When it comes to asking?  He says, ask you’ll receive.  It is in our human nature to ask, and we normally get what we want but not all the time.  But at the same time we have to be careful about what we desire, because we end up getting what we don’t need or the wrong thing, also bearing in mind that not everything comes from God.  So asking God requires good reasoning. James 4:3.   Why and what is your motive?

Jesus was the most encouraging person the world has ever seen. He was the expert when it comes to advising on how to handle life wisely.  He gave us tips, what to do when we are overwhelmed or discouraged.  He said, ‘don’t worry about life, seek God’s kingdom first and all these things will be added on to you’. Matt. 6:33.  He also says, ask and it will be given, knock the door and the door will be opened, seek and you’ll find. Matt. 7:7-12.  He gave us an insight, that God delights in giving good gifts to those who ask him.  If we are sad or troubled, we ask God to give us peace.  If we are confused we ask for guidance and wisdom.  If we lack faith and want to be saved, we ask for the Holy Spirit,  which is crucial in getting us to connect to God.  And when you get yourself to be obedient to Him, He will give you the Holy Spirit.  Acts 4:32

I find this one even more interesting but challenging, when he says, ‘therefore I tell you whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it’ll be yours’. Mark 11:24 -25.  I don’t know about you, but I find this to be one of the most inspiring scriptures in the Bible,

But it doesn’t mean we ask for a million, that’s why most of us don’t have it, which I’ll explain in another topic.  God is very generous and kind.  First of all, he has given us things we haven’t asked for, for example, life and every good thing that comes with it.  We have all been given talents, i.e. abilities.   Matt. 25:14-30.   And we have all received a seed of faith when we heard about God and Jesus.  So he says, our job is to multiply it, instead of burying it.  To make it grow by using the skills of learning, listening, and putting it into practice.

So when it comes to asking as I mentioned earlier, we have to get into the reasoning time.  Jesus taught us how to pray, and much of the prayer is about asking.   Give us our daily bread, for example. This is crucial, because, as you know, we need food to survive. That’s why we have a lot of food, because some of us are saying that prayer.  But also, bearing in mind that bread represents Jesus and his words.  He said, I’m the bread of life.  He who comes to me will never go hungry. John 6:35.  Which means the moment we put his words in our hearts and put them into practice we get transformed.

And then he says, ask for forgiveness. This is crucially important, for it helps us to be on the safe side.  We have to ask God for forgiveness of our sins through his Son.

Sometimes we may ask for something and God says no, with a reason in mind. Take for example, a man is walking in a jungle and he is tired of life.  While he is walking, he meets a lion which is full of life and eager to get on with it.  The man prays, God save me from this lion. The lion on the other hand is thanking God for the meal.

Jesus knew as human beings we are sometimes driven or limited by our imperfections and weaknesses, such as fear or insecurity.  It is so easy for us to limit our expectations due to our experiences.  But here, he is saying lift up your faith in God, because with Him nothing is impossible.  Someone may say, well I’ve got this problem I prayed about it and it is still there.  However, God has a way of giving us power to overcome a problem.  I’ve had my own experiences in this area, but He surprised me.  There is no problem on earth God doesn’t take away, for He does it in his own time.

When it comes to asking for miracles, it is good to understand the whole scenario; God gave the first disciples special powers as Jesus had.  There are things they did, like healing difficult cases, which is impossible for anyone to do nowadays.  Here is the issue,  you need to have a big faith in order to move mountains.  It seems like, it is good to have a faith in God without doubt in order to get Him to respond, especially when you say, let your will be done.  His idea is better than ours, and we also have to get into obedience in order for us to get to where we need to be.

God has given us information, and has exposed his thoughts.  All of us have just been here on earth for a short time, whether it is hundred or a bit more.  We found information which was written more than a thousand years ago.  The Bible talks about the beginning, and all the prophets that came before Jesus Christ and most of them pointed to Jesus’ coming.  Isaiah the prophet, compared Jesus to God, the way the Father operates is the same way as Jesus operated.  He said, ‘he will be called a wonderful counsellor, Mighty God, Prince of peace’…Isaiah 9: 1-7.  He is the only one who has ever thought and operated as God does – his special Son, his right hand.  And the reason is as the scripture says, unlike us he was born without sin.  Even though he was tempted it was impossible for him to sin.

We all get to that point when we are troubled or worried by something.  Plans not getting our way, marriages break downs, friendship troubles, business ideas fall apart, job situations, children not listening as they should, and so forth.

And we have a habit of creating our own imaginations which are based on fear or fantasy sometimes.  Sometimes we think about things we shouldn’t even be thinking about.  And we worry about things we shouldn’t be worried about.  For example, someone may think a particular person doesn’t like them, when it is not true.  I remember going through that experience.  And on the other hand when the situation is real, God has a way of solving our troubles to our advantage.

Jesus asked the disciples this question after he had seen their fear, for when they saw him they got frightened, and doubted whether he was real.  For fear and doubt is so much in our human nature and God knows that.  But when he comforted them and reassured them, their fear subsided.  He said to them, ‘touch me, I’m real’.  Have you got something to eat?  God is real and he wants us to be sincere and have an obedient heart, when it comes to get to know him.

So when God or Jesus asks why are you troubled?   This is the time to think clearly about the situation you’re going through.  A prayer and applying godly wisdom will ease your mind.  Sometimes we think too much and think we can solve our problems, and forget that without God’s intervention we are totally helpless.   Every time we get sick and get better it is because of God.  He is the only one who helps the body to respond to medicine.  The scripture says, in his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. Job.12:10.

Why do doubts rise in your minds?

Again this is a crucial question that targets a side of us that succumbs in doubt sometimes.  It is okay to doubt our abilities because we are imperfect, but to doubt God who has absolute power and perfection is a no, no.  And more importantly this is a question directed at believers, to get us understand that we have to focus on God or Jesus and take his directions to heart.

What I have learnt is, every question God and Jesus used was not only directed at those people but to all of us, and some of them are particularly directed at the believers.  The questions help us to analyze our lives, in regard to a particular situation. God sees everything and our inner thoughts. The scripture says, man (person) looks at the outside appearance but God look at the heart (inner thoughts and motives). 1 Sam.16:7

This is crucial because our lives get messed up by so many things, and it is a question that can keep us turning in our beds, because we all struggle with sickness at one point in our lives.  It could be anything from a headache to a toe pain, alcohol issues, drug problems, depression, etc.

He asked the above question to a paralyzed man who was trying to get in the water for a healing.  He performed a miracle on him when he saw his persistence.  We can learn from him that to get a good result we have to persevere, especially where faith in Jesus is concerned.  For spiritual healing is better than physical.

In most cases we get well physically, because we want to get well and more importantly because God wants us to get well for a purpose.  For example,  Jesus healed all those who desired to get well.  So when Jesus asked this question, he goes even deeper than physical healing, which is our inner-being (spiritual).  When we are healed spiritually we can handle anything. The Bible gives us instructions to aid our healing.  When we get transformed by the word of God, that’s our healing, for example, unhappy marriage can be transformed by the word of God when both parties adhere to its guidance.  A drug addict or dealer can be transformed if they are willing to change.  The fear of God also helps us to transform.

When our lives get messed up by our actions, he asks the same question.  When we are burdened by problems, he asks the same question.  And he also says, ‘come to me all those who are weary and burdened and I’ll give you rest’. Mathew 11:28   When Jesus is in your life, you can relax even when things get too tough and are beyond your control.  God does not allow things in our lives beyond what we can bear.  He only allows things which are common to man.  But every one’s cup is different, which means our problems differ.

When we face a problem God provides a portion of strength to help us handle a particular problem.  But the reality is however, most of our problems are solved by following his wisdom. There are times when we focus too much on our problems, and the more we focus on them the bigger they become, thus creating even more stress.  I used to do that!  Nowadays though, my attitude is different, I focus more on his counselling.  And the Bible is brilliant, when it comes to solving a lot of our issues. When God sees that we are taking in his counselling by faith, he energises us.  It is amazing, the best thing I have ever done, and I wouldn’t exchange for any amount of money.

Some people say, reading the Bible is difficult.  It is not that difficult if you have faith and the right attitude.  Now days, I even use my finger along each sentence.  Starting with the New Testament is easier.  Taking your time, line by line, chapter by chapter is crucial to gain understanding; for it is not just a book, it is God’s letter to us –  a revelation of his thoughts.  In the Old Testament, He wants us to understand what happened before Jesus. The New covenant of Christ is the final fulfilment of his plan.  Jesus said, ‘He is the Alpha and Omega’.  (The beginning and the end)  So reading it carefully with a humble attitude, is the key to knowledge and understanding.  It is a Book of Life, a way to Salvation.  Having God Almighty and Jesus in our lives is something special and it carries no regrets because it is all good.  According to the scriptures, nothing in life will ever surpass that.

God is the source of Love

• Love reaches out and says hello.
• Love connects us to God.
• Love is kind and heals broken hearts.
• Love is patient, smiles, forgives and gives wisdom.
• Love helps, is generous, is not proud and is not selfish.
• Love is not aggressive and hates violence.
• Love has a humble attitude and keeps you out of trouble.
• Love sings, makes you laugh and gives peace.
• Love listens and is a good communicator.
• Love appreciates and gives encouragement.
• Love is faithful and keeps a marriage.
• Love encourages parenthood, provides security and disciplines.
• Love connects us to the environment and other creatures.
• Love respects, does no wrong and hates evil.
• Love gets angry about injustice and focuses on the truth.
• Love is power and conquers all.

God Almighty created every living creature out of Love….and every thing he does is through love…

This is a crucial question which Jesus asked the disciples, to get their attention, despite the fact he knew what they were thinking.  It is a question God asks every one of us, because he cares about all of us.  According to the Bible, (John 10:10) God wants us to live life in abundance, e.g. to enjoy the environment, food, making good decisions etc.  Let’s face it, bad decisions messes us up (sin).  And it is good to live life with hope and no fear, knowing that God has promised us that there is more to come, which is even better than what we have now. (Living forever happily).

God knows it is in our human nature to think, plan, set targets and accomplish our dreams.  Many of us think about what we want every day.  Our ideas are more or less the same, and start from an early age.  Children normally want to play and yearn to have a good relationship with their parents.  I remember there was time in my childhood,  when my sisters and I, desperately wanted a dolly.  It was very rare in those days, for a child to have a dolly, let alone buy one.  Our parents didn’t have much money to spend on toys.  Guess who provided? God!  One day I was walking along a road, and to my greatest surprise, I found a small dolly covered in dust.  It became one of my happiest days as a child. Thus,  I thanked God.

So, children have their own list.  However, as you know, our list becomes bigger as we get older, and gets less as years go by.  God normally blesses us with what we need, even though he is aware of all our wants.

We store our want list in our minds, and God sees each and everybody’s list.  There are so many doors which are connected to our wants and desires. The moment you put something on your want list, a process begins which in a way you’re knocking on that door.  God helps us with the process especially when he knows the door you’re knocking on is good for you, in terms of your personal development.  But the negative scenario is things fall apart when we knock on the wrong door of which the devil is hiding in, for example, when someone desires a wrong thing. Every action begins with a thought, for we are as good as our thoughts. There are times when Jesus says, you don’t know what you’re asking’.  For it is so easy for us, to be consumed by what we want, and forget to look at things in all angles.

Our want list as humans is more or less the same.  One thing we all have in common though, is the desire to be happy, and we put that happiness in various areas of our lives, i.e. marriage, children, education, work, etc. There is nothing wrong with that, so long as God approves.  So it is our responsibility to be careful about what we desire.  Much of our want list has been dominated by money.  But let’s face it, even though money solves some things, it’ll never surpass the bigger things in life like love, peace, faith, etc. Once a rich man said,’ it does bring material things but it doesn’t bring real happiness.’  It is good to hear it from the horse’s mouth.

Most of our wants requires good reasoning, which we do in our minds and in most cases we are not even aware that when we give a reason it is laid bare before God.  For example, we give a reason why we want that job, or why we want to marry the person, or why we want to travel to another country.  Our reasoning can be so bad sometimes, that we end up in a confusion.  When our reasoning is not good an alarm will go off subconsciously in our minds.  For example, when  a young teen and is just starting out in life, they think about  careers and most important of all – love. The question they have to ask themselves  is why that particular person?  For this is a situation God requires someone to give a good reason.

Many of us pursue love, because it is in our human nature.  We want to love someone else, marry them, and have children. Ok, to God that’s a good reason. The moment you put that on your list, the (love) people start coming into your life.  Some of them are destined by God and others are sent by the devil.  Before you make a step, you have to examine their intentions because some will come to take advantage of you and don’t have your best interest at heart.  That’s why it is always good to pray about things, and take God’s guidance when it comes to relationships.  The best guidance we have,  is not give yourself to someone until they commit to a marriage.  And when you’re a serious Christian you have to get someone who shares that conviction to be on the safe side.

Some times God has a way of opening doors to show us his kindness and generosity.  When I compare my list before and the list I have now, I realise now, that things I wanted at one time and didn’t get, I didn’t need them.  And all things I’ve managed to get have been for my own learning experience.  So nowadays, I’ve managed to cross out things on my want list to appreciate what I have.

The truth is God doesn’t want us to be lazy and undisciplined, and expect things to drop on our laps.  He wants us to be wise about the way we make decisions.  He presents opportunities but it’s up to us to make it work.

When Jesus asks, ‘what is it you want?  This is a serious question and is supposed to open our mind to things which are even bigger, and more important than anything else.  The Holy Spirit says, He even asks, ‘do you want to be saved, or be forgiven for your sins on the judgement day?’ This is where you have to examine yourself deeper, and think about salvation.  Another question Jesus asks, do you understand what I have done for you? – His sacrifice to get us saved. When some people heard about Jesus, they asked a serious question; what do we need to do to get saved? Acts 2:38

Jesus said, ‘knock and the door will be opened’.  In this case he means a door to salvation.  When a person puts on their want list, I want to be saved, or to be forgiven for my sins; this opens a way to salvation. This is a way of reaching out to God.

This is an interesting question; again it opens our mind to think deeply.  There are so many things we can’t do without God’s help.  Jesus said,’ nothing is impossible with God’. However, He does things according to his will.  God is aware of our wants and needs.  But sometimes we don’t get because our motives are not right.  James 4:3.

Jesus did something impossible for any other human being on earth to do, i.e. to save us, when our sins are forgiven through him and to judge other human beings in the end. The scripture says, ‘when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats’. Mth. 25:31-33  God gave His Son the same power he himself possesses. That’s why what God says Jesus says the same.  When we ask Jesus to open our eyes or our minds to understand, the message goes straight to God.  That’s why He asked us to pray to the Father in his name.

We have needs from time to time.  There are times when we need to ask for God’s help.  We get his attention, when we ask through Jesus.  If any one wants to get God’s full attention they need to go through Jesus.  I love all the questions; here is another one, ‘why are you crying?’ And then he says, ‘don’t cry’.  This shows, God is willing to comfort us when we turn to him.  He desires to help us when we reach out to him, for He knows without him we are helpless.  Without God’s order of things, none of us would survive.  Imagine if He decides to stop the plants or trees’ production, that would be catastrophic to all of us.

And then Jesus asked, ‘are you in error because you don’t read the scriptures?’ – is directed at those who are a bit religious, but don’t read, examine and follow the scriptures.  To the persecutor, he asks, why are you persecuting me? – is directed at those who tell lies about him, or speak negatively about him.  He knew those who follow him in truth will be persecuted. Jesus never persecuted any one, and when he preached to draw people to God, he did it with love and kindness without any violence.

Why would anyone be persecuted just because they’re trying to be good?  Very often we hear people who are beaten up or put in prison in some countries just because they follow Jesus.  When someone follows Jesus’ teachings and acts upon them, they turn into a good person.  For Jesus says, don’t hate but show love instead. His teachings are of kindness and forgiveness.  When a blind man got Jesus’ attention, he asked him’ what do you want me to do for you?’  The man answered, ‘I want to see’. Mark 10:46-52  He was not only healed physically but spiritually as well.  This encouraging  question applies to everyone of us.  We have to come to a point in our lives when we have to say, ‘Jesus I want to see’, which means – help me to understand, I want to be saved.  For Jesus said, anyone who doesn’t understand the things of God and Jesus is spiritually blind. We learn from the blind man that using a strong faith in God is crucial in getting us where we want to be, for He has the power to turn any situation around.

This is a question God or Jesus asks any one of us.  God knows, as human beings we have a capacity to search deeper into the universe, and are always looking for something and fascinated by something bigger and stronger than us.  We long for protection because we get scared easily sometimes.  Many of us would seek God at one point in our lives, especially when things get tough, that’s why we end up praying.  For, it is in our human nature to ask for help.

Sometimes, as you know, some of us would get to a point when we start searching for some kind of inspiration, e.g. someone would look up to a celebrity, a political leader or a religious leader to follow. But when we examine them we find imperfections and we get disappointed.

And on other occasions,  we end up trusting those who are closer to us  and we get even more disappointed when they let us down.  However, if we want to get it right with God, we have to be careful about whom we follow and trust.  If a person preaches the right message according to the scriptures, Jesus is pleased.  So when he asks, who are you looking for?  He also warns us to be careful. Mathew 7:15-23

It is also in our human nature as you know, to hunger for a good leader, someone who can motivate us , hence giving us assurance that things will be fine.  Jesus had perfect qualities of a good leader. He listened to peoples’ concerns, fed the hungry, healed the sick, opened the eyes of the blind, etc.  He was the kindest person who has ever stepped on planet earth, with a purpose to save us.

He knew there would be people with a different message from his, and he said, ‘such things must happen’ Mathew 24.  He also said, ‘No one can come to the Father except through me’. John 14:6

Who is it you’re looking for? – is also applied when we start searching for who to worship.  (He knew people will be seeking God in various ways, and some will be searching for wrong gods).  The scripture says; seek God, the creator of the whole world with all your heart and you’ll find him. Jeremiah 29:11-13.  Jesus said, ‘when a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me, and when he looks at me he sees the one who sent me’. John 12:46.  We learn from here that Jesus represented God perfectly, just as his  Father in heaven wanted.

God created Christianity through Jesus.  The scripture says, Jesus is the word of God, John 1:1-5. His teachings came straight from God.  Jesus’ teachings transforms a human being from inside out.  It touches the core of a human heart, and touches every area of our thinking.

Jesus said, ‘follow me’…Math. 4:19, for he knew about God and life more than we do.  Babies are closer to God than adults, because they haven’t exercised their sin.  However, as we start our journey of life, we somehow lose our way by wrong thinking and decisions.  In Christianity Jesus is like a perfect kind hearted, loving, big brother, who’s like saying to us, hold my hand and I’ll show you the way.

So when we walk with him, we look up to him and listen. To the thief he says, don’t steal. If you hate someone he says, don’t hate, be good to them instead.  And then he says’ forgive or you will not be forgiven…Mathew 6:14-15

For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I’ll raise him/her up at the last day. John 6:40