Legacy “forgive”

When Jesus teaches us to pray, in Matthew 6…he says a very important line…

“9 “Pray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father, who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10
‘Your kingdom come,
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11
‘Give us this day our daily bread.
12
‘And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment].
13
‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’

He says “as”

Forgive us as we forgive …
Our being forgiven is tied to our forgiving others…
Forgive us just as we forgive others…
We are praying that to God….

It shouldn’t be taken lightly …
It’s a pretty big deal…

As husbands Scripture commands us to love our wives …meaning …
It’s not a feeling …
It’s entirely within our control…
We are commanded to love…

When Christ left earth he said he would send us his spirit …

Other verses say if you pray God will answer and fill you with his Holy Spirit ….
Notice we are not like the Old Testament prophets or kings …
Waiting for his spirit to come upon us…
We are FILLED with HIS Spirit ….
We have an experience with God that is unlike any generation….unlike Samson unlike David in the wilderness …in the stronghold ….
Praying to be back in the temple ….so he could worship ….
We…we are filled with his spirit ….
We shouldn’t take it for granted …
Maybe that in itself is a sin….
Certainly a foothold….
As fathers …we set an example …
And time is running out …
Our children will leave one day…
Shouldn’t they be ready …
Not sent out to discover themselves
Or trial and error …
But ready…
And when we pray the Lord’s Prayer …
Shouldn’t we be mindful of what we are saying …
“Forgive us lord in the same way we forgive …”

We have been forgiven much…
We all have sinned …
No one is innocent ….
We all were made in his image …
And he gave salvation for us all…
Forgive….for we have been forgiven ….

  • E

Dragons


The devil …is like a roaring lion…roaming the earth to
steal, kill and destroy…

Maybe that’s why our marriages are so hard…
Our finances so short …
Our breath so knocked out …

We have an enemy …
But it’s not what we think…

Paul said in Ephesians 6…
“ For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places.”

The enemy …is not holding back…

Taking it easy with temptation

And trials

And sifting of our souls

Our children

Our marriages

Our covenant…


He knows his time is short…
He is like a dragon roaming the earth …
According to the book of revelation…he wiped out a third of the heavens …bringing angels down with him…angels who were in the very presence of God…

But Isaiah says…

“Cry aloud, do not hold back; Lift up your voice like a trumpet,”
Isaiah 58

“And some from among you shall build the old waste places; raising up the foundations of many generations; and be called The repairers of the breach, The restorers of paths to dwell in.”

  • Isaiah 58:12

There is a heaven to gain…a hell to shun…

In revelation …
Jesus chains up the Devil and defeats him…
Not us…
We overcome him with the blood of The lamb and the word of our testimony…

But Jesus defeats him …

Cry aloud and spare not…

Pray…
Lead your family and your children…
Hold fast to your covenant …
Gods arm is not too short…
To restore …
To save …
He is faithful

His Grace is sufficient ….


And he is Lord .

What else is there?

-E

And did my Savior Bleed?

There’s an old hymn…
Alas And did my Savior Bleed…

It has a certain reverence….

I can’t help but think on it daily….
It doesn’t puff up…
Or re assure you that whatever you’re doing is fine …
But it walks you through …to the cross…

“1
Alas, and did my Savior bleed?
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
At the cross, at the cross where
I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!
2
Was it for sins that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!
3
Well might the sun in darkness hide,
And shut His glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker, died
For man, His creature’s sin.
4
Thus might I hide my blushing face
While His dear cross appears.
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt mine eyes to tears.
5
But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe;
Here, Lord, I give myself away,
’Tis all that I can do.”

Grace

“In those days [when the judges governed] there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.”

  • The Book of Judges, Amplified

You see the slow decline anytime we do what is right for ourselves ….
Through history and the Bible …

I’ve lived it…
You seek immediate gratification …
Peace ….
Pleasure …
Happiness ….
We forget about sowing seeds …
Cultivating a harvest
Praying for the rains …
Waiting ….
———-
We all have truly….
More in common than we believe ….
——-
Salvation I realised
Wasn’t something to be bought
Or earned ….
It wasn’t even the gift ….
Repentance was the gift ….
That God was offering us ….
And when you look at that…
You realise how truly hopeless your state is….on your own…

-E

Fools and flesh

Stepping out

These red letter days

Skies turned black

Cross in the hill

God cried out

And I felt fine

I was a fool in the flesh doing time

——-

Red redemption isn’t mine to keep

Repentance is the gift He gives to me ….

A fool in the flesh ….doing time ….

These red letter days ….

Salvation is there on the hill ….

Skies turned black

God cries out ….

The curtain is torn

Do you see what I see?

Do you know what I mean ?

-E

Kings

The days are numbered in the margins
Falling down by the alter …
There we were
In the white pages
Food stamps ….
Now we’re Instagram stars
They say cash is king
But I’d rather live on a paper wing
“Build your kingdom”
But look at Saul
Now he’s gone mad trying to keep what was never his ….
Stewards …
Not starz
This is all we are …
There’s a torn curtain in the temple
Christ has risen
But we break bread in prison ….
Cravings and flesh …
The Lord anoints and his covenants he will keep…
We judge in our sinful state….
When All we are is all we ever have been…
Who am I ?
But man made from clay
One dry wind like a hurricane …
And all we are is all we ever have been…
Cash is king ….
Upon this rock I’ll stand on my paper wing….

-E

Be still….

“But I trusted in, relied on, and was confident in You, O Lord; I said, You are my God. My times are in Your hands”
Psalm 31:14

“Be still and know (recognize, understand) that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalm 46

See King Saul
Waiting seven days …
For The Prophet Samuel to arrive before battle …a time set by the Prophet …
It had happened many times before everyone knew the routine …
His troops are scattered ….waiting …
They wait and rest and offer a burnt sacrifice to the Lord ….
Every day Saul wakes up more troops have left …
Finally he shakes himself and says Samuel is taking too long …
He sends for the supplies and offers the sacrifice himself …and readies the troops for battle …
Immediately Samuel appears and Saul runs out to greet him…
Samuel says “what have you done? “

Saul says “you took too long …I was afraid to go to battle without the protection of the Lord …”

He started making excuses…
He was impulsive
His faith was in the process not in the Lord…
He KNEW the routines and the process but he didn’t really KNOW God…
He couldn’t be still and wait on God….
And it cost him the kingdom ….

It’s important I think to understand
We all want to be David
Poetic and prose and humble
Seeking Gods heart…
But we all as husbands and fathers
Are more often than not …
Saul…
Taking matters into our own hands …
We know what to do …

But wait….
Do the next right thing…
Be patient ….

“My times are in your hands…”
Know God ….
Be confident in him….
Seek him….
Not the process
Not the fasting
Not the manifesting

“Be still and know (recognize, understand) that I am God.”

What else is there?

-E

Faith

In the Book of Luke Jesus says to Peter….
“31 “Simon, Simon (Peter), listen! Satan has demanded permission to sift [all of] you like grain; 32 but I have prayed [especially] for you [Peter], that your faith [and confidence in Me] may not fail; and you, once you have turned back again [to Me], strengthen and support your brothers [in the faith].”

There’s something important here
Jesus doesn’t pray to protect Peter
He doesn’t pray to cast down Satan ….
He says to Peter ….
“but I have prayed [especially] for you [Peter], that your faith [and confidence in Me] may not fail….”
The other thing here …
He knows he will fail, he tells him what to do after that….
Just like God in the Garden of Eden said to Adam and Eve …”when you eat of this tree.”
Not “if you eat of it .”
God already knows ….

And our stories are very human…
Like Samuel being raised up to speak to Israel ….
And Saul being head and shoulders above the rest …everything set out for him…
But failed …due to lack of integrity and vices and pride ….

Judges says …Israel had no king in that time and everyone did as they saw fit or did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.


Time and time again…
King and Judge failed ….
But God worked with what he had…
Even Samuels sons failed ….
But God…
And his promises stayed true…
Even if it took 100 years …
He kept his covenants ….
See David seeking God …
And then vices and failure …
Struggling faith…
His sons turning against him…
See him return to God
And pray ….
God restores ….

“but I have prayed [especially] for you [Peter], that your faith [and confidence in Me] may not fail….”

How did Jesus pray?
He knew the whole story…
Human nature …
Our heart of hearts …
Our weakness
He had been walking with us through it all…

That our faith would not fail
That our confidence in God would not fail…
That we would know and recall his character and remember his name ….
Not just for now …
But for our Children
And their children
And their children
It’s generations ….

  • E

The accuser

“Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom (dominion, reign) of our God, and the authority of His Christ have come; for the [e]accuser of our [believing] brothers and sisters has been thrown down [at last], he who accuses them and keeps bringing charges [of sinful behavior] against them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame and conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, for they did not love their life and renounce their faith even when faced with death. 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them [in the presence of God]. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you in great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time [remaining]!”

Rev 12 amplified

Do I know God’s character ?
Do I know His voice?
Or do I just know a lot about God ?
And Bible verses ?
Satan is constantly standing before God accusing us ….
Bringing up our past and sin ….
He will constantly accuse us to eachother as well….
But if I am not loving like God
Unconditionally
If I am not reading his word to learn about who he is and his character
I will miss so much about him ….
I will not recognize Satan when he speaks
And I will not be close to God and recognize his voice ….
Because his voice is quiet
His voice is early in the morning
Satan has always been the same
“Did God really mean what he said?
Is this really as it seems?”
He is subtle and questioning ….
And he spoke to Eve
He spoke to the angels on heaven
He spoke to Jesus
He will try with us too…
He steals kills and destroys ….

Get close to God
Seek his kingdom
Not your own
Know his character
His word

-E

Remaining

“ I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age.”

  • Matthew 28

There is no place we can go that is too far ….
There is no issue we face that surprises God
His spirit he left with us
And he will guide us if we will be still and seek him and ask him to show us his way….
It does not look like our way….
He knows the end from the beginning …

He will never leave us or abandon us
He will never forsake us ….
His love is not like our love
It is unconditional.

-E