Lead Us Not Into Temptation

As we pray it's important to know why we pray what we pray.  I Matthew 6, we see Jesus telling the disciples to say whey they pray, "lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one."  The significance of this is Jesus Himself was led into the wilderness by the Spirit and He is now charging the disciples to say to the Father, "lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one."

How is it that it was okay for Jesus to be led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil and it's not okay for the disciples? In my attempt to give an answer here, let's look at the circumstances Jesus was faced with verses the disciples.  Jesus was on a mission from heaven and part of His assignment was to overcome sin.  The disciples on the other hand were on a different mission and that was to carry out the work of the Kingdom of God in the earth as instructed and modeled by Jesus.

In the earth while Jesus walked the earth He live without sin.  Contrary to the first Adam, Jesus did not yield to sin.  Although He was God He was also man and in His manly nature, He did not yield to sin though He was thoroughly tempted.

Getting back to the prayer.  James 1:13 says that "God tempts no man." 1 Corinthians 10:13 says the "God will make away of escape even when man is tempted." (these are my paraphrases). We can see that God is not in the tempting business.  So in reference to the disciples, it is important to not remind God in the prayer but to assure themselves that God will definitely not lead them into temptation but will most definitely deliver them from the evil one.

When you and I pray today and everyday we ought to realize what the disciples realized.  That is God wants us to live above the temptations of this world and will do what He says He will do if we'll but ask Him.  That is to say, we ought not leave this component of the Lord's prayer out of our prayer.

Listen, as we continue to pray with the understanding the the Lord's prayer is not just a few words put together to pacify God.  They are words we live by.  They are the very words of life that keep us connected to the Father and give us the ability to function in His Kingdom here on earth in victory.  Wouldn't you say it's time to pay closer attention to how you pray? Wouldn't you say it's time to take your prayer life more seriously?

CentrePoint family, I am believing God with all of you on an individual level get a hold of the revelation of the Lord's prayer and see it the way the disciples saw it.  See it the way Jesus meant it.  Lastly, see it the way it will have the most positive Kingdom impact in your life today.  This is a daily prayer for daily living.  I really hope we see it as a family,

Stay blessed,

Pastor Cedric
909 263 4569
Skype: cedreynolds

CentrePoint During This Season

The Lord has led CentrePoint into a season of prayer. This is not an ordinary season of prayer.  We are seeking the Lord the direction of CentrePoint.  We have stripped ourselves of our ideas and plans.  We have come to a point of seeking the face of God, hearing what He is saying and doing what He says.  This might sound pretty ordinary because after all every believer does this.  Well, in our case as a congregation, we are desiring to give birth to a new vision, a new mission, new ministries and basically a who new way doing what has commonly been known as "church." 

No longer will we attend church knowing the outcome before we show up because that's what happened last week and the week before. We will no longer settle for the status quo. We will expect God's best every waking day.  What better place to learn this than in church.  So we're off and running with a new approach.  Something we should have done a long time ago.  The things we do best together are praying and worshiping the Lord. So we will worship and pray together until we get news from Heaven about our next steps as a congregation.

Some of the things I believe the Lord is saying to us now revolve around our relationship as a church family.  In sense the Lord giving us clear direction to connect with each other more by whatever means necessary.  When we fellowship together on Sunday mornings, I believe we need to take time to dine together every once in a while.  I would go as far as saying it is some important that we develop a fund specifically for "Church Fellowship." That way everybody can participate because as a church we will have the funds available to pay for the meals we have together in a restaurant, catered at the church or in someone's home.

The investment we make in each other is priceless.  When we invest in each other we strengthen our body.  When our body is strengthened, we are strong enough to serve others.  I can see the Lord bringing those in need to us as we help meet the needs of our own body first.  As simple as a Church Fellowship may sound, I believe it our the first step beyond worship and prayer that we need to take.

New Living Translation (©2007)
All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord's Supper), and to prayer.

Stay blessed,

Pastor Cedric
(909) 263 4569
Skype: cedreynolds