Just ask

Several days ago, I told you a little about my identity as “The Welfare Kid,” Then I promised to tell you “tomorrow” about another Christmas experience that was even more revealing of how I saw myself. Well, here it is: better late than never.

Who doesn’t love a shopping spree?
Especially if the tab is paid with someone else’s bank account?

They picked us up on a city bus early one Saturday morning in December. Kids. Poor kids. Lots and lots of poor kids. We arrived at a discount store in the south part of town 2 hours before it was scheduled to open.

I don’t remember what the guidelines were, but I do remember that we were allowed to choose gifts for ourselves. Multiple gifts.

A very nice lady followed me all around the store, making suggestions. Other kids had piles of stuff in their carts. But I showed up at the checkout with a cotton blouse and a pair of slacks. Not the most practical for a Kansas winter. But inexpensive.

Because my mom had taught me never to ask for anything. Ever.
And to me – choosing stuff for myself without paying for it?
Well, it felt like asking. Which made me uncomfortable.

They were expecting me to break one of the most important Rules of Life: Don’t ask.

And I naturally assumed God Himself
had written those particular Rules of Life.

As I got older, some of the Scriptures confused me because they didn’t fit with what my mom taught me – or even what my church taught me.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)

You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (James 4:2b-3)

Honestly, I still struggle with all that today. But I want to believe God’s Word.

What is it that you’re hoping for today?
Have you asked The Lord?

He will never violate another person’s will, of course. But it sounds pretty much like everything else is a possibility.

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:12-14)

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A Lot Depends on Her Response

Earlier this week, I posted about a man’s need for companionship. I suggested that a woman’s response to her man’s love is just as important as her response to Christ.

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.
I will make
a helper suitable for him.” (Genesis 2:18)

Why? Because it’s how she demonstrates her love for Jesus to the world. Here are a few thoughts on that – for your consideration …

First, we must see marriage as God sees marriage: woman was created for man (Genesis 2:18). Yet so many women are acting as though the opposite were true. They’re living a lie from you-know-where, filled with the world’s empty philosophies.

Second, by God’s design, her response to her man is to be honoring to him.

A man ought not to cover his head [in worship], since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. (1 Corinthians 11:7-9)

So what does that look like here in the 21st Century?
It looks like a Beautifully Romantic Dance!

A woman dreams of being swept off her feet by a godly man who knows how to lead her – gently and confidently, protecting her and guiding her. Her Dream is to submit to her own man – who has her best interest at the forefront of everything he does.

Many a woman doesn’t seem to know how to help make Her Dream into Her Reality. Perhaps without realizing how her man is experiencing her …

  • She takes the lead, giving the impression he isn’t good enough.
  • She gives him advice or instructions. Their relationship is more like a mother and child than the two lovers they’re created to be.
  • Attack. Blame. Criticize. Emasculate. Nightmare.

Instead, she could be basking in the Love she receives from Jesus Christ.
She is in Christ, and Christ is in her. That’s God with us, to be sure!

Because Beauty of their Dance depends
not only on his Love for her, but also on her response to him.

As her man initiates, she responds with God’s Love, which is fully alive in her:

  • She gives him her undivided attention and her utmost respect.
  • She comforts him with her femininity and sweet affections.
  • She affirms and admires the man he is in Christ.

Why is her response so vital? Because her man is inwardly unsure of himself and rarely, if ever, gets positive feedback. So he craves – actually needs – her love!

His Dream is to have a godly woman to lead – a woman who is confident and provides him with gentle feedback about how well he’s doing – especially one who’s adept at making him look good in the process.

And there you have Your Dream-come-true, *|FNAME|*!

Both man and woman – through his initiation and her response
– can become the best, most practical demonstration of
the Love between Jesus and His Bride.

Where’s your identity?

This time last year, I was on sabbatical – mostly just hanging out with The Lord. Many of our conversations focused on memories. Things I’d long forgotten long ago. As we talked about how He saw me and what I’d experienced, I realized how close He has been to me all along.

But as a kid, I never felt like I fit in.
Starting with my trip to the radio station.

One day, He reminded me something that had taken place when I was eleven or twelve. That was the Christmas when I first realized I was “The Welfare Kid” in our church. I knew because a Holiday Basket got delivered to our front door.

Then one day, He reminded me something that had taken place when I was eleven or twelve. That was the Christmas when I first realized I was “The Welfare Kid” in our church. I knew because a Holiday Basket got delivered to our front door.

Mom was a great cook and loved to bake. But money was tight, so she bought the basics – chicken, ground beef, potatoes, onions, canned vegetables, apples, etc.

Peanut butter and cheese were free, thanks to a government program.
We ate a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches.

Trips to the grocery store happened once a month.
Fresh fruits like bananas and oranges were a rare treat.

However, Christmastime always included oranges and tangerines and mixed nuts in the shell.

But so much stuff in that Holiday Basket seemed expensive and unnecessary and simply didn’t make sense to us. Another reason to feel like I didn’t fit in.

As I contemplated my identity as “The Welfare Kid,” The Lord reminded me of another Christmas experience that was even more revealing of how I saw myself.

To be continued tomorrow …

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