Learn from the Ravens and Lilies

Meditations based on readings from

The Story of My Life As Told by Jesus Christ

November 27, 2019

Learn from the Ravens and Lilies

Page 199

Luke 12: 22-32

In today’s passage, Jesus very subtly introduces one of his greatest revelations about God. First some background. When God called Moses to lead the exodus, God revealed His name to Moses. However, in the following generations the Hebrews so revered God they would not speak or write God’s name. When writing God’s name, they used four consonants; YHWH which is generally rendered in our Bibles as, LORD. Over time other people inserted vowels so as to pronounce the name of God: YAHWEH. This word was later transliterated into Jehovah.

At the beginning of the passage, Jesus refers to God caring for His creation. Then Jesus becomes more personal and begins referring to God as “your Father.” Jesus personalized God, from being a distant power to a close, loving parent. It is one thing to believe in the God who created heaven and earth, it is another to trust God your Father with the care of your life. Jesus is calling his disciples to follow him into a close, personal, trusting relationship with their Heavenly Father, a relationship that will shape and transform every aspect of their lives.

The Psalms shaped Jesus’ prayer life and helped him grow in his intimacy with God. We too can make a transition from referring to God in a distant manner to knowing Him as our Father, our Abba. A very good place to begin is Psalm 23. Here is the Psalm, with minor changes that reflect personal intimacy.

Heavenly Father, You are my shepherd and I have all that I need. Thank You for making me to lie down in green pastures and for leading me beside the still waters. You are restoring my soul as You lead me in the paths of righteousness for Your sake. Even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in your house forever. Amen

My Takeaway: “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory” (Romans 8:15-17a).

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Copyright © 2019 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

• Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

• The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.