"Ask Anything and Believe" pt. 2

  Today is my last post until Sept. 23, 2013. I am taking some time away before my busy fall schedule gets into full swing.

  God's promises to us are not something we are to fit into our own agendas or use to our own personal belief system. God's promises are to be accepted and read to fit His agenda. We must be so careful that we don't take something from His word and twist it to our selfishness or excitement. God's promises through His word are to be looked upon seeing what He means by what He speaks!

"Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you." (Mark 11:24)"And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."  (Matt. 21:22)
"Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven." (Matt. 18:19)
"If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." (John 14:14)

  As I stated in my previous article, these verses are not blank checks for us. We must understand the words of Jesus within the parameters of His teachings. Jesus was teaching the kingdom of God and His purposes with such. The Lord means to bring the saved of all the ages to a glorious, never ending, joy-filled life of righteousness and holiness topped off by the assurance that Jesus has triumphed over sin and death bringing us to God.

  God was bringing in a new covenant signed, sealed and delivered by the blood of His Christ! Under this covenant would be His people, the church which is His body to be a people with a redeeming purpose and saving message. It is within this framework that God's holy people is assured that it will have whatever is needed for God's purpose! Heb. 13:20-21 speak to the same issues as the above verses in light of all of this.

  When we speak to that struggling brother or sister and say, "If you need anything or if there is anything I can do for you, please call on me!" What do we mean by "anything"? If they need $100,000? A bigger house or new vehicle? No! In the setting of the statement "anything" doesn't mean everything! There are parameters and we know it and they know it!

  Your boss calls you in for a new and very important project. You tell him you might need a few things to get it done properly. He replies, "Anything you need, you get it!" In light of the context of communication, "anything" has limits and doesn't mean beyond that.

  In all this we must remember that God doesn't tell us "ask anything" putting us on His throne. God does not and will not surrender His holiness, power and sovereignty to man's requests. We know well as parents that we cannot allow our children to have "anything" they want. We will not surrender our position as a parent as the things we have learned into the hands of a child. The same with God! We need to be much better students in reading and accepting God's word within the bookends He intends and not put our two cents worth into His teachings. It's called surrender!!