ASK, SEEK, AND KNOCK
Greetings in the name of Jesus:
Matthew 7:7-12 has some answers for why we cannot seem to find the kind of faith today that affords us power in the Holy Spirit to overcome this world. Jesus puts things so very simply, and yet we cannot interpret these simple words correctly, or in our human wisdom choose to simply skip over them or ignore them altogether.
Matthew 7:7-8 " Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks will find, and to him who knocks the door will be opened." These words are clear instructions to us as to how to find answers within our Christian lives and yet we remain clueless. It must be that we do not understand the meaning of these terms...ASK, SEEK, and KNOCK.
ASK is simple and straight forward to me ...it indicates that we have to come first of all to the source of power that can provide answers; which is God, and then we have to actually ask for what we want. Asking means prayer with God; a communication that has both asking and receiving, speaking to and listening from God to get answers. This indicates to me that God wants communication in the form of a relationship with Him. It is the difference when we have people talk at us , and have people talk to us. When someone talks at you it is usually because they just want you to do something for them without any kind of thank you or relationship involved. We tend to listen not very well when people do that or we ignore them altogether. I think of the old grocery list of things that people come to God with instead of having any kind of meaningful conversation with Him. Jesus pointed out the truth about the relationship when He said "who among you even though you are evil would give your child a rock if he asked for a loaf of bread?" Jesus knew that in our own terms of relationship with our child we would give them what they needed if they came to us in need so how much more would God do for us if we would come to Him as a child to their Father? The trick is we must accept God as our Father, and not come to Him as a beggar.
SEEK is another term for continuing to look for something. Perhaps it is something we have lost or misplaced, and yet it is no longer in our immediate possession. God has told us that we need to continue to seek after Him everyday of our lives which tells me we need to be looking for His influence in everything we find in this life. My greatest blessings are the times when I choose to seek God in everything I take in within my day. The world around me tends to open up to new and greater possibilities as I look for God to be a part of all that I experience in a day. I look for God in the nature and the wonders of creation, in the people I come into contact with, and even in the circumstances that surround my days activities. As I begin to seek God out in this way I find a whole new world of things open up to me that I would have otherwise missed.
KNOCKING is to me the physical act of doing something to initiate a response...it is the desire to make contact in a face to face communication. It becomes a way to begin a process of making contact with God by taking that first step toward Him that we are so hesitant to do...it may be because we are fearful of rejection. We can never be ready for the grandeur of what we will find when God opens a door , and so we may stand there for a long time contemplating what kind of response we may receive. God is love incarnate; He is the truth without blemish. It is this unknown part of our process in finding God that scares us the most because most of us have not knocked on that door to find out what God will do. Will He open the door to welcome us? Will He judge us justly and cast us away from His perfection? When we knock on that door we are asking for a response from Him, but then we must wait...listen and prepare to receive. What is it that you are ready to receive from God this Easter? May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
Matthew 7:7-12 has some answers for why we cannot seem to find the kind of faith today that affords us power in the Holy Spirit to overcome this world. Jesus puts things so very simply, and yet we cannot interpret these simple words correctly, or in our human wisdom choose to simply skip over them or ignore them altogether.
Matthew 7:7-8 " Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks will find, and to him who knocks the door will be opened." These words are clear instructions to us as to how to find answers within our Christian lives and yet we remain clueless. It must be that we do not understand the meaning of these terms...ASK, SEEK, and KNOCK.
ASK is simple and straight forward to me ...it indicates that we have to come first of all to the source of power that can provide answers; which is God, and then we have to actually ask for what we want. Asking means prayer with God; a communication that has both asking and receiving, speaking to and listening from God to get answers. This indicates to me that God wants communication in the form of a relationship with Him. It is the difference when we have people talk at us , and have people talk to us. When someone talks at you it is usually because they just want you to do something for them without any kind of thank you or relationship involved. We tend to listen not very well when people do that or we ignore them altogether. I think of the old grocery list of things that people come to God with instead of having any kind of meaningful conversation with Him. Jesus pointed out the truth about the relationship when He said "who among you even though you are evil would give your child a rock if he asked for a loaf of bread?" Jesus knew that in our own terms of relationship with our child we would give them what they needed if they came to us in need so how much more would God do for us if we would come to Him as a child to their Father? The trick is we must accept God as our Father, and not come to Him as a beggar.
SEEK is another term for continuing to look for something. Perhaps it is something we have lost or misplaced, and yet it is no longer in our immediate possession. God has told us that we need to continue to seek after Him everyday of our lives which tells me we need to be looking for His influence in everything we find in this life. My greatest blessings are the times when I choose to seek God in everything I take in within my day. The world around me tends to open up to new and greater possibilities as I look for God to be a part of all that I experience in a day. I look for God in the nature and the wonders of creation, in the people I come into contact with, and even in the circumstances that surround my days activities. As I begin to seek God out in this way I find a whole new world of things open up to me that I would have otherwise missed.
KNOCKING is to me the physical act of doing something to initiate a response...it is the desire to make contact in a face to face communication. It becomes a way to begin a process of making contact with God by taking that first step toward Him that we are so hesitant to do...it may be because we are fearful of rejection. We can never be ready for the grandeur of what we will find when God opens a door , and so we may stand there for a long time contemplating what kind of response we may receive. God is love incarnate; He is the truth without blemish. It is this unknown part of our process in finding God that scares us the most because most of us have not knocked on that door to find out what God will do. Will He open the door to welcome us? Will He judge us justly and cast us away from His perfection? When we knock on that door we are asking for a response from Him, but then we must wait...listen and prepare to receive. What is it that you are ready to receive from God this Easter? May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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