HERn's Blog

[HERn]

Give us this day our daily bread. . . Really?

I've been reading the beatitudes as part of my study of the gospel of Jesus and the Spirit caused me to meditate on this verse: "Give us this day our daily bread". I have never needed to pray asking God for my daily food, I have never needed to worry about getting enough food for myself or my family. When I pray this prayer it's mostly in thanks for the daily food that the Lord has always provided. The fact that our Lord encouraged His followers to pray for daily food suggests that at that time in Israel there were those who worried that there would be no food for their family the next day. A bit of investigation showed that in that place and time many people were day-laborers who relied on a day's wage to buy food for the next day. There were no government programs that provided a minimum amount of food for children and families. If the father had no labor the supply of food for the family was threatened.

What about today, are there people who desperately pray just to have daily food? I think about our brothers and sisters who are locked up in North Korean prisons with their entire families whose only crime was following our Lord Jesus Christ. I've heard that the only way out of those prisons is death, and that death mostly comes by starvation. I'm sure these saints pray desperately for their daily food, and I suspect their faith is challenged when their little children or elders die because their prayers are not answered. God could (and maybe He does, I don't know) send the equivalent of manna or perform some other miracle to bring them food. But, mostly Jesus uses His body to answer these kinds of needs and prayers. We really are the hands and feet of the Lord Jesus Christ that God uses to answer the prayers of the saints. So, how should we use our hands and feet? Is the Lord pleased if we use them to support, advance, and establish religious organizations that promote the teachings of a mere man rather the those of our Lord Jesus Christ? For me I'm going to inquire if there is a ministry that can get food, clothes and medicine to the saints in North Korean prisons. If there is no ministry, then God willing I am going to find out if there is a way to help get food, clothes, and medicine to the saints suffering there. Maybe God can use me to help answer a saint's simple prayer of "Give us this day our daily bread".

[HERn]

"Instant Family". . . Oh no you don't God!


Wife and I just watched "Instant Family" at the theater and boy did it tug my heart strings and draw a few tears from my eyes. It's about a young couple who didn't have kids who end up fostering and then adopting three siblings. We definately could relate. Previously we fostered three sibling brothers, other boys and a baby girl that we were finally able to adopt. She's 19 and still lives at home where we take care of some needs. While watching the film I felt my heart tugged towards opening our hearts and home to other children. We arent young, but have good health.

"Father God! What are you doing to me!" That was my prayer during the movie when the Spirit was moving my heart. I continued: "Hold on here Father, you know we have been through misery the last three years birthing our daughter into adulthood, you know we are emotionally drawn out living with a 90 year old parent and travelling to take care of other parents two hours away. You know we don't have a support group and we need more fellowship we haven't found yet. We are strung out and at our wits end!"

So, I told God that He needs to bring grace into my family life in these areas and others in order that we would have the capacity to honor that tug of the Spirit and fulfill James' exortation that true religion is to take care of the orphans and widows. I believe my Father is mature enough to receive the honest prayers of His children. Do you need to have a "Dutch Uncle" talk with your heavenly Father?