want

Persistent Praying

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And He said unto them,
“Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?’ And he from within shall answer and say, ‘Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.’ I say unto you, ‘Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.'”                                            Luke 11:5-8

In this short illustrative story Jesus is teaching us about persistent prayer. Persistence is related to having a burden, a need so great that you will not give up on seeing that it comes to pass.

Please note that I said “Need” not “want”. For the child of God the greatest need we see in our families, and  for our neighbors, and for strangers is that they need to recognize their lostness, their great need to turn from their sin, and to trust Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

In Jesus’s story it is of a friend who goes to a neighbor at midnight. The man has had a guest show up and he does not have the means of feeding and being a proper host to that friend. In his “troubling” his neighbor he awakens him from sleep to ask for help. It was a shame to a family in that day for a hosting family not to care for their guest by feeding them, even washing their feet. The man persist with his neighbor and finally wins out, because of his need and his persistence.

Now God our Father in Jesus Christ never sleeps, and He is never disturbed by our prayers. He is more disturbed by our lack of prayer, and especially our lack of persisting in prayer. If we have a great need, we ought to desire it so much; in His name; that we keep asking until God answers. We must remember it will be according to His will and in His time.

Do you have a lost friend, family member, neighbor? Are you continuing in prayer for them? Do not give up and quit. Keep on praying. Do you have a health need, or know someone who has a great health need? Keep praying, and be persistent in praying.

Read verses 9 through 13 as well.

What We Want

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Many times we people – all who were made by God in His image and likeness want what we want, and we want it now.  Nothing has changed since the Garden of Eden, and the fall of Adam and Eve; at least in the matter of our wants.

When it comes to leadership of kings, presidents, or despots we all have our own idea of who or what we want to lead us.  The same was true in the day of the Judges, and God raised up a judge and a prophet by the name of Samuel.  He was a man who had the heart of God, and was jealous for God; and by that I mean he did not want the people to trust anyone else but God; neither did he want anything else for himself.

The verses we look at today are of when the people decided they wanted a king… “Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations” was their cry (1 Samuel 8:5).  “Like all the nations” is the key phrase which should cause us to see the ire or Samuel.  They wanted a king so they could be like the surrounding nations.  Hear the word of the LORD…

“But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken Me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.” 1 Samuel 8:6-9 (KJV)

Sometimes God gives us what we want, even when He knows what it will do to us.  Sometimes God gives His children a million dollars, and they end up losing it all because they did not have the wisdom to know what to do with it; but they wanted it.  Sometimes God saves the life of a child gravely injured in an accident, but the child is alive only not living on his/her own strength; they got what they wanted.

In the case above the king that was chosen was to show them the manner of king that would reign over them, and that would be Saul.  Saul turned his back on God.  He eventually hated even David a shepherd boy who would be God’s appointed king, and of whom Jesus Christ would be an heir to the throne.

My heart and mind has determined that I want what God wants for me; and I will be perfectly content and at peace with that.  What about you?  It can start by calling on the name of Jesus Christ the Son of God, God the Son for salvation.  Do so today.

Christmas Day Forty Five

/ Tim A. / 2 Comments

What do I want for Christmas today?

I did this one other day, but closer to last Christmas than this coming one; so I want to do it again.

I want to know what, those of you who come and read this quite often, want for Christmas today.

Write your answers in the comments if you want to share.

Christmas Day 100

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With this countdown thing it may have drawn it out longer.  I can hardly believe that we are only one hundred days from December 25, 2016.  I pray and want all to be blessed today, and everyday.

What do I want for Christmas today?

I want you to read the first paragraph above.

Day Three Hundred and Ten

/ Tim A. / 1 Comment

What do I want for Christmas?

In a world where we people are always wanting, even lusting for things and people, I want Christians especially to understand and realize that we; when we truly love Jesus; will want, will desire what His mind and heart desires.

We learn what He wants and desire through the Holy Bible; from Genesis through The Revelation of Jesus Christ.

Jesus said,

“Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Mark 11:22-24 (NKJV)

Day Three Hundred and Nineteen

/ Tim A. / 2 Comments

What do I want for Christmas?

I want you the reader to share with me [in the comments] what you want for Christmas.

Remembering that this is to see each day as we do Christmas.  What do you want for Christmas?

Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:3-4 (NKJV)

Day Three Hundred Twenty and Eight

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What do I want for Christmas?

I want it to be known and understood, that the purpose of this blog is not to call attention to myself, my abilities, or inabilities, vocabulary, punctuation, spelling, etc., but to call all who come here to the Christ who bled and died on the cross, was buried and bodily arose from the grave for all who will call on His name.  I want you to know…

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:16-18 (NKJV)

Day 354 – What Do I Want For Christmas?

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What do I want for Christmas?

I want to not want or lack anything that God has for me; and for all who will walk with Him.

Hear the heart of David;

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.” Psalm 34:8-10 (NKJV)

Three Hundred Sixty Six Days til Christmas

/ Tim A. / 3 Comments

On the first day of December of 2015 as I was writing in my journal I had a thought of counting down the 25 days til Christmas with the question “What do I want for Christmas?”

The first day the “want” was, “A fuller heart and life for my Lord and Savior.” In those 25 days I have thought of counting down until next Christmas with the same heart and mind; which I believe is the wants God gives me.

This may get tedious, draggy, and maybe some would say “Boring”; I do not believe in boring.  I never use the word in my vocabulary, except as here, to rage against it.

This being day 366 before Christmas;  What do I want for Christmas?  I want the Spirit of God who has created all things to reach into the hearts and minds of all who come here, convict of sin the hearts of those who do not know Him and draw them to Himself for salvation.

The Scriptures I have posted here tell you how.