- araratchurch
- Jul 7, 2025
- 2 min read
20 “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father 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 forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
Matthew 6:9-13 NKJV
Paul had made plans concerning visiting the church at Corinth. Apparently, he had changed his plans as to when he was going to visit the church. It seems that his change of plans caused him to be accused of saying one thing and meaning another.
Paul—in defending his decision-making process—wants to make clear to the Corinthians that he does not talk out of both sides of his mouth. To prove this point he makes a comparison of his attitude with that of God’s attitude concerning His promises to us.
“As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.”
2 Corinthians 1:18-20 ESV
Think of it: Through Jesus Christ, God has said yes to all of His wonderful promises to us. We have but to add our agreement by offering our amen!
Make no mistake, God’s word is trustworthy. After all, His word is truth. As the Lord instructed Balaam to tell Balak:
“This was the message Balaam delivered: “Rise up, Balak, and listen! Hear me, son of Zippor. God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?”
Numbers 23:18-19 NLT
We can be certain that if we ask Him in accordance with His will, He will hear and answer.
As we come to the conclusion of our consideration of the Lord’s Prayer, we are left with but one word yet to say: “Amen.”
Indeed, saying amen indicates our agreement with, our affirmation of, what has preceded that declaration. And, we definitely can confidently agree with a prayer offered from the mouth of our Lord!
Child of God, the Lord’s Prayer is a gift to us from our Lord. I pray our time spent making a careful examination of this model prayer will enrich your own prayer life.
Just remember: We can be sure that if we pray a prayer the Lord has given us to pray, believing that He hears us, that prayer will be effectual.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Jul 5, 2025
- 2 min read
“In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father 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 forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
Matthew 6:9-13 NKJV
A survey of world history will reveal that many empires, many kingdoms have come and gone.
The Roman Empire, the largest empire in world history, came and is now gone.
The Mongol Empire, trophy of Genghis Khan, and the largest contiguous empire in world history, came and is now gone.
The Ottoman Empire, once devouring nations and peoples across three continents, came and is now gone.
The British Empire, of which it was once said that “The sun never sets on the British Empire” (due to its spreading across seven continents), came and is now gone.
Among the host of empires that have come and gone, Armenia, my heritage from my father, once spread from the Caspian sea to the Mediterranean Sea. But Armenia is now relegated to a small fraction of the territory that used to be under its flag.
Yes, as we have often referenced: In Daniel‘s interpretation to the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, we see that all the kingdoms of this world will one day be conquered by the eternal Kingdom of God.
“And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.””
Daniel 2:44-45 NKJV
As the psalmist declares, the Kingdom of our God will be forever!
“The Lord is king forever and ever! The godless nations will vanish from the land.”
Psalms 10:16 NLT
In today’s consideration of the Lord‘s prayer, we look at just one word: “forever.”
As the prayer is coming to a close, the Lord instructed these words: “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.”
Yes, great kingdoms of this world had their glorious days yet are now on the trash heap of history. But the Kingdom of our God, His glorious rule, will abide forever!
“Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!””
Revelation 11:15 NKJV
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Jul 4, 2025
- 4 min read
“In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father 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 forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
Matthew 6:9-13 NKJV
We are told that Lucifer was perfect when he was created.
“Then this further message came to me from the Lord: “Son of man, sing this funeral song for the king of Tyre. Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord: “You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and exquisite in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Your clothing was adorned with every precious stone— red carnelian, pale-green peridot, white moonstone, blue-green beryl, onyx, green jasper, blue lapis lazuli, turquoise, and emerald— all beautifully crafted for you and set in the finest gold. They were given to you on the day you were created. I ordained and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian. You had access to the holy mountain of God and walked among the stones of fire. “You were blameless in all you did from the day you were created until the day evil was found in you. Your heart was filled with pride because of all your beauty. Your wisdom was corrupted by your love of splendor. So I threw you to the ground and exposed you to the curious gaze of kings. All who knew you are appalled at your fate. You have come to a terrible end, and you will exist no more.””
Ezekiel 28:11-15, 17, 19 NLT
Even though created perfect, he let his own beauty go to his head, causing him to think that he could actually take the place of the Almighty God.
““How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. For you said to yourself, ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.’ Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths. Everyone there will stare at you and ask, ‘Can this be the one who shook the earth and made the kingdoms of the world tremble?”
Isaiah 14:12-16 NLT
We know how Lucifer‘s attempt to usurp God ended, and will end. Ultimately, he will be cast into the lake of fire, to be forever tormented.
“Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
Revelation 20:10 NLT
As well, there is a very unusual story told in the Act of the Apostles concerning the death of Herod.
“Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they sent a delegation to make peace with him because their cities were dependent upon Herod’s country for food. The delegates won the support of Blastus, Herod’s personal assistant, and an appointment with Herod was granted. When the day arrived, Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to them. The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!” Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died.”
Acts 12:20-23 NLT
We see that Herod accepted the worship of the people. As a result, he was instantly stricken down.
In the book of Isaiah, we see the Lord saying that He would not let the enemies of Israel ultimately be victorious over Israel. He states that He will rescue them because He does not want people to be able to say that they had won over His people such that they would receive glory due only to the Name of the Lord.
“Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.”
Isaiah 48:10-11 ESV
Now, think of this: Whereas those who try to take the glory due only to God to themselves end very badly (as we saw with Lucifer and Herod), those who are His children, those who are obedient to Him, can share in His glory through Jesus Christ.
“And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.”
Romans 8:17-18 NLT
Yes, as followers of Christ we have the wonderful promise of one day sharing in the glory of God!
On Day 15 we discussed the fact that after having made our request known to the Lord, we turn the attention back to God, giving Him glory.
In today’s portion of the Lord‘s Prayer we consider the statement: “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory . . . .” Here we proclaim that God has the authority to rule the Kingdom, the strength or might to rule the Kingdom, and as such, He should receive all the glory.
Additionally, we give more gratitude and thanks that He shares all of His wonderful attributes with His children.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!