What do you want?

Hi friends,

I recently noticed this question that Jesus asks the blind beggar who cries out from the roadside for his attention: "What do you want me to do for you?"

We might think that this is a redundant question to ask - after all, the man is obviously blind and begging! It seems obvious that this man needed to see. But Jesus doesn't just presume or assume - he asks. He responds to this man's plea for mercy by giving him the dignity of asking for what he really needed. He could have asked for money (after all, that is what he was begging every passer-by for as he sat by the roadside) but because he recognised who Jesus was, he asked for something much more: "Lord, I want to see."

Jesus responded immediately with a healing word, and the man could see.

This encounter and miracle is recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke, and while I journaled this page in the Luke 18 passage, when I was studying the story I noticed something interesting in the Mark 10 account. Mark places this story directly after the incident when James and John approach Jesus and say "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask." Jesus replies to them with the same question that he asks the blind man: "what do you want me to do for you?"

Their response is a self-promoting, self-interested one: they want to sit either side of Jesus in his glory (they want the best seats, the most power and glory available). Jesus' response is to point them to the true way of following him: suffering and sacrifice. I find it so interesting that Jesus asks this same question in two different scenarios, placed side-by-side. When he asks it of his disciples they respond with a self-centred demand. When he asks it of a blind beggar, he pleads for sight. One request was in line with the will of God's kingdom, the other one wasn't. This made me think about the way we approach God in prayer. As our mediator, Jesus may well be asking us: "What would you like me to do for you?" Our response demonstrates how much our hearts are in line with his kingdom. Are we asking for things based on a desire for self-promotion, wealth and ease? Or are we asking for the blind to see, for the captive to be set free, for mercy to be given to those who so desperately need it? What a challenge to our prayer life!

I created the background of this page with left-over acrylic paints from another page I did (I needed to cover some bleed-through on this page). The poinsettia from Poinsettia Greetings was stamped on watercolour card and embossed with gold, then cut out and watercoloured. I used a combination of Love Ya Like a Sister Alpha, Healer of my Heart and His Love as well as some alpha stickers to create the verse. I embossed the word Jesus in gold to tie in with the embossed poinsettia.

Let's be encouraged by Jesus' question: "what do you want me to do for you?" and let's be challenged in answering that we ask for those things that are in line with God's heart and his kingdom.

Be blessed...

x Amy x

Fear + Delight = Happiness..?

Hi friends,

There is a lot of focus on happiness in our world today. Many, many products and programmes are offered as sources of happiness (in fact, much of the advertising industry is driven by the desire for happiness). Often, we associate happiness with having our desires fulfilled and our dreams coming true. But what does the Bible say about happiness?

The word 'happiness' in some of our English translations is translated 'blessed' in others - they come from the same Hebrew word. I highly recommend doing a word study of happy/blessed in Scripture to see what the whole counsel of God's Word says about this topic. In Psalm 112 the psalmist writes 'Happy is the person who fears the Lord, taking great delight in his commands.'

The concept of fearing the Lord is such a foreign one in today's world. It is even more foreign to associate fear of the Lord with happiness, but that is exactly what this Psalm does. Fear in this case, when directed toward the Lord, is not terror but reverence and awe. When we stand in awe of God and take delight in his commands to us (which is a natural response when we reverence the source of those commands) we are blessed. This may not result in instant and continuous happiness (as we imagine happiness to be), but there is a state of contentment, peace and joy that we can live in when we fix our eyes on the Lord in reverence and delight.

I love the beautiful poinsettia image from the November Stamp of the Month called Poinsettia Greetings. I stamped the image on watercolour card and embossed with white embossing powder then watercoloured. I cut the image out, then cut it in half so that I could use each half in a different place on the page. This page in my Illustrating Bible had lots of space to play with, so I created a honeycomb background using acrylic paints and a stencil, then stamped the verse over the top using Classy Script Alpha, Bitty Minnie Alpha and Chunky Alpha.

Next time we feel like we are lacking happiness in our lives, it might be a good idea to examine our fear of the Lord and our delight in his commands. This isn't a formula, but it is a guide to show us what true happiness looks like. I don't know about you, but I need to grow in experiencing this kind of happiness.

Be blessed...

x Amy x