Our Lord's Prayer

This was sent to me and requested by a dear friend:


Our Lord's Prayer

I cannot say "Our" if my religion has no room for others and their needs.
I cannot say "Father" if I do not demonstrate this relationship in my daily life.
I cannot say "Who Art In Heaven" if all my interests and pursuits are in earthly things.
I cannot say "Hallowed Be Thy Name" if I, who am called by his name, am not holy.
I cannot say "Thy Kingdom Come" if I am unwilling to give up my own sovereignty and accept the righteous reign of God.
I cannot say "Thy Will Be Done" if I am unwilling or resentful of having it in my life.
I cannot say "On Earth As It Is In Heaven" unless I am truly ready to give myself to his service here and now.
I cannot say "Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread" without expending honest effort for it or by ignoring the genuine needs of my fellowmen.
I cannot say "Forgive Us Our Trespasses As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us" if I continue to harbor a grudge against anyone.
I cannot say "Lead Us Not Into Temptation" if I deliberately choose to remain in a situation where I am likely to be tempted.
I cannot say "Deliver Us From Evil" if I am not prepared to fight in the spiritual realm with the weapon of prayer.
I cannot say "Thine Is The Kingdom" if I do not give the King the disciplined obedience of a loyal subject.
I cannot say "Thine Is The Power" if I fear what my neighbors and friends may say or do.
I cannot say "Thine Is The Glory" if I am seeking my own glory first.
I cannot say "Forever" if I am too anxious about each day's affairs.
I cannot say "Amen" unless I honestly say, "cost what it may, this is my prayer".
It is not about how you start the race but how you end the race.

2 Kings

Second Kings is the story of the divided kingdom of the Hebrews: Israel and Judah. Each kingdom had its own kings and its own priests and its own prophets. But one thing they had in common: their governments went from bad to worse with only a few exceptions. The people continued to disregard God even though He sent prophets again and again to set them straight.

Through the years, each kingdom became a weakling spiritually and morally. After years of disobedience and struggle, they became sitting duscks for the larger nations around them. Assyria, a nation know fir its cruelty in warfare, eventually attacked Israel. Babylon, a rich and strong nation to the south, attacked Judah. The Hebrew people were carried away from their countries to be slaves and prisoners in a foreign place.

The Hebrew people continued to lose their land because they wouldn’t listen to God. They wouldn’t listen to Him about how to govern their land or how to treat each other. They wouldn’t listen to Him about how to worship and who to worship. This is their story so that we can learn from their mistakes. 

The purpose of 2 Kings is to teach us that no nation marked by moral and spiritual decay can survive. The theme are the lessons from the ruin of Israel and Judah and it was written in 590-550 BC.

1 Kings

First Kings picks up right where Second Samuel leaves off. In First and Second Samuel, the Hebrews got their first king, Saul, and their second king David. In the first half of First Kings, David’s son Solomon takes over the throne, and boy what a throne he made of it. King Solomon was like a superstar in Israel. He was as rich as a rock star, as glamorous as a movie star, and as smart as a Wall Street millionaire. He could wheel and deal and network and schmoose with the best. 

The last half of First kings tells the other side of the story. After Solomon’s reign, the kingdom started falling to pieces. What was a united kingdom became two separate kingdoms with their own kings and their own big mistakes. 

The purpose of 1 Kings once again tells us that it is especially important for leaders to be fully committed to the Lord. The theme is the lessons from the dividing of the united kingdom and the date of writing is 590-570 BC.

2 Samuel

As you start on the second part of this epic called Second Samuel,, King Saul’s worst fears come true: David replaces Saul as king. You’ve probably heard of King David. He was an ancestor of Jesus. He built the first temple and he wrote a lot of the Psalms. He was the original Renaissance man. There are more stories in the Bible about David than about anyone else except Jesus Himself!

God called David a man after His own heart. That’s why David’s story is such an encouragement to us. He wasn’t’ a perfect man, but he loved God and God was pleased with that.

There are a lot of sad tales and mishaps in Second Samuel but it’s a book that shows us that God’s concern is not that we never foul up. His concern is that we keep coming back to Him and starting over. David was a man who understood that. 

The purpose of Second Samuel is that the most committed believer can fail and constantly needs God’s grace. The overall theme is King David being the forerunner of the Messiah.

2 Samuel was written in 1050-750 BC.

1 Samuel

Reading the First Samuel is like watching a home movie of the Hebrew Nation! It’s a family history in real-time and with the skeletons all hanging out of the closets. 

This starts with Samuel as a child being raised by the church. He grows up to be a national leader, a judge and a prophet. His real claim to fame, though, is that he anointed the first king of Israel, King Saul. 

Saul was a warrior kind of king. He protected his territory and fought off the bad guys. This time in history would have looked a little like an Arabian Knights episode with shields and horses and armor. Saul’s downfall began when he got violently jealous of an up-and-coming leader named David. 

Saul Eventually lost his mind and then his life while he was losing his kingdom. He’s an example to us of someone who failed to do things God’s way and lost it all. 

The purpose of the Book of 1 Samuel is to teach that in leaders, character and commitment does count.

The theme of 1 Samuel is that God Is Working in History!

1 Samuel was written in 1050-750 BC.

Ruth

Ruth
The Book of Ruth is a story about a woman and, of all people, her mother-in-law. This Book is much like a chick-flick. It has all the elements: drama, tragedy, danger, loyalty, flirtation, a love story, brave women, an honorable man, a marriage, and a baby.

This is actually a story, that. First of all, shows us something about the Jewish culture. It also reveals an important link in the genetic chain that led to Jesus Christ. Finally, it tells us a lot about the kind of people we should be: People that stick by their families and ask for the love they need and honor their cultural traditions. 

The Book of Ruth is about the kind of love that draws people together and then helps them stay that way. It’s about the kind of lovev that you need in your life. The first key to finding it is recognizing the right kind of people to as for it from. Ruth was one. 

The purpose of the Book of Ruth is show us that faithful people live godly lives in the worst of times. Its theme tells us that God’s sovereign intervention brings universal redemption. The date in which the Book of Ruth was written is unknown according to my Bible. This may have changed or may be available elsewhere but at the time my bible was written it was unknown.

Judges

I have given up on the proverbs for now. I will get back to them when my heart feels that is what I should be writing about.

I have decided that going back to writing the history of each book of the Bible is what I should be doing at this time. I know, I bounce around quite a bit, but please just stick with me. I can’t write about something when my heart isn’t fully in it! 

So I ended with Joshua several months back now. I am starting today with the next book, Judges. Feel free to look back and read the history of the other chapters as well.

Judges 

In their earliest days the Hebrews were a family led by a dad named Jacob. Jacob had twelve sons. Their descendants grew to be a nation of slaves in Egypt, a country that was led by the Pharaoh. Then they became exiles led by Moses. Then they became an army led by Joshua. Then came the Book of Judges. 

The Book of Judges is about a time in the life of the Hebrews before they had a king. When they needed to make decisions, they went to a judge, a national leader. A judge was sort of like a king, but no castle or crown or bowing—just a leader. 

During the time of the judges, the Hebrews went up and down like a morality yo-yo. They would obey God if they were listeing to a good judge. Then that judge would die and the people would fall away again. In fact, the phrase you’ll most often read about in this book is “and everyone did as he saw fit…” When you read that in Judges, you know that it means, “and here they go again –doing their own thing no matter what God wants.” Then another Judge would come into leadership and they’d clean up their act for a while. 

The purpose of the Book of Judges was to show us that what we fail to learn from history we must often learn by painful experience. The Book has multiple themes including apostasy, oppression, repentance, and deliverance. It was written around 1043-1004 BC.