"Ask and You Might…" – James 1-5

WARNING: Please stay with me on this one til the end.

James 1: 5-8

When you are at the stage of life that I am, especially in my spiritual journey, you see things differently. That is, you are not quite as innocent or naïve as you may have once been. That can be both a good thing and a bad thing. When it comes to one’s faith and the scripture, I think it’s a good thing.

Recently, a long-time friend of mine and I were having an Email discussion about The Secret; The popular book and film espousing the “like attracts like” philosophy, with the emphasis on “riches”. He and I primarily discussed the attraction of that type of philosophy and what it was that drew folks to that, yet repelled them from the abundant life that Christ offers. Of course, I think most of us know the answer to that one. But it did get me thinking. For example:

As some of you know, Alice and I are still trying to sell our house in Lubbock. Carrying two mortgages is no small load these days, so it would be a real joy if we were to have a buyer or that house. Which brings me to this, when I read passages of scripture, in context mind you, that seems to indicate, without severe qualification, that I can ask and it will be given, why is there no buyer? Let me enumerate:

Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it. (John 14:13-14)

I know commentators want to ascribe qualifications to the word “greater” and “in my name” especially. But, the only real qualifier seems to be to believe.

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

Again, I know the qualifications that are attached to the “abiding”; almost to the point that it is impossible for all except St. Theresa or Billy Graham to perhaps fit the bill, if even them. But, is that really the case?

…Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now, you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete. (John 16:23-24)

And of course, the passage that was the focus of my reading both yesterday and today, in James:

If any of you is lacking wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. But ask in faith, never doubting…

Of course, we all know the qualifier here, it’s “doubt” or “being double-minded”. In the NLT, they take the issue of personal doubt out of the equation and focus it on the object of our faith, GOD. In other words, “…be sure your faith is in God alone”; that there is no “divided loyalty”.

It is indeed possible, that God is not answering simply because it is my petition. For what merit have I that He should grant my request. I have proved nothing to Him. However, my wife is a different story.

Now we could play the “timing” card. You know, in God’s own time he will bring the right buyer for your house, that sort of thing. But quite frankly, now is a pretty good time!

We could play the “wisdom” card. Maybe I should be asking God for some practical insight into why He is not sending a buyer at this particular period.

On the other hand, I could play the practical card; practically speaking, God is really not interested in whether or not our house sells so he is basically out of the equation.

All are qualifiers of one sort or another. Maybe, Jesus really didn’t intend for us to be able to say to this mountain “be moved” or that “nothing will be impossible for you”. On the other hand, maybe he did!

When my faith is in God and God alone, what prevents Him from acting? Is it the “selfish” card? We want our house to sell for “selfish” reasons. I guess “duh” would be appropriate for an answer there. If you call being able to pay your bills, continue to give generously, help others when helping is an option, etc. Then yes, selfishness is reason. If you want to tell me that God wants to get us to a point where we trust Him financially, don’t you dare, we have been there done that and proved faithful.

So, bottom line, why is there no buyer for our house?

You may think this all borders on the line of blasphemy, and you may be right. However, let’s just say my non-believing neighbor and I are having a discussion and he asks me about my faith. In the course of our discussion, he asks if I believe in prayer and whether or not God hears and answers our prayers. I say, “of course I do”.

“Have you prayed to God for a buyer for your house?” he asks.

“Yes, we have”, I reply.

“Then why hasn’t your house sold?” he follows.

Oh my, feet start dancin’ and bring out those ol’ cliché’s from years gone by.

Folks, if you’re reading this, don’t be offended, just be reasonable. We get that sort of thing all the time. The “world” seems to offer a definite answer in their magic books like The Secret. We seem to offer excuses. If you don’t think that’s true, then you send me an email with your experiences where you have prayed specific requests and received specific answers. nmacdonald@carolina.rr.com

In the meantime, if you could pray for a buyer for our house in Lubbock!

Father, there is no doubt in my mind that you love me and care for me. That you, for whatever reason have chosen not to send a buyer for our house in Lubbock is something I do not understand. I suppose you will need to help me with that because I am getting frustrated. Thank you that I could tell you that. I love you.

"And the Thunder Rolls" — Psalm 29

When you live in a state like North Carolina where more people are struck and killed by lightening than any other state in the US, you learn to have respect for thunderstorms. However, my solemn respect for these monsters of nature goes back much further than our move to North Carolina.

In my lifetime, sparing the details, I have been literally in the midst of a tornado; been caught in the middle of a farm field with lightening, thunder and hail pounding all around me; had lightening strike the ground within 15 feet of my car while driving – my window was down and the whole left side of my face was numb and I could not hear for several minutes out of my left ear; then when on training rides, I’ve been caught several times by pop-up storms in IL & OH and had to try and race them home, with strong winds raging, torrential rains drenching me, and lightening popping all around me. So, believe me, I have a huge respect for thunderstorms. In fact, you might say I am frightened of them.

It seems that I am not alone. The psalmist has a pretty good understanding of their power and stands in awe of their might as well. He ascribes the thunder to the “voice” of YHWH and describes the lightening as “flames of fire” flashing forth from that same “voice”. With every peel of thunder and every bolt that strikes the ground, he calls the people to measure the majesty, the power, the glory of YHWH.

Whether it is the seven “voices” calling out the majesty of God here in this Psalm, or the “seven thunders” mentioned in Revelation 10:3, the writers of scripture use natural phenomenon in a variety of ways. Ways that usually express their understanding of God’s interaction with His creation, specifically His interaction with humanity. The point of which is always, and I think always is appropriate, to help us understand that GOD is in control. Nothing escapes Him, ever, and we should…

Ascribe to the LORD the glory of his name, worship the LORD in holy splendor! (v.2)

For

The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace !” (vs.10-11)

I tend to loose sight of that from time to time. I occasionally forget God’s power, except in spiritual terms. Perhaps with the next clap of thunder, I will think of a different “voice” and be reminded of something more spectacular; someone more powerful!

Father Spirit, there are times when I seem to trivialize or compartmentalize your name, your majesty, your power – forgive me I pray. Let me always understand your majesty and give you GLORY! For your might is more than thunder and your strength more than any storm. You are king over all creation and LORD of all! Give strength to me to live this day to bring honor to your name. Grant me peace amidst whatever storm might rage around me. For as much as I can, I worship you in holy splendor! AMEN.

Somebody Pinch Me!!! Please

I’ve thought about this all day and I still can’t get my mind around it. I’m sure it was just a “dream”. I am certain someone will pinch me and I will wake up to find that it was not real at all.
Alice and I have struggled all week with where we would go to church this weekend. We enjoy our Bible study class with Jon, but the worship service leaves us wanting. We enjoy the music, but it is more performance oriented than involvement. So it gets back to the study group, which is important, especially for me right now. Both from a friendship standpoint and a “good teacher” standpoint.

However, this morning’s congregational service was really over the edge. The pastor’s message looked like we were headed toward something great. Unfortunately, it got bogged down in a relentless repeat of point one and never really moved anywhere from there. (That was our service, the others could have been different). Then we moved to a baptism and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Here is where it got weird.

Now let me put things in perspective. This church apparently has close to five thousand members, so it is rather large. Of course, not all attend and certainly not all attend in one service. There are three services.

In the 8:00 a.m. service, there were three hundred or so in attendance, perhaps more. The pastor asked everyone to move toward the center for ease in distributing the “elements”, and then came the surprise. You know in restaurants or hotels how you get those little containers of half & half or cream; those little plastic cups with the foil top that you peal back. Well that is how we received our juice and “bread”. A small self-contained little cup; the first cellophane wrapping covered the cardboard-like wafer; then immediately under that was a foil cover over the container of juice.

Now, my wife and mother didn’t even know the wafer was there, so they missed it entirely. There were no instructions printed on the package or given by the pastor. I discovered it by accident, because I was so careful opening it since I was certain I was going to spill it on my khakis.

After it was over – I’m thinking, was all this for the sake of efficiency or what?
What’s next, a little pez-like dispenser strategically placed along each pew so every one just pushes a little cross symbol and out comes the little loaf and a squirt of juice? Or better yet, they have a take-home version that they hand out as people leave the service, that way it doesn’t take up any time at all and people can do it in the convenience of their own home.

Heck, we are in a water shortage here in NC so why didn’t they just sprinkle the folks instead of baptize them by immersion, you can save water and after all, it is more convenient and efficient.

Yes, I am a bit sarcastic. Yes, I am a bit disappointed. And yes, I don’t have to attend there.

Perhaps this is the norm for larger churches and I have just been out of circulation for so long, I didn’t realize it has come to this type of convenience packaging. But…. and it’s a big but…. I expect, were our LORD there in person, I suspect He may have been a bit offended.

True North — I Kings 1-3:15

Normally I wouldn’t find myself at this “place” in the OT. At least at this juncture. Nevertheless, since it is a portion of scripture that is the focus of our Sunday School class, and we may find ourselves in that class, I figured I best read it. Of course, God, in His own wise way, has a little message for Norm.

Since Solomon finds himself in a position of power that he was not quite anticipating, at least now in his life; the LORD appears to him in a dream and said, “Ask what I should give you”.

Oh – look! A blank check!!! What shall I fill in for the amount? Let me see, what would I like? Uhm….. It is like someone asking you what would you do if you won the power ball lottery for 189 million dollars. Heck, I do not know, what in the world do you do with all of that money!

Now I don not mean to trivialize the encounter that Solomon has with God, but we might as well face it, what would it really be like if God were to ask you or me that question? I think I know what my “pious” response would be, but I am not so sure what my “in side the mind” response might be!

Solomon – as we all know – asked for “…an understanding mind…able to discern between good and evil…” (1Kings 3:9)

The really amazing thing about this is God’s response. Since Solomon did not ask anything for personal gain, the LORD said he would not only grant that request, but riches and honor in “as well”. Do you remember that “as well” phrase?

“But strive first for the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt. 6:33)

It is rather amazing how God blesses our priorities. The hard part is getting our priorities in the right order. Steven Covey called it “true North” in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People. Once you know where true North is on the compass it becomes rather simple to find your direction. The same is true in our life. Once we know where true North is – what our highest priority is – everything else, for the most part, falls in place around that priority. If indeed, it is our priority.

What if God were to say to me “ask what I should give you”? What would I say?

LORD GOD, I don’t know that I have an answer for that question. I would like to think that my one true priority is to honor you with my life. Then, I am not even sure what that means or what that “looks like”. So I suppose my answer would be, tell me what I need. May it be.

It’s Gotta Be LOVE —- John 15-17

Almost 40 years ago, I gave my life to Christ. As I have said previously in this journal, it is a decision I have never denied, or for that matter, regretted. It is however, one I have betrayed. Then again, that has not been a secret, if you have read this journal.

When I came to Christ, if my memory serves me correctly, one of the things I was instructed to do, as part of my “growing in Christ” was to read the Bible. In fact, it was suggested that I start with the Gospel of John. This Bible reading was something I was eager to do. However, as many of you already know, I dabbled in John, but started in Genesis of course, because that was the beginning after all!

These past few days, as the Gospel of John is sweeping me away. Each word, each phrase, each “situation” compels me to read more. Then, when I finish for the day, I ask myself, why would anyone suggest a new Christian to start reading in the Gospel of John? Some of Jesus’ most compelling and complex sayings are in this book. You could spend a year feeding in this book alone and still not exhaust its riches.

To be candid, I do not understand much of what I am reading. There was a time when I use to berate the disciples for their dullness, now it seems that I am the dull one.

Here is what I am thinking. It seems that we get much of our theology from Paul and many of our favorite sayings from Jesus! Perhaps there is a reason for that. Let me just toss this out: I think, there is a tendency to dismiss the conditional sayings of Jesus and qualify his promises. But with the statements of Paul, we usually only qualify “cultural” issues and tend to leave substance alone, as long as it doesn’t interfere with our comfort zone, such as “prayer languages” and the like. I know this is a rather large blanket to throw over the issue, without more detail, but it is just something I have been noodling.

I will come back to all of this, but not right now. What is sticking with me is LOVE: the love of Jesus for the Father, for his disciples, for those who did and would believe in him, and for me!

His prayer in chapter 17 is all about love. Everything Jesus did he did out of love for the Father. Every indignity he suffered was out of love for the world. Every word he uttered was out of love for those of us who would believe in him. Every purpose, every parable, every promise was planned, presented, and provided out of LOVE. How wonderful is that?

Father God, I know our prayers are to directed to you. But, if I may, I would like to say a word to your Son. Jesus…Thank you. Thank you that you loved me enough! Thank you for every mile you walked, every word you spoke, every shame you suffered, and every tear you shed. But most of all, thank you for the Cross and the empty tomb!
Father Spirit, thank you that you loved the world so much that you sacrificed your only begotten son, that I might have an intimate and eternal relationship with YOU! I am forever grateful!