Ask, Seek, Knock

“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; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."  Matthew 7:7-8

"Ask and it will be given to you"...do I believe scripture?....yes!!

But what will be given may NOT be what we think we asked for.

God gives us what He knows to be the right answer.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

I know I have blogged with this verse before, but I am going to go in a bit of a different direction this time...and break it down.

ASK with right motives
When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. James 4:3
As it says in the passage above from Romans....we must transform our minds, to align with that of Christ.  IF are aligned with Christ then....

And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. John 14:14

"Seek and you will find"....If you truly desire to seek Him you will find God and what His will is for you.  his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12: the end of verse 2)

Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  Jeremiah 29:12-13

SEEK Him
📖 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Matthew 6:33
📖 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ Acts 17:27-28

And when we have acknowledge who He is..
SEEK Forgiveness 
📖 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9  

^📖  Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:14-16

KNOCK and the door will be opened
📖 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!   Matthew 7:11

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs  3:5-6

If we ask in HIS name....
with our hearts seeking His will ...
our focus on HIS outcome.....
we will receive HIS answers.
Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. John 16:24
And in that receiving you will have JOY!

Praying today for your asking, seeking and receiving....and that you feel HIS JOY!

🎵 Ask, Seek, Knock ( click on link and enjoy the song)

More about J-O-Y next week!

Let's Get Loud!

This past weekend was our Tri-Town Summer Festival and the theme was Make Some Noise...
M.E.T. Music was involved in 3 activities from Wednesday through Saturday and then our church hosted the final movie night event on Sunday night.  Was a busy, but fun weekend, with many of the events revolving around the theme.  The float that my daughter (who is M.E.T. Music) did was all decked out with her DJ equipment ..dance floor, lights, inflatable guitars and microphones and of course LOUD Music!  We were making some noise!  The whole family was a part; her Dad and I, her husband (and now DJ partner) her siblings, their spouses and children!  We had a couple of friends help walk and hand out....hand clappers 👏 of course!!😀
As we had been preparing and being a part of these events I kept thinking about "being loud", "making some noise" and How that applies to us as Christians.
How about us Christians?!
Are we willing to get LOUD for JESUS?
Make some noise for our Faith!?

📖 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. Sing unto the Lord with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm.

With trumpets and s]lound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King. Psalm 98:4-6 (KJV)

We are to make sure we are loud about our faith in Christ!
📖 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. 
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100
We are to worship with shouts of gladness and songs of joy!  Can I get an "AMEN!"?

I totally understand time and place for shouting, even joyfully....but we should not be so dour...so somber faced when we worship our Lord, we should be happy to sing and make music for our righteous and loving God!

📖 Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. 
Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.  For the word of the Lord is rightand true;  he is faithful in all he does.  The Lord loves righteousness and justice;  the earth is full of his unfailing love. Psalm 33:3-5

And my understanding of scripture shows me that we can be loud when we are down and desperate.
📖The righteous cry out, and theLord hears them;
    he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:17-18
We can CRY OUT ...doesn't sound like a quiet whimper to me!  Not "call out"  but CRY OUT when our spirits are crushed and we are broken.
God hears us....when we cry out in brokenness and when we shout out in gladness!
He hears us when our hearts are turned to Him!

And we need to let the world around us see us ...HEAR us being loud for our Lord...not being afraid to worship Him and share our joyfulness.  And to see us when we are weak and vulnerable...because they will see Who we cry out to...Who we turn to!

Just like I said last week..."He is there...we just have to say hello"!....but now, more than hello!  SHOUT TO THE LORD ALL THE EARTH
LET US SING!!!  Celebrate Jesus!!
🎵 Make It Loud. by Martha Munizzi

Have You Said Hello Today?

I have some people I usually say "hello" to almost every day. Whether it is by text or email, an occasional phone call, whether I say it first or they do....we just communicate daily.
My children, my spouse (don't laugh....with work schedules we need to make sure we say hello!), accountability friends, prayer partners.  Notice that other family members...like my PARENTS! I didn't list...because, as much as I am embarrassed to say it...a day...or 2 ...or even 3 will slip by before I have had a chance to touch base with them!  SAD isn't it!

It got me thinking this morning....actually during my knee time...."wonder who has talked to Him today?"
How many times do we let the day slip by with out saying "hello", "Good Morning" or ANYTHING at all to our Heavenly Father?
Some of the people I contact often probably would rather NOT hear from me...at least not so often!
BUT God desires to hear from us as often and as much as we can
📖 Look to the Lord and his strength;

    seek his face always. 1 Chronicles 16:11

📖  if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

We are more likely to call on Him when we need something, as it is with some people.
the difference is He wants us to....

📖 As for me, I call to God,
and the Lord saves me.
¹⁷ Evening, morning and noon
I cry out in distress,
and he hears my voice. Psalm 55:16-17

 But He would also like us to give praises and thanks as often or more than we cry out!

📖  Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I know some days we just don't have it in us to cry out, even in distress.  But our gracious Father has foreseen even that circumstance…..
📖 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. Romans 8:26

They Holy Spirit has the words we can't speak or even think!  The Holy Spirit knows what is in our soul and intercedes for us when we don't have it in us!

Because He cares for us, loves us. He desires to hear from us every day...throughout the day!

📖  The Lord is righteous in all his ways

and faithful in all he does.

The Lord is near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth.

He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;

he hears their cry and saves them.

The Lord watches over all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.

My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.

Let every creature praise his holy name

for ever and ever.  Psalm 145:17-21

When Jesus walked this earth He had conversations with His disciples daily as they lived, traveled and ministered together.  We still have access to Him ...even more so...24/7/365!  We can cry out, call out, sing out.....what ever we need to do at that moment... we just have to be sure that we are communicating with our Heavenly Father every day!

Even if we fall short with our earthly communications (sorry Mom and Dad!) we should be sure to be communicating with our Lord and Savior!  

He is waiting to hear us!

📖 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. 1 John 5:14-15

He hears us!  No question!  

SO if you see God today, say Hello!  (and since He is always there, in everything...HELLO!)

Death For Life

We have a lady from our community and her brother on our prayer list  She gave him a kidney!
It really made me think as I saw posts of her process and her pain.
WOW!  to give a body part to someone....to extend their life, maybe even save it! I know ..."we have 2!"  But still, what a sacrifice, all because she loves her brother. (I also have a dear friend who received a kidney from her sister several years ago..same thoughts!)
It also made me think about a dear young friend we lost almost 10 years ago now.
He became an organ donor (he and his mom had had a conversaion just months prior...and he told her he wanted to donate if ever...and ever came.)
He changed quite a few lives!  Death for life.....
What strange statement....in death there is life.  In the pain and suffering there is hope of renewed life.

But don't we all have the opportunity for renewed life??  A renewed life that only comes because of pain and suffering...
from death...to life.

We don't just get an organ transplant...we could call it a heart transplant but really we get a WHOLE Spirit transplant.
📖 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,the new creation has come:The old has gone, the new is here.  2 Corinthians 5:17

and it extends our life....for eternity!
📖 For God so loved the world that he gavehis one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16

In Christ's pain and suffering and ultimately His death, we can shed the old and have a new life in Him!
There will be tragedies and hardship, but with our transplanted spirit we can face those with hope, with thankfulness, with peace.
📖 In his name the nations will put their hope.” Matthew 12:21 
📖 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

📖 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27

Christ did what He did out of love for us...just as those who gave a part of their body loved the family member they were giving to and how much more so to donate to those you don't know!!
Christ went through the process of preparation, pain and suffering knowing it was only for a short time and that it would be for the end glory....of His Father
📖   to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:21

Our transplant of the Spirit and new life only happened because of death, His death on the cross for us. Without death and resurrection, His death and ressurection, we would not have the opportunity to claim that gift of life!
📖 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,”and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. Romans 10:9-10
As with organ donation, in some cases, someone has to die in order for another to live.
in Christ's case He went to that death willingly, knowing what was going to happen, He knew His purpose here on earth.  He willingly took on all.of our sin and ugliness so that we could have anew Spirit! One that would be pure and spotless before God.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:7
We sign up to be organ donors for "when ever we pass, and there are viable organs".
With Christ, He knew exactly what He was headed for, and that He was the only One whose blood could be shed for our "transplant of spirit"  He was the perfect "replacement" for us!
The death he died, he died to sin once for all;but the life he lives, he lives to God. Romans 6:10
It is an overwhelming thought that someone could willingly give a part of their body as they are still living, or even to donate after they are gone.....
📖     Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 15:13
And Jesus said it is easy to love your friends ...but we are called to love everyone...even our enemies....because that is who Christ died for...EVERYONE...even your enemy!

 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. 
Matthew 6:43-48

Thank you Lord for giving me a full Spirit Transplant!!! I pray you can say the same!!
I also thank God for those who choose to be organ donors!