 In Matthew chapter 20 Jesus was leaving Jericho when two blind men kept yelling to him, pleading for him to have mercy on them. No doubt, they had heard the stories of how Jesus had healed people. The crowd told them to be quiet, but they just yelled louder. Jesus said, "what do you want me to do for you? They answered that they wanted their sight. Jesus had compassion on them and healed them.
Here are some more things that Jesus said about asking: 1. You need to ask for good things. Matthew 7:7 (GNT) Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you The passage goes on to explain that human fathers give good gifts to their children, so how much more will your Heavenly Father give us good things. This doesn't mean that God will give us the latest iPhone, a boyfriend, or a million dollars. Even though we may want those things, they may not be good for us. 2. You need to have faith and believe that God can do what you're asking. Matthew 21:22 (NIV) If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. 3. You need to ask in the name of Jesus. John 14:13 (NIV) I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Can you think of a time when you asked God for something and you received it?
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Sunday 5th September is Father's Day in Australia. We have three free prints you can download and make a Father's Day card or gift. You can decorate a journal or notebook, print it onto an iron on transfer and decorate a t-shirt, BBQ apron or tea towel. If you use them we'd love to see what you do. 
 Matthew 19:30 is a perfect example of Jesus' upside down economy. The world says the first will be first and the last will be last. But Jesus said, many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first. The people we consider being first or winning at life include those who are famous, successful, attractive, wealthy... but many of them do not know Jesus and therefore, won't have an eternal address in heaven. The people that we consider being last are those who are poor, unsuccessful, sick, outcasts... and many of them will find Jesus and spend eternity with him. These are the kind of people that Jesus hung out with when he walked the earth. God doesn't measure success like the world does. In his eyes being successful is loving God and loving others. Jesus doesn't say that everyone who is first will be last, just many. There are certainly people who are successful and famous who love Jesus. So the moral of the story: don't get hung up on being successful the way the world measures success. Love Jesus and love others, then you will be first in heaven.
 The fear of missing out is nothing new:
I think that fear of missing out is closely linked to envy and jealousy because you are afraid of missing out on what someone else has. The Bible warns about envy and jealousy. Proverbs 14:30 Envy rots the bones. Ecclesiastes 4:4 I realized the reason people work hard and try to succeed: They are jealous of each other. This, too, is useless. It is like chasing the wind. 1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. Good looks, money, possessions, likes and follows do not last forever. We should fix our eyes on Jesus and the things that build his kingdom. We should focus on loving people, sharing with the poor, sharing the Good News of the Gospel, studying God's Word and spending time in prayer - these things last.  A rich young guy came to Jesus and asked him what he had to do to be good. Jesus told him to obey the commandments which he said he had done. So Jesus told him, If you want to be perfect, go sell everything you own! Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come and be my follower. We can assume that the young man was good because he obeyed the commandments, but Jesus challenged him, that if he wanted to be perfect, he had to sell everything he owned and give it to the poor. The rich young man was sad when he heard this. It's easy to get attached to money and stuff, particularly in western society. In verse 23-24 Jesus said, It’s terribly hard for rich people to get into the kingdom of heaven! In fact, it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into God’s kingdom. He used exaggeration to illustrate how difficult it is for someone who is rich to be born again, because they rely on their riches, instead of God. A camel would have possibly have been the largest animal they were familiar with and the eye of a need was possibly the smallest hole they could relate to. He does go on to clarify that with God everything is possible - even a rich man being born again.
The Enduring Word commentary warns us against two mistakes:
The important message in this passage is that we should be prepared to give up everything to follow Jesus and we should share what we have with the poor. |
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