Tuesday... He rewards persistence.

Matthew 20:31 (AMP), "The crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried all the more, 'Lord, Son of David (Messiah) have mercy on us!'"

Tuesday... He rewards persistence.

Over in Matthew 20 there is a great story in verses 29-34. It seems there were these two blind guys who were sitting beside the road and a large crowd was following Jesus and when they heard that Jesus was passing by they wanted his attention.

We have this dog whose name is Turner and he can cause problems when he wants something. Now we can take the fact that it is in the middle of a TV show when he starts barking as an annoyance. And we can look at him and say that he is just doing that to get attention and correct him. Maybe even put him in time out. But if we go through all his needs we can usually come to what he is asking for and one of us gets up and takes care of the problem. Of course we can be so self-focused that we just correct him and not strive to find the problem. But many times his persistence is rewarded.

Now, here these two guys, these two blind guys were an annoyance to the crowd. But this story shows us what Jesus is like and what matters to him. Yes, the crowd was annoyed. Verse 3a says, "The crowd sternly told them to be quiet." And we do that all the time. We say to our kids, "Be quiet, don't you see that we are watching this show on TV? or we are busy." It is so easy for us to correct instead of trying to find a solution.

Yes, I know that kids can be so self-focused. They just want what they want no matter what we are doing but they learned that from us. Yes, if they keep at it there will be some response from us. Maybe not the right one.

Verse 30, "And two blind men were sitting by the road, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, 'Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David (Messiah)!'" Yes, to those who had their own needs or desires that was an annoyance but not Jesus.

Verse 31, "The crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried all the more, 'Lord, Son of David (Messiah) have mercy on us!'" And then verse 32, "Jesus stopped and called them, and asked, 'What do you want Me to do for you.'" And they knew what they wanted from him. Verse 33 says, "They answered Him, 'Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.'" They were specific

There is so much in there for us to take hold of. One is that our persistence is not an annoyance to God. It just shows him that we are serious and he rewards that. "Lord, we want our eyes to be opened." The NLT says, "'Lord,' they said, 'we want to see.'" And he wanted that too for them.

There is so much that God wants to do for us but we need to just ask and there may be some persistence in there from us that shows him that we are really serious and that we really do believe in him.

Verse 34 (AMP)) says, "Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him [as His disciples]." The NLT says, "Jesus felt sorry for them and touched their eyes. Instantly they could see! Then they followed him."

There is power in persistence and being specific. I don't know what it is you need from God today but he will not be annoyed if you are persistent and specific. But he also has something he wants from us. It says "Then they followed him." And that is so very important! Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

Friday... Yes, we need them. We really do

Psalm 8:3-4 (NLT), "When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers - the moon and the stars you set in place - what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?" Friday... Yes, we need them. We really do. No, not the fact that I can go out my front door and look out at night at the marvels of the sky. I can do that and it is amazing and it takes my breath away each time I see it. Yes, that is a fact but the reality of who did that and the wisdom and the faith that I have to believe that and to marvel that the one who did that cares about me makes such a difference in how I live my life. Yes, God really does. That is so wonderful for us to believe. And that is why faith and wisdom are so important. Now whatever belief you have at how that marvel happened must also be believed through faith. And the sad thing to me is that more and more people have been taught that there is no God and therefore he did not have a h...

Monday... Three ifs and two thens. They go together!

Monday... Three ifs and two thens. They go together! They really do. And this is what caught my attention this morning as I was reading Proverbs 2. Verse 1 (NRSVUE) says, "My child, if you accept my words and treasure my commands within you." Verse 3 (NIV), "Indeed i f you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, Verse 4, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, Verse 5, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God." And verses 9-11, " Then you will understand what is right and just and fair - every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you." There will always be some effort we must do, some ifs for the thens to be realized in our lives. So many of us want to understand without the ifs. But the thens are so worth, so very worth the effort. Verses 5-6 in the Ampli...

Wednesday... Our unless can turn into useless.

Wednesday... Our unless can turn into useless. It really can. I have found that unless I give the correct email of my wife then I can't get what I wanted. I put an extra i in her email and I have been working for 5 days to get it changed. Unless has been useless. The writer of Psalm 94 uses this word and shows how important it is. Verses 17-19 (NLT) says, "Unless the Lord had helped me, I would have soon settled in the silence of the grave. I cried out, 'I'm slipping!' but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer." "Unless the Lord had helped me." So many people go on and on and on striving to live their life on their own but they keep slipping and doubting and living without hope and cheer. Yes the Lord has such unfailing love for us, he really does but unless we have a relationship with him and we turn to him and ask him for help then the unless turns in to useless because h...

Todays Beginning

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