I remember times when I certainly put God to the test. When I was fighting my way through cancer and chemotherapy, I tried to make some bargains: “Get me through this, God, and I’ll serve you the rest of my life!” Such if-then “trench prayers,” uttered when we are under attack, have been prayed throughout the ages, and no doubt many lives have been transformed by them.
But God asks more of us than that. The kind of faith to which we are called might be described as “even-if” faith. Even if we don’t get well, even if God doesn’t give us what we think we need and deserve, even if our lives can seem like drudgeries or failures, we will serve you, Lord. We will love you, O God. We will place you at the center of our lives until our dying breaths, no matter the pain, the suffering and the loss.
The readings today are so rich!!! Jesus kept quoting Scripture in the Gospel reading today *** Matthew 4:4, "Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Man must not live only on bread. He must also live on every Word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” (Deuteronomy 8:3) *** Matthew 4:7, "Jesus answered him, “It is also written, ‘Do not test the Lord your God.’ ” (Deuteronomy 6:16) ***Jesus said to him, “Get away from me, Satan! It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God. He is the only one you should serve.’ ” (Deuteronomy 6:13) ******* How about you? Do you practice fighting satan and praying remembering and using God's Word? Romans 10:8-9, "What does Scripture say? The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart—that is, the Word of faith that we preach—,for, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved!" *** The Good News is so simple without any external requirements...just internal requirements to change your heart and mind about the world and repent...that's it!!! The external is just a reflection of what is internal :-)
Missing the last reference Jesus quoting Scripture in the desert: Matthew 4:10
Lord please hear our prayers and bring your light to all those in need. Come to the side of those experiencing violence in Haiti, the Middle East, Ukraine, Russia, Darfur, and the Sudan. Please hear the pleas of all those suffering around the world - and give them strength, courage and resilience to continue walking in faith. Send them your light. Father in Heaven, have mercy on us and on the whole world! You sent Your Son, the Prince of Peace, for the salvation of the world. We pray that the Peace of Christ will reign in Haiti, the Middle East, Ukraine, Russia, Darfur and Sudan. Please protect and send aid to those in need and all who are at-risk. We pray for peace and rebuilding– we who are working towards it and for all those who are suffering or in danger from conflicts. We pray for an end to violence and war – we pray for wisdom for all leaders who have a hand in this. Lord God please help those in most need of thy mercy. Amen.
Greetings to all in the LF family this sunny Sunday morning in St. Louis. Grace and peace to you all as we continue our lenten journey. It's a great time to shift our prayers and our lives of faith from if/then to even/then. One day at a time. Peace, friends.
Steve…well, I knew before I got to the end of the Reflection that you had written it! I genuinely identify with your words. I finally had that unforgettable moment when I changed my prayers and stopped asking “if-then” and prayed “If only I have your peace, then I have everything”. That was 30 years ago last year. We are truly blessed to be chosen to be in the PR Business … a Privilege and Responsibility to share God’s love and mercy.❣️
Amen. :)
How does one go from "if then" to "even if" ?!?!?! Let's take a look at Daniel's three friends stituation, response and expereince in Daniel 3:12-23!!! *** The dire situation in Daniel 3:12-13, 15b, " But you (Nebuchadnezzer) have appointed some Jews to help Daniel govern Babylon and the towns around it. Their names are Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They don’t pay any attention to you, King Nebuchadnezzar. They don’t serve your gods. And they refuse to worship the gold statue you have set up.” Nebuchadnezzar was very angry. He sent for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So they were brought to him... "But if you won’t, you will be thrown at once into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to save you from my power?” *** Their "even if" response to king Nebuchadnezzar based on "No further discussion necessary because our God is still God and there is no other gods!" in Daniel 3:16-18, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him. They said, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to talk about this anymore. We might be thrown into the blazing furnace. But the God we serve is able to bring us out of it alive. He will save us from your power. But we want you to know this, Your Majesty. Even if we knew that our God wouldn’t save us, we still wouldn’t serve your gods. We wouldn’t worship the gold statue you set up.” *** Their dire situation became a death sentence in the 7-times hotter fiery furnace in Daniel 3:19-23, "Then Nebuchadnezzar was very angry with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The look on his face changed. And he ordered that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. He also gave some of the strongest soldiers in his army a command. He ordered them to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Then he told his men to throw them into the blazing furnace. So they were tied up. Then they were thrown into the furnace. They were wearing their robes, pants, turbans and other clothes. The king’s command was carried out quickly. The furnace was so hot that its flames killed the soldiers who threw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into it. So the three men were firmly tied up. And they fell into the blazing furnace!" ******* Death is not the end from the perspectives of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego!!! I learned from these young men, "Please celebrate when I die (sooner rather than later) becuase I will be with my God face to face rejoicing in eternity :-) There is nothing better than that on earth!!!" Matthew 10:28, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the soul. Instead, be afraid of the One Who can destroy both soul and body in hell!" *** Where did that perspective or fundation come from for these young men? We knew that they were exiled to Babylon when they were young...that means whatever, whoever and whenever they learned was before the exile!!! Proverbs 22:6, "Train (not teach like in school) up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it!" That's why my passion and calling is in leading Bible Study Fellowship for students (ages 6-18)! Look up the Hebrew word, 'hanak,' for "train up" in this verse! *** What do I do now that I am old? God's Word continues to guide me to know the One True God, Who He is (His Names), What He does (His works) and Where He is leading me (His people) ✝️ My mantra in learning from BSF, "What does this passage of Scripture reveal about God - His person, His purposes, and/or His work? Because WHAT we believe about God determines WHAT we believe about ourselves, our world, our purposes, our lives and HOW we behave!" *** The reason we would pray 'if then' bargains is because we don't know God personally! He is just some diety that we grew up with taught (not trained) by adults...I have never seen 'him' or known 'him!' James 4:1-6a, "Why do you fight and argue among yourselves? Isn’t it because of your sinful desires? They fight within you. You want something, but you don’t have it. So you kill. You want what others have, but you can’t get what you want. So you argue and fight. You don’t have what you want, because you don’t ask God. When you do ask for something, you don’t receive it. That’s because you ask for the wrong reason. You want to spend your money on your sinful pleasures. You are not faithful to God. Don’t you know that to be a friend of the world is to hate God? So anyone who chooses to be the world’s friend becomes God’s enemy. Don’t you know what Scripture says? God wants the Spirit in us to belong only to Him. God caused this Spirit to live in us. Don’t you think Scripture has a reason for saying this? But God continues to give us more grace..." ******* WE ARE NOT SINNERS BECAUSE WE SIN, WE SIN BECAUSE WE ARE SINNERS!!!
You know what happened to Daniel's three friends: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, right? Daniel 3:24-30, "Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet. He was so amazed he asked his advisers, “Didn’t we tie up three men? Didn’t we throw three men into the fire?” They replied, “Yes, we did, Your Majesty.” The king said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire. They aren’t tied up. And the fire hasn’t even harmed them. The fourth man looks like a son of the gods.” Then the king approached the opening of the blazing furnace. He shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, come out! You who serve the Most High God, come here!” So they came out of the fire. The royal rulers, high officials, governors and advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire hadn’t harmed their bodies. Not one hair on their heads was burned. Their robes weren’t burned either. And they didn’t even smell like smoke. Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “May the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be praised! He has sent His angel and saved His servants. They trusted in Him. They refused to obey my command. They were willing to give up their lives. They would rather die than serve or worship any god except their own God. No other god can save people this way. So I’m giving an order about the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. No one may say anything against Him. That’s true no matter what language they speak. If they say anything against Him, they’ll be cut to pieces. And their houses will be turned into piles of trash.” Then the king honored Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He gave them higher positions in the city of Babylon and the towns around it!"❤️✝️❤️
Thank you. Amen!
Amen.☮️
My prayer "Lord Jesus, your word is life and joy for us all. Fill us with your Holy Spirit that we may have the strength and courage to embrace your will in all things and to renounce whatever is contrary to it. " Amen
Steven, how powerful are your comments today! I think many of us play the if/then game and I have done it most of my life. I finally realized how silly it was to make “deals” with God! As weak humans we rarely ever fully follow through with our promises (I didn’t) once we come through our difficulties. And then there is the even/if scenario which is the true one but the harder one to follow. We just have to keep asking for strength, trust and faith to believe “even if”… If no one has ever heard the song by MercyMe, “Even If”, it speaks directly to your point Steven. Such a beautiful, haunting and powerful song which brings your message home perfectly. See the link to the video. Thank you for sharing! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6fA35Ved-Y#ddg-play
Thanks for this, Joe. I love that song, too! I think it was playing in my head as I wrote this!
Praying for the Pope. Praying for the innocent immigrants that are being deported, for federal workers whose livelihood's are being destroyed as they lose their jobs, and for the poor, hungry and sick across the world who are being deprived life giving food and medical aid. Praying for Ukraine and its people.
Thank you Frank for your prayer. I join the others in this time of uncertainty and pray with all of you who express concern for our brothers and sisters who are struggling and suffering.
Thank you for continuing to pray this Frank. Please post it every day. They are not forgotten. Amen.
Thank you, Frank, these are my exact sentiments. Peace and love.
I join you in all these prayers, Frank. Thanks.
Steve, your words spoke to my soul this morning. Having been through the "if-then" stage, now learning to work with the "even-if" faith.
Amen
Amen!
Daniel 3:17,18 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us[a] from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Yes, Troy! I am thinking exactly the same response/prayer of Daniel’s three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, being threatened to be thrown into the fire furnace in Daniel 3:14-19!
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Steve, thank you for capturing this so expertly. You really nailed it. How many times are we at the bargaining table with God? I love the movement from if then to even if. I am happy when I catch myself saying “if/then.” I turn to surrender and say, thy will be done! Thanks all for the prayers for scoop. He is improving little by little. He received the hydrocortisone shot yesterday on Friday which has helped quite a bit. Lord, continue to walk with him and strengthen him. Amen.