The Lord’s Prayer — for You

In anticipation of his death, Jesus prayed with and for his disciples. The prayer he prayed is recorded for us in John 17. In this prayer Jesus prayed for the disciples who were with him then, and for all who would believe in him in the future.

It is important for us to remember that Jesus continues to intercede for his people in heaven now, at the Father’s right hand. Reading John 17 is a wonderful way for us to restore the assurance of our relationship to him. The prayer emphasizes two facts about the Lord’s people.

First, his people do not belong to the world (John 17:6-8). They have been given to Christ out of the world. Christ has revealed to them the true nature of God and the true knowledge of God. This is eternal life (John 17:3). Believers no longer belong to the world. Rather, they belong to Christ and Christ is glorified in them (John 17:10).

This is because they received his word, understood his word, and believed his word (John 17:8). His disciples were not perfect, but they had the right commitment. This is true of all believers in Jesus. His prayer applies to us today, even though we are far from perfect (John 17:20).

The second fact about his people is that they (we) continue to live in the world (John 17:11). In his prayer, our Lord speaks of two human communities: “the world,” and those whom God has taken “out of the world.” He is not referring to the world of nature or of ordinary humanity. Jesus is talking about the world as it is organized in opposition to God.

Although we belong to God and his Son (John 17:9-10), we still live among the people who belong to this world. This places upon us a responsibility to love our neighbors and to make known to them what Christ has made known to us in the gospel. We live in this present world as Christ’s representatives.

As we read Jesus’ prayer for us, we learn that while we are here in this world, he is praying for our preservation. “I pray for them,” Jesus says, “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name” (John 17:9, 11). The Lord Jesus had us in mind as he prayed. Believers today stand in the same relationship with him as the original disciples did in that day. “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message” (John 17:20).

Christ prayed then and he is praying now. He is our advocate and representative in heaven (1 John 2:1-2). The book of Hebrews teaches that this fact is the basis for our assurance of salvation and our access to God in prayer (Hebrews 4:14-15).

If your faith is in Jesus, you may be sure that he is in heaven praying for you because you belong to him. I invite you to re-read John 17 to learn more about this. God will never fail to answer a prayer of his Son.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

Thinking About the Trinity

I have been thinking about the Trinity. Christians believe that God is eternally self-existent in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

One of the best proofs of this is love. Love requires a giver and a recipient. It is relational. It is reciprocal, Love has no meaning otherwise.

The New Testament teaches that “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16). God is love in his very essence. To deny that God is three persons in one divine being, is to deny that God is love. In eternity past, before the creation of the world, if he was only one person, he could not love.

From eternity to eternity, the Father loves the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Son loves the Father and the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit loves the Father and the Son, in a mutual, self-giving reciprocity. This is how the Son glorifies the Father, the Spirit glorifies the Son, and the Father glorifies both the Son and the Spirit.

Creation was an act of self-giving love. God needed nothing outside of himself to be complete and completely satisfied. But in extravagant love he created the universe and created human beings to experience his love.

Unfortunately, the disobedience of the human race resulted in alienation, death and judgment. According to the opening chapters of the Bible, humans became self-centered instead of loving their creator, and the relationship was spoiled by sin. The self-centeredness which plagues the human condition is the opposite of the love of God.

Fortunately, God provided a way back into his love through his Son. Jesus came into the world to put divine love on display in the ultimate act of unselfishness. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Those who believe in him become part of a new God-centered community in which it is possible for us to love one another as he has loved us. Just as the members of the Trinity pour love into one another, so the Holy Spirit enables the new community of Christ to live in love for one another.

I have been thinking about the Trinity. One of the strongest evidences for the Trinity is the love of God.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

Finding Meaning in Suffering

As a participant in my church’s intercessory prayer ministry I am reminded regularly of the sufferings of fellow Christians. The church has a prayer room with cards that record the needs of the congregation. Members of the prayer team come to the room during the week to pray for the sick, for the church and its leaders, and for our community and nation.

There seem to be many people who battle cancer and its effects. Words like chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and remission show up quite often on those prayer cards. For some, it seems to be a life and death struggle. They depend on the church for emotional support and for prayers for their physical healing.

Several years ago I was counseling a woman who was angry at God because her husband had died of cancer. She refused to let go of her bitterness. She would not trust in any God who would allow suffering to continue.

Like some who argue for atheism, the problem of human suffering was, for her, an obstacle to belief in a God who is kind and good. This was an intensely personal issue. The suffering and death of her husband seemed pointless and without justification.

I’m not sure how my words may have influenced her thinking. It takes faith to believe that human suffering may accomplish a God-given purpose. Romans 8:28 is not a panacea, but a promise that for those who love the Lord, even bad things, like cancer, can, in God’s providence “work together for good.”

Earlier this year I read a book entitled God Meant it for Good, by R.T. Kendall. It is a retelling and interpretation of the story of Joseph the son of Jacob (Genesis 37-50). In his youth he was hated by his brothers. They sold him into slavery and he was transported to Egypt where he was subject to years of unjust treatment and imprisonment. Kendall makes the point again and again that God had a purpose for the trials Joseph had to endure.

Joseph’s character was refined and developed by his sufferings. The Lord was with him in his in his difficulties. In God’s time he was released from prison. In God’s plan he found himself in the presence of the Pharaoh who promoted him to second in command in Egypt! In that position he was able to save many lives, including those of his own family. He forgave his brothers saying, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.”

This is not to imply that suffering is good. Of course not. But it is a recognition that God is able to turn suffering inside out and use it to accomplish a good purpose. As a pastor I have heard people say things like, “I would never have wished this upon myself, but I wouldn’t trade anything for the spiritual growth I have experienced through these circumstances.”

In his book The Reason for God, Tim Keller wrote, “If you have a God great and transcendent enough to be mad at because he hasn’t stopped evil and suffering in the world, then you have (at the same moment) a God great and transcendent enough to have good reasons for allowing it to continue that you can’t know. Indeed, you can’t have it both ways.”

The God of the Bible entered our world of suffering in the person of Jesus Christ. He experienced the worst depths of cruelty and pain. He identifies with us in our sufferings. He promised, “Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). He knows how we feel.

Keller added, “Christianity alone among the world religions claims that God became uniquely and fully human in Jesus Christ and therefore knows firsthand despair, rejection, loneliness, poverty, bereavement, torture, and imprisonment. On the cross he went beyond even the worst human suffering and experienced cosmic rejection in pain that exceeds ours as infinitely as his knowledge and power exceed ours. In his death, God suffers in love, identifying with the abandoned and god-forsaken. Why did he do it? The Bible says that Jesus came on a rescue mission for creation. He had to pay for our sins so that someday he can end evil and suffering without ending us.”

Is it enough to know that God has an unseen purpose in our sufferings? Is it enough to know that he understands our present sorrows and pain? Perhaps not as we see things now. Christianity does not provide an easy explanation for our sufferings. But faith in Jesus promises resurrection unto eternal life. It promises a new creation and the restoration of all things. Then there will be no more death when he makes all things new. Surely that will be enough.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

 

 

A Prayer for America

In a famous letter to his wife Abigail,  dated July 3, 1776, John Adams encouraged the celebration of Independence Day “by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.”

Let Adams’s words (he was a devout Christian), remind us to pray for America on this national holiday. How should we pray for our nation? I can think of several important prayer requests: for our governmental leaders, for the healing of divisions, for the 2024 elections, for freedom to express our faith, for protection from all enemies, foreign and domestic, for forgiveness of our nation’s sins against a holy God.

The Book of Common Prayer provides us with a beautiful prayer for the nation. If you are inclined to join me in this, I humbly recommend that you use it as a guide to your praying for America today.

Almighty God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage: We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of thy favor and glad to do thy will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with a spirit of wisdom those to whom in thy name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail; all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Now, having prayed, go enjoy your barbecue and fireworks, which President Adams also recommended for the celebration!

May God bless America.

Pastor Randy Faulkner