Tag Archives: answers

Learn the lessons (Luke 11:5-8) November 1, 2016

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 2 Chronicles 29-32

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Luke 11:5-8
Jesus: Imagine that one of your friends comes over at midnight. He bangs on the door and shouts, “Friend, will you lend me three loaves of bread? A friend of mine just showed up unexpectedly from a journey, and I don’t have anything to feed him.” Would you shout out from your bed, “I’m already in bed, and so are the kids. I already locked the door. I can’t be bothered”? You know this as well as I do: even if you didn’t care that this fellow was your friend, if he keeps knocking long enough, you’ll get up and give him whatever he needs simply because of his brash persistence!

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Well, today the scenario might end a little different. Today, we would call the police and tell them about someone trying to break and enter and have them arrested, friend or not. If they bothered us at midnight we wouldn’t care who they were, we’d just call the cops and that would be it, right? Or maybe we would wait just a little while until they were loud enough to be heard by one of the other neighbors and then invoke the “castle law” and pull out a 12-gauge and end the conversation.

We’re not nearly as hospitable in this country as the middle easterners were in Jesus day. No one wanted to get up in the middle of the night and have their sleep disturbed, but their rules of hospitality led them to get up and help sometimes even when they didn’t feel like it. A lot of people then would have put off the neighbor until morning, asking them to make do until they the city woke up. Then they would be happen to not only provide the bread, but would probably invite them over for a whole meal.

That’s the way of these hospitable people. Their society was much more friendly than ours. Actually, it still is. We hear a lot about ISIS and the radical side of the Muslims that want to kill us, but the typical middle easterner is much more hospitable than the typical American. There, expect to be invited into their home for tea often. It’s just their way. Here, if you’re invite for coffee or tea at all, it will be at Starbucks or some local coffee shop, not in their home. We just don’t make people feel welcome. We say we do, but we don’t.

So what does all of that have to do with Jesus’ words today? Two things. First, we should recognize sometimes we don’t understand His words the same way those He spoke to originally did. They lived that middle eastern hospitality every day. They would have taken the story a little more to heart than we do because sometimes travelers did get stuck on the road later than expected and just dropped in unexpectedly, but their rules of hospitality said you took them in and fed them. The neighbor had to get some bread from somewhere and hoped his friend would provide it. We don’t understand it as well as they did, but we can put ourselves in their culture and understand the parable better.

One of the lessons learned from this and many other stories Jesus tells reminds us we can experience His lessons better when we know more about the culture of those to whom Jesus spoke. It isn’t hard to find out what it was like for the people in first century Judea, but you do need to study a little. Isn’t it worth a little study to get more out of God’s word? I certainly think so.

Second, the simple message of the parable is two fold. The man could never have gotten the three loaves of bread in the middle of the night unless he went next door and asked in the first place. So first, we need to ask God for what we need. He knows what we need, but we need to ask so that we know it is God who provides. It helps us remember that God is the one who gives us what we need day by day. Second, we need to be persistent in our asking when we are asking for something. Sometimes we figure out the thing we are asking for is not in our best interest when we keep on asking and God doesn’t answer the way we want Him to. Sometimes God needs us to mature our thinking about an issue and delays an answer so that we can be better prepared when the answer comes. Sometimes God is working on solutions behind the scenes and wants to work His miracles through other means that what we might think is the most obvious way to answer our prayer. In all these instances, He asks us to be persistent in our asking.

So now, go out and do some study about the culture of Jesus day. Read His parables again and learn the lessons even better than you did before. You’ll be glad you did.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Why doesn’t He do the impossible? (Mark 14:36) September 12,2016

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Numbers 17-20

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Mark 14:36
Jesus: Abba, Father, I know that anything is possible for You. Please take this cup away so I don’t have to drink from it. But whatever happens, let Your will be done—not Mine.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Jesus, the man, acknowledges that God, His Father can do anything. Nothing is impossible for Him. He also know that He, as God, the Son, must die on the cross to fulfill the prophecies and become the sacrifice for all humanity. His purpose, His duty, His life is dedicated to that single goal. He will die for us. But Jesus, the man, wants no part of it. He wants relief from the agony He is about to endure.

So here’s the question that comes from Jesus’ words today. If anything is possible for God, why doesn’t He intervene for us in those darkest times of life? Why does He let these terrible things happen to His children? Why do His believers get sick and die? Why do loved ones we pray for pass away earlier than we expect? Why are children taken away from us before their time? Why do we suffer so much, if anything is possible for God? Why didn’t He answer Jesus’ prayer and relieve Him of the suffering He was about to endure?

All good questions. Some would be bold enough to tell you it’s because of sin in our lives. I will tell you that is not so. Remember the blind man Jesus healed? The people who sinned to cause the malady, the blind man or his parents? Jesus answered, neither. He was blind to show God’s power and glory. As odd as it seems at the time, sometimes, the suffering we endure demonstrate God’s power and grace and glory in our lives. It might not make sense to you as you go through the pain of the circumstances you face, but often those who watch you struggle through those rough times see you lean on and trust in God to comfort you and find His grace through your strength in Him. I don’t think God causes the suffering, but He will certainly use the suffering for His glory when we let Him.

I think He also lets us suffer through difficult times to help us depend on Him. There are times in our life when we just need to draw closer to Him. Again, God doesn’t cause the evil circumstances in our lives. Those things are a result of the sin-scarred world we live in. Those are the consequences of being a part of Adam’s race. But God, in those times of suffering, asks us to draw close to Him so we can feel His mighty arms around us. He comforts us as a loving parent comforts their children in times of fear or sorrow or illness or any other heartache we endure. He wants us close and so He allows suffering to happen to let us draw closer to Him.

I think sometimes He lets us suffer because He knows what’s next. We live in an evil world. It is marred with the consequences of generations of sinful people’s actions. As long as we breathe, we cannot get away from those consequences as a part of humanity. But as we face some of those difficulties, we can build up our resilience in the same way we build callouses on our hands as we use tools. The first time you rake leaves, you can get some pretty good blisters on your hands, right? But by the end of the fall season, callouses have developed that let you rake the leaves without injury. Sometimes I think God lets us experience those sufferings to help us build up the ability to face the next ones without injury, just like we toughen our hands when raking leaves.

Sometimes I think He lets us suffer because He knows we will meet someone in the future who faces the same issues or problems we are facing. If we have gone through it with God’s help, we can be a voice of comfort, a mentor, a friend to walk along side that person to help them know there is hope and a brighter day on the other side of the issue they face. The suffering won’t last forever and one day the sun will shine for them again. We can be a witness for them because we have gone through the same suffering they face.

And quite frankly, I think sometimes God lets us go through some of the suffering the world dishes out because He doesn’t want us to get comfortable here. If this place gets too comfortable, why would we want to go to heaven? But instead, His children long for the day when we can escape the pain and suffering of this world and move on to be with Him forever. We look forward to the new heaven and new earth, the New Jerusalem that has been prepared for His followers. I think God wants to make sure we remember there is a better place awaiting us. A place so much better than the one that holds the pain and suffering we endure here.

Why doesn’t God do everything for us? I really don’t know the answer to the question. It’s something we can ask when we get to heaven. But then again, once we’re there, will we really care? He’s God and He knows what He’s doing. We can trust Him.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

What do you want from Me? (Mark 10:51-52) August 26, 2016

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Hosea 8-14

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Mark 10:51-52
Jesus: What do you want from Me?
Bartimaeus: Teacher, I want to see.
Jesus: Your faith has made you whole. Go in peace.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Bartimaeus couldn’t see. He wanted more than anything to have his sight so he could see the beauty of the world around him. He wanted to enjoy sight, the sense we so often take for granted but those without it crave so much. Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus as He came through the streets of Jericho, Bartimaeus made a spectacle of himself, embarrassing the townspeople by his cries to the Master. They wanted to shut him up, but he cried out all the louder seeking for help from Jesus.

When everyone else tried to push Bartimaeus into the background, Jesus asked an important question. “What do you want from Me?” Have you ever thought about that question when you talk to Jesus? We don’t spend enough time thinking about His question to Bartimaeus and to us. We too often pray and just say words out of habit without thinking about what we are saying or what we want from Jesus.

It’s easy to just say a few words without thinking and go on about our daily business. We learn it as a kid saying grace at the dinner table or as a bedtime ritual. Unfortunately, many of us never grow out of that habit of rote prayer without thinking about what we say or mean when we speak to God. We just recite a few words and think everything is great. That’s a problem. It’s not that those prayers aren’t good. They are great examples of how to address God in praise and thanksgiving. They are marvelous examples of how to bring your thanks to Him and express your appreciation to Him for all He has done. But without stopping to let the words sink in, they are just words without meaning.

The same is true with every prayer. Even the prayer the Lord taught the disciples to prayer. But that model can be used as the basis for us to reach God and express our needs and desires to Him. It can be used to help us understand who He is and what He does for us each day. Jesus’ model prayer is a wonderful prayer, but how often do we stop and really let it sink into our heart before we express the words to God as a true heartfelt expression of our love for Him and a conversation with our creator and God.

So let’s go back to the question Jesus raised with Bartimaeus. “What do you want from Me?”

Bartimaeus gave Jesus what seems like a simple straight forward answer, “I want to see.” But is it so simple? Yes, Bartimaeus wanted his eyes to work and the light to pass through the lens to the retina and rods and cones on the back of his eye. He wanted his optic nerves to pass information to his brain and transform that information to an image he understood as a vision of the same world those with sight understood. He wanted physical sight. But I think Bartimaeus and Jesus understood his simple request as one with a deeper meaning than just seeing the physical world around them.

Bartimaeus earned his living as beggar. He barely squeaked by surviving on the pittance passersby put into his hands as they gave pity on this blind beggar. I think Bartimaeus wanted to see beyond the paltry existence of surviving day by day. Bartimaeus wanted to give up his life of relying on others and become a useful member of society. He wanted to see beyond what he had been and on to what he could become.

Bartimaeus lived on the streets of Jericho, knowing what was within arms length. He lived within his reach and knew nothing else. He could only imagine what lay beyond his limited reach. He heard stories of the great expanse beyond the small area he explored as he felt his way along from one place to another, but his world was limited to the length of his arms and measure of his stride. Bartimaeus wanted to see the possibilities beyond his limited world. He wanted to see the scope of God’s universe. He wanted to know the limitless expanse God created that extended well beyond the limits placed upon him by the absence of his sight.

Finally, I think more than anything else, Bartimaeus wanted to see Jesus Himself. Here stood the Son of the living God. Here was the one who could do what no other person could do. Here was One who some said could make new eyes out of dirt, make the lame walk, raise the dead to life, make the deaf hear and mute talk. Here was God incarnate. Bartimaeus wanted to see God.

So what about you? What do you want when you come to Jesus in prayer? Have you thought about it? Do you really know what you want when He asks, “What do you want of Me?” Has it occurred to you that He wants to grant your request? It is worth some time thinking about that question. What do you really want from God? When we ask in Jesus name, in alignment with His will, He says He will give it to us. But first we have to ask ourselves the question and then answer it, “What do you want from Me?”

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Does God answer prayer? (Matthew 26:39) June 23, 2016

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Proverbs 5-6

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 26:39
He walked a little farther and finally fell prostrate and prayed.
Jesus: Father, this is the last thing I want. If there is any way, please take this bitter cup from Me. Not My will, but Yours be done.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Have you ever had God not answer your prayers the way you wanted Him to answer them? If you haven’t, then you probably haven’t prayed…ever! I’m pretty positive that everyone who ever prayed more than once has asked God for something He didn’t grant. You see, God isn’t in the business of being a cosmic Santa as too many want to believe. Instead, we need to recognize God as our heavenly Father. Jesus talked about the fact that a father gives good gifts to his children, so if a son asks for a fish, he wouldn’t give him a snake, right?

But we never stop to think that the reverse is also true. When my kids were little, if they asked for a race car, I would probably give them a toy race car. But if they wanted a real one, there is no way, that as a good father I would give them real race car. That would have been foolish. Granting them that request would mean injury or death. They certainly didn’t need a race car and to give it to them would have been a cruel gift to them as their father.

The same is true with many of the things we ask from God. He knows what is best for us. We do not. Sometimes we think we are smarter than God and know all the answers, but we don’t God answers our prayers in a way that is best for us and brings glory to Him. He knows the right answers in every circumstance. He knows how to make every bad situation turn for our best. It may not seem like it at the time, but as a good Father, He gives good things to His children. Always.

When I don’t get what I ask, I often come to this passage and remember that even Jesus, the very Son of God, asked something of His Father and did not receive what He asked. If anyone deserved to get what He asked it would be Jesus. He was God incarnate. The heavenly Father’s Son. He was sinless. He did everything the Father asked of Him. Yet, when it came to asking for relief from the agony of the cross, the Father said, “No. I won’t let you off the hook. You must die for the sins of the world. I know what you have done so far. I know what you ask. I know you don’t deserve this. But the answer is still no.”

So should I feel bad when God turns down my request? I admit sometimes I do, but I try to remember God knows me best and He is my Father. As when my kids were growing up, I don’t always know what is best when I ask for something. God does. I need to stop and remember that when I ask for a fish, He will never give me a snake. Likewise, if I ask for a snake not understanding the danger it holds, He will give me a fish instead because He is a wise and good Father.

The other pattern we see in Jesus’ prayer we here often in Christian circles. Non-believers see it as our excuse for God not doing what we ask of Him, but Jesus’ pattern is clear. “Not My will, but Your will be done.” It’s not the first time Jesus prayed that prayer. He taught His disciples to ask for God’s will to be done when shared a model prayer. He wanted us to realize God’s plan, His will, His desires take precedence over ours. He is God. We are not.

When we figure out that God is God and a perfect Father for His children we can accept, as Jesus did, whatever response we get from our requests to Him. We know He will give us what we need to grow closer to Him. We know He will help us grow and mature in our spiritual life. We know He will prepare us to perform the tasks He has in store for us. We know as a loving, wise Father, He will give us His best since He has already given us His best by giving us His Son for our deliverance.

So does God answer prayer? You bet! Does He always give us what we want? I hope not. Does He give us what’s best for us? Every time. He has our best in mind. If we will remember that one simple fact, like Jesus, we can accept His answers, not matter what they might be. 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

It’s okay, ask your questions (Matthew 13:37-43) March 28, 2016

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Genesis 48-50

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 13:37-43
Jesus: The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed represents the children of the Kingdom. The weeds—who do you think the weeds are? They are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who threw the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the workers are God’s heavenly messengers. In the parable, I told you the weeds would be pulled up and burned—well, that is how it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send His messengers out into the world, and they will root out from His kingdom everything that is poisonous, ugly, and malicious, and everyone who does evil. They will throw all that wickedness into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. And the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

In the verse before Jesus’ words, the disciples ask Him to explain the parable of the weeds. So Jesus answers them. This, I think, is an important lesson for us as we contemplate Jesus’ words for us today. Jesus spoke to the crowds around Him in parables fulfilling the prophecies given to Isaiah and Psalms. People would listen but not hear, try to understand, but not comprehend. He gives them His message, but they do not exercise enough faith to let His words break through to their heart and mind so they understand Him.

But the disciples wanted to know more about the messages Jesus gave the crowds. They weren’t content to just hear His stories and go away and live their lives as if nothing happened. They wanted deeper understanding. So they came to Jesus and asked what His parables meant. That’s the real message I’d like begin with from Jesus’ words today. We need to want to know more about Him so we ask Him to clarify His word. He wants us to delve into His word and learn about Him. He wants us to draw close to Him and ask questions. He wants to settle our doubts and calm our fears. But He can’t do that unless we engage with Him in conversation. We have to get away with Him and talk to Him.

And then comes the good part. Jesus didn’t ridicule His disciples because they didn’t understand. He didn’t send them to the library to look up the answers. He didn’t send them off to the seminary or tell them to go study their catechism. No. Jesus answered their questions. He understood their infancy in their faith and took the time to explain His teachings to them. He made sure they understood His message so they could better understand Him and His mission from the Father.

It helps us know that Jesus doesn’t want to be hidden from us. His message was plain: The kingdom of heaven is at hand. God has burst in upon the scene. He wants an intimate relationship with you. I’ll tell you stories to help you understand the relationship God wants to have with you. But He also wants you to exercise your faith a little. He also wants to see that His relationship with you isn’t completely one-sided. He carries the biggest load. He pulls the heaviest weight. He makes the greatest sacrifice. But He also expects us to do at least a little something in the relationship.

He spoke to the crowds in parables. Most of the people in the crowd listened to His stories and walked away happy to have seen His miracles and heard His message. But they didn’t understand and didn’t do anything else about it. It’s not unlike many who sit in the pews in churches all across America. We come and listen to the music, hear a good sermon, then go home and live the rest of the week without any thought about what any of it meant. We don’t think about the words we heard or the work God has for us to do. We don’t understand it, but we don’t ask about it either. We are happy just to keep our superficial appearance of righteousness, but there is no substance to our relationship.

Jesus answered the disciples questions because they asked them. He encouraged them to find out what His messages meant so they could draw closer to Him and His Father. He wanted them to understand His mission because He would soon pass that mission on to them and they would need that relationship with the triune Godhead vibrant and strong to withstand the fury of those Satan would throw in their way. They needed to know that no question was too insignificant for Him to answer for them.

So how about you? Do you just sit in the pew every once in a while or every week and just hear the words without really listening to the message God has for you? Do you leave the church without meditating through the week on the sermon and songs you heard? Do you fail to ask God what He wants you to know in building your relationship with Him and others? Then these words of Jesus were meant for you. You see, Jesus has answers to our questions. And He wants us to ask them. 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Prayer changes things (Job 10), October 22, 2015

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Job 10

Set – Job 10; Acts 15-16

Go! – Job 9-10; Acts 15-16

Job 10
Job: 1I hate my life, so I will unload the full weight of my grievance against God.
Let me speak and reveal the bitterness I am harboring.
2 I will say to God: Don’t find me guilty;
just explain the charges You have against me.
3 Does it please You to oppress,
and is this why You spurn me, the work of Your hands,
and yet Your smile shines down upon the plots of the wicked?
4 Do You have human eyes so that Your outlook is short?
Do You see as through human frailties?
5 Are Your days like mortals’ limited days?
Are Your years like mortals’ limited years?
6 Is this why You seek out my faults
or You go in search of all my error?
7 You know well that I am not guilty,
yet nothing can free me from Your overwhelming power.
8 Your hands formed and made me whole,
yet now You turn to crush.
9 Recall how You molded me like clay.
Will You now render me back to dust?
10 Didn’t You pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese?
11 Didn’t You clothe me in skin and flesh, weave my bone and sinew together?
12 Your care has saved my spirit,
and You have given me life and loyalty;
13 Yet I know what is in You,
what Your heart has always hidden.
14 If I sin, You see it, watching ever so closely,
and You do not acquit me of my guilt.
15 If I am wicked, woe is me;
even if I am innocent, I cannot take a chance and lift my head
Because I’m gorged with disgrace.
Gaze on my misery!
16 If I do raise my head,
then like a lion, You hunt me;
Like a night sky turned threatening,
You unfold Your power against me so that others marvel;
17 Like a prosecutor, You drag in witnesses against me;
You escalate Your fury against me, coming in waves to pound on me.
18 So then, why did You bother to drag me out of the womb at all?
I should have just died before any eye could see me.
19 It should have been as though I had never been:
plucked from the womb, carried to the tomb.
20 Aren’t my days almost finished anyway?
Stand back, leave me alone, and let me have a scrap of comfort
21 Before I go to the place from which I won’t return,
to the land of utter darkness and still shadows,
22 The land of deep, unending night,
of blackness and shadowy chaos
where the only illumination is more darkness.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

You think Job might have been a little discouraged, disillusioned, and depressed as he talked with Me? Those were dark days for Job. He lost everything except his wife who told him to curse Me and die. His three best friends searched his life for his hidden sins and tried their best to get him to confess to something he didn’t do. He grieved until there were no more tears to shed and then Satan afflicted him with boils so that he could find no comfortable position to even find a moments rest from the agony he endured.

Do you think he had a reason to cry out to Me with the prayer penned here? I do. By all appearances, I had abandoned Job for no reason that he could find. Job made and inventory of his life and could find nothing in our relationship that could cause the tremendous pain he endured at this point. I listened to his prayer, but I didn’t answer this one. I listened to his next one, but I didn’t answer that one either.

It’s good to note, though, that I didn’t add to his pain when he prayed to Me. As you go through Job’s prayers in the next several days, I want you see how his prayers change over time. As you know, I never answer his question as to why he suffers. Only Satan and I and those who read his story knew that answer. But Job’s prayers will change as he prays.

Prayer changes things. Sometimes I allow your prayers to change what I do. Sometimes I let your prayers change the circumstances around you. Sometimes I want your prayers to change you. See how Job changes through his prayers as you read them over the next days.

I changed Job through his trials. I can change you, too.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.