3 passages

Matthew 7

7 "Keep on asking,

and you will receive what you ask for.

Keep on seeking,

and you will find.

Keep on knocking,

and the door will be opened to you.

8 For everyone who asks,

receives.

Everyone who seeks,

finds.

And to everyone who knocks,

the door will be opened.

9 "You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread,

do you give them a stone instead?

10 Or if they ask for a fish,

do you give them a snake?

Of course not!

11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children,

how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him?

I've mentioned before in these blogs that the thing that stands out to me in this passage is just 2 words:

“Keep on...”

I feel like that Jesus is saying something specific to us...

...no matter what, just keep moving forward.

Keep asking, seeking, & knowing.

Keep at it.

Don't stop.

I don't believe that Jesus was basically saying that God is a celestial vending machine, cranking out what we indicate we want.

I believe Jesus IS saying that we don't need to give up & wait for God's actions to floating in the window on a silver platter.

Did that last statement make sense?

And Jesus goes on to say that if we are able to find enough wisdom & love to take care of our own children,

then God, who is infinitely more wise & loving, must certain know when, where, how, & with whom to give to us what we are persevering to receive.

Matthew 5, 6, & 7 are what is euphemistically referred to as “The Sermon on the Mount.”

In those chapters, it's obvious that Matthew jammed a LOT of stuff Jesus said in this major talk / sharing.

There's an AWFUL LOT of stuff in those 3 chapters.

I've known plenty of people who just camp out over an extended period of time in those 3 chapters.

This is something you might want to do – read through those 3 chapters more than once or twice.

Maybe take one chapter & read it over & over for a week or so.

There's just SO MUCH in each chapter that it's easy to miss.

And if you've NEVER read those 3 chapters, make it a priority to read through them in more than once in the next week.

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Matthew 7

12 "Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you.

This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.

I wonder what our world would be like if we all lived out what verse 12 says?

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Ephesians 3

20 Now all glory to God,

who is able,

through his mighty power at work within us,

to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

And I couldn't pass up an opportunity to share this verse that I read this morning because of 2 words...

“infinitely more”.

God is not limited by what we think should happen.

His overarching plan - for humankind in general - & for you & I specifically - is stupendously more far reaching than we are able to wrap our brains around.

God is limitless.

And His ability to act in any given situation is limitless.

And I hope that brief treatise on 3:20 makes sense.

I seem a little fuzzy headed this morning – sorry.

either we do or we don't

Matthew 6

25 "That is why I tell you don't worry about everyday life;

whether you have enough food and drink,

or enough clothes to wear.

Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing?

26 Look at the birds.

They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns,

for your heavenly Father feeds them.

And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are?

27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

  28 "And why worry about your clothing?

Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow.

They don't work or make their clothing,

29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.

30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers

that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow,

he will certainly care for you.

Why do you have so little faith?

31 "So don't worry about these things, saying,

'What will we eat?

What will we drink?

What will we wear?'

32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers,

but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.

33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else,

and live righteously,

and he will give you everything you need.

34 "So don't worry about tomorrow,

for tomorrow will bring its own worries.

Today's trouble is enough for today.

These are extraordinary words of Jesus.

Can you imagine what kind of effect they must have had?

They were people who were a conquered people by the Romans.

Most of them were probably poor,

or slaves,

or “notorious sinners”

or who knows what.

Most of them lived pretty precarious lives.

Things were always in turmoil.

Life was very cheap – the individual was not important at all.

Life anywhere in the world was hardly a Club med existence.

And what does Jesus say to them?

“don't worry about your life.”

They must have thought He was nuts!

And He went on to say that basically if they sought a life in line with God, that God would take care of them.

They must have REALLY thought He was nuts then.

But some of those people who heard Jesus say those things chose to believe Him.

And people have chosen to believe Him in the 2K+ years since then.

I choose to believe Him.

These days there's a lot of things in my life to worry about.

Could we have a show of hands who doesn't?!

But a few months back, when I was having a particularly debilitating & ongoing worry fest, I thought this is crazy – either I need to believe what Jesus said, or not.

So far, I was in the or not column.

I just chose to believe He was going to do what He said He was – He was gonna take care of me.

I was going to believe – if in the end I end up on the little end of the horn, well, that's not my fault.

I'm gonna be & do what Jesus said be & do – trust Him that He'll take care of me.

Now, the stresses & strains & craziness is still there.

But I am worrying less.

I don't know how things are all going to turn out.

But I'm not in charge of that anymore.

God is.

My job is to follow hard after Him & let Him turn me into Jesus' likeness more & more each day.

Now, please don't think as a result of this I've started to pee holy water, or poop truth & wisdom.

ANYONE who knows me, knows better.

I just know that there's a different feel to my life – don't ask me to quantify it more than that.

I just keep reminding myself, as well as God, that He's going to take care of me, even though this world gets to be a pretty scary place more & more as the days go by.

And I do worry less.

Y'all, we have a choice here...

We either are gonna believe what Jesus said, or we're not.

I choose to believe.

I suggest you do the same.

What choice to we have, rally?

If we don't, life is not a lot of fun – it's eaten up with worry.

If we do, our life is in His hands.

Think about it...

love who?!

Matthew 5

43 "You have heard the law that says,

'Love your neighbor' and hate your enemy.

44 But I say,

love your enemies!

Pray for those who persecute you!

45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.

For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good,

and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.

46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that?

Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.

47 If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else?

Even pagans do that.

48 But you are to be perfect,

even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

What would our world,

our nation,

our state,

the town we live in,

& our relationships with family & friends...

what would they all look like if we simply would be & do what Jesus says we should be & do in these 5 verses?

This was an mandate that was completely off the charts back then.

You always sought at least equal punishment for anyone who did something against you.

But what did Jesus mandate?

That we love the very people who are the ugliest toward us.

Love them.

Not just kinda sorta like them, a little bit.

Jesus says love them.

And pray for them.

Back then, it was a completely, radically different thought process.

It still is, today.

What would life be like if we simply did that – love our enemies & pray for them.

paul's closing remarks

There's so much here – Paul is closing out a short letter to the followers of Jesus in Galatia.

Just read it,

& think about how that applies to life now,

& to your life specifically.

Galatians 6

1 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path.

And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.

2 Share each other's burdens,

and in this way obey the law of Christ.

3 If you think you are too important to help someone in need, you are only fooling yourself.

You are not that important.

4 Pay careful attention to your own work,

for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done,

and you won't need to compare yourself to anyone else.

5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

6 Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers,

sharing all good things with them.

7 Don't be misled—you can't ignore God & get away with it.

You will always reap what you sow.

8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature.

But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.

9 So don't get tired of doing what is good.

Don't get discouraged & give up,

for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.

10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone;

especially to those in the family of faith.

which?

Galatians 5

16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives.

Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves.

17 The sinful nature wants to do evil,

which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants.

And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires.

These two forces are constantly fighting each other,

so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.

18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear:

sexual immorality,

impurity,

lustful pleasures,

20 idolatry,

sorcery,

hostility,

quarreling,

jealousy,

outbursts of anger,

selfish ambition,

dissension,

division,

21 envy,

drunkenness,

wild parties,

and other sins like these.

Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives:

love,

joy,

peace,

patience,

kindness,

goodness,

faithfulness,

23 gentleness,

and self-control.

There is no law against these things!

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.

25 Since we are living by the Spirit,

let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives.

26 Let us not become conceited,

or provoke one another,

or be jealous of one another.

Paul is writing to the followers of Jesus living in Galatia.

He contrasts what our lives:

on one hand what our lives look like when following our own thinking, passions, & urges,

on the other hand what our lives look like when we submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit & live in His power & under His direction.

The life characterized by living for ourselves is pretty nasty.

The life in the Spirit is pretty compelling.

The question is which kind of life best describes our own individual lives.

favor

Backstory:

Joseph's brothers hated Joseph.

They decided to kill him.

But then they decided to earn a little money from the situation,

so they have just sold him into slavery.

That's where we jump into the story...

Genesis 39

1 When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer.

Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.

2 The LORD was with Joseph,

so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master.

3 Potiphar noticed this and realized that the LORD was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did.

4 This pleased Potiphar,

so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant.

He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned.

5 From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master's household and property, the LORD began to bless Potiphar's household for Joseph's sake.

All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished.

6 So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned.

With Joseph there, he didn't worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat!

  Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man,

7 and Potiphar's wife soon began to look at him lustfully.

"Come and sleep with me," she demanded.  

8 But Joseph refused.

"Look," he told her, "my master trusts me with everything in his entire household.

9 No one here has more authority than I do.

He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife.

How could I do such a wicked thing?

It would be a great sin against God."

10 She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day,

but he refused to sleep with her,

and he kept out of her way as much as possible.

11 One day, however, no one else was around when he went in to do his work.

12 She came and grabbed him by his cloak, demanding,

"Come on, sleep with me!"

Joseph tore himself away, but he left his cloak in her hand as he ran from the house.

  13 When she saw that she was holding his cloak and he had fled,14 she called out to her servants.

Soon all the men came running.

"Look!" she said. "My husband has brought this Hebrew slave here to make fools of us!

He came into my room to rape me, but I screamed.

15 When he heard me scream, he ran outside and got away, but he left his cloak behind with me."

  16 She kept the cloak with her until her husband came home.

17 Then she told him her story.

"That Hebrew slave you've brought into our house tried to come in and fool around with me," she said.

18 "But when I screamed, he ran outside, leaving his cloak with me!"

19 Potiphar was furious when he heard his wife's story about how Joseph had treated her.

20 So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king's prisoners were held, and there he remained.

21 But the LORD was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love.

And the LORD made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden.

22 Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison.

23 The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything.

The LORD was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.

Joseph is sold into slavery.

He ends up in a rich household.

But the Lord is with him, shows him favor, & he ends up running the place.

Potiphar's wife does Joseph in.

Joseph goes to prison.

But the Lord is with him, shows him favor, & he ends up running the place.

What can we learn from this?

Is it to much of a stretch,

or is it being naïve or simplistic,

to believe that if the Lord is with us & shows us favor,

that we can be of influence & impact,

no matter the circumstances,

no matter the location,

no matter what our situation may seem to be from our perspective?

what defines us?

Galatians 3

24bSo now, through faith in Christ, we are made right with God.

26 For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ,

like putting on new clothes.

28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile,

slave or free,

male and female.

For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

29 And now that you belong to Christ,

you are the true children of Abraham.

You are his heirs,

and God's promise to Abraham belongs to you.

Paul makes a BIG statement here – one I fear we forget most of the time nowadays.

There were some significant, immutable defining factors in life.

Race – Jew or Gentile

Personhood – slave or free

Gender – male or female

Paul says that whatever used to define our status & role in life no longer applies.

Believing, following, & being saved by Jesus makes us all equals,

there is only one thing that differentiates us now,

whether we believe in Jesus & follow Him.

How would our world be affected & impacted if we all truly believed that & put it into practice?

Think about THAT today.

And start implementing that incredible fact as we deal with & interact with the people with whom we come in contact each day.