Have you noticed that we live in a world driven by fear? This is currently one of my greatest pet peeves! Even as Christians we seem to believe that if we aren't afraid and worried we aren't paying attention to what is happening in the world. We just don't care.
STOP THAT!!
How often do you find yourself trying to be light in a conversation or situation where everyone is focusing on the latest bad news...which is constant in the media? I don't believe 24/7 news channels have been a blessing in our lives! If we are defeated by the fear of the world how will we bring HOPE? And we need to be hope-bearers, light bringers, peace makers, love lavishers!
This weekend seemed particularly bad. I heard comments like: "I fear for my grandchildren. I won't be around long, but I worry about my grandkids and great-grandchildren." "The world is getting worse and worse." "You don't dare go anywhere anymore." And it isn't just the elderly saying these things.
I am not trying to tell you this world isn't a mess, because it is, always has been. What I am trying to say is that I believe we have to filter all the news we hear through the trustworthy Word of God. Even in Christian media we are often told that the world will just keep getting worse and worse and the good news is that then Jesus will come back, and the rest will be destroyed.
So I've been wrestling with what Jesus means when he tells us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Jesus tells us this is how we are to pray. Is he kidding us? Conning us? Giving us a useless prayer? If there is no hope that God wants to work his will in this world, and bring His kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven why are we told to pray this way? So I refuse to believe it..I refuse to believe God has disappeared from the scene...God has left us to our own ruin. I believe God is still King of kings and Lord of lords! I believe God loves this lost and broken world and has engaged us to follow Him into making it a place of the kingdom.
So I want to invite you to stoke the fire that burns within you...the fire of the Spirit of God. I invite you to step it up on the radical christian continuum. Regular won't cut it! Let's be radical hope bearers, light-bringers, peace-makers, love-lavishers. Let's believe, let's get to work! Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven...so be it Lord!
STOP THAT!!
How often do you find yourself trying to be light in a conversation or situation where everyone is focusing on the latest bad news...which is constant in the media? I don't believe 24/7 news channels have been a blessing in our lives! If we are defeated by the fear of the world how will we bring HOPE? And we need to be hope-bearers, light bringers, peace makers, love lavishers!
This weekend seemed particularly bad. I heard comments like: "I fear for my grandchildren. I won't be around long, but I worry about my grandkids and great-grandchildren." "The world is getting worse and worse." "You don't dare go anywhere anymore." And it isn't just the elderly saying these things.
I am not trying to tell you this world isn't a mess, because it is, always has been. What I am trying to say is that I believe we have to filter all the news we hear through the trustworthy Word of God. Even in Christian media we are often told that the world will just keep getting worse and worse and the good news is that then Jesus will come back, and the rest will be destroyed.
So I've been wrestling with what Jesus means when he tells us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Jesus tells us this is how we are to pray. Is he kidding us? Conning us? Giving us a useless prayer? If there is no hope that God wants to work his will in this world, and bring His kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven why are we told to pray this way? So I refuse to believe it..I refuse to believe God has disappeared from the scene...God has left us to our own ruin. I believe God is still King of kings and Lord of lords! I believe God loves this lost and broken world and has engaged us to follow Him into making it a place of the kingdom.
So I want to invite you to stoke the fire that burns within you...the fire of the Spirit of God. I invite you to step it up on the radical christian continuum. Regular won't cut it! Let's be radical hope bearers, light-bringers, peace-makers, love-lavishers. Let's believe, let's get to work! Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven...so be it Lord!
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