(By Diego Cuartas)

I am so thankful for how simply Jesus offers us a reason to pray. There are 3 action words (verbs) that describe one and the same thing: ask, seek and knock. In these three words we find the simple revelation of what we can do when we experience desires or deep needs. Prayer, according to Jesus, is where we need to begin as we experience personal need or that deep, ongoing desire we call lust.

Before we consider Jesus' teaching found on Matthew 7:7-11, let's make sure we are on the same page with regard to the word I am using here--lust. Lust does not refer only to sexual desires we may have. Lust is a strong desire for something. So lust can take us on any given day to desiring more food, a better car, the phone upgrade, a relationship, admiration, power, sexual fulfillment or a certain position. The list goes on as long as any desire we can list. Elsewhere in the Bible (James 4:2-4) we learn that often times we don't have what we want because we don't ask or because we ask for the wrong motives.

In Matthew 7:7-11, I find two key realities we can consider to address our lust and even our personal needs (two different realities here). Consider what Jesus says:

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

The first reality is that Jesus promises to those who actively ask, seek and knock that they will receive something in return. It is as if Jesus is letting us in into his heart and revealing the fact that he wants us to ask, seek and knock.

The second reality is that Jesus points us to the character of our heavenly Father. By comparing our heavenly Father with our earthly fathers, Jesus assures us that our heavenly Father is good and knows how to "give good gifts" to His children--especially to those who ask! This reality in and of itself can offer us comfort. Our asking is met by someone who has our best interest in mind.

One of the benefits of bringing our needs and lusts to our heavenly Father is that we will be more prone to align our heart's direction with His will for us. Asking, seeking and knocking will also prevent us from rallying our own resources or strategies to supply for our own needs and lusts at whatever cost.

What a loving act on Jesus' part to give us exactly what we need to address our needs and lusts: three active imperatives in the present time that are applicable at any moment of our lives--ask, seek and knock!

Interesting that Jesus also gives us in our English language an acrostic to easily remember what is best for us to do regarding our needs and lusts: A.S.K. (ask, seek and knock!).

What are your personal needs or lusts today? First A.S.K.

(By Diego Cuartas)

It is interesting the kind of subjects we end up entertaining around breakfast times. As my wife and I were enjoying our bagels the other morning, we were faced with the fact that we are all vulnerable in many ways. Not only do we experience our own brokenness but there is also a reality we face when we move towards others who bring their own vulnerabilities. In a way a principle that is always at work in relationships is that we are impacted by what others bring with them. We are not inmune to other people’s brokenness. And some times in our effort to help we also run the risk of being bruised.

Thankfully, God knows this and is so willing to provide us with grace so that we can help bear the burdens of others as well as address our own. I am encouraged by the promise God offers us in Isaiah 58:9-10:

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.

Did you hear the strong tone of this promise? If I spend myself in behalf of other people’s vulnerabilities my light will increase. More and more and more light will increase in my life! So grace is given to us when we get close to others in their place of need. By God’s grace darkness will have to flee!

Here is another one. In Psalm 73:23-24 the writer evidences a confidence in God’s guidance and counsel in spite the negative predicament he finds himself in.

“Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.”

So we have the presence of God with us, His guidance and counsel plus a promise for His light to increase in our lives as we spend ourselves in the vulnerabilities of others.

But there is one more thing God offers to us in grace. He offers us a warning. Yes, warnings from God are a form of grace. Interesting, in the book of Galatians, the apostle Paul warns those seeking to help others by stating that they too may face personal temptations in the process of helping (6:1).

So the antidote to any fears or dangers we experience as we get close to other people’s vulnerabilities is to trust God’s grace. He has a record that shows His ability and commitment to help those in need. Consider Psalm 147:

Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
    for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.
2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
    he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted
    and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars;
    he gives to all of them their names.
5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
    his understanding is beyond measure.
6 The Lord lifts up the humble;
    he casts the wicked to the ground.

May He continue giving us courage to get close to those we would rather avoid as we trust Him to provide us with what we need to help others and honor Him.

Ask, Seek and Knock: An Antidote to Lust.

Bagels, Burdens and Bruises.