Every moment in life, whether a hardship or a blessing, can bring temptation. Hardship may tempt us to fear, lose hope, doubt the love of God, or be estranged from Him, while a time of blessing may tempt us to become boastful, conceited and self-sufficient.
In a culture of shame and honor, like ours, that leaves little room for restoration and redemption we tend to overlook the forgiveness that we have freely received from God when relating to others.
Bread is the essence of life—it’s what sustains us every day. As we ask God to give us our daily bread, we not only acknowledge our dependency on Him for life’s necessities, we also declare that He is everything we need.
Last month, we prayed for God’s name to be Hallowed, to be made holy. Recognizing the awesome holiness of God should lead to a disposition of our hearts and minds that naturally creates in us a desire to see the manifestation of His Kingdom.
This month we are focusing on the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “Hallowed be thy name”. There are two thoughts that I would like to reflect on.
Echoed through the ages, the first two words of the prayer Jesus taught us introduces a paradigm shift in the way humanity perceives its relationship with the divine. The basis of our relationship is not “commercial” anymore (I give therefore I receive in return) but that of a new reality: Adoption.
“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” 1 Corinthians 15:17.
With these striking words the apostle Paul reminds us of the crucial importance of Jesus’ resurrection which can be summed up in the following formulas
For many of us what we’re passionate about, what excites our souls, and gives us life, stands in contrast to the undertakings that fill most of our days. Things that, although they may be good, they distract and divert us from the lives that we are called to live.