Persistence leads to Blessings

 

    God wants you to pray persistently.  He wants you to seek Him because when you are seeking Him, your focus is sharp.  You really know what you want and will not stop without an answer.  It is important to really understand what matters to you and not just what you think matters to you.  Never give up pursuing God.  He will grant justice for the persistent.  Never give up praying over what matters to you.  

    When you are living your Christian life be careful not to live in a manner that would hinder other people from seeking God.  If you are living a life pursuing Jesus, then it shouldn't be too hard.  However, when you are living worldly and calling yourself a Christian it confuses those that expect a difference.  It may not be fair, but you chose to live a certain way when you accepted Jesus' offer for redemption.  

    When you pursue Jesus, go to him with a child like heart: humble, honest, and eager.  We know how we should behave.  You grew up in school learning the golden rule: treat others the way you want to be treated.  You may have grown up in church that has a behavioral culture all it's own.  Those are good, but learning straight from the Bible is better.  None of us will live it perfectly, but that doesn't mean that we can't try and repent when we don't.  

    Don't let the material world get in your way of having a relationship with Jesus.  The more you have the harder it can be because you are able to live independently from him.  That is scary dangerous.  They have to let go of all their greediness, unrighteousness, adulterous behavior (loving money over God),  or any other sin holding them back.  Rich people don't want to let go of anything.  They want to hoard their wealth, even if it is unintentional.  Sacrifice just seems harder for the wealthy and we need to be willing to sacrifice everything for God without it being advertised about how good they are.  Salvation can't be earned or bought.  It is strictly based on faith.

    There are some blessings that come with being poor.  You seek God harder and are more persistent because your needs are immediate.  A poor person has less to sacrifice, so sacrifices may not be as hard.  We have to be willing to endure cruelty for His name and the poor are more apt to be able to do that.  They know what they are and who they are.  If they can align that with God's vision for them, they are rich is so many areas.  It is amazing how far humility can take you.  Being genuine will earn you more respect than money.   

    When you follow Jesus and live a life honoring him, then you are allowed to understand the secrets of his world.  The spiritual world is just as vast as our physical universe and all the others put together.  Heaven is his home that he rules over with God.  Only those that follow him will ever be able to enter, so a little sacrificing now and persistent prayer is not too much to ask.  Some things will stay hidden for now, but we have to understand that it is for our own benefit.  Knowing everything could be a hindrance on actually living.

Luke 18