Tag: goodness of God

Ask, Seek, Knock

Matthew 12:22-50 & Luke 11

Imagine this absurd scenario. . . “Daddy, can I have some fish?”  “No son, but instead here is a plate of snakes”. . . . “Daddy, can I have some bread?”  “No daughter, but instead here is a plate of scorpions”.  Jesus used this extreme example to illustrate the goodness of God.  He points out that if parents, imperfect as they are, would never offer snakes or scorpions to their children, imagine what would be provided from God, a perfect Father who takes delight in providing for his children.  The phrase, “how much more” is used to engage our imagination about how a loving Father provides for His people if only he is asked. 

Luke 11 puts an intense focus on the importance of prayer in the life of a Christian.  He begins with Jesus providing what we know as The Lord’s Prayer as a suggested guide for how to pray but then segues quickly into why we pray and how it works in the lives of believers.  He gives an illustration of going to a friend in the middle of the night and pounding on the door requesting bread to share with another.  While the friend will initially say, “Go away”, he will eventually give in due to the persistence of the request and repeated (and I’m sure annoying) knocking.  The message is clear. . .ask for what you need and be persistent in your prayers. 

Jesus used three verbs to help in our approach to praying. . . Ask, Seek and Knock.  These three verbs involve three different senses.  Asking is verbal—becoming aware of what you need and verbalizing it to God.  Seeking is cognitive—determining priorities and focusing the mind on what is being asked in order to go deeper and be more engaged with the request.  Finally, knocking implies using intentional actions and behaviors toward the request.  The use of these verbs in the Greek are “present imperatives” which suggest continuous and persistent prayers. In other words, keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking with these commands being followed by promises from a loving Father.  If you ask, you receive, if you seek you will find and if you knock, the door will be opened.  It is discovering that prayer is more than just making requests; it is about building a relationship with a loving Father who only wants to give good gifts to his children.  It is discovering that God is not reluctant, but responsive. By this ongoing relationship with Him through persistent prayer, we deepen our relationship with Him and experience his faithfulness.

Questions for reflection:

When have you experienced the faithfulness of God in answering prayers?

How does the phrase “how much more” impact your approach to praying?

How has your relationship with God deepened because of your prayer life?

How might using those present imperative verbs of asking, seeking and knocking impact your prayers?

How does viewing God as Father change the way you approach him in prayer?

How does persistence in praying change your relationship with God?

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Let the Nations be Glad

Psalm 65-67, 69-70

So many of the psalms focus on directly worshipping and declaring the goodness of God, which is good, but this psalm takes that knowledge of God and comes in with a missional view: Let God be known and praised by all the people. All the nations. Not just Israel, his covenant people, but by everyone.

The psalmist recognizes the goodness of God and what he has done for his people. In light of this fact, they want the goodness of God to be experienced by all people and for there to be abounding joy for all.

God provides sustenance for all people, the earth yields its produce. It does so because God designed it that way, so may the nations recognize that Yahweh created life and sustains it through his order.

Verse 4 talks about the nations being judged with equity. Equity here is the Hebrew word mishor, which literally means levelness or uprightness. God will not play favorites with his judgment, he will judge with prejudice, but he will judge fairly and give the same outcomes to the faithful of all tongues and tribes. In the same way, destruction comes from rejecting God, regardless of the background of the individual.

We can look at this through the lens of Jesus, but even without a clear picture, the psalmist saw a future where there was no Jew nor Greek, nor slave nor free, but a world where all could bask in and enjoy the glory of God and worship him in spirit and in truth.

Let the nations be glad.

-JJ Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. Where does your joy come from?
  2. Do you view your role as a believer to be missional? To bring others into a saving relationship with Jesus and his Father?
  3. Do you have trouble with being equitable in your sharing? Can it be difficult to share with people from different backgrounds?
  4. If you find great hope and strength in the gospel, shouldn’t you share it? Why are we worried about “offending people” with the gospel?
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Prayer of an Aged Saint

Old Testament: Isaiah 25 & 26

Poetry: Psalm 71

New Testament: Mark 2

When I was a young pastor’s wife in my 20’s and 30’s, I had many older role models in our congregations.  These special saints had been faithful through the years despite the challenges and sorrows of our present world.  They trusted God’s direction and His goodness, and they were still devotedly serving Him at church and in their everyday lives. 

I, (and my pastor-husband), valued and yes, cherished the encouragement and support they lovingly gave us.  How I long to see them again!

Various dear ones come to mind—the balding Wisconsin farmer, cracking jokes, yet tender-hearted; the precious old Indiana couple who held hands in church, except when they held my year-old son while I played the piano for the worship service; dear Missouri ladies who “loved” on my children and us; the welcoming Minnesota saint who hugged me at our first meeting, and could outwork women thirty years younger! 

Psalm 71, one of our readings for today, has brought to mind these beloved individuals, as well as many others, who we were blessed to know and love in the pastorates we served.  An apt title for this Psalm could be “Prayer of an Aged Saint.”

The writer of this Psalm begins by saying he has taken refuge in God, and he asks for deliverance.  He turns to God to rescue him, basing his trust on the help he has received from Him down through the years.

“For You are my hope;
Lord God, You are my confidence from my youth.
 I have leaned on you since my birth;
You are He who took me from my mother’s womb;
My praise is continually of You.”  Verses 5 and 6 

Then, the Psalmist confirms he is no longer a youth.

“Do not cast me away at the time of my old age;
Do not abandon me when my strength fails.”  Verse 9

Even at his advanced age, our writer once again faces an enemy.  “Wrong doer, ruthless man”, (verse 4); “adversaries” (verse 13) are some of the words used to describe this enemy. 

And yet his ultimate trust in God’s intervention in his life is evident. 

“But as for me, I will wait continually,
And will praise You yet more and more.
My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness
And of Your salvation all day long;
For I do not know the art of writing.
I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord God;
I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone.” Verses 14-16

The Psalmist’s worship turns into a declaration, a witness of the greatness of God.  And it doesn’t end there. 

“God, You have taught me from my youth,
And I still declare Your wondrous deeds.

 And even when I am old and gray, God, do not abandon me,
Until I declare Your strength to this generation,
Your power to all who are to come.”  Verses 17 and 18

Throughout the writer’s entire life, from his youth to his old age, God has been present and working in his life.  And now, as he nears the end of that life, his firm desire is to declare God’s strength and faithfulness to succeeding generations.  He wants the younger individuals that are part of his life, or simply have observed his life, to understand the ultimate “goodness of God.” 

Once, I too, was young.  Now, I can identify with the writer of this Psalm.  How good and faithful our mighty God has been to me.  He has rescued me from troubles. He has daily strengthened me.  He has been my Rock (verse 3) when all else failed. 

The dear saints in our pastorates that I grew to love, left a legacy of faith for me and others.  I pray my life is also “declaring God’s strength to this generation.” 

 Paula Kirkpatrick

Reflection Questions

  1.  Do you have an older Christian who is a role model to you?
  2. Have you told those role models what they mean to you?
  3. The Psalmist says he doesn’t know the art of writing, so he needs to make mention, to declare, God’s righteousness and strength.  Think about ways you can talk about and show your friends and loved ones what God has done in your life. 
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Hey, Listen Up!

II Chronicles 35-36

2-chron-36

Sunday, December 4

Have you ever wondered if God gets frustrated when people don’t listen to Him?  The people of Jerusalem had a great king while Josiah was ruler of Jerusalem but things quickly turned sour after his death.  Under King Josiah the people had experienced the re-instatement of the religious commemoration festivities of Passover.  The celebration was even mostly funded with animal sacrifices given by  Josiah and his officers on behalf of the laypeople.  We are told that such a tremendous Passover had not been celebrated like that in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet, and that no other Passover celebration was quite like the one that Josiah had with the Priests of God.  But then something tragic happens.  Josiah, who normally would have listened to God, and his messengers decides to not heed God’s warning and goes to war unnecessarily where he is wounded and dies.

This is where the story of the people of Jerusalem takes a dramatic, terrible turn for the worse.  Under their next two kings who are ungodly men the country goes into a spiritual downward spiral.  The people forget the goodness of God, their devotion to Him and refused to listen to the prophets such as Jeremiah that God would send to warn the people to turn from their wicked ways.   Again, and again they were warned but they continually mocked the messengers of God, thus  raising  the wrath of God until there was no remedy.  The people and their kings did not listen, so God allowed King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to overtake their beloved city and carry many of the people off into exile in the land of Babylon.  To make matters worse the Babylonians carried off the sacred vessels and treasures of God’s house to their own land, slew many of the people, burned the house of God, and tore down the protective wall around Jerusalem.  The people stayed exiled in Babylon, and the city of Jerusalem lay in ruins for 70 years before God brought about a change by stirring up within Cyrus King of Persia’s spirit that the people that had been taken captive in the previous conquests should be allowed to go back to their homeland and worship in their beloved city once again.

What caught my eye in this passage is that the people would not listen and mocked the messengers of God and scoffed at the prophets God sent.  Doesn’t that  sound like the society we live in today?

Many of us have friends who are unbelievers, or even friends who claim to be Christians but their life choices and their actions don’t seem to follow God’s standards.  Many of them are doing the same thing today by scoffing at the idea that there is a God who is in control of the Universe or mocking God by not following his standards instead choosing to do whatever makes them feel good.  People often make excuses why they are the exception to God’s rules.  Does God like this?   From what we have read, God doesn’t.   Scripture reminds us that we should not be deceived, God will not be mocked, people reap what they sow.  By sowing disobedience to God, in turn God removed his protection from the people of Jerusalem and allowed them to be overtaken by enemies.

Every action has a consequence, every choice has a consequence.  Choosing not to listen to God, and honor him  has its consequences as well.  The people of Jerusalem found that out the hard way.  If only they had just  listened to  God how differently things might have turned out!     Key thought:  Choose to hear when  God is speaking to you!

-Merry Peterson

 

A Little About The Writer:

Merry Peterson is an Associate Pastor at Freedom In Christ Church in Welland, Ontario, Canada.  She grew up in Canada and recently moved back there after  pastoring a church in Wenatchee, Washington for 15 years.  She is a graduate of Atlanta Bible College, and Clayton State University.  She enjoys hiking, baking, reading, and often has pet goldfish.  Merry has enjoyed being at FUEL as a camper and as part of the staff.