And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 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 11:5-13)
Today's Morsel: It's amazing how many people are afraid to ask others for help or for something that they may need. One of the reasons we may feel this way is that we fear being rejected. I can remember when we were young, my siblings would always ask me to ask our parents if we could go certain places or have certain things because I was the youngest and they felt our parents wouldn't tell me no. It also seems to work that way in the church. Many people are afraid to ask the pastor for explanations or for better understanding of preaching and teaching and so they go through life trying to figure things out on their own. Many people will even sit on the church pew hurting, lonely, feeling rejected, and not a part of the working of the Lord because of fear and they will not ask the pastor for help or how they can be used. Your pastor has your best interest at heart, so don't be afraid of them. They desire to help you. Jesus uses the parable about a man who goes to his friend needing bread for another friend that has stopped by. But the friend is already in bed. This lets us know that the hour is late. But Jesus said that even though he is already in bed, because of his importunity he will get up and give the bread to him. This word importunity carries many meanings. First is consistency; second is being troublesomely; thirdly demandingly; and fourth insistently. But we should also focus on the fact that the men are friends, and a friend is to love at all times. Because Jesus calls us friends, the hour for salvation is never too late. Now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation. And so because Jesus said, I say unto you, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." Whatever you need from God be persistent and He will come through for you. Without faith it is impossible to please God.
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