Can I ask God for too much?

Matthew 7:11 - If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

I have heard people say that they would call themselves blessed if God never answered another prayer or did another thing for them because he has been so good. While I understand the sentiment is some ways, I believe the thought to be rather misguided. Many times people say this when they are going through a trial and the answer to their prayers has not come quick enough. Whether consciously or subconsciously the person voicing this thought is trying to make sense of the fact that a certain prayer has not been answered. The only logical understanding of such a thing is to conclude that God knows best and owes me nothing.

But is this thought Biblical? Can I really say that God has given me so much that I don’t have a right to ask him for anything else? While I realize that God is sovereign, I do not believe such a position fits with God’s nature or within the framework of Biblical teaching. Allow me to explain. I am God’s child and he has promised to be a father to me. Being a father comes with certain obligations and responsibilities. While earthly fathers can and do disappoint and/or neglect their children, God is much bigger than that. He is the ultimate, perfect father who never goes back on his word and always keeps his promises.

I would like to pose a question to you? If an earthly father fed his children one day and did not feed them the next could he be called a good father? Certainly not! In fact, he would be guilty of neglect for starving his children. An earthly parent has a responsibly to provide for his or her children’s needs each and every single day. Can we expect any less of the gracious God of heaven who has promised to be a father to all those who put their trust in him (John 1:12)! After all, it was Jesus who asked how an evil (imperfect) man could be expected to provide for his children and God not do even more.

Many times people will say that God owes them nothing when a certain prayer has not been answered. In my experience, this usually centers on the illness or death of a loved one. Because we know that God can (and often does) heal people we can become disappointed when a loved one is not healed. I believe I have seen Christians disheartened over what they consider to be an untimely death more over than anything else I can name. We know that there are scriptures on divine healing in the Bible (Isaiah 53, James 5:14). Yet not everyone is healed when they are prayed for. Although difficult to accept, this should not surprise us because the scripture is also replete with promises that every human being will eventually die (Hebrews 9:27). While we might like it to be otherwise, God does not promise to heal everyone.

There are some things that God does promise, however.

·      The scripture is replete with promises that God will never forsake the righteous (Psalm 37:25).

·       God promises to be a friend to the friendless, the father, the downtrodden, and anyone else in need (Psalm 68:5).

·      God promises to give direction to those who earnestly seek him (Psalm 32:8, Psalm 30:21, Proverbs 3: 5-6).

·      God promises to reveal himself to those who seek him (Deut 4:29, Jeremiah 29:13).

·      God promises to feed, clothe, and care for those who trust in him (Luke 12:22-31).

·      God promises peace of mind and spirit to his children (Colossians 3:15, Galatians 5:22).

·      God promises to give us wisdom when we ask without scolding us for asking (James 1:5).

These are just a few of the many promises that God has given to us unequivocally in his word. He will not go back on these promises because they are set in his word and his word is forever settled in heaven (Psalm 119:89). When God makes a promise, he does not break it.

One final promise that God makes is that we can come boldly to his throne to find grace and help when we are in need (Hebrews 4:16). God’s invitation for us to approach him with our requests and needs is open-ended. Like any good parent he may thankfully discard the foolish requests that we make. Yet He never gets tired of us coming to him and we cannot wear out our welcome.

This post is not a permission slip to have an entitlement mentality. I understand that our God is the Lord of the universe and we must approach him humbly and with reverence. Perhaps a healthy dose of fear would even be appropriate. Yet we should not come to him afraid that he will be tired of hearing from us. Nor should we adapt the attitude that we have no right to ask for anything since he has been so good to us in the past. His word has given us the right to present our needs to him continually. God gets no glory out of his children doing without the things that they need. Rather he delights in continually providing for and sustaining us. Like any good father, he would not think of feeding us one day and neglecting us the next.

I believe God wants his children to live with a confidence and boldness that he will provide for 100% of our needs 100% of the time. This does not mean we will always receive what we want. It does mean we can trust God to supply what he knows we need. This understanding is something of far greater value than having a God who is like a genie in a bottle. I am content in the fact that God knows my needs and invites me to bring them to him so that he can provide for me as he thinks best. He is the perfect father and will never let me down.

Sincerely,

Spanish Pastor Jones

Kissing the Preacher

For several years I was asked to preach regularly for a man I’ll call Pastor Brown. The entire church family became very dear to us and we count the Brown family as close friends. One night I had taken the pulpit and was about to read my text when the Brown’s young daughter, leaned over to my wife and said, “I just realized that you get to kiss the preacher.” My wife responded in turn, “I also do his laundry.” The girl's reply was, “You just took the fun out of that thought.”

This scenario, though humorous, is probably fairly typical of what many Christian young people think about the ministry. It is easy to have a romantic notion of what the ministry, and indeed life itself, is all about. As a young person I was guilty of this as well. All I could imagine was the excitement of traveling from place to place and preaching. I felt the call of God on my life from a young age and could hardly wait until I was old enough to sit at the preachers’ table after church and share in the talk.

I had ideas of traveling the world, preaching large revivals, and seeing thousands converted. I certainly did not envision having to work a secular job during the week or driving for hours to preach on the weekends. I had no idea of the times I would look over my notes on the way to a service while my wife drove. After ministering on a Sunday night we take turns driving home through the night so that we can work the next morning. This is typical for many evangelists.

My purpose in saying this is not to put any negativity on the life of a minister. My wife and I both love the life we lead and wouldn’t trade it for anything. I believe every one of my minister friends feels the same way. The point is that the minister, whether pastor or evangelist, is just as human as the next man. Their children get sick, their cars break down, and they get headaches and stomach bugs. Preachers have to work and their wives have to do laundry. Life is not all fried chicken and peach cobbler. As in anything else, life can be stressful at times.

There are many young people who start out life with grandiose ideas of fame and fortune. When life doesn’t go according to their fairy tale ideas it is easy to become bitter and disillusioned. The saying about the grass being greener on the other side is true for everyone, minister and saint alike. I truly believe the key to contentment is learning to take the good with the bad. When one expects everything to always be perfect, he or she is quickly disappointed. If one allows for the fact that life isn’t perfect, he will find himself much more at peace with the realities of an imperfect world.

Are you one of those people who has a romanticized concept of what life should be like? Are you constantly feeling unsatisfied and wondering why? Perhaps its time to take a long look at your expectations. If they are unrealistic, you will never be content. Life will never be perfect on this earth but happiness is what we make it. None should be more content than the Christian. There is never a day when we who are born again do not have something for which to be thankful. No, life is not all about kissing the preacher. Sometimes you have to do his laundry. Just be thankful you have soap.

Yours Truly, 

Spanish Pastor Jones 

Why I Take the Bible Literally

Why I Take the Bible Literally

There is perhaps no other book that has had as great an influence on society as the Bible. It is a priceless collection of love songs, poems, epic plays, tragedies, and devotionals. The Old Testament is largely the story of the history of the Jewish people and God’s dealings with them while the New Testament records the birth of the Christian church.

In the pages of this epic one can find great comfort and inspiration. The stories of the Old Testament have especially been used as parables for inspiration. Consider the story of Queen Esther who goes before her husband, the King of the Persian Empire, to beg for the lives of her people. According to the customs of the day she could have been killed for going uninvited, yet she went anyway. Many have used Esther as a basis to preach about faith and perseverance in times of great conflict.

Indeed, all the stories of the Old Testament could be used in this way. Moses had faith to lead God’s people through the Red Sea. Haven’t you heard someone preach that God will make a way for you as he did for Moses? Sure you have; it is the perfect story for an inspirational message. The possibilities are endless if one wants to inspire courage. There is Daniel in the Den of Lions, The Three Hebrew Boys in the Fiery Furnace, Caleb fighting for his mountain at the age of eighty five, and the list goes on.

            If the Old Testament were only a book of inspirational stories it would still be the greatest literary masterpiece in the history of the world. It is far more than that, however. The Old Testament is a history of real events that can also be used as parables. Many of the great stories in the Old Testament are more than just inspirational; they are prophetic, speaking of the future Messiah that would save Israel from her sins.

            Consider the story of Samson, the strong man who was betrayed by the woman he loved. He was turned over to the enemy and mocked. Yet he loved his people and sacrificed for them in his death. He died while pulling down the pillars in a pagan temple and killing more Philistines in his death than in his life. This is a foreshadowing of the story of Jesus, the Strong Man of our salvation, who would sacrifice himself to save his people.

            There is Joshua, the Savior, who led God’s people into the promised land. His Hebrew name, Yeshua, is the same as Jesus’ Hebrew name. He is not just a historical figure but a type of the Messiah in the Old Testament. There is also Samuel. His name, Shem-u-el, literally translates as “Name of God.” He was raised up by God to turn the people of Israel back to God. Again, a type of Jesus, the Messiah.

            One could go on naming the figures in the Old Testament whose lives tell us something about the future Christ. There is David the Giant Killer, Jeremiah the weeping prophet, Jonah whose trip in the whale is a parable of Jesus in the tomb, Gideon, Barak, and many more. While being true historical figures, all of these people were types of the future Savior of Israel.

            Every story in the Bible is interlinked with the others. Each hero in the Old Testament points to Jesus the Messiah in the New. Each story of God’s grace is a foretelling of the ultimate story of salvation in Christ. The story of each individual character fits together like a piece of a giant jigsaw puzzle, weaving together a beautiful story of God’s love for humanity. Each person’s birth, life, and death are so detailed that these things could not have happened by accident. Only God could have arranged the details in such a way. This is why I do not take the Old Testament as just a collection of inspiring stories.

            Samson’s story is a parable of Jesus. He was the strongman sent to save Israel. Yet Samson was a flawed human and could not save himself. He died in disgrace. Samson was not enough; we needed Jesus. Hebrews 12:24 speaks of “better things.” Though there were great and mighty men in the Old Testament, they were all as flawed as we are. Jesus came as God’s perfect gift to humanity, bypassing the flawed genes of sin by being born of a virgin through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus had no sin and no flawed genetics. He did for us what the Old Testament characters could not do. He redeemed us to God through the sacrifice of his own blood. We are free to worship in Spirit and in Truth because of his redeeming sacrifice. Sure, we love the inspirational stories of the Old Testament but without Jesus they would not be enough. In Jesus we find everything that we need for life, hope, salvation, and ultimately for peace when it comes our time to die.

The Bible is not just a book of inspiring stories. It is the promise of Eternal Life through Him who loved us. If you don’t have this promise of eternal life today, the Bible tells you how to get it. You can repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and be filled with Holy Ghost. Many believe the promise of the Holy Ghost is no longer for us but I have experience and know that it is real.

This method of salvation is Biblical and will bring you great peace with God such as you have never known. I urge you today, take the scripture for what it means. Obey the plan of salvation today and see why I take the Bible literally.