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

Monday... He did it by Himself

Isaiah 44:24b (AMP), "I am the Lord, Maker of all things. Who alone stretches out the heavens, Who spreads out the earth by Myself." Monday... He did it by Himself. Many have a tendency to think very highly of themselves and what they can do. Oh we do have great ability but we are not the source. Yes it is important to have self-confidence but we are limited. The prophet Isaiah in 44:9-10 (NLT) says, "How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don't know this, so they are all put to shame. Who but a fool would make his own god - an idol that cannot help him one bit?" Now later in verse 24 (AMP) he writes, "For the Lord, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb says, 'I am the Lord, Maker of all things, Who alone stretches out the heavens, Who spreads out the earth by Myself.'" I love that. "By Myself." Now we do need confidence but we are foolish to ma...

Friday... We have this hope of expectancy.

Psalm 5:3 (NLT), "Listen to my voice in the morning Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly." Friday... We have this hope of expectancy. Now David found a great way to start his day. He says in Psalm 5:1-3 (NLT), "O LORD, hear me as I pray." And that is a great place to start. It really is. Morning sunrise He goes on, "Listen to my cry for help, my King, my God, for I pray to no one but you." And that is so important. We don't try to pump ourselves up by ourself. No, we pray to no one but you, God, my LORD, my King. Now this relationship with God is so, so very important. And then David says, "Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you" And that is so great. And then he says, "and wait expectantly." Yes, we have this hope of expectancy. We are experienced. That is what a relationship with God and a moment by moment connection does. It makes a difference in our daily wa...

Friday... Yes, we can know this to be true.

Psalm 12:6 (NLT), "The Lord's promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over." Friday... Yes, we can know this to be true. Maybe this is what you want to say in this day in which we live. Psalm 12:1-2 (MSG) says, "Quick, I need your helping hand! The last decent person just went down, all the friends I depend on gone. Everyone talks in lie language; lies slide off their oily lips. They doubletalk with forked tongues." Do you ever feel that way?" Have you found that to be true? Well David the writer of this Psalm continues and says in verse 6 something to encourage us, to lift us up, to give us hope. Psalm 12:6 (NLT) says, "The Lord's promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over." The Message Paraphrase says verses 6-8 this way, "God's words are pure words, pure silver words refined seven times in the fires of his word-kiln, pure on earth as well as in heaven, God, keep ...

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