If God said to you, “Ask for whatever you want,” what would you ask for?
God did ask Solomon that very question in 1 Kings 3:5. Here’s how Solomon replied—
“Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people who cannot be counted for multitude. So give Your servant an understanding mind and a hearing heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and bad. For who is able to judge and rule this Your great people?” (1 Kings 3:8-9 AMPC)
And how did God respond to this request? “It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this” (v. 10).
Solomon didn’t ask for things but for a greater intimacy with God—he wanted to know God’s mind. Sadly, we tend to reverse this, saying, “Because I have things, I bless God for them.”
Instead, our prayer should echo what Solomon prayed here in 1 Kings 3 and what Jesus taught us in His Sermon on the Mount: My desire is solely for Your glory and Your Kingdom (see Matthew 6:9-10, 33). When you pray this way, it will please that Lord that you had asked that!
Yet [in spite of the threats] they never ceased for a single day, both in the temple area and at home, to teach and to proclaim the good news (Gospel) of Jesus [as] the Christ (the Messiah). (Acts 5:42 AMPC)
On the one hand, the apostles were sent by God to proclaim the name of Jesus; on the other hand, the Sanhedrin commanded them not to proclaim the name of Jesus (vv. 20, 28).
Not only had the Holy Spirit empowered and emboldened these men to testify, but Jesus also said (in John 14:26) that at key moments the Spirit would remind them of His words. One word Jesus had given them, which the Spirit undoubtedly brought to their remembrance, was this: “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather be afraid of Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Gehenna)” (Matthew 10:28).
God is glorified when we give greater weight and reverence to His words than we do to the words of mere humans.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
David declared that the Holy Spirit inspired the words he penned. “The Spirit of the Lord spoke in and by me, and His word was upon my tongue” (2 Samuel 23:2).
Both Jesus and Peter affirm this in the New Testament as well when they make mention that David’s words were given to him by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 22:43; Mark 12:36; Acts 1:16, 4:25).
It’s not just the words of David, but all Scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21)! This is why we would be wise to pray before reading our Bibles to ask the One Who inspired the Scripture to illuminate our minds to understand it and guide us into its daily application (John 14:26, 16:13).
Jesus desired that we go even farther than this. His directive to His followers was for them to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. This initial baptism took place on the first Pentecost celebration after Jesus had ascended to Heaven. Luke records it this way—
And they were all filled (diffused throughout their souls) with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other (different, foreign) languages (tongues), as the Spirit kept giving them clear and loud expression in each tongue in appropriate words. (Acts 2:4 AMPC)
And in the subsequent verses Luke makes it clear that these were intelligible languages and intelligent words that served as a testimony to the worldwide visitors that were in Jerusalem—
And when this sound was heard, the multitude came together and they were astonished and bewildered, because each one heard them—the apostles—speaking in his own particular dialect. And they were beside themselves with amazement, saying, “Are not all these who are talking Galileans? Then how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own (particular) dialect to which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and the province of Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and the transient residents from Rome, both Jews and the proselytes to Judaism from other religions, Cretans and Arabians too—we all hear them speaking in our own native tongues and telling of the mighty works of God!” (vv. 6-11 AMPC)
In his sermon that followed this event, Peter states that the baptism in the Holy Spirit—with the physical evidence of speaking in tongues—is an evidence of Christ’s resurrection. “Being therefore lifted high by and to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promised blessing which is the Holy Spirit, He has made this outpouring which you yourselves both see and hear” (v. 33).
God answers their prayer powerfully! “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were assembled was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they continued to speak the word of God with freedom and boldness and courage” (v. 31).
The Holy Spirit gave us the Scripture, and He illuminates the Scripture to us.
The Holy Spirit assures us of our salvation, and He empowers us to share this Good News with others.
The Holy Spirit gives us words to speak, and He gives us the boldness and courage to speak them.
He speaks, He illuminates, He empowers, He emboldens! If your theology limits the work of the Holy Spirit to some obscure corner of your world, you are robbing yourself of the power to live a God-glorifying, Jesus-promoting life.
You may be interested in some additional posts and sermons where I discuss more about the initial physical evidence of speaking in tongues as the Holy Spirit empowers Christians—
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
The Holy Spirit’s involvement in our lives isn’t reserved for just the “big” things, but He wants us to be aware of and tuned in to His voice and His thoughts all the time. There shouldn’t be a secular-sacred divide in our activities, but we should make every place holy ground and every moment a divine opportunity for God to be glorified. Or said another way, we shouldn’t have times of work and times of worship, but our worship should be seen in every single thing we do.
I think everyone of us has experienced at one time or another a poor employer or manager. Maybe it’s an employer that demands results but doesn’t give you the training or the tools to do the job. Or maybe you have the training and tools but you don’t know exactly how much you are able to use these things without crossing a line.
Maybe you have known a boss that is barely present, but when they do stop by the worksite, they aren’t happy with the work that has been done. On the opposite side, maybe it’s a boss who does everything and then gets mad that you aren’t keeping up or working as hard as them. It’s drudgery working for someone like this!
But, somewhat surprisingly, Jesus used more work examples to talk about the Kingdom of God than He did worship examples. He talked about farmers, bakers, builders, employers, managers, and employees way more than about worshiping, singing, or preaching.
One of the few glimpses we have of the early life of Jesus shows Him talking about His mission while on earth. Consider the story of Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem when He was 12 years old (Luke 2:41-49). The phrase in the NIV where Jesus says that He must be “in My Father’s house” can be translated…
Jesus was consistent about this idea of working while He was on earth (John 5:17, 36; 9:4; 17:4). For Jesus, His work was a delight because it was directed by the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:21-22; 4:1, 18-19; Acts 10:38).
Remember that I mentioned the unreasonable employer that gives us no training, no tools, no goals for which to aim, but expects us to work for his benefit alone. This was not the case with Jesus! He trained us, provided us with the Holy Spirit to guide us, told us the goal for which we were to aim, and said that both His Father would be glorified and we would be rewarded by our Kingdom work done on earth.
Jesus wants us to work as He did, and He promised that the Holy Spirit would help us in this (John 14:10-12, 24:49; Mark 16:19-20).
We saw that Luke 2:49 in the AMPC has Jesus saying, “occupied about My Father’s business.” In Luke 19:13 Jesus tells us to “occupy till I come” (KJV). This word is also translated into phrases like:
put this money to work (NIV)
do business (NKJV)
invest this (NLT)
Jesus is talking about the “talents” given to His stewards (Luke 19:11-13, 16-23). Every servant received the same thing: one mina. We all have been given one life to live; we all have been given 24 hours in a day; we all have been given opportunities to be occupied about our Father’s business.
The Holy Spirit as our Counselor is there at every moment, every conversation, every decision to help us hear His voice, think His thoughts, and sanctify every experience. Jesus says that He will reward our occupying until He returns. Just doing things like feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, taking care of those in need. This sounds a lot like the work of Jesus in Luke 4:18-19 and Acts 10:38. This Spirit-empowered work earns the commendation from our Master, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into your Master’s happiness!”
Be baptized in the Holy Spirit and let Him help you be about your Father’s business until Jesus returns.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
In his Gospel, John gives eyewitness testimony to the physical death of Jesus. “Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe” (John 19:34-35).
John was at Calvary to report this event as an eyewitness, and so were the women who had been so involved with the public ministry of Jesus.
Matthew, however, was not there. He ran away when Jesus was arrested. So in his historical account, he shares the eyewitness testimony of those who were there—
When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, ‘Surely He was the Son of God!’ Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for His needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons. (Matthew 27:54-56)
These details in both Matthew and John’s Gospels are what lends credibility to this whole event. I’m sure it was embarrassing to Matthew for him to admit, “I ran away and hid in fear.” I’m sure it pained him again and again when he heard John, the women, and the Roman centurion recounting their eyewitness testimony.
But this is what makes the reporting of this account real.
If Matthew and John were attempting to perpetuate a hoax on the world—if they were concocting a conspiracy to fool people about the resurrection of Jesus—they certainly would have told their stories the same way. Matthew could have inserted himself as personally there on Calvary. John and Mark could have listed the names of the other disciples as eyewitnesses. The disciples could have given falsified information to Luke for his Gospel. And all of them could have left out the part about the female testimony, since in their day women were deemed unreliable witnesses in the courtroom.
Details like these are just another factor in a long, long list of evidences that attest to the historicity of all that is recorded in the Bible.
Earlier in his Gospel, Matthew tells about the doubts of John the Baptizer (Matthew 11:2-6). John was imprisoned and sent his friends to ask Jesus, “Are You really the One?” Jesus sends John’s friends back with eyewitness testimony, and with these words: “Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of Me” (v. 6).
The testimonies of both eyewitnesses and those who were embarrassed that they couldn’t give eyewitness testimony should bolster your faith in all that the Bible says. If you don’t stumble away from these testimonies, you can know the blessing of your faith in Jesus.
When there is a misunderstanding between the leader and a team member, insecure leaders want the other person to change. Secure leaders, however, take ownership and ask, “What do I need to do differently?” Check out more from The Craig and Greg Show.
In elaborating on the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:13 about Christians being the salt of the earth, T.M. Moore wrote, “In Jesus’ day, salt had three primary functions. Most people would have understood two of these, but only those raised in an Old Testament framework would have known about the third.” Read more about what churches should be considering about how they season the community around them.
In his “Look at the Book” series, John Piper expounds on the many ways Paul refers to Jesus in his second letter to Timothy. There are several ways, but Paul’s preferred way is “Christ Jesus.” Pastor John unpacks the Hebrew and Greek origins of these words and titles, and why he thinks Paul especially gravitated toward this title.
“Aerosols from penguin excrement may help trigger cloud formation, reducing solar heating and helping stabilize local areas of the Antarctic climate, study finds.” Hmmm, it’s almost like God designed His creation to take care of itself—because He did!
And an article in Science says, “According to secular models of Solar System formation, Earth, as an inner Solar System planet, should have little to no water.” And yet more than 70% of Earth is covered with water!
Aelred of Rievaulx wrote, “In friendship there is nothing more outstanding than faithfulness, which seems to be both the nurse and guardian of friendship. In all of life’s turns, in adversity and prosperity, in joy and sadness, in delightful and bitter circumstances, it reveals itself to be comparable to friendship, holding in the same regard both the humble and the exalted, the poor and the rich, the strong and the weak, the well and the infirm.”
Commenting on Aelred’s words, T.M. Moore observed, “Don’t we all want friends like that, who not only will provoke and prod us to grow in the Lord, but will stand by us in good times and bad, when we’re up and when we’re down? But if we would have such friends, we must be good stewards of their trust. This, again, is why spiritual friendships must be grounded in the Lord and focused on Jesus if they are going to bear the fruit of His indwelling Spirit.”
Evolutionary scientists claim to have made some steps forward in their understanding of the origins of life by using “the last universal common ancestor (LUCA).” But creationists like those at ICR observe that, “This mysterious LUCA is an unknown entity that existed from an unknown time ago at an unknown place by an unknown chain of unknown processes.” Clearly, the hypothesis that is the most straightforward and explainable is that God created the life in our universe just as the Bible states.
Along the same lines, Glenn Schrivener asks, “What do you think was there ‘in the beginning’—before peoples, planets, and protons? If you could hit rewind on the history of the universe and go back as far as possible, what would you find?” Then he gives us four possible things we may consider.
The religious leaders asked a man who had been healed by Jesus of his blindness whether he though Jesus had sinned by healing on the Sabbath. He said, “I do not know whether He is a sinner and wicked or not. But one thing I do know, that whereas I was blind before, now I see” (John 9:25).
I find it interesting that the Pharisees didn’t try to argue whether or not this man had truly been healed—that was obvious to everyone!—but they wanted to discredit Jesus and call Him a sinner because He healed on the Sabbath day.
Those with a personal experience of Christ’s life-changing power (like this former blind man) are never at the mercy of those with an argument (like the Pharisees).
In fact, this man who can now see not only has the most sound logic, but he has immediately become an evangelist for Jesus as well!
The man replied, “Well, this is astonishing! Here a Man has opened my eyes, and yet you do not know where He comes from. That is amazing! We know that God does not listen to sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and a worshiper of Him and does His will, He listens to him. Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this Man were not from God, He would not be able to do anything like this.” (John 9:30-33)
I love this truism: The man with an experience is never at the mercy of the man with an argument. I have blogged extensively about this. Check out these posts.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
I don’t know if this ever happens to you, but I’ve lost count of the number of times that this happens to me. I open up my Bible and begin reading right where I left off the day before, and as I’m reading, my attention is riveted by words that seem to pop off the page!
I look at them again and see that this passage contains highlights or underlining or notations from when I read here before. Yet I’m left scratching my head saying, “How did I miss this when I read this passage earlier?!”
I know this is because I’m a different person now than I was the last time I was reading this passage. I’ve learned some things and hopefully I have grown in the process. Quite simply, the Holy Spirit knew I wasn’t ready earlier for the new concept that jumped off the page at me.
The other day I was reading in the Book of Romans and I noticed something that Paul wrote—
And, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy. As it is written: “Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles; I will sing the praises of Your name.” Again, it says, “Rejoice, you Gentiles, with His people.” And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; let all the peoples extol Him.” And again, Isaiah says, “The Root of Jesse will spring up, One who will arise to rule over the nations; in Him the Gentiles will hope.” (Romans 15:9-12)
Look at that wording: “As it is written … again it says … and again … and again….” Paul is telling us that God tells us the same thing in different ways, at different times, and through different voices. It’s the same message, but it resonates a little differently in each place. As God’s Word speaks to us again and again and again, we see the richness and fullness of the message.
In v. 9, Paul quotes David in 2 Samuel 22:50 and Psalm 18:49.
In v. 10, the quotation is fromMoses in Deuteronomy 32:43.
In v. 11, an anonymous psalmist in Psalm 117:1 is quoted.
And in v. 12, Paul quotes the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 11:10.
The Jews considered the Holy Scripture to be divided into three sections: The Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. Look again what Paul did:
He quotes Moses from the Law
He quotes Isaiah from the Prophets
He quotes David and the anonymous psalmist from the Writings
Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). And after His resurrection, as He walked and talked with a couple of disciples, He reminded them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44).
One of the reasons that the consistent message of the Scripture is repeated again and again and again is so that everyone will have a chance to hear it and believe it.
There is such a beauty in this! I encourage you to take the time to look up the cross-references that many Study Bibles have put together. As you read the “it is written” statements in the Bible, I hope you will be encouraged as you see it throughout all the Bible again and again and again!
Check out the book reviews I’ve shared on these study Bibles:
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
This whole series of messages is about how God can turn our grief into joy. On Easter Sunday we celebrate the most joy-filled event in all of history: the resurrection of Jesus!
At our Good Friday service, we talked about how the day was anything but good for those who were there. The day is only good for people who have been rescued from eternal, inescapable grief.
The Bible tells us that all of us have sinned and the penalty for that sin is eternal separation from God (Romans 3:23, 6:23a). But Jesus died in our place (Romans 5:8) to turn our eternal grief into eternal joy. Check out this out: God promises to exchange the cup of wrath and judgment with the cup of righteousness and peace (Isaiah 51:17-22). That’s exactly what Jesus accomplish with this death and resurrection!
On Friday, no one was joyful. In fact, it was just the opposite: Grief gripped their hearts and held them in fear. Probably the only one who was happy on that day was the devil.
On Saturday, the clouds of grief and fear darkened even more. It was the Sabbath day, and the Jewish followers of Jesus would still have to attend the synagogue and go through the motions of the day. Can you imagine how hollow and meaningless all of the activities seemed?
Then Sunday morning arrived. Jesus had predicted this (Matthew 12:40), but when some of the women who attended to His needs during His years of ministry came to the tomb, they were completely unprepared for what they found (Luke 24:1-7).
Jesus told them that they would see their grief turned to joy (John 16:20, 22; Luke 22:53), but when these ladies told His disciples, they still couldn’t comprehend it (Luke 24:9-12, 19-24).
Grief can so grip our emotions, that it will effect us physically as well: our eyes are clouded, our mind is fuzzy, and our ears seem stuffed with cotton (John 20:14-16; Luke 24:15-17).
So what finally convinced them? Their own hearts!
Solomon wrote, “He has planted eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). The AMPC says: He also has planted eternity in men’s hearts and minds—a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy.
Mary finally saw Jesus and saw her grief turned to joy when she heard Jesus say, “Mary.”
These men on the road said their hearts burned in them when Jesus explained the Scripture to them (Luke 24:31-32, 27).
And when the other disciples were locked away for fear of the Jews (John 20:19), Jesus spoke to them about how His Word was fulfilled in His actions (Luke 24:44-46).
There is a hymn that ends, “You ask me how I know He lives, He lives within my heart.” There is something unmistakable and irrefutable when someone knows what it is to have their sins forgiven—to have their grief turned to unquenchable joy!
In fact, the best proof of a risen Savior is seeing a life freed from gripping grief that used to plague them.
If you don’t know Jesus as your Savior, the thought of the end of life and what comes next probably fills you with a sense of uneasiness. It doesn’t have to be this way!
If you do know Jesus, please remember that your best testimony is a life that doesn’t get bogged down in the same grief the world experiences. When you can show supernatural joy while everyone else is gripped by grief, people will turn to you (1 Peter 3:15).
Please check out the other messages in this series called Grief Into Joyby clicking here.
If God said to you, “Ask for whatever you want,” what would you ask for?
Craig T. Owens 