Our culture knows the Lord’s Prayer from movies, locker rooms, hospitals, masses, worship services, funerals, and turbulent flights. It’s a cultural default prayer that we use when we want to pray but we don’t have the words to pray conversationally.

We often forget that the Lord’s Prayer reveals a powerful outline and a radical message about prayer that we tend to forget. Most Christians pray for God to work. But prayer is God working on you.

I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time- waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God- it changes me.

C.S. Lewis

That’s what the Lord’s Prayer does. It is intended to help us refocus our priorities around the movement of God.

James, the brother of Jesus, tells us, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” If you want to stop praying wrongly, follow the outline and revolutionary model we call the Lord’s Prayer.

Here are its 8 movements.

Movement 1: “Hallowed be thy name”

God is the focus of our prayer. It changes us because we have perspective. You are not God. His name is set apart from all the other names. In an OMG world we have forgotten how holy God’s name is.

God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
Exodus 3:14-15

Most live their lives promoting their own name and tribe. The Christ-follower promotes God’s name because she realizes that it is the only name worth promoting.

“Humility is nothing but the disappearance of self in the vision that God is all.”

― Andrew Murray, Humility

Lord may I disappear for Thy glory!

Moment 2: “Thy Kingdom Come”

It’s not “take me to the Kingdom.” It is bring the kingdom to me. So many of our hymns and songs focus on that glad morning sweet by and by when we all get to heaven on some bright and cloudless day when this life is over.

Jesus’ focus in the model prayer is for us to pray for the Kingdom to come to earth, not believers to enter heaven. Everyday our prayer and focus should be, “How could I make this world more like the Kingdom.”

Honestly, many of us forget what the Kingdom is like because we have been so focused on surviving the world and getting to Heaven.

Remember, the Kingdom is love, forgiveness, understanding, mercy, justice, compassion, and peace.

Movement 3: Your will be done.

Jesus invites our prayers to be immersed in absolute surrender to His will. It’s a surrender of your will to His.

“Doing the will of God leaves me no time for disputing about His plans.”

― George MacDonald

Our greatest prayer should be “Thy will be done.” It’s not a cop-out prayer. It’s a transformational prayer, giving God free access to every side ally of you life. We pray for the intention of God.

And beware, lest you be seen on the wrong side of God’s divine intention.

The repentant thief who died with Jesus on Calvary was far more perfect than the holy ones who had Him nailed to the cross.

Thomas Merton

Movement 4: Give us this day our daily bread.

The focus is the present. It’s not on tomorrow’s provision or need. How often have I missed the feast of today while stockpiling fortification for tomorrow.

Movement 5: Forgive us our trespassers as we forgive our trespassers.

Life is all about reconciliation. It’s the true communion of our daily walk. We walk in freedom which ultimately allows us to forgive. Love and forgiveness hold hands throughout eternity. Do we think we can succeed in the journey with bitterness tagging along with us?

“In the evening of life we shall be judged on love.” Madeleine L’Engle

Movement 6: Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

From the moment we begin our journey, we are enrolled in spiritual rehab. It’s where we live. Jesus leads the program and our quest is deliverance. Everyone you know is in recovery from something. And if they think they are fully recovered they are a recovering Pharisee.

Movement 7:  For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever.

We surrender to Him. It’s His kingdom not ours. It’s His power not ours. It’s His glory, not ours. This is a leveraging of every single shred of accomplishment, notoriety, achievement, account, and glory over to Him. It transfers the ownership of everything from our house, to our head, to our heel to the Kingdom of God.

Movement 8: Amen “So let it be.”

Growing up, I thought “Amen” was Hebrew for “open your eyes. Prayer is over.” Seriously though, Amen is not a cue, a cheer, or a religious way of approving a statement. Amen is dynamic. It  links us to God. It’s a covenant stamp between God and man. It’s saying, everything that I just talked to You about I am willing to live, claim, and represent today.

The Lord’s Prayer is a reminder that

The Journey isn’t about

• Being impressive
• Being happy all the time
• Getting as much stuff as you need in order to feel safe.
• Hanging out with the right crowd.
• Knowing all the right answers.
• Filling out all the check boxes.

It is about being a fully devoted in every aspect of life to the One who gives us everything we need.

Worship changes us. However it begins with letting go. We worship best when we empty ourselves. That’s the mystery of worship. We must find ways to completely abandon our self-importance. It’s a paradigm that is opposite of “show business.” Amazingly we seem to get the two paradigms confused. Worship is mystery. Not agendas, not strategy, and certainly not business. It’s the mighty confession that we are totally at His mercy and covered by His beloved grace. It’s not a celebration of glitz. It is a celebration of brokenness. Worship is a rehearsal for eternity.

A.W. Tozer said it like this:

“No one who knows Him intimately can ever be flippant in His presence.”

We worship a God who changes everything. He apprehends our destiny and forges new trails in our lives. In the midst of our brokenness, like holy putty put in the eyes of a blind man, we are only asked to be still and obedient to the instructions. I often lose the simplicity of transformation. I can’t transform myself any more than I can jump to the moon. It’s surrender to something bigger than me. I must jump in the rocket and hold on. Even though I can’t do it on my own I have to acknowledge that he is changing me constantly. We can either be changed by worship or we refuse to worship and we can be changed by life. When we’re changed by life, it’s rarely for the good. Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, was changed by life.  I read her words in the book of Ruth and I am reminded of people I know who share her experience: “Don’t call me Naomi. Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me.  I went away full, but the Lord has brought me home empty.” Suffering through the death of her husband and both of her sons, she echoed a deep sense of hopelessness and yet God wasn’t through with Naomi, even though it seemed as if she was through with God.

Worship is a relentless act of engaging God.  We take the focus off of ourselves and cry out to the one who gave us the breath to cry out. As a worship leader I realize that there can be no pretences, no masks, and no bartered exchanges. It must come from deep in our bones or it is nothing. It’s like serving make-believe food or wearing the emperor’s new clothes. It’s shallow, trite, and powerless. It’s lukewarm water and baby food bland. But as painful as it is, when we come broken before Him privately he comes to us in the sanctuary of worship. When I honestly engage Him, He engages me. Remember the night long rough and tumble bout of Jacob fighting God’s ambassador. At the end of the night before the sun rose again, this otherworldly man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.”

God changes us when we come into His presence. He changed Simon to Peter, Abram to Abraham, and Saul to Paul. Each name changed in a time of clarity and sudden unexpected worship. Every weekend we have the same people coming into our places of worship. Their names are wounded, worried, hopeless, doubting, skeptical, broken, trite, distracted and weary.  As you read their names, I would bet you know their faces! But something happens when we gather together. When God is exalted our names begin to change. We look around and see the faces now hopeful, trusting, peaceful, submissive, humbled and blessed. At least that’s what we pray would happen. And when it does we can say to each other. This is church. This is worship. As you consider how to meet God in worship consider these 10 truths of worship.

1. Worship must begin privately before it is experienced publicly.
2. Worship is your gift to God. If you don’t participate in the worship you attend you are disgracing His presence.
3. Worship requires you to find the experience that allows you to express your love to God authentically.
4. No matter what style or genre of worship you experience, if its boring it’s not of God.
5. Worship is all about change. If you expect things to stay the same in worship you might be experiencing something that is self-defeating.
6. Worship should touch the logical, emotional, and supernatural.
7. Worship must be vernacular. We should not have to enter a past era to experience worship.
8. Worship is personal. Worship is not a voyeuristic form of entertainment where we watch others connect with God but refuse to make it personal.
9. Worship is dangerous. We must approach it with a sense of awe, fear and expectancy.
10. Worship is eternal. Start enjoying Heaven today through worship.

A scripture reading that works well for Christmas or Easter.

Scriptures: Luke 2:6-14; 23:43; Mark 15:12-32; John 19:30

Reader 1: So it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

Reader 2: And Pilate answered them, What shall I do with this man you call King of the Jews? And they cried out, Crucify Him!

Reader 1: And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.

Reader 2: And they clothed Him in purple and fashioned a crown of thorns about His head.

Reader 1: And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night.

Reader 2: And they smote Him on the head with a reed and did spit upon Him, and bowing knees, worshiped Him.

Reader 1: And the angel said unto them, fear not, for I bring you good tidings of great joy that will be to all people.

Reader 2: And Jesus said unto him, truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.

Reader 1: For unto you is born in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord.

Reader 2: Likewise, the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, let this Christ King descend from the cross that we may see and believe. When Jesus, therefore, had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished. He bowed His head and He died.

Reader 1: And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace . . .

Download the Powerpoint!  14 Ways to Pray

St. Paul urges us to:

Rejoice always!
Pray constantly.
Give thanks in everything,
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians  5:16-18

Here are 14 prayer modes that allow us to pray always in all circumstances, all postures, and in every emotion of life. 

1. Together Prayers

When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak God’s message with boldness. Acts 4:31

2. Face-down prayers

Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD. 2 Chronicles 20:18

3. Hands lifted prayers

Ezra praised the LORD, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. Nehemiah 8:6

4. Silent Prayers

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Psalm 37:7

5. Closet Prayers

Surely You desire integrity in the inner self, and You teach me wisdom deep within.
Psalm 51:6

6. Walking Prayers

And he said to the people, “Go forward. March around the city and let the armed men pass on before the ark of the LORD.” Joshua 6:7

7. Fasting Prayers

And then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. Luke 2:37

8. Singing Prayers

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God,
Acts 16:25

9. Waking Prayers

Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 He told Samuel, “Go and lie down. If He calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.’” 1 Samuel 3:9

10. Warring Prayers

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 2 Corinthians 10:4

11. Enemy Prayers

“You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, Matthew 5:43-44

12. Groaning prayers

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. Romans 8:26

13. Weeping Prayers

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. (James 4:8–9)

14. Scripture Prayers

The LORD said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.”
Jeremiah 1:12

Download the Powerpoint!  14 Ways to Pray

1 Kings 8 records an historic worship experience. The Ark of the Covenant found its home. Smoke filled the temple. In fact we read this in verses ten and eleven:

When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD. And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple.

The presence of God was so thick that the priests couldn’t perform their service. Have you ever been in a worship service like the one these people experienced? Have you ever been in a worship service where the presence of God was so thick that you threw out the spread sheets, order of worship, the song lists and the music charts?

Often these rare moments happen during times of desperation and chaos- times when it seems like the rug has been pulled out from under us as worshipers. His presence, intense and transforming, catapults us into a deeper trust and realization. We come back to that adage that guides me to this day: “When Jesus is all you have; you realize He’s all you need.”

The grand opening and dedication of the temple reveals just a glimpse of God’s glory. God showed up in a dynamic and visceral way, defying the intellect of holy men. The glory of God invaded a temple made by human hands. It changed the climate. Smoke filled the house of God and the ministers threw in the towel. What need is there of ministers or worship plans when God shows up?

When God shows up, we inevitably realize He is eveything we need.

God’s power revisited the temple years later as a Man hung between heaven and earth for the sins of the world. Holy things happened once again. The veil of the temple that separated a Holy God from sinful man was torn from top to bottom. Graves were opened, the earth quaked and the truth of the gospel spread like wildfire. He is alive and indeed He is ALL to us!

What is even greater news? Bible teaches us that even as we pursue Him, He is on the hunt for us. And when we encounter Him, we are compelled to lay everything else down. This is the radical nature of Christianity. He pursues us and we are at his mercy. His name becomes both our refuge and our battle cry.   His holy flame cannot be quenched. His glory dwarfs anything that we could ever orchestrate. It is beyond any formula of success. His saving love is relentless and unstoppable.

My life is on the wheel

Earthbound clay

Molded

Wondering

Why are His hands changing me?

Poking, prodding, pounding (it feels like punishment sometimes)

Moisture pouring out of me.

His hands working,

With purpose

What is He creating in me?

What does He see?

Is there a purpose in the pain?

Stretching, sensing, swirling, struggling

I’m smaller than I used to be, it seems

Then taller beyond my clay of dreams

The wheel- still spinning

I’m dizzy with change

I feel like I’m going nowhere at light speed!

The wheel slows as his eyes scan my shell

And he sees it.

I was hoping that he’d over look it.

Halfway hoping he would cast me aside and move on to a more fitting lump of clay.

He pauses-

Divine rejection is what I feel. Rejection that He sees who I really am-

Broken, tainted, impure, unfinished

A catastrophic mess

Deeply wounded-

Punished by personal demons and false aspirations

He picks me up again and throws me back on the wheel.

This is not the way it’s supposed to be.

The Artist’s hands- rough and scarred

Still working- it hurts because I’m still me

Can I ever be what He wants me to be?

He’s smiling as He works through catastrophe.

I’m spinning again- Oh God what do you see?

The heat of the oven- birthplace of sanctity.

Above and beyond all treachery

That separated my soul from Thee

Burning, glazing, waiting straining

I stand before the Master of clay

I see Him in full not in part.

The Master artist king

Regaled in glory

I didn’t know it then but I know it now.

He saw me in that mound of clay

He recognizes me.

And- He SMILES. He smiles at me.

And now I see Him

My creator

Who walked me through the fire of earth

And now I see him

The redeemer of broken things

The shepherd of lost sheep

The all-things-new Messiah

Worthy is the lamb that was slain

Worthy  King of Castaways

The Potter

The masterpiece maker.

And we will see Him as He is.

And we will crown him.

King

Victor

Creator

Jesus

In awestruck wonder we will stand

His masterpiece of grace.

To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. Galatians 4:5

There’s a huge difference between employees in a demanding organization and a loving home of grace. And yet so often I confuse the two when I thinkof the Christian communitity. We often are intimidated by our sentences that end with the word “enough.”

• Not good enough
• Not strong enough
• Not smart enough
• Not pure enough.
• Not _______ enough….

Insufficiancy devestates strugglers. And we all struggle.

Paul urged the Galatians to look beyond the legalistic, judgmental mindset into the strange and beautiful truth of God’s redeeming love. Paul’s passion for grace is astounding. And yet we still struggle with it.

No matter how hard I try, I just keep messing everything up! I thought it would be easier than this.

The revolutionary truth of Christianity is that we weren’t saved into a behavior modification program. We have not simply been improved. We have been adopted. Jesus didn’t come to see if you’re good enough, smart enough or together enough. He came to reserve a seat at the family table for you.

This truth changes everything. Once we find our identity in Christ, He begins to do what we couldn’t do for ourselves- He transforms us. It doesn’t happen overnight, but as we lean into Him, Christ begins the process. We grow, we stumble, we fail and succeed, but we are never, ever disowned. No matter the struggles or obstacles we face, we are family.

Many years ago, I encountered a madman and he happened to be a pastor.  He hired lots of young, idealistic staff and questioned them at every turn. They would all eventually limp away from the church he pastored wounded, shrouded in shame, self-doubt and anger. The harder they worked and the more they succeeded on projects and relationships, the more brooding and vindictive he became.

Throughout the years I’ve encountered many madmen and a few madwomen. I’ve learned through the years that most of the time, fighting a madman isn’t worth the time. It’s often better to just focus on yourself lest you become one. And if I’m going to be totally honest, I am quite capable of being that madman.

Here are a few characteristics of a madman.

They are often high-energy players. They love to win and they refuse to admit when they make a mistake. Actually many madmen in our culture are uber-successful because of the win at any cost mentality. Even in the church, they can be crude, slanderous, bullying and willing to lie about anything in order to get what they want. The difficult thing for many people is that if that leader represents a worthy cause, those under him will often throw character issues out the window for the hope of the success the strong leader represents and promises.

• A madman is driven by accomplishment, not service.
• A madman will win at the expense of his integrity.
• A madman’s idol is personal authority.
• He is consumed with his own notoriety and sees enemies as people to be conquered.
• Although he may be seen as spiritual, in truth he spends little time alone with God.
• A madman will make “scene” and call it courageous.
• A madman communicates his dissatisfaction through emotional codes.
• The madman can always out-humiliate his enemies.
• These madmen look at life as black and white.”You are either for me or against me.”
• A Madman is unwilling to have a free and productive conversation because he or she believes, really believes that they are always right. And when you’re always right, you don’t have to apologize.

Paranoia saturates the environment of a madman. A madman often speaks of feelings of being lied about or persecuted, or believes in conspiracies against him. The madman will make accusations with little or no supporting evidence. They have a general distrust of others even their allies. A madman just says stuff, suggests stuff without anything to support his claims, as if saying something makes it a reality.

God scattered madmen throughout His word as a recurring reminder that if you dance with a madman, you will, in time, regret it.  Here are a few symptoms of the madman known as King Saul:

• Manipulating:

David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul’s officers as well.  1 Samuel 18:5

The madman will play the people in his life-like a game of chess. He embeds shadow missions and subplots into his decisions. The madman looks out for himself and the approval of the masses as he forgets his first desire, to serve and give glory to God.

• Envious of Applause:

When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. 7 As they danced, they sang:“Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”

Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?”1 Samuel 18:6-8

Envy is such an insidious state and no one is immune to it. Who hasn’t felt envy at an awards ceremony, or on Facebook, or at a performance? We all struggle with it, it’s just that some of us are a little further down the road of recovery than others.

• Outbursts of Rage

The madman is capable of volcanic anger. One moment you see a small puff of smoke and then the next moment, a virtual shower of lava. These moments of rage often happen privately and sometimes publicly. For the madman/pastor we sometimes see it from the pulpit and call it passion.

The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.

Proverbs warns us to beware.

Make no friendships with a man given to anger and with a wrathful man do not associate.  Proverbs 22:24

• Revenge thinking

Perhaps you’ve known of someone who found themselves as the punchline of someone else’s joke and then from that moment they were set on defeating that person. A madman will cultivate revenge for years. The truth is revenge is never really sweet. It doesn’t work.  But don’t tell the madman.

• Inducement

Now Saul’s daughter Michal was in love with David, and when they told Saul about it, he was pleased. “I will give her to him,” he thought, “so that she may be a snare to him and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law.”
1 Samuel 18: 20-21

The madman weaves a web using relationships as thread connecting everything back to himself.

• Repeated Strategies

Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night David made good his escape.

1 Samuel 19:9

The strategies repeat themselves over and over again through the life of a madman until he breaks apart or dies. Once a madman is broken, great things are ahead for the madman. It was too late for Saul. He never found his shalom he so desperately needed and truly wanted from time to time. We should take pity for the madman. He’s really not enjoying life. I have been that madman from time to time. It’s hard, complicated work.

The lesson I’m learning: Never fight a mad man, least you become one.

Be like David, who perhaps remembered the scripture he learned in Sabbath School: The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace and remain at rest.
Exodus 14:14

If you fear going mad (and we all should), please do these things:

1. Take a close look at your schedule.
2. Evaluate your activities with one other person.
3. Re-create your schedule based on God’s priorities and calling upon your life.
4. Commit your schedule to God every morning.
5. Finally, memorize the passage below:

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God,did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Philippians 2:1-8

Further Reading on Leadership Problems and Personalities

How to Solve Your People Problems by Alan Godwin

Safe People Cloud and Townsend

A Tale of Three Kings Gene Edwards

Look, this town is close enough for me to run to. It is a small place. Please let me go there—it’s only a small place, isn’t it?—so that I can survive.
Genesis 19:20

This peculiar story is tucked away in the post fire-and-brimstone train wreck of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot and his family dodge their way out of town when a directive from angels orders them to head for the mountains. Lot, as would seem to be his custom, would much prefer finding a more comfortable option–a town called Zoar, which means “little.”

God had a vision for Lot and there’s really no telling what that future might have been if Lot wholeheartedly accepted the challenge. God wanted him to run to the mountains but Lot bargained with God’s messengers. “Please let me go to Little.” The angels acquiesced. It’s as if they were saying. “OK. Have it your way. You go to Little and be little, but God made you for the mountains!”

Fear does lots of things to a person but perhaps the worst thing it does is that it often closes the door of opportunity.

• A guy avoids the mission trip to stay in a place where he feels more comfortable.
• A business owner passes on the chance to expand because the risk of failure is scary.
• A friend lets another opportunity to share his faith with a close friend because he fears rejection.

O Lot, what you could have been if you decided to choose God’s best! Eternity will leave some men smarting from the opportunities passed because they settled for a town called “Little!”

Some people give up early and settle for a humdrum life. Others never seem to learn, and so they flail away through a lifetime, becoming less and less human by the year, until the time they die there is hardly enough humanity left to compose a corpse.

Eugene Peterson

No matter what stage of life, what circumstance or relationships you’re struggling with, there’s always that decision to take the mountain or settle for just a little. You’ll never regret the mountain.

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
John 11:5

Some versions enclose this verse in parenthesis- almost as if John whispered under his breath, “Oh, by the way, Jesus loved these three people.”

I think to myself, doesn’t Jesus love everybody? But I doubt the verse would have as much power if John would say, “Oh by the way Jesus loved Martha, and her sister and Lazarus like he does everybody else.” The way John said it excites me, even though the syntax is clumsy and some could accuse John of overstating the obvious.

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

Let’s look at this verse closer. 

Now Jesus loved Martha.

• Jesus loves the people he rebukes.

It’s interesting to note that the timeline places this story after Martha’s conniption fit in the kitchen when she was left alone with the dirty dishes and Palmolive. Jesus rebuked her that day for obsessing over workload issues. The implication here is that Jesus loves those He rebukes. I feel the discipline of God often, but during those times I must remember that Jesus disciplines the ones He loves. So Jesus loves me. Trust me. He really loves me.

Jesus loved her sister.

• Jesus loves the annonymous.

John refers to Mary, but he doesn’t mention her name. Obviously, John knew Mary but perhaps he didn’t want to confuse the reader because there’s a trio of Marys in the Gospel narrative. Now if I were John I would have written, “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister, Mary and Lazarus.”

But no. Mary only gets a token “her sister” in the Book.

 This tells me that God loves the anonymous. The ones whose names will never appear in print. There is a blessing- a tremendous blessing in remaining hidden. We should thank God for hiddenness because in truth, there are real danger in the value of our name. Maybe we should pray in those moments that our names don’t appear in the credits of the latest event or ministry, “Lord, I really thank You for keeping my name hidden for another day.”

Jesus loved Lazarus.

• Jesus loves the sick.

And then there is Lazarus. At this point in the narrative, Lazarus is sick. Deathly ill… John says, Jesus loves Lazarus.

It’s so easy for Christians to:

• believe in karma
• and if we experience illness, that somehow it’s what we had coming
• and if Jesus really loved us then we wouldn’t be sick, disabled or isolated.

The words of the TV preachers echo through our being-“If you have enough faith, then you would be well. But this is not true. Jesus loved Lazarus.” Think about it. How much faith did Lararus have? Well, he died. A dead body can’t have faith. They’re dead! But Jesus has a mind of his own. He knows what he’s up to and He doesn’t need anybody’s help.

It think God would give us permission to add a couple of words to the end of this verse:

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus and (state your name).

I am so glad that Jesus loves me. That he loves the one He’s rebuking, the ones who remain anonymous and the ones who are sick. Chances are you’ll experience a couple of these this year. So remember this verse. You’ll need it. He loves you.