Mark 10:51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.    The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”  I'm sure that Jesus knew that the man was blind. I'm sure that He could tell by looking at the man that he couldn't see. Why did Jesus ask the man what he wanted? Here's something I think about this passage. 1) Jesus wants us to ask. He knows what ails us. He knows what we want and what we should want. He wants us to ask. 2) The man knew what he wanted....."I want to see." As for me, I am not always as certain about what I want.  Sometimes I think I know. Lots of times, I don't. It is easy to say I want God's will, but to some extent that is a cop-out. It keeps me from having to make a decision, from having to make plans, from working toward a goal - because if I can lean on "I don't know what God's plan is", I don't have anything to commit to.  What a revelation!  The other part of that revelation is why do I le...

Matthew 29:10 ( NIV-1984 ) Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. When someone passes away, especially when it is sudden and unexpected, well meaning people will say something about it being God's will.  I do not believe that in the way it is presented, or the way I think the person means it. Let me sum up my beliefs on this subject: God's will. There are two distinct parts of this concept to me.  1) One part of God's will is what God wants and wills to happen. It is God's will - wish, if you will -  that we come to Him to worship, for healing, for complete surrender. 2) The other part has to do with what God allows to happen, as in the case of Job.  Satan went to God to ask permission to mess with Job's life. It was not God's will (wish) that Satan do this but it was within what God allowed to happen. To elaborate: God does not wish that a person suffer with cancer or some de...

John 4 :34: Jesus said, “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me and from finishing His work.” Jesus is in Samaria, a very strange place for Jesus to be. No self-respecting Jew would have anything do with Samaria or the residents there.   But that is Jesus, isn’t it?   He’s always going places he shouldn’t, talking to people he shouldn’t, showing compassion to those who don’t deserve it, talking with “outcasts”.  In general, everything he does is "wrong" according to the norms of the times and area. The verse above tells us a little of the reason why he lives this way and does these things. Jesus said, “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me and from finishing His work. His very life depended on his need to do God's will. He was filled, nourished, sustained only by doing the will of God and by finishing that work that God gives Him to do. From that we have to conclude that God wants Jesus to reach out of those who don't ...

Colossians 1:9 (NIV) .... asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. This passage tells of Paul's prayer for the Colossians.  He asks God to fill them "with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding".  For some reason when I read this passage, the word "knowledge" is what I saw.  It reminded me of the Garden, where there were two specific trees mentioned. Genesis 2:9 mentions these two trees.  The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  "And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."  Notice that there was no tree of the knowledge of God's will. I guess that was not necessary since they did not know good or evil, they only knew God...... at that point.  In ...