Walking With Christ

What if God handed you a blank check…and you asked for spare change?

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⚓ Floatie:  The Offer That Sounds Too Good To Be True

John 14:13–14  (13)Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  (14)If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.(ESV)

This verse has been printed on mugs, stitched into pillows, and posted in Instagram bios.  But most people stop reading after “ask anything.”  They don’t pause to ask:

• Who was Jesus talking to?
• What does “in my name” really mean?
• And what kind of “anything” is He willing to do?

Jesus did issue an open-ended offer.  But it wasn’t careless or casual—it was covenantal.  And like all covenants, it has terms.

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✒️ Forge:  Patterns of Misunderstood Access

1. Solomon:  The Good Ask

1 Kings 3:5  At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, ‘Ask what I shall give you.’(ESV)

Solomon asked for wisdom—not wealth or revenge.  And because his request was aligned with God’s heart, he received far more than he asked:

• Wisdom
• Wealth
• Honor
• Peace

He didn’t realize the scale of the offer, but his posture unlocked the rest.

2. James and John:  The Ambitious Ask

Mark 10:35–37  (35)And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”  (36)And he said to them, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’  (37)And they said to him, ‘Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.’(ESV)

Jesus doesn’t deny the offer.  He challenges their readiness:

Mark 10:38  Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be peptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”(ESV)

They wanted power without the suffering that precedes it.

3. The Thief on the Cross:  The Humble Ask

Luke 23:42–43  (42)And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”  (43)And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”(ESV)

The thief asked only to be remembered.  He was given Paradise.

4. Philip:  The Small Ask

John 14:8–9  (8)Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”  (9)Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip?  Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.  How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?(ESV)

He asked to see the Father…not realizing He was already looking at Him.  Each of these moments proves the same point:  God’s offers are larger than we understand.  Our requests often reveal the limits of our faith or imagination.

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⚒️ Anvil:  Not All Checks Are Made Out To You

We have to deal with three hard truths about “ask anything.”

🔹 1. Who was Jesus talking to?

John 13–17 was spoken to the disciples—the inner circle.  This was not a public sermon.  It was private covenantal language.

You don’t get a blank check if you’re not in the will.

🔹 2. “In My Name” Means Alignment, Not a Magic Word

John 15:7  If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.(ESV)

You can’t tack “in Jesus’ name” onto a carnal desire and call it holy.

James 4:3  You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.(ESV)

🔹 3. God is Not Obligated to Fund Your Fantasy

1 John 5:14  And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.(ESV)

The blank check only works inside the boundaries of His will.  It’s not a blank check to get what you want.  It’s a blank check to get what God wants—through you.

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🔥 Ember:  The Danger of Praying Like Orphans

Most Christians don’t pray like sons.  They pray like outsiders begging for scraps.

Even worse—some think they deserve the check just because they have His name in their contacts, not carved into their character.

Matthew 7:21–23  (21)”Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the ones who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  (22)On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  (23)And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’(ESV)

Jesus isn’t handing out kingdom authority to people He doesn’t know.

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🌿 Covenant Triumph:  True Sons Get the Check

Those who abide—those who are known by Jesus—can pray impossible prayers with full expectation, because their will has been shaped to reflect His.

They don’t ask for status.  They ask for assignment.
They don’t ask for luxury.  They ask for legacy.
They don’t ask for survival.  They ask for glory—God’s, not their own.

The blank check is still available…but only if you’re willing to sign your own name off the bottom and let His be the only name left.

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[⚓ Floatie] [✒️ Forge] [⚒️ Anvil] [🔥 Ember] [🌿 Covenant Triumph]
This post follows the Forge Baseline Rule—layered truth for the discerning remnant.