“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’ (Mat 6:7-13 NASB)
Journal,
The prophets spoke of God’s work of creation in two senses. One had to do with the original creation. The other had to do with a new creation to come. This new creation would deeply affect all of humanity. Out of the fallen race of Adam would come a new heavenly race, the family of God. These are the children who will inherit a new heaven and a new earth.
John wrote,
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Rev 21:1-2 NASB)
It is so important for believers to understand that the work of the cross was not to produce a new religion in the earth. What held Jesus to the cross was the promise of the heavenly children. It says,
“…for the joy set before Him, [He] endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Heb12:2
What was the joy set before Jesus? Hear again;
“Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me.” Heb2:13
The joy of the cross was the Father’s eternal children.
God promised Abraham that his descendants would be as the sand of the seashore and as the stars in the heavens.
The Lord spoke through Isaiah, saying,
“Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob; Jacob shall not now be ashamed, nor shall his face now turn pale; but when he sees his children, the work of My hands in his midst, they will sanctify My name, indeed they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.” (Isa29:22,23)
The Lord again spoke through Isaiah;
“Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, ‘Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons, and you shall commit to Me the work of My hands.’” Isa 45:11
The new creation would be the work of God’s hands. No man would have a part in it. Here is how it happened. Paul said,
“[God] raised us up with [Christ], and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.” Eph2:6,7
And again,
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Eph 2:10 NASB)
The heavenly children are given the name Christian.
It is from Jesus Christ that we derive our name ‘Christian’. Twice in Isaiah, God says His servants will be “called by another name.” Depending on the context, the Hebrew word for ‘called’ [qàrà] addresses a prophetic element; it means to be summoned, to be called, or, to be named. It often speaks of a divine oracle or a prophetic utterance.
We find its fulfillment in Acts 11:26, which says,
“For an entire year they met with the Church and taught considerable disciples; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”
Some like to say that the term ‘Christian’ came as a derision. I totally disagree. The name Christian came by way of an oracle of God. The name Christian signifies that God is in this person’s life in a very personal way.
Peter gives us insight into that name:
“If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.” (1Pe 4:14-16 NASB)
When Jesus described the new covenant children of God, He explains them as a prophetic people. He said,
“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive, for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”John 7:37,38
The new covenant children of God were all to be anointed with the Spirit of Christ. This anointing would reveal itself as ‘life’ flowing from their hearts. Children of sin would have death flowing from their lips.
So, we now have on this planet two kinds of humanity. There are the Adam-ites, and there are the Christ-ites. The latter group are the Christians. The former group needs to hear the good news sent from heaven, that they, too, may become Christ-ites.
Sometimes a picture story can illustrate truth as well as anything. Let me share once again the story of the eaglet who thought she was a chicken.
The Call of the Eagle’s Heartx
Somehow an eagle’s egg became mixed with a number of chicken eggs that had been set aside to be hatched. The little eaglet hatched right along with a brood of chicks. The eagle looked a bit different, but for all she knew she was just another chicken.
Yet something deep in the little eaglet’s heart was restless. She had this tugging in her heart that could not be explained. The eaglet kept stretching her wings. It made the other chicks look at her as an odd ball. But since chickens do very limited flying, the eaglet simply had to accept things as they were.
But it wasn’t just the stretching of her wings. For some strange reason she didn’t like the food that all the chickens were eating. (Sometimes this is what our religions sectarian chicken pens feed us. We were designed to feed on heavenly food.)
Now that was a real problem. All the other chickens continuously looked at the ground for bugs or corn or whatever they could find. But this growing young eagle just couldn’t keep her eyes off the sky.
So it happened. As was her habit, one day while looking up at the sky, behold the young eaglet saw some majestic birds soaring on the air currents. She couldn’t explain her feelings. Tears filled her eyes. Her heart strings were being tugged at. Who are those birds? They sure don’t look like chickens.
She could not get her mind off of the majestic birds. What kind of chickens were they? None of the chickens she knew could fly. In fact the farmer kept their wings clipped so that they could not fly. And it was getting close to the time for the young eagle’s wings to be clipped.
And that is when it happened. One of the majestic birds spotted the young eagle and flew down to check things out. The great eagle said, ‘What are you doing in that chicken pen?’ The young eagle said, ‘This is where all the chickens that I know, live.” The great bird said, ‘You are not a chicken. You are an eagle.’
Something just went off inside the young eagle’s heart. It was like an eruption of all her pent up emotions. She thought to herself, ‘Is it possible that I am not a chicken?!’
She began flapping her wings as hard as she could. Her feet lifted off the ground but not enough for flying. The majestic eagle said, ‘You are doing it wrong. Come here. Climb on my back. I’ll show you how its done.’
Boy was she nervous. On the majestic eagle’s back she climbed. He spread out his mighty pinions and with a lifting of his wings, off they soared, higher, and higher. The wind flushed through her feathers. How wonderful it felt.
The eagle spoke to the young eaglet and said, ‘Don’t be afraid. Its your turn. You were designed to fly.’ The majestic eagle suddenly did a backward flip and off into nothing went the young eagle. ‘I’m falling! I’m falling!’
‘No you aren’t. Just spread out your wings! You’ll see.’
She spread out her wings and instantly the wind beneath her wings began to lift her up, and fly she did. Upward and upward she flew. She soared and soared and soared. The young eaglet could not believe how easy it was to fly. And, oh the view. She could see forever. The young eagle could not get enough flying. On top of everything else, the eaglet had also found a great family of eagles to be with. They were just like her.
OK, so now you know the story of the eaglet who thought she was a chicken.
No, she never went back to the chicken pen. After all, she was an eagle and eagles are birds of majesty. They are designed to soar in the heavenly places.
That’s often the way it works. Heaven’s children don’t always realize just who they are in Christ, that they are heaven’s children. They get caught up in the vortex of some religion. Then along comes an eagle Christian and the stirring of the heart begins.
My advice – Don’t get trapped in a chicken coop. Rise up with the wings that the Lord has given you. God wants to fulfill the deepest longing of your heart.
God spoke through the prophet, saying,
“Yet those who wait [qavah – eager longing] for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” (Isa 40:31 NASB)
And it all has to do with God being your heavenly Father. Jesus did not pray rote prayers. Neither was He teaching us to pray rote prayers. He was teaching us Father consciousness.
Jesus did pray to His Father who is in heaven. Listen:
“Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You.'” (Joh 17:1 NASB)
Why not lift your eyes to heaven and learn to pray the way Jesus taught us to pray. (Not just a rote prayer but a prayer of acknowledging that God is your very own Father.) Ask Him to be glorified in your life. Tell Him how much you love Him and how much you love His Son.
Here is a song for your meditation and inspiration
Always in Christ,
Buddy
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