February 26th 2017
Jesus Said, “Ask Whatever You Wish, And It Will Be Given You!”
Hebrews 11:1-2 (NIV)
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.
Hebrews 11:4-38 lists a huge number of people who believed God, when He promised to make their lives better and more meaningful. These people believed God and thus they obeyed His commands, and did what they perceived God requested, even when they did not really understand the impact it would have on their lives! These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. (Hebrews 11:39-40). Now Jesus promises to make the lives of His followers to become perfect! In the next life, we will experience perfection, as it was in the original world Jesus created, and maintained in perfection, until mankind’s sin brought in the curse of suffering and death!
Today we grapple with deciding if we will believe God’s Word, as contained in the Bible, or if we will instead believe the evolutionary historical science created in the cursed minds of mankind. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. (Hebrews 11:3). Have you decided to follow Jesus and accept Him as the Creator and sustainer of this universe, or do you elect to believe the guesses of mankind, as to how we got here, and why we are still here? Ample evidence has been found to point to a young earth, and a worldwide flood only thousands of years ago, that reshaped this earth! Literally no evidence has been found to support that the earth could be billions of years old. Will you choose to believe and follow God, or will you believe and follow these guesses of mankind? Where do you place your faith?
Will you believe that death and struggle for millions of years produced mankind by processes that did not require a god or gods or the God of the Bible? Random chance processes with no design or Designer, produced everything you see from nothing! There was “nothing” then there was a “Big Bang,” and everything see now came into being totally by itself! Now that really takes more faith than seems possible to me! What do you think? You must choose Who or what you will follow in this life, and thus, is there truly an afterlife to look forward to! If “nothing” created you, then “nothing” must assure you of an afterlife. The God of the Bible with Jesus Christ created everything from nothing just a few thousand years ago, AND Jesus paid your way into heaven when you die, through His work on that cross only a little over 2,000 years ago! Now that is a fact! Put your faith and trust in those promises from God!
David wrote about a land of the living through his faith in God’s promises. I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. (Psalm 27:13). David believed and stated in a worshipful mood, “I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” Do you, can you, also profess a faith that there is this “land of the living.” Are you residing in such a land today? This land exists everywhere on this earth, it is not limited by mankind’s rules or occupied territories, it is everywhere that followers of Jesus Christ reside. As soon as you accept what Jesus Christ did for you by dying for your sins, then you are now residing in this “land of the living.” There is no other way to arrive there, have you accepted this wonderful free(freeing) gift?
The land of the brave(faithful) and home of the free is not limited to only one geographical location, it is everywhere on this earth, for those who love the Lord! We read about Paul and Silas being imprisoned and put in shackles in a dungeon in terrible conditions, and found this a good time sing praises to God. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. (Acts 16:25). If you were thrown into prison unjustly would you find it a good time sing praises to the Lord? Oh, we of little faith. Paul and Silas used this time of unfair incarceration to convert the jailer and his family, if you read the rest of this story.
In reading in Revelation this week, a comment caught my eye. It stated “whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” The word “wishes” is what caught my interest in this verse. The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. (Revelation 22:17). There was no help given in the NIV Study Notes, and the concordance did not help much as there is only one other reference similar to this one. This is a wonderful promise from Jesus that John recorded for us. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. (John 15:7). This is one of those “to good to be true” promises that if we had a stronger faith we may actually be able to do!
Have you ever wished for something, but you never received it? It is likely most people reading this could answer yes to this question. It makes me wonder can I trust Jesus enough to really believe, if I should ask for something for myself or for someone else that seems outlandish, and expect it to happen? Jesus said, “ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” Do you have a faith that can move mountains? No, me either! What are we going to do? Do we dare believe what Jesus said? Pray for the confidence to have such a strong faith that we can believe what Jesus promised His followers.
Jesus said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you!”
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
Hebrews 11:1-2 (NIV)
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.
Hebrews 11:4-38 lists a huge number of people who believed God, when He promised to make their lives better and more meaningful. These people believed God and thus they obeyed His commands, and did what they perceived God requested, even when they did not really understand the impact it would have on their lives! These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. (Hebrews 11:39-40). Now Jesus promises to make the lives of His followers to become perfect! In the next life, we will experience perfection, as it was in the original world Jesus created, and maintained in perfection, until mankind’s sin brought in the curse of suffering and death!
Today we grapple with deciding if we will believe God’s Word, as contained in the Bible, or if we will instead believe the evolutionary historical science created in the cursed minds of mankind. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. (Hebrews 11:3). Have you decided to follow Jesus and accept Him as the Creator and sustainer of this universe, or do you elect to believe the guesses of mankind, as to how we got here, and why we are still here? Ample evidence has been found to point to a young earth, and a worldwide flood only thousands of years ago, that reshaped this earth! Literally no evidence has been found to support that the earth could be billions of years old. Will you choose to believe and follow God, or will you believe and follow these guesses of mankind? Where do you place your faith?
Will you believe that death and struggle for millions of years produced mankind by processes that did not require a god or gods or the God of the Bible? Random chance processes with no design or Designer, produced everything you see from nothing! There was “nothing” then there was a “Big Bang,” and everything see now came into being totally by itself! Now that really takes more faith than seems possible to me! What do you think? You must choose Who or what you will follow in this life, and thus, is there truly an afterlife to look forward to! If “nothing” created you, then “nothing” must assure you of an afterlife. The God of the Bible with Jesus Christ created everything from nothing just a few thousand years ago, AND Jesus paid your way into heaven when you die, through His work on that cross only a little over 2,000 years ago! Now that is a fact! Put your faith and trust in those promises from God!
David wrote about a land of the living through his faith in God’s promises. I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. (Psalm 27:13). David believed and stated in a worshipful mood, “I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” Do you, can you, also profess a faith that there is this “land of the living.” Are you residing in such a land today? This land exists everywhere on this earth, it is not limited by mankind’s rules or occupied territories, it is everywhere that followers of Jesus Christ reside. As soon as you accept what Jesus Christ did for you by dying for your sins, then you are now residing in this “land of the living.” There is no other way to arrive there, have you accepted this wonderful free(freeing) gift?
The land of the brave(faithful) and home of the free is not limited to only one geographical location, it is everywhere on this earth, for those who love the Lord! We read about Paul and Silas being imprisoned and put in shackles in a dungeon in terrible conditions, and found this a good time sing praises to God. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. (Acts 16:25). If you were thrown into prison unjustly would you find it a good time sing praises to the Lord? Oh, we of little faith. Paul and Silas used this time of unfair incarceration to convert the jailer and his family, if you read the rest of this story.
In reading in Revelation this week, a comment caught my eye. It stated “whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” The word “wishes” is what caught my interest in this verse. The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. (Revelation 22:17). There was no help given in the NIV Study Notes, and the concordance did not help much as there is only one other reference similar to this one. This is a wonderful promise from Jesus that John recorded for us. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. (John 15:7). This is one of those “to good to be true” promises that if we had a stronger faith we may actually be able to do!
Have you ever wished for something, but you never received it? It is likely most people reading this could answer yes to this question. It makes me wonder can I trust Jesus enough to really believe, if I should ask for something for myself or for someone else that seems outlandish, and expect it to happen? Jesus said, “ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” Do you have a faith that can move mountains? No, me either! What are we going to do? Do we dare believe what Jesus said? Pray for the confidence to have such a strong faith that we can believe what Jesus promised His followers.
Jesus said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you!”
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
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