Nathanael Szobody on Some tastes are “acquired tastes” as they say. Then there are some flavors that are so universally acclaimed as exquisite, like truffles, or single malt scotch, and yet, nonetheless are not appreciated by many. Some cannot stomach the taste of some foods which are said by many to be the apex of gustative delights
Nathanael Szobody on What is it about temptation that leads us to believe that it is some force outside of ourselves that attacks us? Certainly Satan is called the Temptor, but his temptation is only in the suggestion. He is an accuser. He levels the charge at us and leaves our flesh to keep working on us.
He accused God of hiding the truth from Eve. When he tempted Christ he presented the sin to him, but when Jesus responded with scripture he had to move on; there was nothing else for him to say!
And so it is in our own lives. As we pray for God to deliver us from evil, not leading us into temptation, we are in fact turning our hearts toward the one who counters our accuser. In the very act of praying we refuse the attacks of Satan, for the prayer which we pray is not our own, but the words of Jesus, the living word who intercedes for us before the Father on our behalf.
Satan knows that sin is slavery, and thinking of sin is slavery of the mind. When we refuse to dwell on the temptation, either its attractiveness or the despair that its guilt drags us into, and turn our eyes on the deliverer of sin and death, the battle is already won! For the word is active in every way; it is active through the promises in scripture to reassure us, it is active in revealing the nature of temptation and how our flesh is what gives it real power (James 1). And it is also active in its meaningful repetition as we pray the words that our savior taught us to. We are not repeating an ideal situation, a Daddy-do list, a statement of what should be if we were spiritual enough. No, when we approach our God in faith and adopt his words as our own, the request that he gives us to pray is already answered and being answered!
Is not the deliverence from evil in turning from our sin in humble repentence and relying on the grace of God poured out to us through faith in the death and ressurection of his Son for the salvation from slavery to that sin? Is not the very request “Do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil” that very thing; a turning from the power of sin and death and relying on our maker for all spiritual provision? Know this: the power for the salvation from sin is not just in the acknowledgement of God and Christ, but in the abiding in Christ. This abiding comes about when his word dwells in us. When you pray, speak to God what he has spoken to you, and you will have eternal life.
Nathanael Szobody on This may be one of the hardest petitions of the Disciple’s Prayer for me to write on. I like to believe that I am a very forgiving person, but who do I need to forgive? Who has done me wrong? There are always the little selfish things people do that are easily forgiven, but there is really no major offense committed against me that I can even think of to forgive!
It is often useful in defining an idea to think of its opposite.
Nathanael Szobody on As stated in the first post of the Disciples’ Prayer, Our Father Who Art in Heaven, the petitions that Jesus taught his disciples were not given so that we can know how to get something from God as much as they were given as the gift of God in themselves. Christ taught his disciples to pray in this manner because each of the statements in the prayer pertains to a crucial element of our relationship to him.
We know that God will provide all of our needs; we know that we are not to worry because our heavenly father knows what we need before we even ask. God provides for the sparrows, not allowing one to fall apart from his knowledge, he clothes the flowers of the field, will he not provide for us also? If we are given these promises and are told to trust in him for the sustenance of our bodies, why are we told to ask?
Nathanael Szobody on Ephesians 1:9-11 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
God’ will is indeed a mystery, but he is making it known to us! When we pray that his will be done we are asking that what he plans to do for all creation might be realized through us according to his revealed plan.
Nathanael Szobody on The Kingdom of heaven is not primarily refered to as the future return of Christ but the present and active work of his word through his people.
Nathanael Szobody on God’s name is used in scripture in reference to his relationship with his people. When we ask that God’s name be made holy, we ask that the relationship that he has established with his people might be set apart and recognized as great in the world.
Nathanael Szobody on How many times a week do you recite the Lord’s prayer? Got it? Ok, now how many times do you pray the Lord’s prayer? And is it really the Lord’s prayer or is it more accurately the disciples’ prayer?
It is important to understand the simple purpose of each of the petitions, as Luther’s Small Catechism teaches for example. But these petitions were not given so that we could get something from God as much as they were given as the gift of God in themselves. Christ taught his disciples to pray in this manner because each of the statements in the prayer pertain to a crucial element of our relationship to him.