Podcast appearances and mentions of jesus ask

Episode 302 - Intimacy with Jesus: Ask, Seek, Knock Have you ever done all the Catholic things but still felt distant from Jesus? In this episode, the friars speak to the person who believes, prays, goes to Mass, tries to live faithfully, and yet still wonders why prayer can feel dry, disconnected, or more like duty than relationship. They explore what it means to move from simply doing the right things to actually bringing your heart to Jesus. This conversation is an invitation to ask, seek, and knock with honesty. What's happening in my heart? Where do I feel blocked, afraid, ashamed, or self-reliant? Where is Jesus inviting me into healing, repentance, formation, and deeper intimacy? The friars offer gentle guidance for learning how to pray with the heart, encounter Jesus in Scripture, and let Him meet the places we often keep hidden or protected. Join us as we learn to bring our whole hearts to Jesus, and rediscover that prayer is not just something we do, but a relationship He longs to deepen. The Poco a Poco podcast happens because of many generous donors, including recurring monthly donations of any amount. Thinking about helping out? You can give at https://spiritjuice.org/supportpoco. Thank you!

(December 19, 2025) They get wheeled on flights and miraculously walk off… praise ‘Jetway Jesus.’ A lesson in false limits: Are athletes retiring too soon? The show closes with ‘Ask Handel Anything.’See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Ask Paul Tripp, a weekly podcast from Paul Tripp Ministries where pastor and best-selling author Dr. Paul David Tripp answers your questions, connecting the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life.This week, Paul responds to a question from Sandy, who is reading Everyday Gospel and was troubled by Paul's statement that there would be no Jesus, no death and resurrection without Esther. While Paul clarifies the point in the next paragraph, Sandy wonders what happens if a reader stops early and misunderstands his intent.If you have a question you'd like to ask Paul, you can email ask@paultripp.com or submit it online at PaulTripp.com/AskPartner with Paul Tripp Ministries:PaulTripp.com/Give

When Jesus cried out, Father, forgive them, who did He mean? Those who did not know what they had done? Yes, there were those who mocked Him; those who slapped Him, wounded Him, and left Him. The cry of forgiveness of Jesus Christ was heard from the cross of Golgotha; from there it began to the ends of the earth, and finally this forgiveness reached our days, including me, you Afghans. If you believe in Jesus Christ. Think that we also crucified Him and we were also among the people about whom Jesus Christ said: Forgive them, for they know not what they do. So today is the day of salvation, healing, and complete freedom for me and you, freely available through faith in Jesus Christ. Otherwise, you will be under the judgement of God.

It's a conundrum: The Son of God planning on going to the cross then seemingly shrinking back the night before He was to go. Does this show a contradiction in scripture? Patheos.com thinks so. Listen to what Sean and Patke have to say on the topic.Support the show

Spring 2025Season 5Episode 3

Pdt Ria Pasaribu

The New Testament standard is the highest possible standard. In the Old Testament we were given the minimum requirement and failed. In the New Testament Jesus gives us the highest requirement, the ultimate goal for our transformation into children of God. We would still fail,  if not for his help,  for the power of God is offered to us to transforms us into His likeness. 

In our final week of Cleanse, Pastor Brandon walks us through Matthew chapter 7, exploring the powerful commands of Jesus: Ask, Seek, and Knock. As we continue our journey of fasting and prayer, we reflect on the importance of connecting with God and the opportunities we have to deepen our relationship with Him.

What did Jesus Ask VII : Why are you afraid? 10/20/24 by Kenilworth Union Church

What Did Jesus Ask? V : Why are you talking about having no bread? 10/06/24 by Kenilworth Union Church

In this sermon, pastor Dylan Dodson preaches from Acts 2:14-41.

What did Jesus Ask III : Who will not leave the 99 to find the one? 09/22/24 by Kenilworth Union Church

Jonny concludes our summer series in the gospel of Mark, asking the question 'Who is Jesus?'

Simon continues our summer series in the gospel of Mark, asking the question 'Who is Jesus?'

Pete continues our summer series in the gospel of Mark, asking the question 'Who is Jesus?'

Jesus in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 7 talks about asking, seeking, and knocking. Jesus is not just talking about prayer here but persistent prayer. As we are in relationship with Him we are to engage His heart and to lean into Him. Those that ask receive, those that seek find, those that knock the door will be opened. It's time as the Church to not just coast but to lean in, engage Him, and desire more of Him. It's time to ask, seek and knock!

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This is a formal apology to Pastor DJ. {That Podcast} gets a listener question about why Jesus says what he says on the cross. That Podcast is available on the following podcast services by searching “Atonement Fargo”: Spotify Google Podcasts Apple Podcasts Castbox Find us online at: YouTube Facebook Twitter https://thatpodcast.net​​​​​​​ https://atonement.live​​​​​​​ https://www.atonementfargo.org

“Why Did Jesus Ask ‘Why'?” • Psalm 22:1-2 Part 2– Elder Bryce Lowrance. In this introductory message to Psalm 22, Elder Bryce shows that Jesus claimed this Psalm was about Himself by crying out the first verse while dying on the cross. This message explores how it is that the all-knowing Son of God could possible ask the question ”why? ” about anything. We find that reason that Jesus asks this is so that we can know the God forsook Jesus so that we would never be forsaken. This message was preach on Sunday, February 4, 2024.

“Why Did Jesus Ask ‘Why'?” • Psalm 22:1-2 – Elder Bryce Lowrance. In this introductory message to Psalm 22, Elder Bryce shows that Jesus claimed this Psalm was about Himself by crying out the first verse while dying on the cross. This message explores how it is that the all-knowing Son of God could possible ask the question ”why?” about anything. We find that reason that Jesus asks this is so that we can know the God forsook Jesus so that we would never be forsaken. This message was preach on Sunday, February 4, 2024.

“Why Did Jesus Ask ‘Why'?” • Psalm 22:1-2 – Elder Bryce Lowrance. In this introductory message to Psalm 22, Elder Bryce shows that Jesus claimed this Psalm was about Himself by crying out the first verse while dying on the cross. This message explores how it is that the all-knowing Son of God could possible ask the question ”why?” about anything. We find that reason that Jesus asks this is so that we can know the God forsook Jesus so that we would never be forsaken. This message was preach on Sunday, February 4, 2024.

“Why Did Jesus Ask ‘Why'?” • Psalm 22:1-2 – Elder Bryce Lowrance. In this introductory message to Psalm 22, Elder Bryce shows that Jesus claimed this Psalm was about Himself by crying out the first verse while dying on the cross. This message explores how it is that the all-knowing Son of God could possible ask the question ”why? ” about anything. We find that reason that Jesus asks this is so that we can know the God forsook Jesus so that we would never be forsaken. This message was preach on Sunday, February 4, 2024.

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Bob Wilkin and Ken Yates are answering a question about unbelievers and following Christ. This involves Mark 2 (Levi, better known as Matthew) and Luke 19 (Zacchaeus). Did Jesus invite people to follow Him who were not believers? Bob and Ken will offer some answers and thoughts about this

Matthew 7:7-12Jesus has another simple statement to us: "Ask, and it will be given to you." We continue allowing God's Word to speak to us as we explore a Nature given for us. A Nature that has confidence and full certainty that when it asks, it has already received (Mark 11:24).

“How many questions does Jesus ask in the Gospels – Mary Vaughan”. The post How many questions does Jesus ask in the Gospels – Mary Vaughan appeared first on New Song Church.

“God desires to, delights to, and actually does give His children good gifts when they ask Him… God withholds nothing good from His people who pray for good things from Him.” A sermon in TCC’s The Way of Jesus series, preached at Tradewind Community Church in Amarillo, TX, on Sunday, November 19, 2023, from Matthew … Continue reading The Way of Jesus | Ask →

Pastor Aaron unpacks how to ask, seek, and knock

SETH BAZACAS WELLSPRING CHURCH NYC 09.03.2023  

Here's a shocker: Jesus asked questions! In the Gospels, we know Jesus asked questions of God, of Pharisees and Scribes, of his disciples, and of the crowds that followed him around. He taught by using parables, which often created more questions than answers. Elane and Benton discuss questions and the important part they play in the life of a Jesus-follower. Cocktail: The Mayday Theme song is "Moving On (Feels Pretty Good)" recorded by Benton Stokes. Find Benton's songs wherever you stream music.

Title: “What does Jesus ask of his disciples?”Scripture: John 7:37-39 (Main); Jeremiah 2:13; Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:1-12; Psalm 78:15-16IntroThe Pardoner's Tale from the Canterbury TalesThree lawless young men go on a search for Death. They think if they can find Death, they will be able to kill him. As they are searching, they meet an old man who tells them that Death can be found at the foot of an oak tree. Off they go to the tree. There instead of finding Death, they find eight bushels of gold. With Death now out of mind and greed in mind, they decide to sleep there that night and sneak away with the treasure in the morning.Meanwhile, the youngest goes into town to buy some food and drink.He also buys some rat poison and poisons the wine. He wants the gold all to himself. Ah, but the other two want the gold for themselves. So they plot to kill him when he returns. Sure enough that is what they do. When the man returns, they stab him to death. To celebrate, they lift their cups and drink the poisoned wine. They too die.The old man was right. All three greedy men found Death under that tree.Are you satisfied with your life?Does Jesus truly satisfy?If so, how?Bottom line: Jesus truly satisfies when we come to him on his terms.The Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) was a harvest feast which portrays the desert wanderings where they lived in tents for 40 years. Talk about a roving RV festival.Exod 17:15-16Numbers 20:8, 10-11 (1-12)Ps 78:15-16Jeremiah 2:13““My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”Jesus speaks at a moment when one of their daily festival rites was climaxing where the priest would pour water from the pool of Siloam (healing/saving water) back to the temple in through the water gate at the blast of the temple trumpets with a crowd in pursuit, and on the last day he'd circle the altar 7 times (on the final day of the festival, 7th) when the priest would be joined by another priest carrying the wine. They'd ascend the ramp to the altar together. A pause as he raised the pitcher of water. Everyone wanted to see the pouring of the water at least once in their lifetime. And then he'd pour it on the altar. Wine. Altar. Water.Cross of Christ—> Living water/salvation/healing/eternal life/satisfying lifeIt's a this moment that Jesus cries out vs. 37-38.Are we satisfied or thirsty?Are we finding satisfaction in Christ?Are we finding even more satisfaction in sharing Christ with others?“My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Jeremiah 2:13 ESVJesus encourages the thirsty to find true satisfaction for their thirst. Unfortunately, most of us pursue other avenues to slake our thirst to no lasting satisfaction. We chase all kinds of things for satisfaction when the only thing that satisfies is life with Christ himself. Jesus said blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. For they will be satisfied! (Matt 5:6)How are we to drink this living water? On God's terms. See this scene from CS Lewis's the Silver Chair:“How are we to drink this water? Although the offer is free and open to all, there are yet some terms to be met. C. S. Lewis in his children's novel The Silver Chair puts his finger on this in the clearest of terms. Jill, seeing a lion, is scared out of her wits and runs into the forest. She runs so hard that she wears herself out and is just about to die of thirst, or so she thinks, when she hears the gurgling of a brook in the distance. She approaches it and is almost ready to go to the brook when on the grass before her is the same lion."Are you not thirsty?" said the Lion."I'm dying of thirst," said Jill."Then drink, " said the Lion."May I-could I- would you mind going away while I do?" said Jill.The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience. The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic."Will you promise not to -do anything to me, if I do come?" said Jill."I make no promise," said the Lion.Jill was so thirsty now that, without noticing it, she had come a stepnearer."Do you eat girls?" she said."I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and em-perors, cities and realms," said the Lion. It didn't say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it."I daren't come and drink," said Jill."Then you will die of thirst," said the Lion."Oh dear!" said Jill, coming another step nearer."I suppose I must go and look for another stream then.""There is no other stream," said the Lion.It never occurred to Jill to disbelieve the Lion - no one who had seen his stern face could do that -and her mind suddenly made itself up. It was the worst thing she had ever had to do, but she went forward to the stream, knelt down, and began scooping up water in her hand. It was the coldest, most refreshing water she had ever tasted.Do you see what Lewis is saying? When you come to the water, you are coming to a Lion, you must come on the Lion's terms, and you have to yield yourself by faith in order to get the water. Some of us need to realize that we are thirsty, that we need that water so badly that we are going to die without it. We need to step out on faith, yielding to the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and receive the water of eternal life.” —K Hughes, John, pp. 220-2217:38-39“Jesus is saying that the part of us that is never satisfied, the part of us that craves so much, becomes, when we receive this water, the part that is satisfied.” —Hughes, p. 221“Furthermore, not only does such satisfaction come to us in Christ, but it overflows to others. Notice that Christ does not say ‘river' but ‘rivers.' Rivers of living water flow out of us by virtue of the in dwelling Spirit of Christ.” Ibid.Billy Bray was a dynamic Christian and British miner in the 19th century who so overflowed with the living water of Christ that wherever he went men trusted Christ.Each day as he went down into the mines—very dangerous in those days—he would pray with the miners as he went down. “Lord, if any of us must be killed or die today, let it be me. Let not one of these men die for they are not happy and I am, and if I die today I shall go to be in heaven.”“Power and overflowing joy—these are the characteristics of great drinkers of the Spirit. But the sublime irony in this is that we never experience satisfaction as we are meant to until our lives give satisfaction o others.” —Ibid, p. 222You've heard the expression, “He drinks like a fish” referring to his drinking of alcohol. Oh that we'd hear of Christians “drinking like a fish” out of the fountain of living water. Not drinking spirits but of THE SPIRIT of Christ! Power & joy abundant and shared.“Are you satisfied? Is your satisfaction flowing out to others?” Ibid. “During the desert wanderings that the Feast of Tabernacles portrayed, Moses smote a rock, and out of it came rivers of living (?) water for the people. That was a picture of Christ, and our Scripture refers to this in v. 39.” Ibid.“Jesus had not yet been smitten on the cross and resurrected. Therefore the S;Iris had not yet come to indwell believers. In the wilderness, the first time the Lord instructed Moses to STRIKE the rock, Moses did, and God provided water. But the second time Moses made a grievous error. God told him to SPEAK to the rock, but in his anger against the people Moses smote the rock. Water nevertheless came out graciously from God, but Moses paid heavily for his action…Moses probably never suspected that he had ruined the type because Christ was not smitten twice but once. Again we see God's provision and his grace.” Ibid.“Our Lord is a Lion, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and we must come to him on his terms, thought he graciously invites us to communicate with him, to speak to him. Are you satisfied? Have you drunk long and deep of that water so that out of your innermost being are flowing rivers of living water? Is your life a beatitude to others? Whether or not that has happened, speak to him about it now.” Ibid, 222-223.What do we need to do?Recognize that you thirst for something that exists. Your thirst for more than this life offers. Abundant life forever!Drink this living water. Drink deeply and often as if our lives depended on it. God gives us thirst so that we'll know we need it satisfied and that there exists something that can truly satisfy. Drinking is believing.Pour out (spray, hose down, power wash) what wants out from within. God fills us up so that we have something to give. Our job isn't to fill someone else's cup. Our job is to empty our cup.Living water = Holy Spirit. The Holy SpiritImmerses the person into this living water (baptism of the Holy Spirit)Saturates the person with the Holy Spirit guaranteeing he will finish what he started in them.Brings spiritual fruit in unlimited quantity. (Fruit of the Spirit)Brings spiritual gifts (at least one; no one has all) for the purpose of building up the body of Christ (the Church).He guides and provides all that we need to then go and saturate this world.Saturate this world with living water. That is the love of God through Jesus Christ.Big idea/Bottom line?What do I want them to know?That Jesus satisfies us like nothing else. Why?Because this satisfaction streams into our world and brings satisfaction there too.What do I want them to do?Drink deeply of this living water and share it with others.Why?For this leads to even more satisfaction.How?Come to God on his terms. He's a lion and terrifying. Fear God. He's also inviting you to come. Believe and receive this good invitation of good news that Jesus Christ truly satisfies.

Bob shows what a difference language makes. By examining Greek, the original language of the New Testament, what first looks like repetitive conversation becomes an exciting, fascinating narrative! Promise: Even if you normally do not like language studies, you will not be bored! (Repeat program: First podcast 9-2-20) Click on your podcasting platform below to […]

In today's episode Derek responds to questions about how we should think about the polygamy of guys like Abraham, Jacob and David, why some sins (like anger) persist so long and how we should still fight against them by grace and the Holy Spirit, and how to respond to people who criticize Christianity and reject Jesus for the failures of famous Christians. 

Who Do You Say I am

Morning and Evening Prayers 

Pastor Aaron teaches a new message entitled “What Does Jesus Ask Of You?” The post What Does Jesus Ask Of You? appeared first on Charis Christian Center.

Sure, God's Word talks an awful lot about blessing. And yet when I tell people, ‘God wants to bless you', most often I get one of two reactions: either, ‘Well, I'm not sure He's really blessed me much yet'; or ‘I don't think so. I don't think it's the right thing to do to ask God to bless me. Isn't that selfish?' WHY DON'T I RECEIVE? Well, if you were able to join me last week on the programme, you'll know that we chatted about the prayer of Jabez. What an amazing little prayer that some unknown guy, tucked away in the middle of nine chapters of something as boring as genealogy, prayed. Here it is again: Jabez was honoured more than his brothers. And his mother named him Jabez, saying, ‘Because I bore him in pain.' Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, ‘O, that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from hurt and harm.' And God granted him what he asked. (1 Chronicles 4:9-10) It's quite an astounding little prayer for a couple of reasons: The first is because on the surface of things, it appears to be entirely selfish; and second because despite that, God granted him what he asked for. So, either God is in the business of answering selfish, self-serving prayers, or there's something else going on here. As I said at the beginning of the programme, there are plenty of people who believe in Jesus, who haven't really experienced a whole bunch of blessing in their lives. Well, perhaps that's not quite true; let me rephrase that … there are plenty of people who believe in Jesus who don't feel particularly blessed; that's probably more to the point. It seems we're pretty good at ignoring the blessings that God gives us – you know, the basics: our health, the air that we breathe, the food that's provided for us, the roof over our heads, our family, our friends, our job. Of course, not everybody listening today has all of those things. In fact (as I often say), there are more people listening in to this programme today who live in poverty (many of them in war zones) than there are wealthy people in the western developed nations. But whoever we are, wherever we are, we all have some blessings to be thankful for. It's just that we ignore those. And we want this or we want that in our lives, and when we don't get those, we figure that God mustn't be in the business of blessing me. And when I suggest to people that they should ask for God's blessing, I get this response like, ‘No, no, no! That wouldn't be right. I can't impose on God like that.' Part of that is because we've all probably heard the ‘God-wants-to-make-you-rich' distortion of the Gospel, and we've rejected that. Rightly so, I couldn't agree more. But let me take you back to Jabez. He (as we've read) didn't have the best sort of start in life, with a name like Jabez, which literally meant pain. But at some point, he decided enough was enough; it was time to ask God for His blessing. And he did and God answered him with a great big fat yes. Here's how Jesus put it to His disciples. You can read it in John 16:23-24: Truly I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in My name, He'll give it to you. Until now, you haven't asked for anything in My name. Ask, and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete. This isn't the only time He says that, by the way. Quite a number of times, Jesus says, ‘Ask and you will receive'. Now why is that? Is Jesus promoting selfishness? Let's stop and think about that. If a child goes to its mother or father, and asks for help (asks them to do something for them), will the parent grant their request or not? I'm a dad. Let me tell you how it works. I want to bless each of my children. Sometimes though, they ask selfishly, or they're behaving badly (well, not often these days because they're all grown-up, but back when they were kids), and on those occasions, I would withhold my blessing. But if they came to me and asked me for something good for the right reason, I couldn't wait to bless them! It's just what I wanted to do, ‘cos I love them. Now, the Bible talks about asking for God's blessing for the wrong reason. Have a listen. James 4:2-3: You do not have because you do not ask. You asked and you didn't receive because you asked wrongly, in order to spend what you gained on your pleasures. So God's just like any father! He'll bless whenever He can, but not when we ask selfishly with the wrong motives. The point is (it's a point that Jesus made over and over again) that He does want us to ask. And to ask believing that He rewards those who do, because He's the best Dad in the universe and He wants to bless you; He really does. Now, you may look at your life at the moment – at the one difficult situation that's confronting you right now, and doubt deep in your heart that God actually wants to bless you. Let's say you have a totally, completely and utterly intractable issue going on in your marriage. You and your wife (or your husband, as the case may be) are drifting apart, and you simply can't see how it's going to work out for the good. You just can't seem to get on the same page as each other, even though you've tried everything in the book. Ok; you're not perfect, but you've tried everything, EVERYTHING. You've prayed over it, and God hasn't shown up. Well, here's the answer – Believe that God wants you to ask. Believe that God wants to bless you. Take Jesus absolutely at His word. Claim the Word of God yourself because God means it for you. Literally, ask and receive, that your joy may be complete. That's what Jesus is saying to you right now. They are not my words. They are not the empty, hollow promises of a prosperity-doctrine preacher. These are the very Words of Jesus: Ask and receive, that your joy may be complete. Into that difficult, intractable situation, ask over and over again. Pray, knowing that God hears you … that God wants to bless you, and that God (in His absolutely perfect time) will answer you … and don't stop until He does. I wonder, given that difficult situation you're going through, whether you've prayed that way – faithfully and consistently – day after day for God to do what you cannot do. I wonder whether you've dived into your relationship with God in this real, practical way, and spent times asking Him over and over again because if you haven't, that's what He's waiting for! If you haven't, that's exactly what the Bible tells you to do, because God wants to bless you.  THE BLESSING IS A DONE DEAL I want to share with you right now the biggest turnaround in thinking about God's blessing that we can ever experience. It's changing our understanding completely about what God is on about when He talks about His blessing. I want to go back to another parable about persistence in prayer, because I think we can get the wrong impression about God's blessing if we read these parables from Jesus incorrectly. We're going to Luke 11:5-8: Jesus said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go them at midnight, and you say to them, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for another friend of mine has just arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.' “And this guy answers from within, ‘Don't bother me. The door's already been locked. My children are already in bed with me. I can't get up and give you anything.' I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you anything because he is your friend, at least because of your persistence, he will get up and give you what you need. It's an odd parable that one, like the parable of the unjust judge. In this one, God is compared to a neighbour who's unwilling to get out of bed and help you in the middle of the night, which is really weird because God never sleeps; He never doesn't want to help you; He is never short on bread to give you. Soo what's this parable saying? Is it saying that we have to drag a blessing out of God? No. It's saying that God wants us to be persistent; to keep on asking, because He wants to build a healthy dependence on Him in us. How do I know that? Because immediately what follows on from this parable is this familiar passage, Luke 11:9-13: So I say to you, ask, and it'll be given to you. Search, and you'll find. Knock, and the door will be opened. Everyone who asks receives; everyone who searches finds; and to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you, if their child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if their child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? So God's saying here that He totally gets it that we need a blessing when we ask Him, even more so than an earthly parent. Our heavenly Father will give us every good thing, but here's the turnaround I want to share with you today. It's not a case of having to drag the blessing out of God, because God has already purposed the blessing for us. Listen very carefully to these words written by the apostle Paul to the church in Ephesus – very, very carefully. Ephesians 1:3: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. What does that verse say? It says that God has already blessed you in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, so what's a spiritual blessing? Well, the word spiritual here relates to the human spirit or the rational soul, that part of us which is akin to God. It belongs to God, but it's part of us. That's what the word spiritual is referring to, and blessing. What does that word actually mean? Well it's the Greek word eulogia, which means to praise – to speak well of. You know the word eulogy, when someone gets up at a person's funeral and says nice things about that person. That's where we get the word eulogy from. So if we put those two words together – spiritual and blessing, God is already, He has already, He continues to speak His good words, His praise for us, His good things for our lives into our spirit in the heavenly places. Now, at first blush that may not be so encouraging. ‘Okay, so God's saying nice things about me.' But let me ask you, how did God create the universe? Do you remember? Back there in Genesis chapter 1: Then God said, ‘let there be light and there was light. (Genesis 1:3) And each part of creation, God spoke into existence. Why? How? Well, Paul tells us in Romans 4:17: He says that: God gives life to the dead, and calls into existence things that do not yet exist. So God is speaking blessings into existence, just in the way that He spoke creation into existence. In fact, it's past tense. He's already done it. It's a done deal. Not just a few blessings, but every spiritual blessing. They're already on their way because God has already spoken them into existence. Let's read that verse from Ephesians again with a brand-new understanding. Ephesians 1:3: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. He has already blessed you in Christ with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. And those blessings are already on their way, a steady flow right when God purposes them into your spirit … into your life. So not only is God a fantastic Father who wants to bless you, not only does God have the power to bless you but He already has! He's already spoken every blessing for your whole life into existence, and they will each come to pass on the very day that God purposes them. Has that just blown your understanding of God's blessing completely out of the water? Has that just given your understanding of God's blessing a complete one hundred and eighty-degree turnaround? Because now, when you're going to God over and over again asking for His blessing, you don't have to go to Him with this hangdog kind of attitude – that you have to drag a blessing out of a stingy God, who really can't be bothered getting up out of bed for you. Now you can go to God forearmed with the truth knowing that He wants to bless you … knowing that He has the power to bless you, and knowing that He has already spoken every spiritual blessing into existence. Now you can go to Him day after day, asking for His blessing and knowing that it's really on its way; because by knowing the truth, God has set you free to receive His blessing. Listen to me very carefully … God wants to bless you. EVERY NEED FULLY SUPPLIED I don't know if you've heard of the Gaither band. But I absolutely love them, love their music and what they're on about. They sing a song called One Good Song. It's all about cutting back all the stuff we have in our lives – all the clutter, all the things we buy and we think is so necessary to our lives. The chorus of that song goes something like this. I'll just say it, I can't sing it. It says: I'm learning how to separate the wants from the needs,A good life now comes with just a few simple thing.Jesus in my heart, a place to belong,A few good friends and one good song.Oh my latest list, well, it ain't too long,Just a Godly love and one good song.  I first heard that song quite a few years back now, and the line that really convicted me was the one about learning to separate my wants from my needs. The more I thought about it, the more I realised that I'd started to believe that a whole bunch of my wants were in fact my needs, that all these optional extras were necessary to my well-being and happiness, necessary to life itself. It's easy to do because the more the basics in our lives are met; things like food and shelter and our basic health, a job, an income, enough to go around; the more God has those bases covered for us, the more we start looking into the optional extras – a bigger income, a bigger house, a nicer car, a great holiday, oh and this and that and maybe this and that, wow look at that. And when we can't have them straight away, we imagine that somehow our existence is impaired. I say all this by way of qualifying what I'm going to be talking about today because we're checking out what God's Word has to say on the important, the vital subject of His blessing in our lives. And I want to make something very, very clear, right now, we're going to be talking about our needs not our wants, our needs. Everything I'm going to say about God's blessing in your life today is focused on what you need, not necessarily on your wants above and beyond your basic needs. Okay, so let's get into them. As I said at the outset, not everybody in this world has their basic needs met. There have been times in my life (in the life of the ministry in which I work), where there wasn't enough income to support the ministry and in fact, to support putting food on the table for our family, that's a need. And I know that there are people listening today who are desperately lonely, people who are looking for the right marriage-partner and he or she hasn't come along. Perhaps, you're elderly and your family is all gone and you find yourself desperately alone. I know that there are people listening today (many of them in fact) who live in war zones around the world, in parts of Africa and parts of the Middle East. We have lots of people listening to this program today on stations all around the world from dangerous places and you don't even know you're going to be safe, right? And here Berni comes on the radio and he's yabbering on about ‘God wanting to bless me' again. Doesn't this joker realise how desperate my situation is? Doesn't he get it? As things turn out, I do and so does God and that's what I want to share with you right now. Have a listen to what the Apostle Paul has to say on having his needs met. And by the way, before I read it to you, let me tell you what the context is. When Paul wrote this, he was on death row chained to a Roman soldier in a Roman dungeon, just so you realise that he wasn't writing this sitting back on the French Riviera sipping sauvignon blanc, right? This is what he said: I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned for me but you had no opportunity to show it. Not that I'm referring to being in need, for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances, I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. In any case, it was kind of you to share in my distress. You Philippians indeed know that in the early days of the Gospel, when I left Macedonia, no Church shared with me in the manner of giving and receiving except you alone. For even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs more than once. Not that I seek a gift but I seek the profit that accumulates to your account. I have been paid in full and have more than enough. I am fully satisfied now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gift that you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God and my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in the glory in Jesus Christ. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever, Amen. (Philippians 4:14-20.) So Paul is out there doing ministry. He's preaching Christ across the known world. That takes finances, that takes resources. And while we know that along the way he worked as a tent maker to support himself, sometimes he also relied on the generous support of the Churches which he planted and helped to grow, like the Church here in Philippi that he was writing to. And he especially needed the help right now when he was in prison because when you're in prison (back in those days), you couldn't earn money. And they didn't provide for you very well, you essentially had to provide for yourself. So Paul needed prayer support. He needed financial support. He needed friendship. But it seems that for a while, his beloved friends in Philippi had forgotten him. But now he tells them (and he tells us) he's so thankful for their gifts which no doubt came in just in the nick of time. Paul talks a lot about being content (however), whether in need or fully supplied, whether with a full belly or with an empty one, because he's discovered the secret that no matter what the world throws at him, good or bad, he can do all things … he can get through all things … he can be content through all things through Christ who strengthens him. There's a huge lesson in that for anyone whose basic needs aren't covered right now – Christ is the answer. Notice how boldly Paul says that he's not a victim here cowering in defeat. He's confident because Jesus is in that place with him. Just as well, because none of the other Churches that he'd served helped support him other than the Philippians. He could have become quite bitter and twisted over that, but no, his faith is in Jesus. Christ is his provision – come what may. And that's the first point I want to make to you. When you're in that place where your needs aren't being met and Paul's needs, I think you will agree were pretty desperate there on death row, Jesus is your provision. You can get through it all. You can get through all things through Christ who strengthens you, even though, like Paul you find yourself in a time of distress. When the days are black draw close to Jesus in prayer. Pull up and rest in Him and rely on Him and ask Him to bless you. And trust Him to bless you because here's the bottom line, and this is my second point to you today, He will always supply your needs. Did you notice how Paul, this death row prisoner, finishes his letter to the Philippians? Have another listen: I have been paid in full and have more than enough. I am fully satisfied now that I've received from Epaphroditus the gift that you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God and my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever, Amen. Paul's not writing a theological textbook here. It's a letter to friends and out of his own real-world experience sitting there on death row, not knowing if he'll live or die. He's able to say to them that his God, the God whom he has come to know intimately in these dark days in the dungeon, that God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Notice Paul makes a sharp distinction here between wants and needs. He's talking about our needs only and based on his first-hand experience of the faithfulness of God. He is able to tell his friends in Philippi (and indeed you and me) that God will supply all your needs.

Miguel Chavez rejoins us again this week.(0:00 – 2:20)  We look at what the Synoptic Gospels say (Matthew, Mark, Luke) and then the Gospel of John about Judas.(2:20 – 3:20)   Pope Francis and Flannery O'Connor's favorite book.  Guarino's interpretation of Judas' corruption.(3:20 – 4:20)    Miguel talks about Judas' Free will. (4:25-5:00)  Mike reminds us that Judas wanted a political messiah. (5:00 - 5:30)   John's gospel and the interpretation of this incident.(5:30 – 6:40)   Fr Damian compares Judas and Peter.(6:40- 7:30)    Mike compares John and Peter(7:30 – 8:10)   Jesus doesn't cancel Peter.(8:10 – 8:50)   Miguel talks about Peter's repentance.(9:00 – 9:40)   JPII and Crossing the Threshhold of Pope on Judas and hell.(9:50 -10:10)   Pope Benedict on “Jesus Descending into Hell”(10:20 – 11:15)    Balthazar vs Rahner on if the church has definitively stated that anyone is in Hell?(11:15 – 12:30)   Some final thoughts on this question.(12:30-13:30)   Miguel's parish Our Lady of Victory in Tallmadge, OH(13:30)  -   Readings for Trinity Sunday

Our world is more independent than ever!  With self-help books, tutorials on YouTube, and DIY projects the emphasis is doing it on your own.  But Jesus tells us that in this world, we will face trouble - trouble that we cannot conquer alone.  In this message, we will discover the power behind seeking God's help.  When you ask, God responds! ⁠

Jesus tells the disciples "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father." They are having a hard time understanding, so He patiently repeats it in multiple versions until they start to get it. Embedded in the passage is a key to understanding the difficult sayings of Jesus: Ask. When Jesus encourages us to “ask and receive”, we do not usually think of asking for understanding - but that's often the most important thing we need to ask for - and receive.

Jesus tells the disciples "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father." They are having a hard time understanding, so He patiently repeats it in multiple versions until they start to get it. Embedded in the passage is a key to understanding the difficult sayings of Jesus: Ask. When Jesus encourages us to “ask and receive”, we do not usually think of asking for understanding - but that's often the most important thing we need to ask for - and receive.

The story of Jesus washing the disciples' feet is often read, but not lived. Foot washing isn't a common practice across Christianity, despite Jesus' explicit command to wash one another's feet. What does it mean to live a life answering “the Jesus ask” of washing one another's feet and how can that show up in our Lenten practices? What does it mean that Jesus asked his disciples to love one another, even when he knew the response wouldn't meet his needs? This week we reflect on our own ability to answer The Jesus Ask, by reflecting on our own ability to ask for what we need.

Family Discussion Questions: Is there an example to follow from this Psalm?Is there a truth to claim from this Psalm?What should we do when we feel guilty? (Run to Jesus— Ask yourself how you can run to Jesus rather than away from Him.)Ask, "How will tomorrow look different having heard and talked about this scripture?" Additional Resources: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0830829377/ref=cm_sw_r_oth_api_glc_fabc_RTn9FbZDSEGAMThe Daily Prayer App for your phone- http://www.rethinkme.com/dailyprayer/HEAR Journaling: https://replicate.org/what-is-a-hear-journal/All Scripture is read out of the ESV Translation of the Bible.  Remember: This podcast is not designed to replace your personal devotion time with God. There are hundreds of resources out there on how to walk daily with Jesus. Our recommendation is to simply start with one of the Gospels of Jesus in the New Testament and read few verses each day. Use the Replicate Ministries HEAR Journaling Method to respond: Highlight what stands out to you, explain what it means, apply it to your life, and respond in obedience.  

Jesus Ask, “Do You Love Me?”Sermon Series: BelieveIntroduction: In todays passage we find Peter in a question and answer session with the Christ. There are many way that Jesus could have approached Peter at this famous breakfast encounter. But what Jesus actually did is a powerful lesson about His heart for proven failures and over confident disciples.