Search & Rescue Mission

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’”

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

—Luke 19: 1-10

Miracle-Gro

Hey, can I get some too?

Where you at?

Dependable Worker

"Where there is belief in the living God, who acts and intervenes in human life and who can be trusted to implement his promises, hope in the specifically biblical sense becomes possible."

—New Bible Dictionary, IVP, 3rd Edition

Hope for Greg & Lourine

Hope in his Unfailing Love

{Delight, according to the dictionary, is a surprisingly strong word; it's defined as a high degree of pleasure or enjoyment; joy; rapture. Apparently God is pretty excited here.}

Hope for Future Praising

Hope for Sanctification

Picture Prayer: Psalm 86

My Heart is not Synched with my Hope

Suffering —> Hope

Just guessing here...I don't really understand this bit. But I think the verses are important ones on the subject of hope, so I at least wanted to think about them.

Therefore, Hope = Not Having What You Want

He Will?

The definition in the previous post I came to by comparing what several dictionaries had to say on the topic. Here I attempted to see how the Bible responded to that definition. I think I got a pretty clear cut response in this verse.

Wait, What is Hope?

Picture Prayer: Ehpesians 1

Recipe for Hope

Where Does Hope Come From?

Picture Prayer: Psalm 90

Time Out

Taking a break in the Lord's Prayer series to do some reassessing. This Christianity thing is not very easy for those of us not raised in or skilled at having conversation with invisible folk, and consequently it is easy for the whole shebang to feel like a huge sham. Unfortunately, feelings do not necessarily indicate objective truth, so I'm going to go the route of reading some of the stuff I haven't gotten to on my bookshelf. Stay tuned...

Monumental Honor

...hallowed be thy name.

—Matthew 6:9

Can I Get a Muffin? With Chocolate Chips?

Our Father, who art in Heaven...

—Matthew 6:9


{inspiration from a sermon by Tim Keller}

Outside of Time

Our Father, who art in Heaven...

—Matthew 6:9

Micro-Sustaining Creation

Our Father, who art in Heaven...

—Matthew 6:9

cf. Psalm 104: 13—16:
He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;
the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work.
He makes grass grow for the cattle,
and plants for man to cultivate—
bringing forth food from the earth:
wine that gladdens the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine,
and bread that sustains his heart.
The trees of the Lord are well watered,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

Sustaining Creation

Our Father, who art in Heaven...

—Matthew 6:9

cf. Psalm 104: 24—28: 
How many are your works, O Lord!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
[...]
These all look to you
to give them their food at the proper time.
When you give it to them,
they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.

The Elements are Subject to his Command

who art in Heaven...

—Matthew 6:9

Large & In Charge

Our Father, who art in Heaven...

—Matthew 6:9

{cf. Psalm 104:32—
...he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,
who touches the mountains, and they smoke. }

Considerable Leverage

Our Father, who art in Heaven...

—Matthew 6:9

{cf. Psalm 104:32—
...he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,
who touches the mountains, and they smoke. }

Composer of the Cosmos

Our Father, who art in Heaven...

—Matthew 6:9

{cf. Psalm 104:5—He set the earth on its foundations...}

Heaven: Where God is Hanging Out

Our Father, who art in Heaven...

—Matthew 6:9

Checking the Closet for Monsters {He Calms our Fears}

Our Father...

—Matthew 6:9

cf. Philippians 4:6:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Imparting Wisdom

Our Father...

—Matthew 6:9

Makes His Children Beautiful

Our Father...

—Matthew 6:9

Bath Time: Washing Away Sin

Our Father...

—Matthew 6:9

Willing to Deal With the Dirty

Our Father...

—Matthew 6:9

cf. Romans 3: 10—18:
There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.
Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.
The poison of vipers is on their lips.
Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.
Their feet are swift to shed blood;
ruin and misery mark their ways,
and the way of peace they do not know.
There is no fear of God before their eyes.

& Romans 5:8:
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Spare the Rod, Schmuck-ify the Child

Our Father...

—Matthew 6:9

cf. Hebrews 12:7—11:
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Helping With the Chores

Our Father...

—Matthew 6:9

cf. Ephesians 2:10:
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Healing of Boo-Boos

Our Father...

—Matthew 6:9

cf. Revelation 21:4:
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

Provider of Sustenance

Our Father...

—Matthew 6: 9

Help for the Prayer-Impaired

This, then, is how you should pray...

—Matthew 6: 9

A Master Class in Prayer

This, then, is how you should pray...

—Matthew 6: 9

God: Not a Last-Minute Shopper

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

—Matthew 6: 8

Child-Proof Prayer

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

—Matthew 6: 8

My Head is Cold

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

—Matthew 6: 8

Pumped Full of Air

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

—Matthew 6:7

Flowery Prayer

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

—Matthew 6: 5—6

Not Afraid of the Dark

...and lead me in the way everlasting.

—Psalm 139: 24