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The Divine Bouncer

In the new economy of the Kingdom of God, the church has replaced the Jewish temple as the dwelling place of God in the earth. Of course, that refers more to a people than a place—yet both people and place are the church. What would Jesus see in your church—in you, in your brothers and sisters in the local community of Christ, and in the activities that take place in your church building? If zeal for God’s house still consumes Jesus, I have a sense that each, both people of worship and places of worship, are due for a little divine house cleaning.

The Journey: John 2:13-17

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

“Zeal for God’s house will consume me.” I have always enjoyed this story of Jesus cleansing the temple. I love the robust image it paints of him. It stands in stark contrast to most of the historical paintings as well as the more recent images we get from the portrayal of Jesus by filmmakers. For some reason, artists from the Renaissance on up to this very day have given us a softer Jesus—tender, doe-eyed, almost porcelain-like.

That is not the Jesus of John 2:13-16.

It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money. Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!”

Jesus doesn’t appear all that soft in this encounter, does he? I’d say he opened up a can of comeuppance on these merchants of religion, and no one dared stop him. Go down to your local Saturday Market and do that, and see what happens. People typically don’t take too kindly to having their economic systems so abruptly disrupted.

Jesus was different. He was right—and people knew it. His anger was one of righteous indignation and holy zeal for the House of the Lord. This kind of house cleaning was long overdue, and if they didn’t overtly cheer him on, inside the worshippers were secretly applauding.

Now as much as we enjoy this story, it really is incomplete if we don’t fast-forward to our time and ask how Jesus would respond if he walked into our church today. How much zeal would Jesus express for his body, the temple of the Holy Spirit, the church? How much holy fire and righteous indignation would he display for that which he suffered and died to redeem?

You see, in the new economy of the Kingdom of God, the church has replaced the temple as the dwelling place of God in the earth. Of course, that refers more to a people than a place—yet both people and place are the church. What would Jesus see in your church—in you, in your brothers and sisters in the local community of Christ, and in the activities that take place in your church building? I have a sense that each, both people of worship and places of worship, are due for a little divine house cleaning.

Here’s what I would suggest: How about we get started before the Lord of the church has to show up and do it for us!

A Simple Prayer To Be More Like Jesus:

God, fill my belly with holy fire for your house. Let it consume me as it does you. Zeal not only for the physical house in which your people gather, but also in this house made up of body, soul and spirit, in which your Spirit dwells.
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Understated Miracles

When God’s Power Breaks Out, Word Gets Out

Maybe we would see more supernatural displays of God’s power in our culture if we would commit to allowing the miracles to speak for themselves—and to fiercely make sure that all the glory goes to God when he graces us with one. In The Way of the Heart, Henri Nouwen wrote, “To live and work for the glory of God cannot remain an idea about which we think once in a while. It must become an interior, unceasing doxology.” Spend some time today—and make it a practice every day—thinking of how to give God glory through your life.

The Journey: John 2:7-10

Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions. When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!”

It was his first recorded miracle—and even then, Jesus was reluctant to perform it. It was not yet time to launch his public ministry as Messiah of Israel, but he was at a wedding with his family and the wine was running low. The event planner was in a panic, so Jesus’ mother said, “No worries, my son will take care of it.” Thanks, mom! So Jesus turned water that was being stored in several thirty-gallon jars nearby into the best wine the world has ever tasted, before and since.

Of the many things that could be discussed from this water-into-wine miracle, one of the facets that stands out the most to me is how understated Jesus was in performing this miracle. When the great tasting wine was discovered, neither the master-of-ceremonies nor the happy partygoers knew where it came from. Only those who brought the water jugs to Jesus knew that he had transformed the liquid. And Jesus wanted it that way.

In fact, that seemed to be the way Jesus performed most of his miracles. He never made a big deal out of them, other than to draw praise to his Father. He never made a spectacle of his divine powers. He never showcased the miracles’ recipient like a zoo exhibit. Jesus’ miracles, you might say, were under the radar.

Yet there is no way to keep an authentic miracle under wraps—not for very long anyway. Sooner or later, the power of God breaks containment, and word gets out. Maybe that is why Jesus handled miracles the way he did—he let the miracles do the talking.

Unfortunately, too many spiritual leaders today who have been used in the miraculous don’t follow Jesus’ lead. The bigger the miracle, the quicker the press conference or the book deal or the fund-raising letter! Now to be fair, if I turned water into wine, or raised someone from the dead, or performed some other sensational miracle, I’m afraid I, too, would head right to the local Christian network to tout what God had done through me. That is too bad! God doesn’t get all the glory when we do that. Reminds me of what Thomas Merton said,

That is what gives Him the greatest glory – the achieving of great things through the weakest and most improbable means.

Maybe we would see more supernatural displays of God’s power in our culture if we would commit to allowing the miracles to speak for themselves—and to fiercely make sure that all the glory goes to God when he graces us with one. In The Way of the Heart, Henri Nouwen wrote,

To live and work for the glory of God cannot remain an idea about which we think once in a while. It must become an interior, unceasing doxology.

Spend some time today—and make it a practice every day—thinking of how to give God glory through your life.

A Simple Prayer To Be More Like Jesus:

God, I want my life to be a conduit of human praise back to you. Keep me from self, pride and independence. I want to live and breathe and do everything for your glory alone. May that be my interior, unceasing doxology.
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The Surprising Appeal of a Simple Invitation

The Andrew Factor

The disciple Andrew’s claim to fame was just bringing people to meet Jesus, then letting Jesus do the rest. That’s the Andrew Factor. It’s simply inviting friends into your spiritual environment—your church, your small group, your ministry team—then letting God do his work in their lives. And that continues to be one of the most powerful ways to share your faith with others.

The Journey: John 1:40-42

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”). Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus.

Andrew is arguably the most inspiring figure in the New Testament because of his simple, non-threatening, doable example of how to reach lost people. Andrew didn’t have any special skills or advanced evangelism training, he just simply brought people to meet Jesus, and then let Jesus do the rest.

Even though Andrew was the first disciple Jesus enlisted, and even though he was the first to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, he never achieved the fame that his brother Peter did. Jesus’ never included Andrew in his inner circle, like Peter. Andrew wasn’t there at the Transfiguration, like Peter. Andrew wasn’t there when Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gesthemane, like Peter. Andrew never preached like Peter, never wrote a letter that got included in the New Testament, like Peter, and was never recognized as a key leader in the early church, like James.

Peter’s name appears close to 200 times in the New Testament, 96 times in the four gospels—only Jesus is mentioned more often. We find Andrew in only 11 different places, 10 of them in the Gospels—mostly in a list of the disciples; 5 as “Peter’s brother.” Only 3 times do these passages tell us any details about Andrew—and even that is minimal. Someone once asked a conductor what the most difficult instrument to play in the orchestra was. He said, “second fiddle.” That was Andrew!

Yet beneath everybody’s radar, Andrew was being used in the most powerful way of all—to bring people to Christ. Andrew not only brought Peter to Jesus, but in John 6:8, we find it was Andrew who brought the boy with the loaves and fish to Jesus, and then one of the outstanding miracles of the Bible took place: The feeding of the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish. On account of Andrew, we have a story preserved that has helped millions to understand that Jesus is the true and only Bread of Life. Then in John 12:20, some Greeks came to Philip and said, “we want to see Jesus.” Philip took them to Andrew, and what did Andrew do? He hooked them up with Jesus.

Andrew became both the first home missionary—when he led Peter to Christ, and the first foreign missionary—when he led these Gentiles to Jesus.

In Andrew, you don’t find any special skills or an incredibly charismatic personality, or an extremely articulate speaker. You just find a guy who was faithful, available, and useful. He just kept bringing everybody who got near him to Jesus.

Tradition tells us that Andrew just kept on introducing people to Jesus for the rest of his life. He was finally put to death at a ripe old age in Greece. His death came after he befriended Maximilla, the wife of the Roman proconsul Aegeas, and led her to faith in Christ. Aegeas became so enraged over this that he ordered Andrew to offer sacrifices to a heathen god. When Andrew refused, he was severely beaten, tied to a cross, and crucified. That cross, shaped like an X is today called St. Andrew’s cross. It is said that he lingered for two whole days before dying, but the whole painful time, he preached the Gospel to everyone who came by. Andrew never stopped introducing people to Jesus, even to his last breath.

Every time Andrew is mentioned, he’s bringing someone to Jesus—then Jesus does the rest, and lives get transformed. His single talent seems to have been leveraging his relationships to introduce seekers to Christ. He doesn’t lay the “Four Spiritual Laws” on people; he doesn’t whip out a “Roman Road” tract on them. He just says, “hey, come with me, I’ve got someone I want you to meet.”

That’s the Andrew Factor, which, if you haven’t picked up on it by now, is simply inviting your friends into your spiritual environment—your church, your small group, your ministry team—and letting God do the rest.

Employ the Andrew Factor this week: Try bringing someone to church with you on Sunday.

A Simple Prayer To Be More Like Jesus:

God, continually remind me to invite the people I’m around into my spiritual environment, then trust you to do your work of wooing and redeeming in their lives.
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Full of Grace and Truth

Now Go and Leave Your Life of Sin

Behind his amazing display of grace and truth toward the woman caught in adultery, we learn that Jesus accepts us as we are, but when he accepts us, we cannot remain as we are. He brings our sin to the surface, and when we acknowledge it by confession and repentance, he totally, graciously and forever forgives it. The adulteress went away forgiven, with a new clean heart and a brand new chance at life. Only grace and truth can do that for sinners—including you and me.

The Journey: John 1:14

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Not too long after my wife and I had moved into a home we had just purchased, our next door neighbor’s live-in girlfriend asked me, “what do you do?” I told her that I was a pastor. So she said, “Oh, I’m looking for a church…one that doesn’t get all weird and condemning about sin. What about yours?”

I said, “My church—hey, uh, uh, yeah, we accept everybody just the way they are—unless you’re shacking up with someone!”

No—I didn’t say that! But it was an awkward moment for me as I scrambled for a way to minimize the offense of the gospel to a person who was far from God and build a bridge that might lead us at some point into a spiritual conversation. The truth was, I didn’t need to offer condemnation by my words, in the tone of my voice or with my body language. I didn’t need to convince her of sins, she was already dealing with that herself. Besides, it is not my job—it is the work of the Holy Spirit to do that. (John 16:8). Nor would Jesus have done that. Remember, in this very same book, right after the most famous verse in the entire Bible, John 3:16, Jesus goes on to say,

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:17)

But let’s keep in mind, as C.S. Lewis pointed out, that Jesus didn’t come to tell the world that everything was quite alright! Obviously, the world needed a savior—that’s why Jesus came. People need a savior because sin holds people captive. To keep the bad news about sin and the good news about a Savior from them would be the most hateful thing we could ever do.

So how do we bridge that gap between the love of a redeeming God and the repulsiveness of the sinner’s sin? Grace and truth, that’s how. That is what Jesus perfectly modeled. Take, for instance, his interaction with the adulterous woman in John 8. Picture the scene: This sinful woman is standing in the center of a circle, surrounded by self-righteous religious leaders who want her stoned. Imagine her humiliation, caught in the very act of adultery—a private act now a very public sin. Nothing can hide her shame—and make no mistake, sexual sin is shameful, degrading to the people involved, destructive to innocent families it affects and odious to God.

This woman is standing before Jesus, exposed, humiliated, hot tears dripping to the sand. She has been used by men all of her life, and now she will pay for it with her life. She sees the stones; she knows her guilt. Now, all eyes are on Jesus—what will he do?

After some time, Jesus speaks and says to those who want her executed, “Ok, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” And with that bombshell, one-by-one, from oldest to youngest, they walked away, leaving only Jesus and this sinful woman face-to-face. What now? Would Jesus give her a good moral tongue lashing. No, he just gently asks, “Where are your accusers? Has no one judged you guilty?”

She replied, “No one, Sir.”

At that, Jesus offered these grace-truth words that would utterly right this sinner’s upside-down life: “Then I don’t either. Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Behind this amazing display of grace and truth, as Walter Trobisch said, what we find is that Jesus “accepts us as we are but when he accepts us, we cannot remain as we are.” Jesus brings our sin to the surface, and when we acknowledge it by confession and repentance, totally, graciously and forever forgives it. The adulteress went away forgiven, with a new clean heart and a brand new chance at life. Only grace and truth can do that for sinners.

Perhaps that is why prostitutes, publicans, and other sinners responded to Jesus so readily. At some level, they recognized their sin. That was why forgiveness was so appealing to them…and still is! C.S. Lewis observed, “Prostitutes are in no danger of finding their present life so satisfactory that they cannot turn to God; the proud, the avaricious, the self-righteous, are in that danger.”

What does the world need more than anything right now? What does your sinful next door neighbor so desperately need? The same thing you need: A whole lot of truth and a big dose of grace!

Take some time today to memorize and meditate on these two very important verses from John 1:

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12)

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

A Simple Prayer To Be More Like Jesus:

God, you are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. You heal those broken by sin and impart righteousness to those deserving of condemnation You free the underserving from their sin and set them on a new path to eternal glory. And that includes me, for which I will be eternally grateful. Now I pray, O God, may I act toward others as you have acted toward me through Jesus: full of grace and truth.
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The Burn

Didn't Our Hearts Burn Within Us?

Surrendering to God’s total control means giving him your dashed hopes and broken dreams. Have you done that? If you have, perhaps you’ve taken them back out of his hands and are clinging in bitter disappointment that things have not turned out as you had hoped. Surrender them again to the One who defeated death and rose from the grave. After all, he specializes in resurrections – even of dead dreams!

The Journey: Luke 24:32

They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”

Heartburn isn’t usually a good thing, but when God shows up and gives you heartburn, it’s a good thing.

These two disciples were walking the seven-mile journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus, discussing the devastating news of the past few hours. It was the very first Easter Sunday, but they didn’t know yet that Jesus had risen from the tomb. As far as they were concerned, he was dead and gone—and so were their hopes.

Then Jesus showed up, although his identity was hidden from them, and gave them an incurable case of holy heartburn. It was the heartburn of hope, and it was just the cure their broken hearts needed in those post-crucifixion moments.

That’s the beauty of the resurrection. No matter what you’re going through, the empty tomb stands as a constant and certain reminder that there is always reason for hopefulness. That’s why the psalmist, David, said, “Why are you hopeless? Why are you in turmoil? Put your hope in God!” (Psalm 42:5) Resurrection hope is not just wishful thinking or a pie-in-the-sky kind of attitude that says, “Oh well, things will turn out okay someday.” It’s not the breezy kind of optimism that Mary Martin sang about in South Pacific when she said “I’m stuck like a dope with a thing called hope.”

The kind of hope Jesus will burn into your heart is first of all, a reliable hope. Marx said that hope is the opiate of the people, but Christian hope is built on the foundation of the Bible and supported by the reality of the empty tomb. Verse 27 says, “Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”

Second, resurrection hope is a relational hope. The resurrection is not just a story from the pages of history. “Christ is risen” isn’t just a theological incantation clerics pull out of the bag of tricks every Easter. It is hope that arises from an experience with Jesus himself, not just a dream or a fantasy or a phantom. Verse 29 says, “So he went home with them.” Jesus walked with these two disciples. He ate with them. He listened to them, inviting them to pour out their hearts. And he revealed himself to them. Resurrection hope is a real person—an intimate relationship with the living Lord.

And third, the kind of hope Jesus wants to give you is a radical hope. When you encounter the risen Lord and put your complete trust in him, it will be nothing short of life-changing. Verse 31 says that after they had spent time with Jesus, “suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.” These two disciples were headed back to Emmaus to pick up the pieces of their shattered dreams, if that were even possible. Instead, they encountered Jesus, and their plans were radically altered. Actually, their lives were radically altered from that moment on.

Maybe you are in the kind of funk these two disciples were on that first Easter Sunday. Perhaps your dreams have been dashed, your circumstances are not what you had hoped for, and your life has not turned out as you expected. Get ready! If you start to get a little heartburn, it could be that the risen Lord is resurrecting your hopes.

By the way, when Jesus resurrects your hope, you will never be disappointed! (Romans 5:5, NLT)

Surrendering to God’s total control means giving him your dashed hopes and broken dreams. Have you done that? If you have, perhaps you’ve taken them back out of his hands and are clinging in bitter disappointment that things have not turned out as you had hoped. Surrender them again to the One who defeated death and rose from the grave. After all, he specializes in resurrections!

A Simple Prayer To Be More Like Jesus:

God, I surrender everything I have, everything I’ve lost and everything I desre to you. I am all yours. Now through the same power that resurrected Jesus from the dead, resurrect me to a new and living hope.
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Living Proof

When you consider the historical, physical, visual and transformational proof of the resurrection—verifiable evidence—you are forced to decide about Jesus: He is either Lord of all or he is not Lord at all, and Christianity is either based on truth that you should order your life by or it is nothing more than a legend which needs to be discarded. But as respected apologist Paul Little said, “For a mere legend about Christ…to have gained circulation and to have had the impact it had without one shred of basis in fact, is incredible.” The evidence says the resurrection is reliable fact; you can be confident in that. And from that evidence you will find that Jesus especially wants you to be convinced that he is alive!

The Journey: Luke 24:15

As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them.

A lot of people say, “I believe in Jesus. I think he was a great teacher…in fact I’d say he was God’s Son. But I’m not too sure about this resurrection thing…I mean really, it’s kind of unbelievable. It’s probably just a myth, anyway.”

According to a recent poll, 85% of Americans claim Christianity as their personal faith, yet of those, an astonishing 35% believe that though crucified, Jesus never had a physical resurrection. No resurrection! The Risen Lord is the heart and soul of Christianity. The Apostle Paul said Jesus rising from the tomb on the third day isn’t just a creative little addendum to the Easter story, it is central and essential to authentic faith. He pointed out if Christians are not going to stake their lives and their eternal future on the reality of the resurrection, then they are wasting their time being Christian.

Large numbers of people are fascinated with Jesus; they respect him; they even love him, in a way. Yet they are uncomfortable with the resurrection and uncertain that it really happened. However, buried deep within their hearts is a longing for the resurrection to be true. They need Jesus’ resurrection to be real—even if human logic has buried the possibility of someone rising from death—because they, too, hope for resurrection when they reach the end of their lives.

They are no different, really, than the people in first century Palestine who had placed their hopes in Jesus. They, too, had bought into his proclamation of eternal life, only to have their hopes dashed when Jesus was crucified on the cross and buried forever in a cold, hopeless garden tomb.

Or so they thought! Stories began to immediately circulate that Jesus had risen from the dead. At first his followers didn’t believe it—who in his right mind would?—until Jesus himself began to appear to them, offering not just hearsay evidence, but irrefutable evidence, living proof, that he was alive. That’s right, Jesus himself showed up and blew the doors of disbelief right off their jailhouse of doubt, forever freeing them to the settled truth that he was alive and that resurrection was now the new end of life order for all who placed their faith in him.

Jesus himself showed up! (Luke 24:15, 36) In the accounts of five different New Testament writers, the Risen Christ made thirteen separate appearances to a total of 557 witnesses—people who saw Jesus alive with their own eyes. At the time Paul wrote his piece about the resurrection, some thirty or so years later, he pointed out that most of those 500 plus eye-witnesses were still alive, so all any skeptic had to do was just go ask one of them for their personal account. (I Corinthians 15:6)

Acts 1:3 says, “During the forty days after his crucifixion, Jesus appeared to these people many times with convincing proofs that he was actually alive.” Jesus himself showed up. He wanted people to know that he was alive—that resurrection was the new order of the day.

When you consider the historical, physical, visual and the transformational proof of the resurrection—verifiable evidence—you are forced to decide about Jesus: He is either Lord of all or he is not Lord at all. He is either the risen Christ or he was an incredible liar. Either Christianity is based on truth that you should order your life by or it is nothing more than a legend, and therefore needs to be discarded as unreliable and swept forever into the dustbin of history.

But as respected apologist Paul E. Little stated, “For a mere legend about Christ, in the form of the gospel, to have gained circulation and to have had the impact it had without one shred of basis in fact, is incredible.”

The evidence says the resurrection is reliable fact; we can be confident in that. And from that evidence you will find that Jesus especially wants you to be convinced!

A Simple Prayer To Be More Like Jesus:

God, I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!
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Submission

It is the Path to the Highest Honor

Submission is not a very appealing word in our culture, but it is critical to the kingdom life growing and producing God-pleasing fruit in us. Submission is not weakness, it is acceptance of the will of God for our lives, and our joyful surrender to it. Submission is an active faith in God’s plan and a ruthless trust in his character, especially when things are unpleasant for us. Submission says, as Jesus prayed, “Father not my will but your will be done.” Submission cares nothing about comfort, success or fame, but nevertheless, it is the pathway to the highest honor before God.

The Journey: Luke 23:46

Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last.”

Submission is not a very appealing word in our culture, but it is critical to the kingdom life growing and producing God-pleasing fruit in us. Submission is not weakness, it is acceptance of the will of God for our lives, and our joyful surrender to it. Submission is an active faith in God’s plan and a ruthless trust in his character, especially when things are unpleasant for us. Submission says, as Jesus prayed, “Father not my will but your will be done.”

Submission shapes everything about the Christian life: How we respond to our circumstances, how we regard others, how we regulate our emotions, and how we relate to the eternal world. More than anything, godly submission produces confidence that God knows what he is doing with our lives, which in turn, produces even greater surrender.

Submission also releases God’s favor in our lives. Just look at Jesus, the most powerful, yet most submissive man who ever lived. Of all the qualities that endeared him both to the Father and to those of us who have entrusted our eternal salvation to him, it was his joyful surrender to the mission of God that stand above all others. In particular, notice how his submission to God’s plan in the face of death released the Father’s high favor to him:

Jesus humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names. (Philippians 2: 8-9)

Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. (Hebrews 12:2)

Is there anything that moves both the heart and the hand of the Father more than our submission to the divine mission, especially when it requires surrender to the unpleasant providence of God? Is there anything that better demonstrates tough-minded but tender-hearted trust that God knows what he is doing than submission to his plan. Is there any greater joy, tranquility or stability than knowing and trusting that because of the Fathers’ competent care, this world is a perfectly safe and satisfying place—even when it doesn’t look like it? Is there any prayer more God-honoring than to pray, as Jesus did, “Not my will but your will be done…into your hands I commend my spirit.” (Luke 22:42, 23:46)

No—there is none!

Andrew Murray said, “Just as a servant knows that he must first obey his master in all things, so the surrender to an implicit and unquestionable obedience must become the essential characteristic of our lives.” Surrender and submission to the will of God is not always, perhaps not usually, an easily thing. Where do you need to submit to the Father’s will today?

Don’t be afraid; just do it. You will never regret it!

As you think about that, remember the words so movingly expressed by the old hymn,

My times are in thy hand:
Why should I fear?
My Father’s hand will never cause
His child a needless tear.

A Simple Prayer To Be More Like Jesus:

God, my times are in your hand; I will not fear. You will never cause nor cause me to shed a needless tear. I trust you completely, and so offer you my full submission.