We started thinking yesterday on the Lord’s Prayer as recorded in Luke 11.1 – 4 in The Passion Translation. Here it is, word for word, just with bullets added to set off the six (in this translation) requests:

One day, as Jesus was in prayer, one of his disciples came over to him as he finished and said, “Would you teach us a model prayer that we can pray, just like John did for his disciples?” So Jesus taught them this prayer: 

• “Our heavenly Father, may the glory of your name be the center on which our life turns.
• May your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us.
• Manifest your kingdom on earth.
• And give us our needed bread for the coming day.
• Forgive our sins as we ourselves release forgiveness to those who have wronged us.
• And rescue us every time we face tribulations.”

Today’s meditation is on the second request:

May your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us. (Luke 11.2, Passion Translation)

This request is not in most translations. The Passion translator’s footnote says that it’s found in several of the oldest Greek manuscripts.

Cleansing. When I first read this I was in the process of pressure washing my driveway, preparing it for sealing. I knew some parts were very dirty, and it was fun to see them come clean. Other parts didn’t look all that dirty UNTIL the pressure spray hit them. And there it was: a clean streak showing that the area around it was, in fact, also needing…cleansing.

God cares about cleansing and provides us multiple means. Check out these verses, emphases mine:

• May your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us. (Luke 11.2, Passion Translation)
• But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1.7, ESV)
• Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. (John 15.3, ESV)
• …Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word… (Ephesians 5.25, 26, ESV)

I’ve been meditating lately on the Lord’s Prayer as recorded in Luke 11.1 – 4 in The Passion Translation. Here it is, word for word, just with bullets added to set off the six (in this translation) requests:

One day, as Jesus was in prayer, one of his disciples came over to him as he finished and said, “Would you teach us a model prayer that we can pray, just like John did for his disciples?” So Jesus taught them this prayer: 

• “Our heavenly Father, may the glory of your name be the center on which our life turns.
• May your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us.
• Manifest your kingdom on earth.
• And give us our needed bread for the coming day.
• Forgive our sins as we ourselves release forgiveness to those who have wronged us.
• And rescue us every time we face tribulations.”

Over the next few days I may write a little something on each of these, beginning now with the first one:

May the glory of your name be the center on which our life turns. (Luke 11.2, Passion Translation)

Here was my impression: it’s beautiful, but what would that look like? Then I realized, it’s a prayer! I don’t have to know what it looks like! All I have to do is pray it, and maybe over time, God will show me what that looks like in my life.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5.16, NIV)

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3.18, NIV)

I hope you saw Wesley’s rules for voting from yesterday’s blog. They are worth another look:

Wesley’s rules, written in 1774, are as appropriate today as then.

• Vote for the person you judge most worthy
• Speak no evil of the person you voted against
• Take care your spirits are not sharpened against those that voted on the other side

Today, Seth Godin’s blog echoes the theme. Here it is in its entirety:

You can be agreeable without agreeing. In fact, most of the time, we’d rather spend time with people who have a different point of view but are willing to be agreeable nonetheless. It’s far better than the alternative. – Seth Godin, October 9, 2020

I repeat Paul’s instruction to Timothy from last week’s blog about Kindness and Thoughtful Listening:

Stay away from all the foolish arguments of the immature, for these disputes will only generate more conflict. For a true servant of our Lord Jesus will not be argumentative but gentle toward all and skilled in helping others see the truth, having great patience toward the immature. Then with meekness you’ll be able to carefully enlighten those who argue with you so they can see God’s gracious gift of repentance and be brought to the truth. This will cause them to rediscover themselves and escape from the snare of Satan who caught them in his trap so that they would carry out his purposes. (2 Timothy 2.23 – 26, Passion Translation)

Some things are too good not to share. My friend, Dr. Bob Kaylor, lead pastor of Tri-Lakes United Methodist Church, and a leader in the Wesley Covenant Association, has led his church to produce the best election yard sign ever. Wait for it…

These rules, written in 1774, are as appropriate today as then.

• Vote for the person you judge most worthy
• Speak no evil of the person you voted against
• Take care your spirits are not sharpened against those that voted on the other side

And if you think they’re not appropriate because, after all, “our side” represents the will of God and anyone disagreeing can’t possibly be following Jesus, please see my blog Following Jesus? written on January 7, 2020.

Pastor Kaylor’s purpose in producing these signs is to “…inject some wisdom, civility, and compassion into the [political] conversation.” A worthy goal. If you want to order signs for yourself or your church, please go here.

Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. (Romans 12.16, NIV)

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. (Romans 13.1, NIV)

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor. (1 Peer 2.13 – 17, NIV)

I love it when things and people work as you want them to! After my friend Henry’s warning of a dishwasher shortage when I reported my dishwasher breakdown back on September 18 (see comment), I was mildly concerned. But when the repairman told me how much to fix the existing washer, I opted for a new one (if I could find one!). The lady at Home Depot couldn’t have been nicer, and we found a dishwasher with the #1 criterion: in stock. 10 days later, two nice young men delivered and installed the new one, and everything works.

And works is the key word. A team of people had to build the machine (with materials provided by other teams). Home Depot had to have a system in place for finding it, paying for it, and scheduling delivery. Then the delivery/installation guys had to know what they were doing. All had a good attitude. They acted like they enjoyed their work, and I hope they know they were performing a useful and important service. Because even though we can and did get along without a dishwasher, we are thankful to have one again!

God looked over everything he had made; it was so good, so very good! It was evening, it was morning— Day Six. (Genesis 1.31, MSG)

Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life…Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s given and delighting in the work. It’s God’s gift! (Ecclesiastes 5.18, 19, MSG, emphasis mine)

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5.18, NKJV)

I’ve been thinking a lot about MARGIN and its importance in doing what God wants us to do. And in the spirit of “give a small boy a hammer and everything looks like a nail” I’m seeing margin in this familiar story:

As Jesus and the disciples continued on their journey, they came to a village where a woman welcomed Jesus into her home. Her name was Martha and she had a sister named Mary. Mary sat down attentively before the Master, absorbing every revelation he shared. But Martha became exasperated by finishing the numerous household chores in preparation for her guests, so she interrupted Jesus and said, “Lord, don’t you think it’s unfair that my sister left me to do all the work by myself? You should tell her to get up and help me.” The Lord answered her, “Martha, my beloved Martha.Why are you upset and troubled, pulled away by all these many distractions? Are they really that important? Mary has discovered the one thing most important by choosing to sit at my feet. She is undistracted, and I won’t take this privilege from her.” (Luke 10.38 – 42, Passion Translation)

I have often used this as an application of priorities: Mary had hers right, and Martha didn’t. But it could also be viewed through the lens of margin. Martha was living with no margin. “We have a lot to do, and it has to be done NOW!” Jesus and Mary are living with margin. “All that stuff will get done eventually, but we need to talk right now.” Both Mary and Martha are in the same situation, but Mary chooses to believe she has margin (time) to talk with Jesus.

I shared this observation with my friend, Montgomery, Alabama-based lobbyist and licensed local pastor Pat McWhorter, the other day, and Pat told me a story that went something like this:

I was accompanying an Alabama judge on a trip. We were in the Phoenix airport, I think, changing planes, and we were walking quickly through the concourse. Suddenly, the judge took a hard left, nearly knocking me over since I was on his left. Turns out there was a young mother bending over her baby in a stroller, and the mother and baby were in some kind of distress. The judge went over to see if he could help. The judge could have been like me, intent on catching our flight, thinking about his upcoming meetings with CEOs and other high-level officials, but he saw someone in need and stopped.

Pat attributed the judge’s action to his compassion and the fact that his antenna was up for what was going on around him. I would also add margin. Like Mary and Martha, Pat and the judge were in the same situation: in the airport with a plane to catch. Pat, like Martha, assumed no margin. The judge lived as if he had margin to help people. 

Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. (John 9.1, MSG)

Passing along, Jesus saw a man at his work collecting taxes. His name was Matthew. Jesus said, “Come along with me.” Matthew stood up and followed him. (Matthew 9.9, MSG)

I recently read the Good Samaritan story during my morning time with God (Luke 10.25 – 37), and I recalled the modern-day experiment retold in Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point. Here’s part of a summary by another blogger:

In the experiment, seminary students were each asked to prepare a short talk on a biblical theme and then walk over to another building on campus to present it to a group of undergrads.  In between the two buildings, the researchers placed an actor dressed as a derelict, slumped down in an alley, coughing and groaning. They then watched to see if the seminary students would stop and help the man or not on the way to giving their theological presentations…It didn’t really matter if the seminarians were presenting a talk on the Good Samaritan or whether they went into ministry primarily to help out humanity or not. The only thing that mattered is whether or not they were in a hurry. To one group of students, the experimenters would casually say, “It will be a few minutes before they’re ready for you, but you might as well head over now.” To the other group they would look at their watches and say, “Oh, you’re late. They were expecting you a few minutes ago.” In the group that thought they had plenty of time, 63 percent stopped to help the man. In the hurried group, only 10 percent stopped to help. –Mike O’Quinn, March 2, 2017, emphasis mine

The primary application is “context.” When the context was “hurry,” few stopped. In our case, our hurry kills margin. And with no margin we’re sometimes disobedient to our most fundamental calling of loving our neighbor (the context of The Good Samaritan). Maybe that’s why Dallas Willard is often quoted as saying,

You need to ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life. -Dallas Willard

That brings us to Jesus’ lifestyle of margin. He never seemed to be in a hurry. Jesus stopped to heal a woman while on the way to help someone’s daughter. (Luke 8.40 – 56) Jesus seemed to have margin all the time. Here’s a story that starts with Jesus leaving Judea for Galilee  by way of Samaria (John 4.3, 4), and it ends with his spending two days in a Samaritan village:

Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word.  (John 4.39 – 41, ESV, emphasis mine)

When Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem for the last time to do something VERY important, he still had time for Zacchaeus:

And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” (Luke 19.5, ESV)

I say that not because I’m a fan of the Russian space program, but because I remember the day well, and since I was in the space operations business in the Air Force, tracking Sputnik’s successors, it’s a day we celebrate in our family!

Last year’s Sputnik Day blog featured sanitation technology sponsored by Bill Gates. This year we need to pray for a different kind of technology: the scientists who are developing the COVID-19 vaccine. Interestingly, Bill and Melinda Gates have an interest in that too.

I applaud the efforts of everyone, but, as always, our real help comes from God who may work through anyone he chooses.

He said, “If you listen carefully to the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.” (Exodus 15.26, NIV)

Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. (Psalm 91.3, NIV)

It’s all about power, isn’t it? All the political wrangling whether it’s about the potential validity of election results or who sits on the Supreme Court, people, parties, coalitions, are all jockeying for power. That was the problem with the debate, wasn’t it? And according to an article I read recently, it has always been thus, in the US all the way back to the transition between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Here’s how it starts:

If you want to know the roots of the country’s present polarization over the Supreme Court, we have to go back. No, not to the contentious hearings for Brett Kavanaugh two years ago, nor to Sen. McConnell’s decision to deny a hearing or confirmation vote to Merrick Garland, who was President Obama’s 2016 pick to replace Justice Scalia. We must go even farther back than the drama of the Clarence Thomas hearing in 1991 or the attacks on Robert Bork’s character in 1987.The real point of origin is one of the first judicial controversies in the history of the American republic, decided in the landmark 1803 Supreme Court case of Marbury v. Madison. If you think judicial politics is polarizing and opportunistic now, consider what John Adams and his partisan allies did in the closing days of his one and only presidential term. Why We fight so Ferociously over the Court, by David French, Wall Street Journal, September 26, 2020

I had all this in my head when I read this text:

However, your real source of joy isn’t merely that these spirits submit to your authority, but that your names are written in the journals of heaven and that you belong to God’s kingdom. This is the true source of your authority.” Then Jesus, overflowing with the Holy Spirit’s anointing of joy, exclaimed, “Father, thank you, for you are Lord Supreme over heaven and earth! You have hidden the great revelation of this authority from those who are proud, those wise in their own eyes, and you have shared it with these who humbled themselves. Yes, Father. This is what pleases your heart and the very way you’ve chosen to extend your kingdom: to give to those who become like trusting children.. (Luke 10.20, 21, Passion Translation, emphasis mine)

It’s about God’s Kingdom, not our petty little kingdoms. 

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?… Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust…. All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. (Isaiah 40.12,15, 17, ESV, emphasis mine)

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. (Psalm 2.1 – 4, ESV)

I wasn’t sure I was going to comment on the “debate” this week, but Heather Holleman’s reaction, along with her Penn State students, was too good not to share:

Today, everyone in class agreed that nobody really listened to each other during the first presidential debate. We all agreed, for once, that we miss civility and civic discourse. We miss kindness and thoughtful listening. My students tell me that nobody won the debate; we all lost.

Ironically, we all feel more united because of this common enemy of hatred, insult, and rude behavior on both sides of the debate. A rare moment of togetherness! – Heather Holleman, September 30, 2020

I like that she made something positive out of it: togetherness!

Here was my reaction:

The biggest problem is that no one is setting an example of decent behavior. We’re endorsing a culture of shouting each other down. The whole primary debate scenario for Republicans in 2016 and Democrats in 2020 was a shouting match. 

Stay away from all the foolish arguments of the immature, for these disputes will only generate more conflict. For a true servant of our Lord Jesus will not be argumentative but gentle toward all and skilled in helping others see the truth, having great patience toward the immature. Then with meekness you’ll be able to carefully enlighten those who argue with you so they can see God’s gracious gift of repentance and be brought to the truth. This will cause them to rediscover themselves and escape from the snare of Satan who caught them in his trap so that they would carry out his purposes. (2 Timothy 2.23 – 26, Passion Translation) – I am well aware that the target for this instruction was a pastor, not politicians; however, why not everyone?