The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” John 1: 35 – 36

John the Baptist stood at the turn of the ages. So it is not surprising that he would say something that forces us to look both backward, into the remote past, and forward to the climax of history. In calling Jesus the “Lamb of God” he did both these things. For that title, more than any other, evokes the primordial memory of Abraham’s obedience, of the sacrifices of Moses and of the coming renewal of the whole world. Abraham, commanded to offer his “only son” Isaac in sacrifice, obeyed God with the confidence that “God himself” would provide the true Sacrifice. Isaac was spared by God but Abraham’s faith was rewarded when God himself did what he had asked of Abraham: he offered his only Son. Likewise, Moses was commanded to offer a spotless lamb in sacrifice for Passover. Christ, our true Passover, offered himself as both priest and victim. And now at each Sunday service, the Church celebrates, as we worship the Lamb of God in union with all the citizens of heaven in the book of Revelation who sing forever, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain!” Today take some time to behold the Lamb of God, present with us in holy communion, which is our participation in the Marriage Feast of the Lamb.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Eph. 6: 13

The devil, being fundamentally uncreative, can make nothing. He can only exploit weaknesses. His first strategy is to look for where we may be hurt or blinded, and hit us there as hard as he can. If we are well defended, his next strategy is to sucker us into emphasizing some things at the expense of others.
And so, he goads us to emphasize truth over love or love over truth, faith over obedience, or truth over hope or some other imbalance. The goal here is to get us to neglect some piece of our armor. We may have the breastplate of righteousness in place, but not the belt of truth around our waist; or holding the shield of faith, but not the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. If he can snooker us into taking less than the whole armor of God, he’s got us where he wants us.

Today, take the whole armor that God wants to give you, not just the bits you prefer. He will protect you from the wiles of the enemy.

This, then, is how you should 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 today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Matthew 6: 9 – 13

One of the things we seldom notice is the way in which Jesus structured the Lord’s Prayer. The purpose of the prayer is to teach as well as to give us a vehicle for asking for things and speaking our minds. And notably, the Prayer gives a distinct back seat to all the petitionary clauses that we are usually so eager to start our prayer life.
Long before we ever get to “Give us today our daily bread” or “Deliver us from the evil one”, we are urged to take a good long look at God for who He is, rather than to start with what we think and say and need. When we do that, we find Our Father is hallowed. He is more important than anything else.
It is His kingdom, not our wish list, which matters. It is His will that must be done, not ours. And so, in learning the Lord’s Prayer, we learn the right order of things and are taught a bit about how not to be fools.
Today, as you pray, put God first. Praise Him, ask for His will to be done and seek His face. There’s plenty of time for our petitions, understanding and opinions. But they aren’t the most important things. He is.

I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21: 3 – 4

When Jesus stood in front of people and spoke, the only thing some people could see was a somewhat scruffy manual laborer with a bit of Galilean twang in his speech. He ate, drank, slept, and washed just like the rest of us. He was, to say the least, ordinary.

When Peter looked, and then looked again, and kept looking more deeply, he saw inside and through that ordinariness, “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Peter received divine insight from the Father himself and realized that, standing in front of him, against all likelihood or hope, was the very power that hurled the Andromeda galaxy, led Israel from bondage, and created all that is seen and unseen.

It is with that same divine dual vision that John sees the church in today’s verse. Where you and I might see double-chins, a squabbling leadership, a minister with lousy taste in music, or a bad youth program, John reminds us to look again, keep looking more deeply and recognize what the truth is: here is the bride of Christ, adorned for her husband.

And there, on that ordinary altar at that ordinary Sunday morning worship, is the divine Lamb of God, offering himself in the Marriage Feast of the Lamb and dwelling with us. Already, death has been defeated. It’s been dead for 2,000 years. Already, the worst thing that can ever happen has happened. Already, Christ has turned it into the best thing that will ever be. Behind the thin veil of the ordinary, the awesome divine fire of the Trinity is burning at the heart of the church, right there on that altar.

Today, see the Church with John’s vision and rejoice, for the former things have passed away!