“‭Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you.” If you are the type of person that doesn’t like to inconvenience others, you are somewhat timid in general, you must learn how to operate outside of that mentality. Many things in life can only be obtained by forcibly going after it. There’s a way that is not offensive, just pushy. To be pushy has its purpose, and benefits. This verse says keep on asking and it will be given to you. Consistency is the plowing tool that prepares the ground for harvest. Our God given purpose and destiny should be driving us towards what’s ours before we obtain it. By the guidelines of the kingdom of God’s rules we can have what we go after. Be diligent without timidity or fear of any kind, God has your back. Seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened. If we never seek, never knock, and stop asking, our reward will be waiting for us in heaven, having never been sent down to earth. Since God Himself has declared and decreed this as a spiritual principle, it’s up to us to complete the circuit in this natural realm down here by seeking, knocking, and asking for what we need and desire. Through faith and patience we obtain the promises of God (Hebrews 6:12). So make your request known to God, ask Him for it, seek Him for it, knock with the doorknocker of prayer, and then wait until it manifests.

“‭For though the mountains should depart and the hills be shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace and completeness be removed, says the Lord, Who has compassion on you.” We have a covenant of peace with the Lord. Because God has compassion on us His covenant of blessing can never be broken. No matter what’s going on around us or in our lives His love and kindness shall not depart from us. This is the Lord’s promise to us. What happens many times we don’t experience these blessings from the Lord is the way we have positioned ourselves in life. A life of acknowledging God in all our ways is a sure shot to attract the blessings of God. The word of God is conditional. Obedience is the key to receive the covenant of blessings in our lives. God has set up a built-in system in His kingdom for His people to walk in the prosperity He already provided. To the degree we can keep our walk with God on the straight and narrow concerning our flesh, is to the degree we can receive not only God’s peace that passes all understanding, but provisions for our life will fall into place. His word works for those who obey it. God’s love for us goes far beyond our ability to understand it, but we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:15). Thank God for His love, we wouldn’t be here today without it.

“‭Seek the Lord and His strength; yearn for and seek His face and to be in His presence continually!” As christians there’s no other way to live in victory. Because of our old man, our fleshy appetites, we must always fight to keep that under control. It’s like a car not ever being maintained, sooner or later it will break down, and so will we if we don’t seek the Lord’s face always. We are connected to the vine who is Jesus Christ (John 15:5). All of what it takes to be successful in life is in the Vine. But if you, the branch has anything blocking the proper nourishment from the Vine, you will not prosper. Due to the sin nature which is still in our flesh, if we allow it to run free unchecked, we cut off our connection to the Vine Jesus Christ (1Corinthians 9:27). There is strength when we are connected to the Vine properly. When you are confused, overwhelmed, or seemingly stuck in life, your connection to the Vine is compromised. As we are securely connected to the Vine, over time we will produce fruit. Part of that fruit bearing is witnessing to others about the gospel. Living in more peace than worry, and having the abundant life the Lord has promised to those who walk after the Spirit and not the flesh. Staying connected firmly to the Vine continually will take you places you’ve never dreamed of, and bring you before great men and women (Matthew 10:18). His strength, and prosperity are available, by seeking Him daily (Joshua 1:8). Go for it.

“‭And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation].” He is able to make all grace come in abundance to you no matter what circumstances you’re dealing with. God’s grace is sufficient to carry us through the worst times of our lives. His grace is available to all. His grace is attracted to those children of God who are trying to fulfill the call on their lives. His grace can carry us when all hell has broken out against us. We speak the word of God out of our mouths to our bad situations and circumstances for relief in the battle, and victory over it. Every favor and earthly blessing is on its way to you right now because of your continued perseverance in not giving up hope. When Paul was dealing with the thorns in his flesh (buffering from Satan), he cried out to God for relief. God said to Paul, my grace is sufficient for you (2 Corinthians 12: 7-9). In the suffering, there’s growth potential if you don’t give up. Grace is getting what we can’t earn, or we don’t deserve (help). Mercy is not getting what you deserve (punishment), because of our wrong doings. His grace is sufficient for you to continue in life, without interruption of your God given plan. Stay the course, grace has you covered for life.

“‭Enter through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and spacious and broad is the way that leads away to destruction, and many are those who are entering through it.[14] But the gate is narrow (contracted by pressure) and the way is straitened and compressed that leads away to life, and few are those who find it.”
The highway to hell is broad and its gate is wide for those who may choose that way. The gate to the kingdom of God is narrow. Most people are going through the wide gate to hell because it’s an easier lifestyle. The lifestyle of discipline Leeds us through the narrow gate to the kingdom of God. There’s no getting around the fact to enter the narrow gate to heaven it takes sacrifice on our part. The sacrifice is simply you trying to be a better person God’s way. You don’t give up stuff good for you but you lose stuff that’s not. Our bodies still have the sin nature in them. At the new birth when we became Christians the only thing about our makeup that changed was our human spirits. Our spirits were dead to God which keeps us out of the kingdom of God. After the change of our human spirits it’s our job to renew our minds with God’s word, and begin to live it. Choosing this way of life is only a sacrifice to our bodies and the part of your mind that has not renewed itself with God’s word of life. The choice is simple, the easy way to hell, wide gate, or the disciplined cleaner life through the straight and narrow one. Free will can be our demise if we choose wrongly.

“‭So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Whatever God has declared and decreed shall come to pass. His word is like a healing balm. His word is spirit and it is life. His word is exalted even above His name (Psalm 138:2). The point here is that there’s power in the word of God to be wielded by any faith believing christian for their own success in life. When God can trust us with the power that goes along with His word, there’s nothing that can stop us. Once we have been broken from participating with all the inordinate desires, the lust of the flesh, high mindedness of pride and arrogance, we can begin our journey of living in the power of God. I say this to encourage God’s people. We can use the word of God as He does, expecting a return of the desired outcome we’ve declared and decreed. His word will not return to you void of accomplishment. It will accomplish the thing you sent it out to. Rightly dividing the word of God for your current and future bad situations, should be a way of life for the christian believer. Work the word and it will work for you.

“‭THE HEAVENS declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows and proclaims His handiwork.” The glory of God is on display by the heavens. His hands have demonstrated their quality by the creation of the sky. All that we see here on earth has been created by that which is invisible, or He who is invisible. Other than the Bible there is no ocular proof of God or Him being the creator. We must choose to believe that He is. The big bang theory may well have come from the sound made from Satan being booted out of heaven. But when he was kicked out he landed on earth making it without form and void of order. I believe the fall of Satan happened after the dinosaur era on earth. To think everything in existence just happened by itself makes no sense to anyone knowing God. His glory of creation is quite evident. He placed the stars in the heavens, and created the sun and moon to be exactly where they are positioned over the earth. The seasons changing from summer to fall, to winter, and spring, dose that just happen by itself. It happened due to Adam and Eve’s transgression in the garden long ago, it’s part of what changed because of the sin nature on the earth. There had to be an intelligent entity behind creation, well thought out for humans to exist (Romans 1:20). According to the Bible, mankind is without excuse not realizing God is the Almighty God. He says in the bible, based on creation itself you can see there is a God, an entity that gave life to everything. We are without excuse not to receive Him as Lord and Savior of our life.

“‭For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it [a harvest of fruit which consists in righteousness–in conformity to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action, resulting in right living and right standing with God].” We all know what happens to a child that has never been disciplined by the parents. The worst case scenario is they’ll end up in jail, on drugs, or dead. Discipline is the only thing that helps keep us out of future trouble. We go through training for new careers, or how to become anything that doesn’t come naturally. Without training, and discipline we would be more like the animals, reacting out of instinct, running amok without intelligence and understanding. No discipline seems pleasant at the time of execution, but it is for our own good. Discipline becomes our trainer, giving us the experience of handling trouble correctly. Handling trouble successfully means you’ve learned from your bad experiences. Discipline helps us ride the future waves of crisis, and the storms of life with the understanding things will work out for our good. We learn what not to do in the future based on what we shouldn’t have done in the past. Discipline cuts the learning curve in half. To be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ is to be well acquainted with discipline. Keeping our flesh under control everyday is a discipline. Without discipline we’d be just like Satan and his crew, unruly and ready to kill, steal, and destroy if left unchecked. Without discipline there is no peace.

“‭And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” Nations are groups of people gathered together into one area. So people will come to your light, and Kings to the brightness of your dawn. The light others want is the light of the knowledge of God’s glory operating in you. This is an attraction for some, that is irresistible because it speaks not only to our intellect but our hearts, or (our spirits) which are naturally drawn to the supernatural. We all have in one way or another, a hunger for the supernatural whether realized or not. We are created by a supernatural being who put His DNA in us at creation. As we soak our minds and allow our hearts to meditate in the word of God, we will make our own way prosperous (Joshua 1:8). Jesus is the light of the world and He lives in us by faith. Every born again Christian has the light of the world living in them. So nations and Kings will be drawn to the light of Jesus Christ in us for counsel, for guidance, or just plan old good common sense. As we excel in our God given purpose the raising of our obedience to the Lord will be evident to everyone. With quick obedience to the Lord’s instructions concerning you, we unlock His favor and grace to help in areas of life not otherwise conquered. Our greatness in life for success, comes from the Lord. The world is drawn to the light of Christ, it wants the goodness of God, but doesn’t want to give up the pleasures of sin.

“For whoever wants to save his [higher, spiritual, eternal] life, will lose it [the lower, natural, temporal life which is lived only on earth]; and whoever gives up his life [which is lived only on earth] for My sake and the Gospel’s will save it [his higher, spiritual life in the eternal kingdom of God].” The life I live, I live by the faith of the Son of God (Galatians 2:20). We have been crucified with Christ, our plans and desires of the lower life on earth have been changed. The life we should now live in the body should be directed towards the desires, and plans of the Lord for us. We have been crucified with Him and now raised into a brand new way of living. Should you choose not to live this new life, nothing you do will be great, or have any major effect on helping others. Most importantly you will not be as effective in advancing the kingdom of God forward, which is a part of the higher spiritual life. Yes, we lose the old way of living for a new way. The new way is designed to direct us to our God given purpose. Whoever wants to continue their old way of living, will lose their new way of living provided by the Lord. Whoever loses their old way of living for the Lord’s sake will save themselves from all that goes along with the lower nature. The appetites of the lower nature (our flesh) can over take us into unwanted or unintentional troubles. The life lived by faith in the Son of God stays the hand of judgement when we screw up (1John 1:7), and brings help in times of need. You can’t stop a dog from barking the same way we can’t stop troubles that go along with the lower life.