Shining Light Tells the Good Story 11

HE GIVES HIS FOLLOWERS A PRAYER

1Another time, after Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had finished praying, one of his followers said to him, “Wisdomkeeper, teach us how to pray in the same way Gift of Goodwill (John) taught his followers.”

2Creator Sets Free (Jesus) smiled and said to them, “When you send your voice to the Great Spirit, here is how you should pray:

“O Great Spirit, our Father from above, your name is sacred and holy.

“Bring your good road to us, where the beauty of your ways in the spirit-world above is reflected in the earth below.

3“Provide for us day by day—the elk, the buffalo, and the salmon. The corn, the squash, and the wild rice. All the good things we need for each day.

4“Release us from the things we have done wrong in the same way we release others for the things done wrong to us.

And guide us away from the things that tempt us to stray from your good road.”

MORE WISDOM ABOUT PRAYING

5 Then he added, “Suppose you went to a friend in the middle of the night and said, ‘I need three pieces of frybread! 6A relative of mine has come from a long way to see me, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7But he says to you, ‘Quit bothering me! I cannot help you. My children and I are all in bed.’ 8Do not give up! If your friendship is not enough, then he will do it just because you will not give up asking.

9“So, keep dancing your prayers, and the way will open before you. Search for the ancient pathways, and you will find them. Keep sending up your prayers, and they will be heard.

10“Answers will come to the ones who ask, good things will be found by the ones who search for them, and the way will open before the ones who keep dancing their prayers.

11“What kind of father, if his son wanted a fish, would give him a rattlesnake, 12or, if he asked for an egg, would give him a deadly spider? 13If even fathers with bad hearts will give good gifts to their children, how much more will the Creator, who is your Father from the spirit-world above, give the Holy Spirit to all who ask!”

SPIRITUAL LEADERS ACCUSE HIM

14One day Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was setting a man free from a spirit that kept him from speaking. When the spirit left the man, he could speak again, and the crowd was amazed. 15But some of them said, “His power over evil spirits comes from the Worthless Ruler (Beelzebul),#11:15 Beelzebul, another name for Satan the one who rules over all evil spirits.”

16And others were putting him to a test, asking him for a sign from the spirit-world above.

17Creator Sets Free (Jesus) knew what they were thinking and said, “Any nation warring against itself comes to a bad end. 18A village or clan warring against each other will not survive. If Accuser (Satan) is against himself, how will he continue to rule? I say this because you have accused me of forcing out evil spirits by the power of the Worthless Ruler (Beelzebul).

19“If my power over evil spirits comes from the Worthless Ruler (Beelzebul), then by what power do your children do these things? They are the ones who will decide against you. 20If I force out evil spirits by the finger of the Great Spirit, then Creator’s good road has come close to you.

21“When a strong warrior, who is dressed for war, guards his own belongings, they are safe. 22But when someone who is stronger attacks and defeats him, he will strip him of his war garments that he trusted in, take away all his goods, and give them away to others.

23“In this spiritual battle there is no unclaimed territory. The one who is not fighting with me fights against me. The one who does not help me gather scatters and makes things worse.

24“When an evil spirit goes out of someone, it wanders through dry wastelands, looking for a place to rest. When it finds none, it says, ‘I will go back to the house I left.’ 25It returns to find the house empty, swept clean, and put in order. 26The spirit then finds seven other spirits, more evil than itself, who all go in and live there, making the person worse than before.”

27As Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was speaking, a woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Creator’s blessing is on the womb that birthed you and the breasts that nursed you!”

“That may be,” 28he answered her, “but a greater blessing belongs to the ones who listen to the words of the Great Spirit and walk in his ways.”

THE SIGN OF WINGS OF DOVE

29More and more people came to hear Creator Sets Free (Jesus), so he said to them, “This is a generation of bad-hearted people, looking only for powerful signs. The only sign you will be given is the sign of Wings of Dove (Jonah).” 30In the same way he was a sign to the people of Village of Changed Minds (Nineveh), the True Human Being will be to the people living today.

31“The reputation of the female chief of the south will speak against the people of today. What she did will show your guilt, for she journeyed from a land far away to listen to the wisdom of the great chief Stands in Peace (Solomon). Look! A greater one is standing right in front of you.

32“When Creator decides the fate of the people living today, the reputation of people of Village of Changed Minds (Nineveh) will speak against them. What they did will show your guilt, because they changed their minds when they heard the message of Wings of Dove (Jonah). Look! One who is greater than he stands before you now.

THE WAY TO SEE POSSESSIONS

33-34“No one, after lighting a lamp, hides it or puts it under a basket. Instead it will be lifted up high on a pole so all who enter can see it.”

Among the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) a greedy person was said to have a bad eye and unable to see the good road. A generous person was said to have a good eye, full of light and able to clearly see the good road.

So he said to them, 35“Light shines into the body through the eyes. If your eyes are clear, your whole being is full of light. 36But, if your eyes are bad, then your whole being is full of darkness. Make sure your eyes are full of light and not darkness, and then you will clearly see the path you walk, like a torch in the night.”

HE CONFRONTS THE SPIRITUAL LEADERS

37When Creator Sets Free (Jesus) finished speaking, one of the Separated Ones (Pharisees) invited him to a meal, so Creator Sets Free (Jesus) sat with him at his table. 38The Separated One (Pharisee) was upset that he did not ceremonially wash his hands before eating.

39“You Separated Ones (Pharisees) always wash the outside of your cups and bowls, but on the inside your hearts are full of greed and worthless ways. 40How can you be so foolish? The one who made the outside also made the inside! 41If you will give food to the hungry from the inside of you, from the pity in your heart, then all things will be clean for you.

42“Sorrow and trouble await you Separated Ones (Pharisees)! For you are careful to do what tribal law says by giving a tenth of each little herb in your garden, as you should without ignoring the more important instructions, such as treating others equally and walking in the love of the Great Spirit.

43“Sorrow and trouble await you Separated Ones (Pharisees)! For you love to sit in the seats of honor at the gathering houses and to be noticed at the trading posts.

44“Sorrow and trouble will be waiting at the end of the trail for you, for you are like unmarked burial grounds that others walk over without even noticing.”

45A scroll keeper, one who was an expert in tribal law, spoke up. “Wisdomkeeper,” he complained, “when you say these things, you insult us also.”

46Creator Sets Free (Jesus) did not hold back. “Sorrow and trouble is coming your way,” he warned the scroll keeper, “for you put heavy spiritual loads on the backs of others, too much for them to carry, but will not lift even one finger to help them.

47“Sorrow and trouble are waiting for you, for you carve statues on the burial grounds of the prophets of old to honor them, but it was your ancestors who murdered them. 48Your actions show you are walking in their moccasins, for they killed the prophets, and you decorate their burial grounds.

49“But here is what the Great Spirit in his wisdom says to you, ‘I will send to you prophets and message bearers. Some you will murder, and others you will track down and torture.’

50“The people living today will have to give an answer for shedding the blood of all the prophets who have lived since the beginning of the world, 51from the blood of His Breath Goes Up (Abel) to the blood of Creator Will Remember (Zechariah), who was murdered in the courtyard of the sacred lodge.

52“Sorrow and trouble await you experts in tribal law, for you have taken for yourselves the secrets of wisdom and understanding. You have failed to walk in them, and even worse, you have stood in the way of others who were trying to get in.”

53As Creator Sets Free (Jesus) began to leave, the scroll keepers and Separated Ones (Pharisees) grew fierce in their anger toward him. 54They began to attack him with sharp questions, trying to trap him in his words.

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