesus died on the cross for sin. He died for my sin. This understanding changed my life. I could be right with God because of what Jesus did for me!
The truth is we can all be right with God because of what Jesus did for us. He died on the cross for the sin of the world. He took our punishment so we could all be right with God.
Prayer
Heavenly Father,
I thank You that Jesus came and died on the cross for my sin. Right now I ask for Your forgiveness for all of the wrong things I have done in my life. Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God, that You died on the cross for my sin and that God raised you from the dead. Right now I surrender my life to You and I ask you to be my Lord and Saviour. Please guide me and lead me in all I do by the power of Your Holy Spirit and help me to live for Your Kingdom. Amen.
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