The Bible Interpreter’s Two Most Important Tasks
Exegesis and Hermeneutics.
9 Things You Should Know About Islam
These are usually very informative. This one doesn’t disappoint.
My Second Round with Depression
I appreciate Michael Patton’s honesty here. As one that is battling with this as well—I found this encouraging.
This is about far more than just which microphone you choose.
I’ve been a desperate dad like this as well:
Go ahead. Scroll to the end, you know that’s the only reason you clicked on this link. But be sure to come back to learn why I posted this shocking picture…
Kind of disappointing wasn’t it?
But it is likely only one of several disappointments that you’ve had today, by clicking on the hundreds of other links that promised something shocking—only to reveal something that only mildly shocks you.
So why do we click on these articles? Is it because of the challenge? Do we want to prove to the dude writing the article is wrong. That, “No, in fact, I do believe this preposterous thing that you just presented”. Or do we click on these articles because deep down we want to be shocked again.
You remember the awe you felt as a child when your grandpa would do something silly like set up a stack of dominos and make them all fall. Or you remember the wonder of getting an order of Scholastic books delivered to your 4th grade class room, opening up your book on presidential trivia, and almost peeing your pants reading stories about William Taft getting stuck in a bathtub. Every day seemed to have at least one “you won’t believe this…” hidden somewhere for you to unravel.
Not anymore.
You’re seasoned now. You’ve seen dominoes fall. Presidential facts bore you. Few things truly shock you.
But deep down you still want to be shocked. And so you hope that maybe you really will be shocked by those 42 photos that aren’t actually photoshopped. You click on the link. You skim through—waiting for the shock—and nothing happens.
You die a little each time you click these links. I know that sounds dramatic—maybe even shocking—but I’m serious. With each empty promise you start to believe the lie that you can’t be shocked anymore.
That’s not a dangerous thing when we are talking about YouTube videos and silly article on Facebook. But it is dangerous when we are talking about grace. It’s dangerous when we are no longer shocked by grace. It’s dangerous when we aren’t shocked that hearts still choose empty cisterns over fountains of living water. It’s dangerous when we aren’t shocked by a God that joyously pursues a bloody death on a cross to redeem these same cistern-choosing sinners.
Friends, if we really want to be shocked let us feast on the inexhaustible and utterly shocking gospel. Let us read God’s Word with the same astonishment and wonder. You aren’t going to believe what God says to you in Paul’s letter to the Philippians. You won’t believe the depth of depravity in Judges.
Pursue being shocked, by that.
Not by this. A guinea pig with a pepper hat:
When the Abortion Industry Self-Destructs
This is encouraging.
6 Questions to Ask Ourselves in Conflict
This is helpful.
7 Thoughts to the Families of Introverts
This is true.
Biblical Theology and Shepherding
This is interesting.
I much appreciated Greg Koukl’s book Tactics. Here he talks about ministering to Mormon’s and JW’s:
At the end of last year, YouVersion highlighted the top 10 Bible verses that were shared the most. I found the list interesting and thought that it could be helpful to understand them in their original context. Today we are looking at Matthew 7:7—which according to YouVersion was the fourth-most shared verse in 2013.
The Verse:
Ask, and It Will Be Given “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:7 ESV)
The Context:
Matthew 7 is part of a larger unit known as The Sermon on the Mount. In this sermon, Jesus essentially outlines life in His kingdom. Matthew 7 is part of that.
Because of the many paragraph breaks and subtitles throughout the sermon it can appear that Jesus is taking a shotgun approach to preaching. In other words, it can seem as if Jesus is just standing before the crowd and giving them a few great sound bytes about a variety of different topics. Matthew 7:7-11 seems to be just one of these shotgun pellets.
While it is quite likely that what we have in Matthew 5-7 are the disciples sermon notes—it would be incorrect to think that there is not at least a thematic connection between each of these topics. Matthew 7:7 is a call for us to see our absolute dependence upon the Lord to live out the ethics of His kingdom.
I wonder how much impact the false gospel of prosperity teachers has upon the sharing of this verse. I wonder how many people share this verse with the thought that all we have to do to receive our blessings is to ask, seek, and knock. If we persistently pray, seek the Lord, and ask him for these blessings then we can claim this promise.
But the verses after 7:7 help us see that the Lord doesn’t always give that which is asked for. The point of verse 9 is that God gives to us that which we need and that which most benefits us. If we ask for something stupid the Lord isn’t going to give that to us. The context strikes out any prosperity teaching in Matthew 7:7.
The Meaning:
One of the worst fruits of the rise in the prosperity gospel is that very precious verses like this one are not allowed to take deep root in our hearts. Out of fear of swallowing their false gospel we can wrongly neuter such passages. We can spend all of our time showing what Matthew 7:7 doesn’t mean and not let the full force of this precious promise sink into our hearts.
The point here is that God really hears our prayer. He really does respond to the prayers of his people. When we ask he really does answer. When we seek our Father we will really do find Him. When we knock on the door to his throne room, he really does answer. When we ask for bread and fish he really does give the good things that we seek.
Conclusion:
When I think about the way my children ask for things it helps this verse to come alive. They ask as ones without any resources of their own. Everything that they have at this young age comes from the hands of their father and mother. They are utterly dependent upon us. In the same way we are absolutely dependent upon the Lord. Matthew 7:7 is not only a reminder of our dependence on the Lord but also a reminder that He is a gracious and loving Father that delights in providing for His children.
God really does answer prayer. Let us pray, knowing that we are dependent children begging our gracious Father.