God tells Israel that He loves them, but they ask how? All the things God does for us, and we’re always looking for something else. He gives us a job, we want a larger paycheck. We have a car, but it isn’t that brand new one that just zipped by us.

In a way, God says, “Look at what I’ve done. Your enemies are defeated. They may claim to rebuild, but I will not let them.”

God’s power and authority do stop at any borders.

God asks why He is not honored. Fathers and masters are given honor, but He has received none. This is not something He wants to feed His ego. If someone does something real nice for you, at least a quick thanks is given. God was getting leftovers.

People were giving sacrifices that other people would have turned down. They might as well have brought roadkill to the temple. “Oh, God, I brought this to you. The flies hadn’t got to it yet. There were some cart tracks on it, but the wheels missed most of the body. Now, since I have made the necessary sacrifice, please bless me.”

God is not looking for our second best. He wants our best. Even though we are no longer under the animal sacrifice, we still make sacrifices of time, money, energy. Do we cram all of our wants into a day, and give God a few minutes while we drift in and out of sleep at the end? Are we offering roadkill?

God is not going to be fooled; you will not be able to convince Him that this is the best you have.

After the women and Peter had seen the empty tomb, two followers were traveling to Emmaus, about 7 miles away from Jerusalem. The were talking about everything that had happened, and they must have disagreed about something because they started arguing. The subject of debate is tantalizing, but irrelevant.

Jesus came up to them. They didn’t know Him at first, which probably kept them from feeling ashamed. He asked what the argument was about. This seems to have cooled the anger they felt because they felt discouraged.

The spokesman, Cleopas, asked Jesus if He was the only visitor that didn’t know what went on the past week. Jesus asked them what happened. To slightly modernize it:

Where have you been for the past week? People who are just in town for the Passover even know what went down. The Man we thought was the Messiah was arrested and sentenced to death. He was supposed to be the One that would free us. It’s been three days since that happened and we just heard from some women this morning that His body is gone. A few others went and checked; His body is gone. But no one has seen Him.

Jesus, never caught off guard by our pigheadedness, tells them about the unwise way in which they are slow to believe the prophecies. He then starts at Moses and goes through what the prophets said concerning Himself.

The three of them get close to Emmaus, and Jesus acts like He is going to continue walking. They urge Him to stay, since it is so late. A little irony here: they are urging the One that invites us to rest to take a load off. Jesus agrees.

They go into eat, and Jesus took and blessed the bread, then broke it. When He gave it to them, they realized Who they were talking to, and Jesus disappeared. They also realized that hearing Him stirred something in their hearts, but they were slow on that tidbit, too.

Instead of waiting, they immediately go back to Jerusalem and tell the disciples what they had just experienced.

I don’t know if I’m reaching here, but I notice that the two had to stop talking, and fellowship with Jesus before they knew Him. All the cares were put aside, and they were able to set the sight on Jesus alone. Looks like that would catch on.

A group of women go to the tomb to get Jesus’ body ready for final burial. Three years of ministering, several warnings about what He was going to have to endure, and those around Jesus still thought this was the end.

Did they ask each other what happened? They were sure that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Now, He was in a tomb. How could He save Israel when He was dead? Did they have second thoughts about what they had seen. All the healings, others raised from the dead, the miracles. Was what going on? What would you or I be thinking?

They get to the tomb, that huge stone is moved. That wasn’t going to happen without several strong men, and the guards would prevent that. Jesus was gone; a dead body had moved, or been moved. This was enough to wonder about, then two strange men in glowing clothes appeared. Check, please.

In a subtle reminder, the men ask why the women were looking for the living among the dead. Jesus had told them He would die and rise again. had they forgotten? This jogged the women’s memory.

They left the tomb and returned to the 11 remaining disciples and others that were with them. What were the menfolk thinking when the women related what had happened at the tomb? Crazy ladies. We saw that He was dead, there is no way that He got up and walked out of there. Maybe some of the paranoid among them blamed the Romans and expected them to accuse the disciples of stealing the body. That story was circulated. We do know that the men thought the women were talking nonsense.

Peter had to see for himself. Maybe he set out to prove the women wrong. He was going to tell them that they looked in the wrong tomb, or in the wrong spot. Jesus was, in fact, still in the tomb. That’s what men like to do to people they don’t agree with or don’t believe; prove them wrong.

Peter got there and looked in. The body was gone. There goes that idea. He couldn’t tell the women how crazy they are. But that blow to his ego was overshadowed by the fact that they were right, Jesus’ body was gone. Did Peter remember the words of Jesus now? He was amazed, so did he realize that Jesus fulfilled His mission?

What would I do in this situation? Spent 3 years with a Man that preached God’s salvation. I saw the miracles, I heard the prophecies, I experienced the fellowship. Would I stand firm in what He said? Would I pull a Peter and, not just run away, but deny that I even knew Jesus?

I’d like to sit here and write that I would have been the only one that stayed with Jesus. That I went up during the trial and told the Sanhedrin that they could take Jesus over my dead body. There are some problems there. It was prophesied that Jesus would be deserted. But, I also know that I am too big of a coward to follow through with my fantasy of being the only person that didn’t leave Jesus in the garden.

So, would I have waited in anticipation of Jesus showing up in Jerusalem on that Sunday morning? Again, I want to say that I would. Maybe throw a few fish on the fire so that I could offer Him a plate when he walked in. That’s crazy talk, too. I would probably have told the women they were nuts. Then, go with Peter to the tomb. That way, we could discuss how to rub it in when we found Jesus’ body still in the tomb. Tell the women how mean that was to get our hopes up like that.

Since I wasn’t alive back then, I am left with the choice of what would I do now? Jesus won’t face that same trial again. But, will I acknowledge Him before people when they ask me? Will I not cower when they make fun of or deride Christianity? Will I have the faith to humbly carry the name of “little Christ?”

I can look at the dictionary definition all day long, but I don’t think that really covers it. Without looking, I’m guessing the dictionary says something like, “speaking to higher power or entity in order to receive something in return.” That is a common perception of prayer. I find myself using the viewpoint all the time, and I find myself fighting that viewpoint a lot recently.

Ignoring the dictionary for the time being, what would I say prayer is? I still rattle off that it is talking to God. At the very least, it is talking with God, which means I’m going to have to be quiet for part of the conversation. I would consider that a good working definition, but it is too vague.

There are many examples of prayers in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. The prophets would pray for guidance or answers, and hear directly from God. Kings prayed for helped, some heard directly, others through prophets. Apostles spent time praying, Jesus has many examples listed in the gospels. Not all of these share the results on what the people praying heard.

If I am trying something new, or something I am not comfortable with, I like set steps I can follow. Prayer doesn’t come with that kind of instructions. In fact, I don’t know of any set format. I know that some people use the Accolades, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication (ACTS) format. But that is just meant to be a guide. I find myself following any type of format suggestions too rigidly. Formulaic prayers aren’t what God wants. He wants what’s on our hearts.

He knows all of it already, but He wants to hear it from us. Like telling a parent or child you love them. They generally know it, but it something just to hear it.

I guess one thing to keep in mind about praying is to do it.

There are all kinds of opinions on how to be positioned, standing, sitting, kneeling, eyes open, eyes closed. But, from what I understand, the position of your heart is much more important. Are you reveling in God, or in yourself? Are you humble, or prideful?

Most “formal” prayers, the ones that are done at a set aside time, end in “Amen.” The word is in the Bible, but how many people use it without knowing or thinking what it is? Do we use it in the sense of, “I’m done, so God, this is when You grant me my wishes?” Amen does signify the end of that prayer, but, from what I understand, it means something along the lines of, “So be it,” or “Make it so.” Not in the sense that we are ordering God around, but still praying in His will, that He do what is needed. Amen might be the end of the prayer proper, but it is just the beginning of the process.

Then, the part that has been on my mind, and that started this whole discourse. It comes before “Amen,” but I wanted to talk about it lastly. “I pray/ask/etc in Jesus’ name.” There are different ways of putting this, using a different name for Jesus; Christ, Your Son. But that is a minor issue, and I won’t tell you one is better than the other. What I wonder is do we think about what we are saying?

I have caught myself trying to make it into a signal that God pretty much had to not just hear me, but carry out what I just asked. Jesus told His disciples that whatever they (including us) prayed in His name, God would do. That sounds like we have magic words to use to get our way, but only on the surface.

What does it mean to pray, or do anything, is Jesus’ name? You can’t go around giving wedgies in His name. How does that share His love and forgiveness? Can you be selfish in His name? I guess you can try, but it sure won’t amount to much. For a prayer to be effective in Jesus’ name, it would have to align with God’s will. “I pray that the guy next door gets poison ivy because he didn’t invite me to play golf,” is not going to cut it. No matter how many times you invoke the name of Jesus, I don’t see that happening.

That sounds like a cop out, like a disclaimer that God put down in fine print. But, as a Christian, you aren’t supposed to go around wanting to punish people, even when they do wrong you. That part is some I struggle with, but is also a whole other story. When we start being “little Christs,” our wants and desires will start aligning with Christ. The desire to hurt people will be replaced with compassion.

With that in mind, praying in Jesus’ name will mean that we want the prayer answered in accordance with God’s will, not ours. On top of that, it won’t be the fake way, but genuine. If we tell someone that we will pray for them, we will.

Prayer is powerful, and is something that I don’t do enough. I don’t even do it correctly all the time when I do pray. I don’t know if there is a time when you become a prayer master. Like everything else, I’d say there is room for improvement no matter how “good” you are. I do know this, I’d like to get better. Not in the sense that people seek me out because of my eloquence, but that my prayers are sincere. I want my prayers to come from my heart, not my mind. I want to get away from having a to-do list for a good prayer, and a wish list for God.

A simple explanation of legalism is trying to be saved by obeying laws. Not saved from jail or fines, but from Hell. In other words, you try to get saved because of your works, not by grace through faith in Christ.

The Law will point out and serve to convict you of your sins, it cannot save. That’s evident in the fact we can’t go through life, or even one day, without breaking (bending as some may call it) one of the 10 Commandments.

The fact is, we cannot follow the Law well enough to fulfill it. That is why Jesus came. He obeyed the Law perfectly, and remained sinless.

Now, here is where I fit in to all of this thinking. People who know me well know that I am a stickler for rules. The official/fancy term is being punctilious. I know that others have more colorful words to describe people like me. The fact is, I tend to obey rules fairly strictly. I’ve done so since elementary school. Do I follow every single rule? Nope, but that doesn’t stop my pursuit.

That sounds like a good thing; I obey speed limits, do what the law says (notice the lower case L). That is what we are to do. God tells us to obey earthly authorities because He is sovereign over them. But, my strict adherence can easily become legalism. It is just a short hop from wanting to obey laws to thinking that God will give me special consideration because I follow the rules.

Obviously, I can’t start being disobedient, but I must make sure that my faith is in Christ, not rules.

Hebrews 10:19-25

Verse 25 is pretty well known, Christians need to meet with other Christians and build each other up. We cannot go at it alone and expect everything to work out great. Even if there’s friction, that stirs up heat, and heat can lead to fire.

Is that all this is about? Jesus dying in our place, and rising from the grave opens a door for us. We are allowed to enter God’s presence without a 3rd party priest as a go between.

Because of that accessibility, we should hold onto out hope, and should approach with a true (clean) heart.

We should be concerned about one another. Don’t just say, “Oh, Joe Bob isn’t here today. Must have stayed up too late.” Try finding out what happened. On a related note, don’t just complain about someone, go talk to them. Maybe they want the problem solved just as much as you do.

That brings with it an encouragement for evangelism, something I acknowledge, but fall short on. Though addressed to Christians, the concern should be for all people. How else will they hear the gospel?

An empty chair, though mute, still speaks. We should always leave room for Jesus in our studies.

At the same time, we need to see an empty chair as an open spot for another student. Look for someone to invite to Wednesday night (or the night you have a study) and Sunday morning. Maybe the reason they don’t come is that you haven’t asked them.

That chair has a few more things to say before you look away. Where is the chair located? Is it part of the group, or set off to the side? Do you want Jesus and the new student to actually join you, or just sit there and allow you to make another tally mark on your good deeds list?