Ask, seek, knock

“Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Whoever seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door is opened. Who among you will give your children a stone when they ask for bread? Or give them a snake when they ask for fish? If you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him. (Matthew 7:7-11, CEB)

Have you ever asked for something and not gotten it?

Have you ever looked for something and not found it?

Have you ever knocked on a door and it wasn’t opened?

I looked for a contact once in a cabin we were visiting. My daughter lost her contact and we pay about $25 a contact for special ordered lenses for her and this is the second one she lost in about 3 weeks. she was devastated and I wanted to help and she thought she dropped it in the sink. So I was working on getting the stopper out of the sink and it wasn’t working and in the process of looking for this contact and taking the plumbing apart on the sin, I actually removed the drain pipe from the bathroom sink. Remember we do not live here and we were merely visiting. I had no understanding or putty to put this sink back together. So I had to tell the person who takes care of the place that I took apart the sink in the bathroom. I actually found the contact all dried up on the floor in the hall a few days later.

Sometimes we ask and we don’t get, and sometimes we look and we don’t find and knocking doesn’t get it opened. And that doesn’t mean our faith isn’t enough or God doesn’t love us.

This verse is used for a cosmic vending machine mentality of God and that God will give us everything we ask for, seek, and want. And that is not what it means.

God gives us what we need. If we need it and ask it will come. If we need it and seek it will come. If we knock and need to get in it will open.

God is not a vending machine for our desires.

Know you are loved and when it seems like God is absent, God is not. God loves you.

Loving People. Loving God.

What did it say?

But it’s not as though God’s word has failed. Not all who are descended from Israel are part of Israel. Not all of Abraham’s children are called Abraham’s descendants, but instead your descendants will be named through Isaac. That means it isn’t the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children from the promise who are counted as descendants. The words in the promise were: A year from now I will return, and Sarah will have a son. Not only that, but also Rebecca conceived children with one man, our ancestor Isaac. When they hadn’t been born yet and when they hadn’t yet done anything good or bad, it was shown that God’s purpose would continue because it was based on his choice. It wasn’t because of what was done but because of God’s call. This was said to her: The older child will be a slave to the younger one. As it is written, I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau. (Romans 9:6-13, CEB)

What did the word say?

And what did it mean?

You see when we read things we get the meaning based on our upbringing and the community that surrounds us. We use the influences on our lives to help us understand the meaning of what we read. And someone who had a different set of influences would possibly get a different meaning and that meaning could be different than the one of the person who wrote the thing in the first place. So which meaning is correct?

You could say the person who wrote the text, and that would be correct, and yet others who read it who have influences the original author never had get a new/different meaning and that doesn’t mean it is wrong, not what was intended, but not wrong.

So how are people of the promise not of the promise, or not included? Who makes that choice? The only answer that matters is not us.

We need to say everyone is in and hope that we are a part of that when it all shakes out in the end. And I believe the promises that all means all and God is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Loving People. Loving God.

content

I was very glad in the Lord because now at last you have shown concern for me again. (Of course you were always concerned but had no way to show it.) I’m not saying this because I need anything, for I have learned how to be content in any circumstance. I know the experience of being in need and of having more than enough; I have learned the secret to being content in any and every circumstance, whether full or hungry or whether having plenty or being poor. I can endure all these things through the power of the one who gives me strength. Still, you have done well to share my distress. You Philippians know from the time of my first mission work in Macedonia how no church shared in supporting my ministry except you. (Philippians 4:10-15, CEB)

Are we content?

Or do we need something new?

As I write this devotion, I am about to pay off a vehicle loan and I am now looking again at getting a Can Am Spyder. Pay off one thing and get another loan for something else. Why? Why can I not be content to have no payments for at least a moment?

We always seem to want something we do not have. Something bigger, or better.

Paul in this letter to the Philippians is telling them that he has discovered the secret to happiness. To be content. Whether he wants something or has everything he needs. He can make it because God’s love will always see him through.

So be content and don’t go looking for something else.

Loving People. Loving God.

P.S. To be clear I have looked off and on for the Spyder and have even included pictures of ones in devotions in the past, that isn’t anything new and will eventually happen, I was just struck by how I seem uncontent with having extra money to save…

small actions = big things

He continued, “What’s a good image for God’s kingdom? What parable can I use to explain it? Consider a mustard seed. When scattered on the ground, it’s the smallest of all the seeds on the earth; but when it’s planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all vegetable plants. It produces such large branches that the birds in the sky are able to nest in its shade.” With many such parables he continued to give them the word, as much as they were able to hear. He spoke to them only in parables, then explained everything to his disciples when he was alone with them. (Mark 4:30-34, CEB)

The smallest of seeds becomes the largest of plants.

Meaning the smallest action can cause the biggest turnaround.

When you give even a cup of water to one of these you are doing the work of God.

The small things we do every day help to spread love into the fabric of society and bring about the kingdom of God. So never think you can’t make a difference.

A smile.

A kind word.

Holding open a door.

Any small thing can and will make a difference.

Loving People. Loving God.

Strength

Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and his powerful strength. Put on God’s armor so that you can make a stand against the tricks of the devil. We aren’t fighting against human enemies but against rulers, authorities, forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the heavens. Therefore, pick up the full armor of God so that you can stand your ground on the evil day and after you have done everything possible to still stand. So stand with the belt of truth around your waist, justice as your breastplate, and put shoes on your feet so that you are ready to spread the good news of peace. Above all, carry the shield of faith so that you can extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word. Offer prayers and petitions in the Spirit all the time. Stay alert by hanging in there and praying for all believers. (Ephesians 6:10-18, CEB)

Where does your strength come from?

God is always with us and surrounds us with a hedge of protection.

We are girded on all sides by grace, mercy, and love. Surrounded by the love of God.

Now this doesn’t mean there will not be conflict or bad things that happen, but in those things, we will never be alone or without God.

Know where your strength comes from. And live in the grace you have been given.

Loving People. Loving God.

what motivates you?

Are any of you wise and understanding? Show that your actions are good with a humble lifestyle that comes from wisdom. However, if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, then stop bragging and living in ways that deny the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above. Instead, it is from the earth, natural and demonic. Wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and everything that is evil. What of the wisdom from above? First, it is pure, and then peaceful, gentle, obedient, filled with mercy and good actions, fair, and genuine. Those who make peace sow the seeds of justice by their peaceful acts. (James 3:13-18, CEB)

Are you wise and understanding?

I would always say no to this. I do not consider myself to be wise. I know some things and some things I don’t. And I try to be understanding but I know I fail more often than not.

But I do try to be humble in my interactions with others. When I am wrong I seek to offer grace and learn. I try to be humble in everything I do, showing forth love, grace, and mercy as God loves, graces and shows me mercy.

I try not to do things for my own gain, but to always show forth God’s love.

Are we motivated for our own gain? For what we get? If so the author of James tells us to stop bragging and living a life that denies the truth. Thr truth is we are where we are because of God’s grace, mercy, and love. We need to be motivated by that.

Motivated to love the world because we were loved first. Not for what we get.

Do not be motivated by selfish ambition or for a prize you may or may not get.

Love because that is the best thing to do.

Loving People. Loving God.

How does this work?

He told another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and planted in his field. It’s the smallest of all seeds. But when it’s grown, it’s the largest of all vegetable plants. It becomes a tree so that the birds in the sky come and nest in its branches.” He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast, which a woman took and hid in a bushel of wheat flour until the yeast had worked its way through all the dough.” “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that somebody hid in a field, which someone else found and covered up. Full of joy, the finder sold everything and bought that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one very precious pearl, he went and sold all that he owned and bought it. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that people threw into the lake and gathered all kinds of fish. When it was full, they pulled it to the shore, where they sat down and put the good fish together into containers. But the bad fish they threw away. That’s the way it will be at the end of the present age. The angels will go out and separate the evil people from the righteous people, and will throw the evil ones into a burning furnace. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth. “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked. They said to him, “Yes.” Then he said to them, “Therefore, every legal expert who has been trained as a disciple for the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings old and new things out of their treasure chest.” (Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52, CEB)

The kingdom of heaven is like…

Mustard seed. The smallest seed to Jesus that becomes the biggest most invasive thing in your garden.

Yeast. Which once put into something can not be removed and spreads throughout all of what it was added to.

A found treasure.

Pearls.

A net full of fish, of which the bad ones are thrown back… “The angels will go out and separate the evil people from the righteous people, and will throw the evil ones into a burning furnace. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth.” But who are these evil people? There are people who claim to be followers of God that others would say are evil because those claiming to be Christians are actively working to make it impossible for others to live. That to me is evil, so are they thrown back, but they say they are followers of Christ, how does that work?

Sometimes Jesus’ this is like this is easy, mustard, yeast, treasure, and sometimes it’s not, fish thrown back, so do we get it?

The little things you do to show love to this world and the people that God created in it will go a long way to work into the fabric of society and help bring the fulfillment of God’s kingdom. And I pray that by doing this we will not be seen as evil and cast back. But I err on the side of love.

Loving People. Loving God.

Believe?

At that time some of the legal experts and the Pharisees requested of Jesus, “Teacher, we would like to see a sign from you.” But he replied, “An evil and unfaithful generation searches for a sign, but it won’t receive any sign except Jonah’s sign. Just as Jonah was in the whale’s belly for three days and three nights, so the Human One will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. The citizens of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it as guilty, because they changed their hearts and lives in response to Jonah’s preaching. And look, someone greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will be raised up by God at the judgment with this generation and condemn it because she came from a distant land to hear Solomon’s wisdom. And look, someone greater than Solomon is here. (Matthew 12:38-42, CEB)

Why do you believe in God?

“An evil and unfaithful generation searches for a sign”

Do you believe because you saw a sign? A wonder? A miracle?

We see people who changed and say they haven’t, and still are not worthy of being included, because we only see with our eyes.

To truly believe you need to see with your heart and know that what you are told is true, and not need to see it.

Seeing isn’t believing, believing is seeing. When you see with your heart, the eyes don’t need to see it, because you know it is true.

Believe the promises and share the mercy, grace, and love you have been given.

Loving People. Loving God.

Ourselves…

“The tent of testimony was with our ancestors in the wilderness. Moses built it just as he had been instructed by the one who spoke to him and according to the pattern he had seen. In time, when they had received the tent, our ancestors carried it with them when, under Joshua’s leadership, they took possession of the land from the nations whom God expelled. This tent remained in the land until the time of David. God approved of David, who asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who actually built a house for God. However, the Most High doesn’t live in houses built by human hands. As the prophet says, Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. ‘What kind of house will you build for me,’ says the Lord, ‘or where is my resting place? Didn’t I make all these things with my own hand?’ “You stubborn people! In your thoughts and hearing, you are like those who have had no part in God’s covenant! You continuously set yourself against the Holy Spirit, just like your ancestors did. Was there a single prophet your ancestors didn’t harass? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the righteous one, and you’ve betrayed and murdered him! You received the Law given by angels, but you haven’t kept it.” (Acts 7:44-53, CEB)

We want to do something to be seen.

David wanted to build a Temple to be remembered, not because it was what God wanted.

We harass the prophets and tell them they are wrong when what they say doesn’t line up with our vision of what should be happening.

We look out for ourselves in everything we do.

What if we actually learned from our history and saw that God sends people to help us and guide us when God sees we might be a little off course?

What if we didn’t harass those who are different or see things differently but listen and try to see where they are coming from?

How would the world be different if we just didn’t look out for ourselves?

Loving People. Loving God.

Power

I’m not writing these things to make you ashamed but to warn you, since you are my loved children. You may have ten thousand mentors in Christ, but you don’t have many fathers. I gave birth to you in Christ Jesus through the gospel, so I encourage you to follow my example. This is why I’ve sent Timothy to you; he’s my loved and trusted child in the Lord; he’ll remind you about my way of life in Christ Jesus. He’ll teach the same way as I teach everywhere in every church. Some have become arrogant as if I’m not coming to see you. But, if the Lord is willing, I’ll come to you soon. Then I won’t focus on what these arrogant people say, but I’ll find out what power they possess. God’s kingdom isn’t about words but about power. (1 Corinthians 4:14-20, CEB)

This is authentic Paul. A letter written to the church in Corinth by Paul. He says he was their father as he gave birth to them in the Christ through the gospel. Paul is telling them to be like him. He tells them that he would look into the people that are speaking against them, not at their words, but who they are and what power they posses. Because God is not about words but power.

Which is true, but the only power we should follow is God’s power. Not Paul, not any Christian.

When people tell you you need to be like them, that only holds true when that person is Jesus. Anyone else is giving you rules to follow and that is not faith but power they are yielding over you.

Love as God does and be like Jesus.

Loving People. Loving God.