“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”

Matthew 7:7

There is a new marketing trend that is popping up everywhere you turn. It is a printed square box with all sorts of markings. By scanning the square with a certain type of cell phone and app, information is displayed on the screen.

I don’t have the app, but I heard that they contain further information on articles in print, product information, and even specials on various items available to those who know how to retrieve it.

Often I find myself wondering what I am missing. Would having this technology make my life more meaningful? Do I need to stop wondering and add this app to my phone? My phone has the capability, so what is stopping me from following through?

A little square printed box is far down on the list of things I plan to pursue, and yet like it, there are many things that are hidden. There is a wealth of information out there just waiting for us to access it.

Some things in life are so easy and yet we try to make them a massive project. Take for example the story of Naaman in 2 Kings 5. He was stricken with leprosy and wanted healing. When it was suggested that a prophet might heal him, a messenger was sent to Elisha. Elisha sent a message to Naaman to wash in the Jordan seven times. This made Naaman mad and he refused to take the advice, however his servants reminded him that if he were asked to do something great he would do it. Naaman did as instructed and was healed of his leprosy. Do we sometimes make things more difficult for ourselves?

On the other hand, there are those things we just have to learn to live with and endure. 2 Corinthians 12:6-8 tells the story of Paul asking the Lord to remove the thorn in his flesh. He asked the Lord three times to remove it.

Instead he had to learn to live with it. It doesn’t matter what it was as all of us can fill in the blank with something they are unable to change.

Finally, what about having the truth revealed? I don’t understand my cell phone so I need to get someone to explain it to me. In Acts 8 is the story of Philip on the road to Gaza when he encountered an Ethiopian reading prophecy from the Prophet Isaiah. Philip asked if he understood what he was reading and the Ethiopian invited him into his chariot to explain. The result was the Ethiopian accepted Jesus and was baptized.

There are times when no one is around to explain what we read in the Bible, but there are other ways to understand the word of God. First off, the Holy Spirit guides our hearts in understanding. There are many other resources as well from the Bible itself to concordances, Bible dictionaries, and other helpful books. The Internet has some good sites as well. One of my favorites is Biblegateway.com.

There is no excuse for us not to pursue knowledge, especially when so there are so many resources out there. What will you study this week?

Debra Whittington is a longtime resident of Tucumcari. Contact her at:

dawhittington@msn.com