Author: gabrieltew

The Parable of the Leaven is so short that you hardly notice it’s even a parable. Yet, it’s packed with meaning. 

I’ve heard and read several definitions of parable, but my favorite one is what I consider the Sunday school definition. It’s simply an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.

Without Jesus’ announcement that a parable was coming, the first clue that it’s a parable is found in its first six words, The kingdom of Heaven is like…

From there we see the first major word, leaven, which is what we would call yeast. Leaven in this parable is a good thing, not always the case in Scripture; in fact, it at times represents sinfulness. But in this case, it couldn’t symbolize a better reality: the kingdom of God, itself. 

A woman who’s making bread hides the leaven, which is always in small amounts and always effects a relatively large amount of flour or meal, as a key part of the bread-making process.

I think it’s remarkable that she hides it, wording we wouldn’t typically use about baking ingredients. Consider some other Scriptural examples of things hidden: 

• David writes that he has hidden God’s word in his heart so that he might not sin against Him.
• We Christians, ourselves, are hidden with Christ in God.
• All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ.

All these things are valuables hidden by God from some and for others (from and for being important distinctions).

The kingdom of God, represented by the leaven, is the most valuable of all things, and He has hidden it in us for us (again, important words, in and for). 

Sometimes, believers exhaust themselves searching in all the wrong places for God and His answers when all we need to do is look within our own hearts where He has hidden His Spirit for us. 

Our efforts to find God and His kingdom also often prove futile in another way. We didn’t expect Him to choose the people in whom He’s chosen to dwell. It’s surprising to us that He would hide Himself in the poor in spirit, the grieving, the humble. Yet, in the hearts of those kinds of people are the very places we can find Him.

Getting back to the parable, this woman hid the leaven in three measures of meal. This reference to three measures is not about three different places or groups of people; rather, it points to what the number three means: completeness (Father, Son & Spirit; beginning, middle & end; past present & future; solid, liquid & gas; etc.). Jesus came to bring the kingdom of God to the entire world. God so loved the world…it is not His will that any should perish, but that all might be saved…not to condemn the world, but that through Him they might be saved.

There isn’t anyone in the entire world, in its history of generations, in whom God isn’t willing to hide His kingdom. So, let’s be careful whom we’re tempted to overlook as recipients of God’s grace. Surely, we could, ourselves, easily be overlooked.

Please don’t look for God only in the external, but be ready with your best response when He reveals Himself to you right in your most inner self.

The final point Jesus drives home for us in His briefest parable is that what
he launched (and still launches) in the hearts of individuals will eventually manifest on the most massive of scales. His kingdom permeates the entire world. With this parable, Jesus prophesied the global promulgation of the gospel. 

He foretold the ultimate reach of His kingdom. 

And He revealed the process by which He builds His kingdom, not from the outside in – with human armies and earthly palaces through which He would amass subjects – but in the hearts of people who would influence others and, thereby, form the ultimate grassroots movement. 

Just as a transformed life happens through the renewal of the mind, the transformation of the world will result from the kingdom of Heaven being birthed in the individual hearts of millions of people. 

God, please give us eyes to see Your kingdom manifesting in our midst.

Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of Heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened. – Matthew 13:33

If you want to be the perfect daddy’s girl, follow these six pieces of advice:

1. Have a special song with your dad. “Hey Baby, Will You Be My Girl” is the best one, but I’m sure others can work. But sing it back and forth with your daddy (and change “girl” to “daddy” when your verse rolls around). Every time you think of it, sing it, and if you’re ever at an event and the song comes on, sing it to each other while dancing and acting crazy (try to embarrass your dad, but don’t feel defeated if he embarrasses you more).

2. If you have a little sister, five years younger than you, be a second mother to her. It’s okay to be a bit on the bossy side, but don’t get too upset if she becomes even bossier than you and demands that you do every little thing for her. Oh, and live near her when you grow up, just in case she still needs you, although, you shouldn’t be hurt if she somehow becomes super independent and doesn’t seem to need much help from anyone. But I know you’ll be there for her anyway, just because you love her and that’s who you are.

3. When you grow up and move out on your own, text your dad one random morning at 6:00 because you two were always the first ones up and you shared a 6 a.m. cup of coffee together every morning. Just text: “I miss you, Daddy.” I promise you he’ll cry that morning and thank God that you’re his daughter. But do this only once. He’s just a man and his soft heart can’t take but just so much of that kind of thing from his daddy’s girl.

4. When you and your dad are planning your mom’s 50^thbirthday party and you’re making a decision about whether to take a slight shortcut or to go over the top, insist on going over the top. Just look at your dad and say, “because that’s what she would do.” It’ll show your dad that you’ve gleaned lessons from your mother, who happens to be the person most committed to excellence that you’ve ever known. And he’ll be even prouder of you, if that’s possible.

5. When you get out in the world and start making your way, become very well known as a hard-working, super organized, creative professional with very high standards. Your daddy will beam every time he tells a friend about how awesome you’re doing.

6. When you turn 30, come home to your daddy because all your siblings will be there to celebrate you because your whole family loves you so very much.

Happy birthday to my daughter, Kristin! I love you, Kwi!

We’re in the season of first days. School is starting for students, faculty, staff and parents.

It got me thinking about the first days I’ve had in my life.

I remember the first day of first grade; it was 1968. I came home and told my parents who my teacher was; it was Mrs. Blevins. My dad was so surprised, “Mrs. Blevins was my first grade teacher, too!” I remember thinking, “She must be really old.” She was younger then than I am now.

I remember my first day of college. I didn’t know what to expect; I was the first in my family to go to college. I was relieved to find that it wasn’t going to overwhelm me; “I’m gonna be able to handle this,” I thought. 

When our oldest child, Tres, began first grade in 1995, I remember driving him to school, walking him in and meeting his teacher, Mrs. Johnson; she turned out to be an amazing first grade teacher.

Our second child, Nate,  began kindergarten with some apprehension. But the man-kiss set him at ease. The man-kiss is the handshake I had with my sons. You just clap your hands, kiss your palm and do a high five. The look that our man-kiss brought to his face set me at ease that morning, too, allowing me to leave him there with peace in my heart. 

Kristin, our next child and first girl, went full speed, fully excited into her first school day. That’s her way; still today Kwi embraces new things easily.

When Jacob, our fourth child, went off to college, my wife, Sharlene, also drove up to help get him settled in; she has this thing about not using shower curtains for bedspreads. And everything having a right place, or something like that.

Well, Sharlene took our two youngest with her, so I found myself for three days in a situation I hadn’t been in for nearly twenty years: alone. Tears came to my face much of the weekend.

Luke and Janna, our two youngest went to big city colleges – one in NY and the other in Boston – making sure they flew far from the nest. I’m not sure how their first days went, but they were surprisingly tough for me, considering I’d had four and five practices to supposedly become better at it.  

I had a really tough first day on a job I took a while back. That night, my boss called to tell me the company wanted me to step down. He explained that they were brokering a shady deal, and my being there would mess that up. I was humiliated. Toughest first day ever for me. After a fitful two hours of sleep, I got up, went into the den and knelt, using the sofa as an altar.  Desperate and utterly humiliated, I cried  out to God and cried literal tears before the Lord; I really needed a job. 

I rose, got my laptop and drafted an email to the company. After finishing the email, I was just about to click Send when my phone vibrated. It was my boss. The shady part of the deal had fallen through, and they wanted me to come back. Even though I had very little respect for this company, I needed a paycheck, plus I knew the company was being sold and the buyer had to be a better company than the seller was, so I went back. The buyer was a much better company, and I still work for them. But, boy, what a first day that was!

The best day of my life was October 12, 1983. It was my first day as a Christian. God had revealed Himself to me the day before, rescuing me from a demonic attack. Seeing how powerful He was and His willingness to use His power for me, I committed my life to Jesus. The sense of peace and joyful bliss was astonishing to me, and He has never left me and never will. 

I long to see more people experience their first day as Christians. In the season of first days, what a wonderful time to experience the first day of salvation in Christ Jesus!

Today is the day of salvation – 2 Corinthians 6:2

The answer to the question why depends on who’s asking it. 

Jesus was walking through the city of Jerusalem with His disciples when they saw a man blind from birth. 

“Why,” they asked Jesus, “was this man born blind?”

Their why meant “what was the cause?” 

But Jesus often answered the question that should’ve been asked, rather than the one actually asked. And that’s what He did in this case. 

The disciples were concerned with the cause of the man’s blindness. At best, they wanted wisdom to understand so they could teach others how to avoid such plights as a life of blindness. At worst, they wanted to know who was at fault, whom to blame.

Jesus wasn’t interested in whose fault it was. He hadn’t come from Heaven to earth to condemn us, but that through Him we might be saved. 

So, Jesus, instead of answering the whose-fault-is-this question, answered the what’s-the-purpose-of-this question. 

And the answer was, “so that the works of God can be seen.”

And then Jesus healed the man.

I believe this is more than an isolated incident. I believe this story, found in the 9^th chapter of John’s gospel, reveals to us a principle of God.

As I found myself in the hospital 3 ½ years ago, unable to walk or swallow, one of the questions everybody was asking was “what caused this?” 

I wasn’t a candidate for stroke. I was fairly healthy – my diet was healthy, I exercised regularly, didn’t use nicotine or any substances, didn’t have a high level of stress and stroke wasn’t in  my family history. 

The neurosurgeon said my carotid was extremely dissected, leading him to believe I had been in a car accident or had some kind of trauma to my neck.

Nothing like that had occurred, so nobody had an answer for what caused the stroke.

However, God has shown me over time that the stroke did have a purpose. 

I won’t get into whether the stroke was caused or merely allowed by God. Again, cause isn’t my concern, but purpose is. 

Scripture teaches that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him and embrace His purpose. We also know from His Word that everything exists to bring Him glory. 

So God is causing my stroke to produce good for me and glory for Him. That’s His purpose and I’m more than ok with it. 

What good looks like in my situation is that I’m more intimate with God than I’ve ever been before. I haven’t been able to open the fingers on my left hand in almost 43 months; also in that time, 80% of my musical abilities have vanished. Those are two painful losses for me, but God has more than offset them with the close friendship He’s fostered with me. Every time I’ve felt the pain of loss in my post-stroke life, the Spirit of God has whispered to me, “I’m here with you; draw close.” 

So for me, God’s purpose has brilliantly trumped any sense of cause.

I’m pretty sure the blind man would say the same.

Ask a group of non-church-going people their opinion of church people and one of the common answers will be that we are judgmental and hypocritical. Whether the description is accurate or merely perceived from individual to individual, there’s no doubt that both judgmentalism and hypocrisy exist in the body of Christ on some level. And neither should exist at all.

On that issue, I want to address three individuals or groups:

1. To Jesus-followers who make up today’s body of Christ (the church): My brothers and
sisters, if we are honest with ourselves, we all know we have failed in this. How can we
expect to influence people toward Jesus if we aren’t allowing Him to influence us? Why
do we judge those outside the body when we live even less Godly lives, ourselves? Any
righteous and productive judgment must begin with each one of us judging ourselves by
the standard of God’s Word. Then maybe we’ll be in a condition for God to use us the
way He wants to, as reflections of His light.

2. To Jesus: Lord, we confess with sorrow that the very sins you addressed most directly as
You established Your church we are still committing, despite the reality that You now
live in us. We have no excuse; we have Your teaching in the New Testament and Your
Spirit dwelling in our hearts constantly directing us away from those sins and into grace-
thinking toward other people. The complaints of the world haven’t gotten our attention,
nor have the tears of those we’ve hurt.
In the same breath, we both request and receive the forgiveness You make available by
Your abundant grace. We also request help from our Helper; Your help has been in play
for us, but because of our extreme weakness, we ask that You help us even more with
our relatively tiny role of cooperating with the leading of Your Spirit.

3. To onlookers who haven’t yet joined the body of Christ: Two things I want to say to you.
First, we’re sorry for any way you’ve been mistreated by the church. We misrepresented
Jesus in every occurrence that lacked love and kindness on our part. Nevertheless,
please don’t judge who Jesus is by our poor behavior. He’s given us both strength to
walk well and forgiveness when we don’t. So while we’re forgiven and refuse to walk in
the guilt that He’s removed with His own sacrifice, we will endeavor to treat you with
more kindness going forward.
Additionally, please allow me the boldness to say that since you aren’t perfect either,
and stand in need of forgiveness for your own shortcomings, please prayerfully consider
joining us in faith in Jesus. As I stated, we have both strength by His Spirit to live in the right way, and His forgiveness when we come up short. That’s an incomprehensible
double blessing and is what everyone needs more than anything. So please allow Jesus
to make Himself real to you and be ready to trust Him with your eternal future when He
does. And when you come into the body of Christ by faith in Jesus, please don’t be judgmental or hypocritical.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. – Matthew 5:5

Meek means humble by choice. Meekness is best expressed in the life of Jesus. The best expression of the concept in words we find in 1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, and in due time He will exalt you. Let’s examine the verse exegetically. 

Humble. The literal meaning of the original from which the word derives is dirt. It depicts the most base level of form and position possible. Imagine the soldier doing the pit crawl under barbed wire. There you have it, the image for humble.

Yourselves. Someone can be humbled by an outside force, but God calls for it to be voluntary, that we voluntarily take the position ourselves. Actually, He’s calling us to be humble of heart. It’s possible to be humbled outwardly and still stubbornly maintain a heart of pride. Most important is that our attitudes involve humility, regardless of the externals.

Under the mighty hand of God. God’s mighty hand over us means, first, that he protects us. Humility in the Lord is the safest possible scenario for us. Becoming antsy and squirming our way into a seemingly higher position only opens us up to danger. Secondly, God’s protective hand serves as a barrier that keeps us close to Him where we can remain in increasing intimacy with Him and hear His voice that speaks life. 

In due time. Who gets to decide when something is due? The one in authority. The teacher, the mortgage company, electric company and the judge. The highest authority in the universe, under whose protective and directive hand we wait, is the one who sets the due date for our graduation from the low to the high. His judgment is perfect and His timing perfectly trustworthy.

He will. God calls us to patiently humble ourselves, but He’s the one who does the lifting. Troubles ensues when we try to take His job and expect Him to do ours. And it’s meaningful the verb tense. He will…when?…He will…why hasn’t He?…He will…Why can’t I?…He will. Be patient, because He will. 

Exalt you. God will, according to His will, lift us to the place He’s planned since the beginning for us to be. He exalts us for two purposes.

First, He exalts us to be honored. We don’t deserve it, but He bestows it upon us anyway. He didn’t lift David from the sheep pastures to the throne of His chosen people because he deserved it; He chose him based on His own divine desire to bless him. No person deserved the lifting to Israel’s throne, but God lifted them anyway. We won’t be exalted because of our qualifications, but because of His. Jesus’s exaltation is the only deserving one. Yet ours is promised.

The second reason for God’s exaltation of people is that He has work for us to do. In Joshua 7 we see what sometimes happens when we humble ourselves. Joshua and the elders of Israel were distraught from the defeat of their people, so they fell on their faces before the presence of God all day long. 

After Joshua cried out from his troubled heart, God uttered two words: Get up. The Lord had some work for them to do that would eradicate the source of their distress. We can’t forget that what may follow our time of humility may be, as He lifts us up, a work order from the Lord.

Jordan heard the knock on the doorpost of his home. “Coming!” As he neared the doorway, he could see the figure of a man but could not make out his face as the sun shone from directly behind the silhouette, effectively blinding Jordan.

“I come with an invitation.” said the man to whom the silhouette belonged before Jordan could get into position to converse with him.

“Invitation from Whom?” Jordan did not appreciate the interruption, but his curiosity was piqued. 

“The lost son of my lord, Elam of Ramoth-Gilead, has returned to the immensely pleasant surprise of his father. The fattened calf is being prepared as we speak and shall be served at dusk today, sir. It would make Elam most joyful to have you, your wife and your son in attendance.”

“I had heard that son was dead,” said Jordan from a surprised but elated heart for his beloved friend, Elam.

“That was our fear, sir, but fortunately, that fear has this day been dispelled.”

“It would be my great honor to attend and celebrate this most joyful turn of events, but you do understand this is very short notice.”

I do indeed, as does my lord, Elam, but I do not wish to understate the addition to Elam’s bliss – yea, to that of his entire household – that your presence would make, my lord, Jordan.”

With such honor and respect exuding from the mouth of Elam’s servant, the urgency of the merchants’ order Jordan had spent all day pouring over was falling to a lower and lower priority by the second. Of course! He had to attend! This was one of his closest friends and most respected business associates, and his son who had also been a close companion to his own son, had in essence returned from the dead. The merchants’ order would be filled tomorrow, This was a day of celebration!

“Prepare my steed and carriage,” Jordan said to his stable hand. 

“Immediately, sire.” The steward turned and walked toward the stable to accommodate his master’s desire.

Jordan, his wife, Abigail, and their son, Nathan, sat in the carriage as their driver navigated through the network of roads to Elam’s estate. 

“When did the boy return?” Abigail asked about Elam’s long-lost son.

“Just this morning. That is why the invitation came with such short notice. I can only imagine being in Elam’s shoes. It is rumored that your son is dead, then much to your surprise, you see him walking the path to return home. The servant bringing the invitation said Elam ran toward his son when he saw him, fell on his neck in joyful tears and brought him to the house, called all his household together and officially reinstated his position in the family.”

Abigail fought back tears as she tried to speak. “Every time I heard mention of Elam’s son being lost to him I thanked Jehovah that our Nathan has remained faithful and wise.” Abigail lifted her eyes to meet Nathan’s who sat opposite her and Jordan in the carriage. 

Nathan’s eyes dropped as he fought back tears of his own. Seconds later he had gathered himself just enough to speak. “It is hard to believe my prayers for Andrew have finally been answered.”

“You prayed for him to come home?” asked his father.

“I prayed for him to succeed.”

“I am not sure that is the prayer that was answered,” Abigail said, having heard he returned home penniless with the hope that his father would accept him as a servant on his  estate. 

“His life is not over. There are still many years for success in his future,” Nathan argued respectfully to his mother. “For now, being safe and with his family is success.“ Abigail found it comforting that her son, the same age as Andrew, saw value in being with family.

“Yes,” Jordan agreed, “If God is willing, Andrew has a long life still ahead of him to achieve all kinds of success, as do you, my son.”

The carriage followed the steed onto the driveway leading to Elam’s house. Music was playing from behind the house accompanied by the smell of beef and cheers of Elam’s friends. As they followed the cart path around to the back of the house, they saw the crowd of guests and the fire roasting the calf. Wine was being poured into the cups of all the guests as many of them tore bread and dipped it into bowls of olive oil, eating and laughing together. 

Jordan and his family stepped down from their carriage. Nathan spotted Andrew across the lawn and quick-stepped excitedly over toward him; Jordan and Abigail found an unassuming place among the guests and received bread and wine.

Nathan and Andrew embraced, kissing each other on their cheeks and laughing that they were together again after two long years. “You’re home!” Nathan said with a full-faced smile.

“Yes, home! It is so good to see you, my friend!”

“I am sorry to interrupt the reconciliation of best friends,” Elam interjected as he stepped in and placed his hands on his son’s shoulders, “but it is time for the most joyful announcement.” 

Elam led Andrew onto the veranda where servants placed a robe on Andrew’s shoulders and had him sit so that they could place special shoes onto his feet. Then his father took him by the hand, gently lifting it as Andrew stood in response. Elam slid the family signet ring onto Andrew’s finger that signified his full restoration of sonship and authority in the estate. Then, Elam, still holding the hand of his son, turned to face their guests, “Thank you all, my friends, for your presence at this most joyous occasion. For Jehovah has brought my son home! He was dead but is now alive. He was lost but he is home again. Please, eat, drink, thank God for His goodness and honor my son in his return and restoration!”

“He was lost, but now he is found.” So the party began. – Luke 15:24

There was a time when many of Jesus’ disciples left and followed Him no more. Here’s why. First, they had taken offense at the truth He spoke in addressing their selfish desires. 

We know from Proverbs 18:19 that, once someone is offended, it’s very difficult to turn their heart back toward their offender.  Every time the Lord brings correction to us, we have a critical decision to make. We’ll either resist or cooperate. 

The people in the latter half of John 6, who’d been among the five thousand Jesus fed miraculously the day before, followed Jesus vigorously, circumventing the Sea of Galilee in pursuit of Him. Passionately seeking after Jesus seems like a good thing, right?

But their purpose in pursuing Him was that He would provide another meal for them. And that’s the truth that offended them so badly. 

Once offended, the people’s hearts were thrown into confusion. And once confused, they were  unwilling to  receive the words of life He spoke to them. 

Confuse means to attach together (con = together; fuse = attach). When two things are fused together, one can no longer tell them apart. The John 6 people couldn’t tell the difference between the message of Jesus and the pagan practice of drinking blood and consuming human flesh. Jesus’ John 6 stated requirement to drink His blood and eat His flesh was confusing to me until I understood what He meant by it.

As Jesus sensed disciples turning away, He asked His twelve if they also wanted to leave Him. Simon Peter, as spokesman for the group, had the right response. He said, in essence, “We may not understand what You said either, but we do understand who You are; You’re the Christ, the Son of God, and we know You have the words of eternal life.”

Perhaps they didn’t fully understand until their last meal with Jesus, during Passover, when He explained – and the next day demonstrated – that the cup and the bread represented the submission of one’s very life to the will of God. 

Whenever it was that the twelve really got what Jesus meant by His blood and His flesh, they could tell the difference between His words and the practice of pagans. At that point, they could discern.

Discern means to tell the difference between one thing and another. Discernment is an antonym of confusion. 

Simon Peter’s answer to Jesus exemplifies for us the discernment we need in our faith walk with Jesus. We may not understand every single thing along the journey, but we understand the most important thing, that Jesus is God the Son, the Christ worthy of our trust. Whatever we’re yet to understand must not trump our knowledge of who Jesus is. Ultimately, what we really need to remember is that Jesus is who the Bible says He is. 

Once we grasp that truth, we cannot relinquish it, regardless of how confusing situational details may appear. Holding on to the correct identity and rightful position of Christ will clarify whatever confusion arises like a strong wind blowing away a dense fog.

We Jesus followers are at a decided advantage in the midst of this culture of confusion. We have a clarity of perspective by virtue of our relationship with Jesus. He clears up all confusion for us.

So let us let us discern through the lens of God’s Word. For we need not be confused. 

Several reasons exists as to why married couples need Jesus to be the Lord of their relationship. To begin with, there’s the very purpose for which God established marriage: to reflect Himself. 

Jimmy Evans illustrates this by zeroing in on the statement God made in the beginning, “Let Us make mankind in Our own image.” Who’s the Us and the Our? This is the first hint in Scripture that God is trinitarian, three in one. 

Pastor Evans brings three men on stage and stands them shoulder to shoulder to symbolize the Godhead. Then he brings up a married couple and points out that the husband (representing Adam) doesn’t look like the trinitarian Creator, then to the couple now standing together to show that they also don’t look like the triune God (the three guys). So far, marriage is not looking much like God.

Then Pastor Evans walks over and stands with his arms around the couple, illustrating clearly that God is the necessary third piece of a marriage to have it reflect God, as He intended. The real point is that marriage must include God if it is to reflect God. 

Another reason God – and more specifically, God the Son, Jesus – is the necessary third party in marriage is that marriage must have that one ingredient that only Jesus provides. Jesus came into our human world for the distinct purpose of availing that very ingredient to us. It’s the ingredient that saves each of us from our deserved judgment and  into life forever with God in His eternal Heaven. It’s the ingredient necessary for us to be free from the chains of bondage we forged with our sinfulness. It’s what Jesus alone brought to sinning people like me. It’s what we need most and cannot attain except with Jesus.

It’s grace. Grace eliminates the horror we deserve and provides generously the beauty we do not deserve. 

Grace is absolutely necessary for a great marriage; the intention of forgiving in advance whatever hurt a spouse may cause is the secret to having an awesome marriage. Every other approach to marriage will come up short and soon have the couple drowning in the quicksand of resentment and bitterness. 

Since grace is necessary for marriage and it cannot be found except in Jesus, its author, then Jesus is necessary for any marriage to be a good one. 

Some may say, “Wait, I agree that my marriage needs grace, but I disagree that I cannot produce the grace it needs without Jesus’ help.”

Well, I strongly disagree. But let’s assume for a moment that you’re right. You don’t need Jesus in your marriage because you can produce grace from your own heart and give it out freely to your spouse. In that case, you can have an awesome marriage without Jesus having a place in it.

Again, it is no more possible to produce grace apart from Jesus than to produce an elephant from a mouse. But if you could, and you could have a great marriage without Jesus, you still have no hope for eternity. You’ll have a great marriage on this earth. But once you and your spouse do by death finally part, you will enter into a forever long regret, because only through Jesus may you attain eternal life with God in Heaven. So, foolish spouse, you have gained the whole marital world, but lost your soul.

If you’re a person who hasn’t gone all in on Jesus, please realize that He is God’s answer to our sin problem. Start now believing in Him to make you right with God and to be reconciled with Him forever.

And simultaneously, allow Him the seat of honor in your marriage relationship. For He is that necessary third in marriage.

I did a project several years ago, matching up a verse of Scripture to every month and day in the year. For July 7^th (7/7), it’s Matthew 7:7 It can be called ASK Day, and I think it should be a recognized holiday, or holyday, maybe. Matthew 7:7 goes like this: Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you.

An important thing to know is that these verbs, ask, seek and knock, all three are in present imperative tense in the Greek manuscripts. That means these verbs are described as continuous actions, letting us know that we’re invited by God to keep our requests continually before him, rather than shooting Him an occasional quickie. 

Jesus, who spoke these words in His Sermon on the Mount, reiterated this point with a parable that’s recorded in Luke 18. There was a judge who had no love for God nor people, so fair and right judgment wasn’t his goal. However, there was a widow who came (present imperative tense) relentlessly before him, calling on him for justice in her case. 

The judge cared nothing about her having justice, yet he gave in and heard the case, just to bring an end to her annoying pleas. 

If a judge, explained Jesus, answered the request of someone he cared nothing about, can’t we bring, with confidence, to our loving Father, who desires to give us whatever we need, the requests on our hearts?

Some Bible publishers title this parable The Unjust Judge, but the title I prefer, which some publishers use, is The Persistent Widow. That title emphasizes the widow’s persistence above the poor character of the judge, and I think that’s more appropriate, as in keeping with Jesus’ lesson.

God retains His sovereignty in all matters, and as His submissive children, we defer to His will, actually ultimately preferring His will. Thus Paul, after three requests – each being lengthy, by my estimation – accepted God’s solution to his problem, a different solution than Paul had requested. And God’s only Son, Himself, accepted the Father’s will over His own after praying three times in Gethsemane (Luke 22).

So God’s Sovereign will always has the final say.

But then there was the Canaanite woman (Matthew 15) begging Jesus, then His disciples, then Jesus again, to help with her demon-possessed daughter. She was so persistent that she seemed to finally convince Jesus to do what He first had refused at to do. That story is probably the best real-life play-out of the principle of persistence in prayer – the ASK Principle.

And I believe God’s will is that we participate in many more real-life examples of the principle by asking, seeking and knocking with persistence.

So happy ASK Day! May we be reminded on this day to persistently seek God for our needs every day of the year!