John 16:24

"Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." John 16:24

As I drove to work this morning, a scene played in my head. It was a scene from the movie Braveheart. William Wallace's father and brother have been killed in battle. The funeral is over. His Uncle Argyle arrives afterwards. Over dinner, Uncle Argyle asks if the priest had given a poetic benediction. Young Wallace does not know. The benediction was in Latin. Uncle Argyle asks, "You don't speak Latin?" "No" is the response. "That is something we shall have to remedy then, isn't it?" asks Uncle Argyle. How does this tie into John 16:24?

Pertaining to John 16:24, God has been specifically very gracious to me. I am sure there have been other times, but I am here to tell of just two. "...ask, and ye shall receive..." is about as blunt as you can put it. These two instances were asked for with a willing heart. I sought after the things of God with my heart. God knew my heart truly wanted these prayed-for gifts. He gave them to me because He knew that I would use them for the glory of His kingdom. Some people do not ask for the gifts of God to be used for His glory. They seek gifts for their own gain. It must be done with a meaningful and willing heart that is after God!

My nature is analytical in the extreme. God showed me the hardness of my heart. Compassion was not big in my nature or heart. God opened my eyes and allowed me to see this. I humbly begged Him to tear down the walls around my heart and allow compassion to flood into my heart. My notebook was lying near. I annotated it in my notebook. Months and months went by. My daily routine stayed much the same. Movies are my thing. I enjoy watching them as I eat dinner. As I would watch these movies, my emotions started to rage. Compassion flooded my heart, and it wasn't even to the climatic part! Little things would jerk my heart strings and make me tear up. It took a little while but I finally realized that it was happening consistently. One day, I needed some paper and picked up my notebook. I flipped through it, looking for a blank sheet. A page crossed my vision with a single line written across it. "Tear down the walls in my heart and let compassion flood in." Realization dawned. "This is awesome." Such thoughts innundated my mind. "God is good" was definitely one of them.

The second time was just as great! April was the month. I was sitting at home, and the Bible was in my hands. A particular passage struck me. Random thoughts(to me anyways) ran through my mind. I wrote them down as fast as I could. The finished product was not that great, BUT I had an awesome feeling of accomplishment. A thought came into my mind. "I would not mind doing this writing-stuff." I sought the LORD with my heart. Prayed for God to just give me the ability to write. A quicker response came this time. Two months elapsed. George MacDonald was the flood gate. It seemed like every page I read unlocked a treasure chest in my head. Writing has become a passion of mine. First, it seemed like work. Now, a priviledge is laid before me.

"And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;" Acts 15:8 God knows our hearts. He knows the truth of our requests and what we will do with the gifts that He gives us. I wanted these gifts, not only to change the hard-bitten man that I was, but to influence others for the greater good-GOD! The Almighty will pour out the gifts of Jesus into our hearts. Faithfulness is required. Do not hoard the talents He gives you. Spread the love, knowledge, and compassion that He puts in your heart and mind. I shall probably misquote this, but I will give a rough effort. Pastor Johnny Hunt says something to this effect. "God does not call the equipped; He equips the called." Compassion and writing was not my fortay. Jesus questioned me in my heart. He saw that I lacked these gifts. "Do you not speak the languages of love or knowledge?" asked Jesus. "No" was the answer in my heart originally. Jesus just smiled and said, "That is something that we shall have to remedy then, isn't it?" My response was an earnest "Yes!" Jesus is faithful and true(Revelation 19:11)! We must be the same, not only to Him but to the ones on this earth that are in desperate need of the love and knowledge He blesses us with in our hearts!

kenny