"If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"
Luke 11:11-13
God is making a couple of points here. One is that we should ask for the Spirit to help guide us in our lives. So often we wander around, wishing that we knew how to accomplish things, or what decisions to make, and we forget that there is a way to know those things. God is always just one prayer away, and the Holy Ghost can be all of that for us. God can help us find the right path through all the obstacles, as we look to him and trust his guidance.
I think the other point is one that he has said in several other places as well: "Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away" (Matthew 5:42). If God blesses us with whatever good thing we ask for, we should also help the people around us with whatever good thing they ask for, if it is in our power. Sometimes this is challenging. We'd rather enjoy our stuff or our leisure time rather than dedicating time or stuff to orphans, widows, or refugees, for instance. But as we are blessed by God so abundantly, as he leads us carefully and gives us so much, let's work on sharing what we have with others who are in need... not just monetarily, but in so many other ways. People need friendship and love and acceptance. God finds those things for us when we need them, and we should be his representatives and share those things with others.
Today, let's ask and give, freely. Let's trust God with our hopes and desires, and follow his path. It isn't always the exact path we were going to make for ourselves, but often God knows our minds and hearts better than we know ourselves, and he gives us not just what we asked for, but more than that; better than that, if we can trust the path and not give up when it doesn't look immediately fun. Let's ask for the spirit, and follow the spirit's promptings to help others.
Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"
Luke 11:11-13
God is making a couple of points here. One is that we should ask for the Spirit to help guide us in our lives. So often we wander around, wishing that we knew how to accomplish things, or what decisions to make, and we forget that there is a way to know those things. God is always just one prayer away, and the Holy Ghost can be all of that for us. God can help us find the right path through all the obstacles, as we look to him and trust his guidance.
I think the other point is one that he has said in several other places as well: "Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away" (Matthew 5:42). If God blesses us with whatever good thing we ask for, we should also help the people around us with whatever good thing they ask for, if it is in our power. Sometimes this is challenging. We'd rather enjoy our stuff or our leisure time rather than dedicating time or stuff to orphans, widows, or refugees, for instance. But as we are blessed by God so abundantly, as he leads us carefully and gives us so much, let's work on sharing what we have with others who are in need... not just monetarily, but in so many other ways. People need friendship and love and acceptance. God finds those things for us when we need them, and we should be his representatives and share those things with others.
Today, let's ask and give, freely. Let's trust God with our hopes and desires, and follow his path. It isn't always the exact path we were going to make for ourselves, but often God knows our minds and hearts better than we know ourselves, and he gives us not just what we asked for, but more than that; better than that, if we can trust the path and not give up when it doesn't look immediately fun. Let's ask for the spirit, and follow the spirit's promptings to help others.
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