Defeating Daily Despair Through Fellowship

As I’ve made a commitment to search for joy in Christ, I have tried to keep my eyes open to what could help lead to this end.  A scripture I used in my Sunday School lesson last week, John 15:9-12, and the demonstraion of a dear friend leads me to a conclusion today.  Certainly not the end all, be all conclusion of finding joy, but another step in a direction that I think the Lord may use to help me be a happier, more joyful person.

Discouragement happens when we least expect it.  Life throws us curve balls that we aren’t expecting.  It’s amazing how often we attempt to make plans and they are turned upside down and we have to be “flexible.”  I have found that life is less stressful when I “roll with the punches” instead of fighting against it.  Yet I am often prone to do so…to become engrossed in my own situations and often times fret, worry, and freeze.  I absolutely become paralized in fear if a situation can’t be beat into submission with my fists or mind.  I get trapped in my own absorbed thoughts.  Yet today, a brother in Christ gave me an example of what Christ told us to do in the scripture I mentioned before.   “Abide in my love, keep my commandments…These things I have spoken to you that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full….This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.“ 

Wes Ramsey, a good friend but someone I rarely talk to, called me today while I was at work just to say that he had been thinking about me and that he had a suspicion I may be feeling discouraged, but he also wanted to let me know to hang on, God is a big God, no matter what.  Wait on the Lord through these discouragements.  It was funny, I asked how he knew I was feeling this way, and I didn’t know who he was talking to.  He said he was just talking to the Holy Spirit.  Wow.  I have no doubts he was listening to the Holy Spirit, I was indeed feeling pretty discouraged, but he didn’t have to call.  He could have went right on praying for me without me ever knowing it, but he took it a step further.  He took some more action, and he called me to encourage me.  “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.“ 

Jesus says that my joy will be full when His joy remains in me.  And in order for His joy to remain in me, I have to remain in His love.  And to remain in His love I have to obey His commands.  And He commands us to love one another.  Like Wes loved me today.  So I got to thinking, it’s amazing how little I think about myself and my troubles when I’m doing for others, whether it be praying for them, helping them, calling them, getting fellowships together for them or just giving a word of encouragement to them.  I appreciate Wes, his Sunday School class who prays for EHBC in their search for a pastor, and I appreciate my brothers and sisters in Christ.  I believe I will make it more of a habit to tell them so more often.

Defeating Daily Despair….

The holiday season has ended….
The Christmas tree still stands without it’s trimmings because we just haven’t quite finished taking it down. The gingerbread house sits in an empty trashcan because Karen was sweet enough to take out the trash this morning. Otherwise it would have balanced precariously on an overflowing trashcan. I probably should have taken the whole colorful mess to the bin outside, but why? The kitchen trash was empty and was right there. Now the trashcan is full…because of the gingerbread house…sigh….I’ll take it out later.  These are the half made decisions of someone who is lazy, but in my head, I’m not lazy, I’m not this person that I see, not in my spirit, am I?

“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” – James 5:16.  I want to be a righteous man who’s prayers avail much, so I confess my sins to my brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Since the holidays have ended, nearly every day I remember feeling dread when I wake up. That’s not right. As a Christian, that’s not the way it should be. The Word of God commands us to “rejoice always.” Jesus Himself says, “come to Me you who are weak and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  Well I feel heavy laden A LOT. I wear a lot of responsibility…at least I think I do.  I’m a manager over a warehouse, a leader in my church, I volunteer quite a bit, I do a lot for God, I love Him, He loves me and that’s why I do it.  So why do I dread?  Why do I fear?  It’s not right, something’s off and I know it.  Does this sound familiar?

This year I made quite a few resolutions and have absolutely not done a single one that I’ve said I would.  “Lose weight,” nope, thinking I may be going the opposite direction, but still working on it.  “Get organized,” my office looks like it has exploded.  Really, it’s embarrassing.  “Eat at the dinner table with the kids,” it’s the 10th, maybe I’ve eaten once with the family, hey I’m a busy guy.  Sound depressing?  It does to me. 

One new year resolution I want to keep:  STOP waking up afraid.  STOP dreading the life that is mine and that the Lord has blessed me with.  It isn’t right, and my fear is sin.  So I want to repent of that sin, I want to take steps to fix it, some might work, some might not, but the kingdom of God is at hand and I want to show works that show my repentance. 

Here’s just a few things I plan on doing to help accomplish this goal.

1.  Wake up and pray.  Pray for those who may feel like me when they wake up, my loving friends who right now find it hard to get up.  Let my first thoughts be GOD.  That’s GOD as in LORD GOD, not using his name in vain…even though I’m not a morning person.  Don’t forget the coffee.  Stop being so down on myself for not getting up earlier than I would have ever got up…I can start doing that when I’m old enough that my body just does it naturally.

2.  Remember to take my medicine.  The Lord blessed us with doctors for a reason, use what they recommend.  Luke was a doctor…I like Luke.  Lexapro is my friend.

3.  Read a devotion every day before I start work.  I have found “My Utmost For His Highest” to be perfect for this.  It doesn’t take long, but man, is it profound.  It MUST be done.

4.  Exercise more, ride the stationary bike when I get home for 20 minutes.  I asked the doctor once if there were any foods I could eat that would give the same chemical to my body that my antidepressants provide.  Remarkably, he said that exercise is really the only thing that releases seratonin, the chemical that the brain needs.  Wow!  Exercise!  I hate exercise!  But I don’t think God made our bodies to sit around all day long, so exercise it will be.

5.  Write this stuff down.  Someone told me I was pretty good at writing once, I think I’ll start doing it more.  Maybe write some progress in “defeating daily despair…”  I have a couple more thoughts about yesterday’s devotion on Psalm 139.  I’m so thankful the Lord knows me like He does.

6.  Read an uplifting devotional just before bed.  I firmly believe that Jesus Christ more than likely did a ton of laughing as a person, not like looney toon mind you, but as a person who people were comfortable around.  People followed him by the droves, would children have loved him if he was the sullen, quiet guy we see in the paintings all the time?

Well, it’s not a perfect list, but it’s there, and it’s a start.  Jesus said we could have life more abundantly.  I don’t think our wallets will be fat because of that verse, but I think our mental health should be.  I love the Lord so much, along with my family and my church family.  Life is to short to dread every day.  It is time to overcome and conquer.  To be a “glass half full” kind of guy – Deuteronomy 31:6.

Real Men Want Faithfulness…So Does God

“And when all Jabesh Gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons; and they brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.  So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he committed against the Lord…But he did not inquire of the Lord; therefore He killed him…” - 1 Chronicles 10:11-14

On this day, valiant men not only risked their lives to bury their king, but they buried who he was, and the direction that their nation had taken because of his actions.  So much had gone bad for Saul up to this point:  Jealousy absolutely drove Saul mad, he hunted David down like a dog to do him harm, he consulted a medium for advice rather than going to the Lord for council and he had not kept the word of the Lord. 

Everyone had such high hopes for Saul, he was tall, dark, handsome, and even a bit bashful when Israel chose him as king.  He even had the prophet Samuel, but Saul thought he knew better than God, better than God’s prophet.  Before we get too hard on Saul though, it’s probably a good idea to look at ourselves and how much promise we have, but we go our own direction.  We sacrifice for God, rather than obey Him.  We allow so much to pull us from His Word and Prayer.  Feast days (Christmas, Easter and Sunday) are observed but God is not on our minds and hearts.  Faithfulness is far from us as we are an unrepentant people.  We are so bent toward sin and run towards it with open arms.  We live in a society that says “follow your heart” while God says, “the heart is deceitful above all things, who can know it?”  Distractions pull us toward spiritual apathy and we try to convince ourselves that God is not displeased.  The bible says that Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed AGAINST the Lord.  So according to this, it’s possible to be unfaithful not just toward the Lord, like ignoring Him, but AGAINST Him.  This puts a new fear in my heart when I think of all the time I go to bed and have barely acknowledged the Lord or His people.

Thank God for Jesus and the fact that we put faith in Him!  Valiant men fast for this!  They bury that sin which Christ died for and desire for that newness of life.  The life of faithfulness which Saul had forsaken is now ours because Jesus is not dead and buried, but ALIVE!  Why would we desire anything less?  Why would we fast for that sin of complacency, apathy, distraction, and pleasure when Jesus says, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life?”  What more could we possibly want?  So my question is for men – are we valiant?  Will we bury our sin?  Will we fast and desire more for Christ or for sin?  For unfaithfulness and apathy, or faithfulness and obedience?  It’s one or the other.  Which one are you?

Rollin with my Homie Steve in India, the rides…

One of the many highlights of the trips we often take to India is the transportation we often get to embark upon.  Somehow it is never just a plane, or a car, there is always something different just for us Americans.   I love our Indian friends, they always try to honor us to the highest degree they can, and sometimes it ends up in some unusual forms of transportation. 

When we arrived at our hostel, there was a procession of Banjara folks armed with flower petals and leis, ready to pummel and shower us with color as we passed by on something that looked a lot like this ox cart.  It was a first, and a trip.  This wasn’t THE one we got to ride, somehow my camera was in my pocket while we were  trying to avoid making the bulls angry, and praying all the other people didn’t spook them (they nearly did).

This is one of my favorites.  Though we haven’t quite experienced this fun (15 people crammed into a three wheeled taxi), we have had the pleasure of riding in one to market.  A lot more roomy than what these guys were experiencing I’m sure, so it was good times.

Then of course, there’s always the bicycle.  Steve’s preferred method of travel sometimes, but also the main transportation of the many pastors we have come to know and love.

There are also the mighty SUVs (compared to all other vehicles) that we usually hire, but didn’t have to hire this time, thanks to the Lord.  He mightily provides for our every need.  Here we have our friends’ most recent purchase with the prayers and support of all who love them.  Of course the traffic in India is enough to scare anyone to death, and I can only say about it is you have to experience to know what I’m talking about.  First, you are on the wrong side of the road (the left) and second, everyone honks, and third, everyone passes!  Traffic lights and cops are a suggestion apparently, and there was a woman with dimensia there that did a better job of directing a 20 lane intersection than the traffic police were doing. 

On the first leg of our flight home, we were blessed with an “upgrade” when we arrived at the airport at 4 AM in the morning.  First class for the next 9 hours.  Let me tell ya, if you’ve never experienced first class, it’s GREAT, everyone should experience it at least once.  Upgrade was an understatement!  Full reclining seats, so much leg room you could get up and dance if you got the mind to, and enough waiting staff to see to your every whim.  Steve and I were exhausted, but neither one wanted to sleep just because of the experience of the mythological first class seating.  I won’t lie, it felt good to be one of the “jerks” people snarl at as they walk by on their way to coach or economy plus.  No pictures of that seat unfortunately, but it was a blessing as it was a tiring journey.  God is good ALL the time!

God Restoring our Vision

Freedom Sunday is over. Eastern Hills Baptist Church’s building is paid off as God’s people worked together to remove the remaining debt. Some gave sacrificially, some gave up their indulgences, and some just gave faithfully every Sunday. It’s a time of celebration, but also a time to reset our sites on our Lord’s perspectives. Ultimately we realize this is not so much new programs, new buildings, new parking lots, or updating old facilities, but setting our sites on those things that are not as tangibly evident.  Those things that can’t be measured on a spreadsheet somewhere but matter just the same if not more.  Tonight during our fellowship we discussed Christ “likeness”, love and light.

I am part of  Jesus’ Church, so I realize if any change or refocusing is going to be made, it is going to start with me.  Not that I will be responsible for any transformations, only the Lord can be responsible for that.  I’m just trying to acknowledge that I’m not going to sit on the sidelines while others do what God reveals to us.  I wish to see where the Father is working and join him. 

Likeness

Certainly the Father’s will is to conform us to the likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ.  (Romans 8:29)  We often hear that we should be “Christ-like” in Christian circles; but how exactly was Christ?  Too many times we get this idea of a really nice guy who walked around Galilee in robes and sandals.  He healed everyone he touched, hugged all the kids he could get his hands on and taught in whatever synagog he came across.  Well I personally don’t know if I’m capable of healing anyone, I don’t hug other people’s kids (unless I really know them) and I sure don’t teach everywhere I go.  Plus a robe isn’t the most fashionable thing in the world to wear these days.  So now what?  No wonder I’m so stinkin’ frustrated in my walk with Christ!  We could have  possibly set up a false image of Jesus in our imaginations and accepted it as fact.  Often times Jesus called religious leaders hypocrites, tombs full of dead men’s bones, and cups clean on the outside but filthy on the inside (I picture a really scummy coffee cup, blech!).  This certainly goes against the Mr. Rogers image we have of Him and will certainly do away with any guilt the first time we fall short of our own thoughts of Him, true or not.  We must search the scripture to see who He truly was and what He truly did.  There was time He invested in people and taught those people to invest in other people and help them in their walk with God.  We should conform to this true image that we have available to us through the gospel.

Love

Love must often be pursued.  It takes work to love people, especially those around you.  I love the Banjara people.  I can tell many stories of Sush, Damodar, Nageesh, Samir and others from India who we work annually with, but I honestly have to work to remember my next door neighbor’s name.  I have trouble recalling it now.  We could invite them to dinner one night, just to serve them, but I personally have never made the effort.  That’s the point, how much effort is being made to reach out to strangers so that they might not be strangers to Jesus.  How can one reach a world for Christ when not one person is reached by me?  Love…not my strong suit…no excuses, it must be pursued, effort must be made.

Light

Darkness is ALWAYS vanquished by light.  Light is never diminished by darkness as long as a source is giving off light.  We do not turn on dark.  We turn on the lights and where there is light there is no darkness.  For a world that is in spiritual darkness we as the Church must be a Light to them.  We must help them see to walk with Jesus, to not stumble and to reflect Jesus to them, just as a moon reflects the sun’s light to a world in darkness.  As a church we must be consumed with this purpose, as a fire consumes it’s fuel.  

I’m hoping as a church we will see God’s vision as it is revealed.  We will continue to pray that God will reveal specifics to us as we strive to do His will and put these three things into real people’s lives.

Waking Up

Recently my wife and I have been talking about losing weight.  We both would like to look better, but I personally feel like I lack any real discipline to look the way I would actually like to.  I know that doesn’t sound very positive, and hey I said we’ve been TALKING about it, not that we were committed to anything just yet.  Meditating upon these thoughts and attitudes though, I wonder, when would I ever look or feel my best if not now?  Why not start?  A person only lives once, and it’s not like I’m going to feel like doing this kind of thing when I’m any older.

I think for the past 8 to 9 months my brain has been on auto pilot.  I haven’t thought much about anything besides work, and when I’m home I just veg out.  I am happy to say though, that God is graceful and patient.  He has always been there, nudging me through hard times (and in my mind it seems that’s all there has been in the past year).  There’s been different thoughts forming in my mind though, thoughts once again of India, and missions, discipleship  and writing again!  LIFE!

A good cowboy friend once told me that anything good worth doing is never easy.  Jesus said that difficult and narrow is the path that leads to life.  I think I’m learning all over again that complacency, being comfortable is not the best thing.  Sometimes, we even have to determine in our hearts to sacrifice that we might have a little more of who we should be in the Lord.  I think I’m actually starting to wake up, and right now, life looks pretty good. 

Karen and I just might get creative with this weight thing…ultimately though, there will be discipline, spiritually and physically.

We’ve been learning a lot about the Holy Spirit in Sunday School class lately.  I believe for one of the first times in my life, that I’m sensing His hand here, working well in my family. 

Thank you Lord for your love and patience…

Discipleship Takes Two…Especially When It’s Painful

Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him…. (Acts 16:1-3; ESV)  This small excerpt in the book of Acts is easily looked over, but I believe it shows significant truth in the relationship between Paul, Timothy and the bond they had with God and through God. 

Timothy was already a disciple before Paul met him in Lystra.  He believed in the writings of the Prophets which were taught to him by his mother and grandmother, he believed the Word of God, and in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Paul found that this young disciple had a good reputation among men and wished to take him under his wing.  To teach and help Timothy grow as a believer in Jesus meant time spent with the young man, therefore he wished to take him and teach him to help spread the gospel.

Before Paul takes Timothy anywhere, Paul took and circumcised him “because of the Jews who were in those places.”  Apparantly there was an issue with Timothy accompanying Paul if he was not circumcised as they were.  His mother was a Jew, but his father was a greek and I would imagine that he didn’t see much need for the Jewish tradition.  Truthfully, Paul probably didn’t see much need for it either, and as far as we know he had this done BECAUSE of the Jews that were in that place, not for any other reason.  I’m not writing to dispute the validity of circumcision, Jewish tradition, or even the reason for why Paul did it, the point is, Paul thought it needed to be done and TIMOTHY ACTUALLY DID IT!

When I think of Timothy, I would imagine that he was at least 16 years of age, give or take a couple of years.  Question:  How many teenagers do you know of that would get circumcised because of what other folks about them thought?  How many grown men for that matter?  Paul obviously had some influence with this guy.  The Lord had even more influence, as the whole reason for this operation was so that Timothy could go with Paul.  

If Paul had never come to Lystra, would the thought ever had come to the young disciple to go to these lengths in order that the gospel be spread?  I believe not.  The Bible speaks of the relationship between these two men as a father to a son, Paul loved Timothy-Timothy loved Paul.  Timothy submitted to the authority of Paul willingly and did as he asked, just as Paul submitted to the authority of God.  In fact, I would even go as far as to say that, early in his Christian life, Paul was how Timothy knew what God wanted him to do, God gave marching orders to Paul, Paul gave marching orders to Timothy. 

I’m learning lately, that to have a “Paul” in your life is so important.  It takes guess work out of what God wants.  A mature Christian actively following the Lord can be such a tool for the Lord and go great lengths in discipling a young Christian who is also trying to serve the Lord but doesn’t quite know how to go about it.  It also means that sometimes, it’s painful.  It means that sometimes that mature Christian leader must “push” and encourage the younger to do things he never would think to do otherwise.  Such has been my life lately, public speaking, praying, teaching classes in church, going to foreign countries, and convicting those who would otherwise contradict the gospel we so lovingly believe in.  More times than not, I originally balked at the propositions my “Paul” would give, but those times were met with encouragement, a gentle nudge letting me know that what I lacked, God had enough and more than enough to get through.  Because of these times that he walked through my faithlessness with me, I’m not the man I was when I first believed in my Savior and Lord Jesus.  My faith has been stretched and I have been molded, and I appreciate the man who has committed himself to taking the time to involve me in God’s ministry, and be my friend.  Thank you.  It’s not always easy, and sometimes it’s even painful, but I thank God for the men that He puts in our lives to lead through our Lord Jesus, they are rare.

For those of you who wish to serve God with all your heart and have no idea what I’m speaking of, pray that the Lord would put someone in your own life to lead you as Paul did Timothy; so one day you, yourself, can lead faithful men as well.  It’s so much easier to go through those tough times when you’d rather just quit when the pain of “circumcision” comes.  That person God puts in your life will encourage you and keep you and lift you up when needed, and you may find that you NEED it more often than not.

Ignorance Was Bliss….and Now?

Jesus Christ reveals things about men that we do not like to think about.  That or we simply dismiss the things he says out of hand, happy that the condemning statements he has do not apply to us, because we are of the faith, because we are saved.  I think it is a rare thing that professing Christians look at Jesus’ statements about the nature of man and apply His words to themselves.  I certainly didn’t.  My eyes were not open, my ears did not hear, I was ignorant, not just two years ago, at the time of my salvation, when I called Christ my Lord, but even two weeks ago, when I came across Matthew 15:18-20 in my devotions. “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart…For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, lies, blasphemies…These are the things which defile a man.” These are the sins many Christians see, myself included, happy that they have never experienced such sins as Jesus spells out.  They perhaps were in our thoughts at one time, like the “little white lies,” and the occasional use of God’s name in vain, but thank God we are now ”forgiven saints,” forgiven even of the BIG sins we never committed, like murder or adultery.  Gone are these sins, and the consequences of them.  “Ignorance is bliss,” we may not outwardly or even inwardly think, but our actions and pleasant smiles within our “saved by grace” souls are revealed.   Ignorance of murder and adultery and the consequences thereof is great…isn’t it? I have many friends who I wouldn’t consider to be Christians.  They don’t profess to be Christians, in fact, one of them DESPISES God and the things of God…but he’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met.  He is a man who has never committed murder, nor would he ever consider it, it’s against the law after all, and he just wouldn’t do that.  As far as I know, he’s never committed adultery, it leads to trouble and he knows it, it also is against the law, God’s law and man’s, at least in the state of Oklahoma, FYI.  But my friend hasn’t experienced these sins or their consequences, he is ignorant of them.  Is he one of the men Jesus is speaking about?  What’s the difference between he and the saints? Taking a look at myself, there are times I’ve wanted to scream, to be an “absolute brute” as Oswald Chambers puts it, to anyone who rubbed me the wrong way.  I’ve never really struck anyone in public, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t wanted to.  The only reason I haven’t been and absolute abusive person at times I realized ”is my own cowardice coupled with the sense of protection I receive from living a ‘civilized’ life.”  That doesn’t mean the desires are not there.  If I take an absolute hard honest look at myself, I would find that there are nightmares within me.  There are things I could be and would be if not for the grace of God placing me in the environments I was placed in.  I could be an alcholic idolater in India, I could be a crack addict in a trailer park in Chelsea, I could be a dishonest accountant in Claremore, I could be a cad, taking advantage of any married woman I know in Tulsa, I could even be a prisoner on death row who made one bad choice to express my anger in a real stupid and evil way.  One second in my life time is all it would take to reveal what is truly within my sinner’s heart.  I realized the only reason I am NOT any of those things or pursuing any of those sins has nothing to do with me; but has EVERYTHING to do with Christ pursuing me in the nick of time and laying hold of me and making me something–someone new.  He called my name, despite what he knows is within me, and brought me to Himself.  There is always the possibility I could become any of what Christ proclaims in Matthew 15:18-20, even as a Christian, that is why He deserves my glory. If Christ were stripped from my life, all that would be left would defile me, all that would be left would be death.  Praise God He cannot be stripped!  Praise God He is life! Praise God He doesn’t leave it up to me NOT to sin, but gives me life that I may never will to sin again because I have been crucified with Him, but live, but not I, but Him who lives within me.

The new place…

Well, we’ve had a lot of folks ask, ”How do you like the new house?”  Our answer, ”We LOVE it!”  It’s new, we’re ironing out all the wrinkles that come along with moving (different bills – yadayadayada), but for the most part, it’s working out alright.  We love the central heat and air, no more cutting firewood!  Yeeehaw!  I’m only 10 minutes away from work and use about half a tank of gas per week (righteous), and right on budget actually.  I’ve put some pics up here just in case anybody wanted to check out the new place.  Enjoy!

Hallway from front door

Turn to your left and you’ll see our kitchen, equipped with dishwasher, oven, refrigerator, and even a fancy kitchen sink

Just across from the kitchen, the boys’ bathroom is the picture of cleanliness (because I just cleaned it) and is every bit the concert hall for my eldest son, Dakota, there’s one identical to it off the master bedroom.

From our kitchen you’ll find the living area, which has all the space one would need to roll around in the floor with the youngins. Not clearly photographed is our dining area to the right.

On the other side of the Living room, you’ll find we do eat in the same room as our dining table is sitting at the other end. We can now eat together as a family!

Lastly, but certainly NOT least, is our masterbedroom. I would show the children’s rooms, which we passed around the bathroom, but they are sleeping

So there’s your vitual tour.  If you want to see more details, come by sometime!  Just give us a call and we’ll give directions–IF we know you!

Saying “Please” to Daddy

For the better part of 7 years now, my wife has worked tirelessly at teaching our children manners.  Simple things, like saying “please” when they want something and saying “thank you” when they receive what they desire.  She incorporates these lessons into their everyday activities.  She’s such a good mother to my children, and rarely do I question her methods or reasons for discipline.

I’m amazed at what the word ”please” will do to my heart as a father.  When my children say “please,” not only does it show their manners, it shows respect for Karen and I as their parents.  It also proves to me how much they love us, as they are obeying those things which we have taught them.  Jesus Himself tells His disciples that if they love Him, they will keep his commandments. (John 14:15)  The relationship I have with my kids often reflects the relationship I should have with my Heavenly Father in Jesus Christ.  When I take into the account the joy that my boys bring me when they obey, I can’t imagine how pleased the Father is with us when we obey Him in the best way we know how.

In Luke 11:9-13; Jesus tells us how important it is that we ask the Father for those things we are in need of.  As someone who believes in the sovereignty and all-knowingness of God, I often had problems with this passage of scripture.  If God knows EVERYTHING, and knows everything I need, isn’t it kind of insulting to God for me to ask him for my needs?  Isn’t it showing very little faith In my All-Powerful Heavenly Father to “bother” Him with the trivial details of my life?  Even at that, He KNOWS my needs, why doesn’t He provide automatically?  In this line of thinking, it almost seems as God is playing games with us, almost in a cruel way, dangling a carrot in front of us.  But I know God isn’t cruel, so there has to be another answer.    

Jesus goes on, “If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”  This passage of scripture speaks as a son asking from a father, a relationship, a bond,  there must be a relationship between the son and father before the requested item is given!  Yes, God does know what we need, He is capable of providing it, He’s even capable of providing it without us asking.  But could it be that God wants more from us than just our asking as lowly servants to an All-Powerful God?  Could it be that He wants relationship as a father to a son?

When we accept the gift that the life and death and ressurection of Jesus Christ brings (peace and blamelessness with God), we suddenly have a relationship with a Heavenly Father, in which we may trust Him, not cower before a Holy King.  Not that He has become less to us, but rather, He has become more to us, a “Dad.”  When I think of how I love to be a Dad to my boys, I am in awe of how much God must love the relationship he has with those who come to Him as children.  Who seeks a relationship as a “little child” with God?  Rest assured God loves you, and He’s waiting for you to ask whatever you need, not because you need, but because you trust.