Everyday we are bombarded with information, messaging, images, requests, demands, and the list goes on. We fill ourselves up with food, drink, entertainment, comforts, and so many other things and in many ways we hope to make ourselves happy. In this final week of Airplane Mode we see that Jesus shows another way to be filled up and it starts with emptying out.
What do you do on the other side of forgiveness? Are there biblical boundaries to place? Is there a possibility of a stronger relationship on the other side? Let's explore what the Bible shares about how we proceed after forgiveness.
Unforgiveness can be described as a weight that we carry around long after an offense. When Jesus taught us the pattern of prayer, forgiveness plays a crucial role in our daily time with God. How much weight are you carrying and who do you need to forgive?
Is God only interested in the spiritual parts of my life? What about the things that I am concerned about, like paying my mortgage, cost of groceries, clothes... you know the everyday stuff. Does God care about that? As we continue to look at what Jesus says about prayer, we learn that God expects us to pray for "daily bread" or the resources we need to do what God wants us to.
Before we ask for the stuff we want. Before we tell God what we need. It's worth asking the question, does what we need line up with the stuff that is necessary to make a difference for God in the world today? Jesus said that we need to pray for God's Kingdom here on earth - what does that mean?
How can we trust God in prayer when things around us seem to be going all wrong? Is God good when things don't seem good? Let's look at three key things that Jesus shows us about prayer that reveal why God is trustworthy and good even when things don't seem good.
We are familiar with the idea or concept of prayer. Connecting with God when we have a need, an emergency, are at the end of our rope. Oftentimes we recognize that there is more but we don't know the steps to developing a prayer life that is MORE THAN a distress signal. Airplane Mode, disconnect to reconnect we see how Jesus instructs us to prepare ourselves for a prayer life that is more than urgency!