Tomorrow's Bread...Today.

How amazing that God gave us a model prayer,a form (not a formula) that we my fill in ourselves, providing us with a checklist of all the prayer essentials. It is found in Matthew 6 and is known as the Lord's prayer. I can't imagine God not answering the kind of prayer He showed us to pray, can you?

As I have looked through each part I have concluded that 'give us this day our daily bread' part doesn't seem to fit as well as all the other parts, each identifying major spiritual issues, like: Honoring and revering God -'hallowed by Your Name', laying hold of the heavenly realm -'Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven', the huge issue of the relationship of forgiving to being forgiven -'forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors', being kept from temptation beyond our endurance -'and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one', concluding with this overarching faith proclamation -'For Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever, Amen'. To me it almost sounds like in the middle of the prayer form we are saying, 'and by the way, while you are helping me with all of these major spiritual issues, don't forget my sandwich please'.

I discovered that Bible translators had difficulty accurately translating the phrase, 'give us this day our daily bread'. I feel like there was much more intended by those words of Jesus than a plea for each days food. (Imagine believing that the bounty of heaven could be our portion and then throwing in a plea for food.) Those words could have been translated, 'give us tomorrow's bread today'. What might that phrase mean. Here is what that means to me: 'provide today what we need for tomorrow, in advance'. It could be extrapolated to mean, 'reveal to us the future and provide us with what we need to be successful. In the early 1970's, as Roe v. Wade was being passed, successfully taking the lives of over 50 million children many of the popular Christian books were about being raptured out of the world to escape the looming great tribulation. Those influences helped cripple the church by robbing us of future generations. The escape mentality robbed the church of a solid hope for our future.

'Give us this day tomorrow's bread' speaks of the supernatural nature of being a christian. It lives in light of a bright future. Since we have a tomorrow, Lord, give us what we need to fulfill it today. If in fact we can have the reality of the kingdom of heaven manifest in our daily lives 'in earth as it is in heaven' then we can live today with tomorrows help. Anyone who knows more about tomorrow than society does in general is in a place of supernatural wisdom and insight and is in a place to succeed. Imagine knowing today the state of tomorrow's stock market. Imagine knowing and having today the healing, the wisdom, the provision that you will need for tomorrow. Much like Joseph who understood the future, made provision for it, laid hold today of tomorrows provision, we should be able to sustain, impower, and impact our generation for what is coming by receiving revelation from God for what is coming.

God wants to restore our hope, our future, our very inheritance. What has the enemy robbed you of? What has God given you today that speaks of your tomorrow? What are you asking for so that you can become all He has intended for you to become? Lets talk about it.

Parking Lot Tree

My recent Savanhah, GA minstry trip was a successful one. Many of those who attended were touched by the power and presence of the Lord. Some were healed, some returned to the Lord, and some repented and were restored of some specific personal issues. Those who attended did most of the 'hands on' ministry. The Friday evening meeting was one of the top ten meetings of my life. It was powerful. We are going back the first weekend in in November, 4-6, to the same place:St. Luke United Methodist Church, 9114 Whitefield Avenue, Savannah. Meetings begin at 7:30.

Now, about the tree. While I was there I saw this massive live oak tree, about 50+ feet tall, in the middle of a vast parking lot. It spoke to me something very important. Look at. Think about it. What does a live 100 year old oak tree in the middle of a parking lot, say to you?

HAVING SOMETHING YOU DON'T KNOW YOU HAVE

Can you have something good that you don't know you have? I believe you can. In Genesis 28 Jacob said, "God is in this place and I didn't know it!" I have heard people say, 'How could God be where you are and you not know it?' Well, God is everywhere at all times, but He doesn't always manifest Himself everywhere. Over the years I have realized that His manifestation is often related to our recognition and appreciation of Him. God inhabits praise (Ps. 22:3). We enter His gates with thanksgiving, His courts with praise (Ps. 100:4, 95:2). Our appreciation matters to Him and affects His actions toward us.

You can be seated in the heavens and not know it. Being seated there is the equivalent of 'being in the river', 'flowing in the Spirit', living a Holy Spirit empowered life, etc., etc. God is amazing. He seems to skip some of the steps we may impose on people. Paul writes...while we were yet sinners, or dead in trespasses and sins...He raised us up, made us sit in the heavens in Christ...(Eph. 2:5-6).

If you are a believer and yet don't know that you are presently seated in the heavens, than I prove my point. You have the best seat in the house! But, if you say you know that you are seated there, and yet are not moving in some aspect of the 9 power gifts of the Spirit, then you still don't experientially know it, or yet worse, you have a concept of the truth that has kept you from the reality. We can know the reality of a life empowered by God. Don't stop until you do.