Knock And The Door Will Be Opened

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.

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 

                                                                                  (Luke 11:5-9 KJV)

Who would not answer their door to a friend in need? Sadly, there are many who would not. They may have many reasons. Maybe, they are in bed and don't feel like getting up. Maybe they are in the middle of a game or a television show and don't feel like interrupting it. Maybe they just don't feel like helping their friend because they don't view their relationship as close as the person who is on the otherside of the door knocking. 

My parents taught me to always be there to help anyone in need and it didn't have to be a friend. I recall their door being opened to many strangers. It is what they did. It is what we do for those who may be suffering or in any kind of need.

I had to actually look up the word "importunity" from the scripture this morning in order to be sure that I knew what it meant. Importunity is when someone has to beg for help and gets that help not out of friendship or kindness or love or anything as sweet as that; but, because the person being asked finally gets annoyed enough of the begging that they give in and help the person in need.

The world today is full of fear. There are definitely dangers around us and at times might even knock at our door. Prudence and caution is a good thing when opening the doors to strangers. But; know this, even if Jesus is a stranger to you, you can knock on his door and it will be opened. He will let you into the Kingdom. You do not have to beg or be afraid to ask for his help. He already gave it to you when he suffered and died on the cross to open the door to the Kingdom for you.

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." (Luke 11:9) 

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Release Us From These Prisons

Moreover the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying,

Thus saith the Lord the maker thereof, the Lord that formed it, to establish it; the Lord is his name;

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. 

                                                                                    (Jer 33:1-3 KJV)

There are so many prisons and types of prisons today. There are the multitudes of prisons with bars to contain the convicted. There are the victims being held by sex traffickers as well as  other types of abusers. There are also the many who find themselves isolated today due to a world-wide pandemic or afraid to leave their homes because of violence in the streets. There are those who have worked for years to build up a business to support themselves; their families; their employees to find that the government has shut them down or has completely limited their customer base and are struggling to stay alive.

Let us stand on the word of the Lord to Jeremiah: "Call unto me, and I will answer thee." (Jer 33:3) He will lead us out of this prison of hopelessness and despair. He will show us the way.

Let us pray to the one who created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. Let us pray to the one who hears and answers: Heavenly Father, hear our prayers and release us from these prisons. Hear our prayers for peace. Hear our prayers and answer that we might know the joy of being reconciled to you and to one another. Hear our prayers and answer in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

He Answers In His Time

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

                                                                                    (2 Peter 3:8-9 KJV)

Do not doubt that God hears and answers our prayers. He does hear them and he does answer them. They may not be answered in the way that we desire. The answer may sometimes be "no" especially if they are not in accordance with His will. His answer may also not come in the time that you desire it to come. 

 

We might like things done now and the way that we want them done. We judge time by the few years we have on this earth. God has eternity to work with!

When storms arise in your life; do not fear. Do not fret. Be at peace in the assurance that God does hear and He does answer your prayers according to His good will for all of His children. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Rom 8:28)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Grace Filled And Salty Speech

"Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." (Col 4:6 KJV)

When my granddaughter was young, she could be a bit salty. Okay, she could be a lot salty. She can still be a bit over the top when she is aggravated.

Salt is a good thing in the appropriate amounts for the specific occasion. A lot of salt is needed to move a pesky ant hill. Not so much salt is needed to flavor food. Salt poured on a wound might sting; but, it helps in the healing process. It does no hurt to be a bit salty at times. Salt is necessary for life.

Grace is also necessary for life. But, "grace and only grace is no grace at all," as my former mentor and teacher, Dr. Karl Keljo, often reminded me. Being a bit salty is a good thing. But, just as only grace without a bit of salt can do damage; so can being overly salty. 

May God grant us the wisdom to know how much salt we should or should not use to season our conversations with others.

God's Peace - Pr. J