Episode Transcript
PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Abba, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Abba, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
Matthew 4:3–4
The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
CONSIDER THIS
There's a lot of chaff on the internet and there's also a lot of good seed. Is it worth it to sift through all the chaff to get to the grain? The verdict is still out for me. Last week I came across a choice video post of a mother driving her children to school. She was leading them to rehearse what she called their "Christocentric Declarations." It was so powerful to watch this child—who was every bit of five years old—put everything she had and more into these affirmations.
I am the righteous of God
I was born in Christ Jesus
I am the redeemed of the Lord
I am the beloved of Abba
All my sins are forgiven
I am passionately loved by God
I am powerfully helped by God
I am kept and protected by God
I am irrevocably blessed
I am eternally forgiven
I am healed by the Lord
I enjoy angelic assistance
I have the favor and the wisdom of God
Nothing is against me
Nothing dies in my hands
I am never stranded
The supernatural is natural to me
God loves me more than the devil hates me
At this point, as the litany has ended the mom, who has been punctuating these affirmations with her yeses and amens shouts aloud herself, "Now scream it!" And the little girl in a spirit of sheer exuberance shouts at the top of her lungs:
GRACE IS WORKING FOR ME!
The whole engagement is a stunning modern-day picture of what Deuteronomy 6:6–7, which says: "These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."
If you want to see and experience what all true liturgy aspires to become, here's the Facebook, and here's the Instagram.
I especially love what the mother said at the beginning of the exercise. She asked her daughter, "How do we punch the devil?"
The child answered, "By saying the Word of God!"
Isn't that precisely what is going on in Matthew 4 with Jesus in the wilderness and the confrontation with Satan?
The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
With every successive temptation, Jesus punches the devil by speaking the Word of God—straight out of Deuteronomy in this instance.
It is written! It is written! It is written!
In the caption section of her post, the mom commented on how her daughter, Jemima, was grumpy that day and didn't want to say her declarations. I love the way her mother encouraged her to do it anyway. And, my goodness. By the time she was done with them, I wanted to join in the fun.
How about making a daily declaration out of your new word for this new year?
GRACE IS WORKING FOR YOU TOO!
THE PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Lord Jesus—Word of God from before the beginning—our Great Teacher,
Thank you for teaching us how to punch the devil—by speaking the Word of God. And thank you for this dear mother and her precious little girl who encourage us to join the fight against the enemy of our souls. Jesus, thank you that you came to destroy the work of the devil. Indeed, one little word shall fell him. Awaken us to this powerful work of the Word of God. It is written! Train me to declare your Word every single day.
It will be for your glory, for others' gain, and for our good.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here below. Praise him above ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen!
