"You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. Adulterers!" (James 4:3-4a).
God wants us to ask! Because of Christ, we can boldly approach the throne of grace and make requests of God. We do not have to cower in fear, only bow in reverence and respect to our loving and gracious Father who wants us to have what is good for us. We needn't be wimps! We can ask for the impossible! The only requisit is that our requests be not selfish. Our commitment is to God. When our requests are self-centered we are being unfaithful in our relationship to God. We can pray for great and impossible things, but not with a selfish motive!
Grace&Peace;
Tom
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Saturday, August 26, 2006
GOD INVITES YOU TO ASK
"Ask and it shall be given. . ." (Matthew 7:7).
Many times in the Scriptures, God invites His children to ask, 'You have not because you ask not' the apostle James says in his letter. God is our rich friend; He is our rich father who wants us to have what is best.
I found this story in a sermon by Peter Marshall that I want to share with you; it is supposed to be historically accurate.
In 1540, Martin Luther's great friend and assistant, Frederick Myconius, became sick and was expected to die within a short time. On his bed, he wrote a loving farewell note to Luther with a trembling hand. Luther received the letter and instantly sent back a reply, "I command thee in the name of God to live. I still have need of thee in the work of reforming the church. The Lord will never let me hear that thou art dead, but will permit thee to survive me. For this I am praying, this is my will and my will be done, because I seek only to glorify the name of God." One week later, Myconius recovered and died two months after the death of Luther.
Our motives have a lot to do with how our requests to God are answered!
Grace&Peace;
Tom
Many times in the Scriptures, God invites His children to ask, 'You have not because you ask not' the apostle James says in his letter. God is our rich friend; He is our rich father who wants us to have what is best.
I found this story in a sermon by Peter Marshall that I want to share with you; it is supposed to be historically accurate.
In 1540, Martin Luther's great friend and assistant, Frederick Myconius, became sick and was expected to die within a short time. On his bed, he wrote a loving farewell note to Luther with a trembling hand. Luther received the letter and instantly sent back a reply, "I command thee in the name of God to live. I still have need of thee in the work of reforming the church. The Lord will never let me hear that thou art dead, but will permit thee to survive me. For this I am praying, this is my will and my will be done, because I seek only to glorify the name of God." One week later, Myconius recovered and died two months after the death of Luther.
Our motives have a lot to do with how our requests to God are answered!
Grace&Peace;
Tom
Thursday, August 24, 2006
What Keeps Me Going?
"Christ is not only the source for my work; He is also the outcome. If the dominant note is the needs of others, then success is measured by how many of those I meet. However, if Christ is to be the outcome of our work, then success becomes another thing altogether. Success is what pleases Him, glorifies Him, and looks like Him. Success is not a body count of those who turned out a certain way. Success is rather whether or not I looked like Him no matter the outcome."
"We are in great danger when we put the emphasis on the results we see in the lives of others. The work of the Spirit in our lives is not evidenced in the number of people we fix, but in the character we manifest whether people are fixed or not. What happens in the lives He brings across my path is under His jurisdiction, not mine" (Diane Langberg, PhD).*
*Dr. Langberg is a licensed psychologist and a contributer to the Christian Counseling Connection, from which I obtained this blurb. She spoke what I believe and I wanted to share it with you.
Grace&Peace;
Tom
"We are in great danger when we put the emphasis on the results we see in the lives of others. The work of the Spirit in our lives is not evidenced in the number of people we fix, but in the character we manifest whether people are fixed or not. What happens in the lives He brings across my path is under His jurisdiction, not mine" (Diane Langberg, PhD).*
*Dr. Langberg is a licensed psychologist and a contributer to the Christian Counseling Connection, from which I obtained this blurb. She spoke what I believe and I wanted to share it with you.
Grace&Peace;
Tom
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
THE PRAYER OF FAITH
"And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well. . ." (James 5:15).
Many, many times people have prayed for physical healing that did not come. Any hospital chaplain will tell you about the testimonies shared with them of people who have been able to cope with the stress of illness because of prayer. What kept them going despite difficult circumstances? Prayer!
Many will testify that prayer has changed the course of an illness, but many more will testify that prayer has changed how they viewed their illness or their situation. It is in changing the view of a situation or an illness that changes false beliefs and helps a person develop true ones. It is the truth that brings freedom and health.
The change in my perspective as a result of prayer has blessed me at significant moments in my life.
Grace&Peace;
Tom
Many, many times people have prayed for physical healing that did not come. Any hospital chaplain will tell you about the testimonies shared with them of people who have been able to cope with the stress of illness because of prayer. What kept them going despite difficult circumstances? Prayer!
Many will testify that prayer has changed the course of an illness, but many more will testify that prayer has changed how they viewed their illness or their situation. It is in changing the view of a situation or an illness that changes false beliefs and helps a person develop true ones. It is the truth that brings freedom and health.
The change in my perspective as a result of prayer has blessed me at significant moments in my life.
Grace&Peace;
Tom
Monday, August 21, 2006
PRAYER AND RELATIONSHIP
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will com in to him and dine with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20).
The context of this verse concerns the church at Laodicia. Jesus is inviting Christians, who have allowed their relationship with him to stagnate, to allow him back into their lives. The lack of prayer, opening the door, in the life of the Christian is symptomatic of a lack of relationship with Christ. If you love him, you will talk to him!
Grace&Peace;
Tom
The context of this verse concerns the church at Laodicia. Jesus is inviting Christians, who have allowed their relationship with him to stagnate, to allow him back into their lives. The lack of prayer, opening the door, in the life of the Christian is symptomatic of a lack of relationship with Christ. If you love him, you will talk to him!
Grace&Peace;
Tom
Saturday, August 19, 2006
WHY SHOULD WE PRAY?
"Our Father who art in heaven . . ." (Matt. 6:9).
Because it works? Tell that to those who have prayed and prayed about loved-ones who were teminally ill and died anyway, or those who have lived in desperate situations and found no way out. There have been several double-blind studies done which have shown that hospital patients who were prayed for recovered at a rate no better than those not prayed for.
If what I have just said means to you that there is no reason to pray then your relationship with God is suspect. What kind of relationship is it that is predicated on what works? It is like being friends with a very rich person who could give us whatever our hearts desired. If we spent all of our time asking for the desires of our heart, wouldn't our rich friend wonder if we would be friends at all if he had no riches? What kind of relationship is that?
Having a relationship with anyone means that there is some mutuality. We care about the same things, we have similar values and we enjoy spending time together. Spending time together isn't done just when it is convenient. God is our very rich friend, in fact, our Father. He wants to spend time with us. Do you with Him, except to ask for favors? If prayer is only utilitarian to you, forgetaboutit!
By the way, a double-blind study makes God nothing more than a natural force, a majic act or a genie. God is super natural, not natural--He can't be measured by natural means. Not only that but who can guarantee that those in the not-prayed-for group weren't prayed for? Almost everyone has someone who cares about them enough to pray.
Grace&Peace;
Tom
Because it works? Tell that to those who have prayed and prayed about loved-ones who were teminally ill and died anyway, or those who have lived in desperate situations and found no way out. There have been several double-blind studies done which have shown that hospital patients who were prayed for recovered at a rate no better than those not prayed for.
If what I have just said means to you that there is no reason to pray then your relationship with God is suspect. What kind of relationship is it that is predicated on what works? It is like being friends with a very rich person who could give us whatever our hearts desired. If we spent all of our time asking for the desires of our heart, wouldn't our rich friend wonder if we would be friends at all if he had no riches? What kind of relationship is that?
Having a relationship with anyone means that there is some mutuality. We care about the same things, we have similar values and we enjoy spending time together. Spending time together isn't done just when it is convenient. God is our very rich friend, in fact, our Father. He wants to spend time with us. Do you with Him, except to ask for favors? If prayer is only utilitarian to you, forgetaboutit!
By the way, a double-blind study makes God nothing more than a natural force, a majic act or a genie. God is super natural, not natural--He can't be measured by natural means. Not only that but who can guarantee that those in the not-prayed-for group weren't prayed for? Almost everyone has someone who cares about them enough to pray.
Grace&Peace;
Tom
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
2 MORE EVIDENCES FOR CHRIST'S RESURRECTION
While doing some reading early this morning, I stumbled on some bits of evidence that I had never attributed much significance to, and yet they are significant and one of them is a salient feature of the resurrection story. Because of limited time, I will not fully discuss the implications of the evidence, but only cover it in broad strokes.
1. The bodily resurrection of Christ from the grave is the foundation of the Christian faith; if Christ did not rise from the dead, none of it is true (I Corinthians 15:12-19). Every time the gospel was preached to the Greeks the resurrection is spoken of as evidence of the truth of the gospel. Yet, because of the religious and philosophical background of the Greeks, resurrection of a body was not a good thing--matter was not good, it was evil. The tendency of the Greeks would have been to disbelieve it or to change it to something more acceptable. There was no advantage in making converts by speaking of resurrection!
2. It was the women who found the tomb empty and met the risen Christ first. Given the male preference and dominance of that culture, this is evidence of the truth of the story. If the story were made up it would have been one of the male apostles, Peter or John probably, who first met the risen Christ to give gravitas to the story. But, no, it was the lowly women, perhaps the most lowly one, Mary Magdalene who had the honor of first meeting the risen Christ. When the story was related to the men, 'it seemed as an idle tale to them.'
These are just bits of evidence that only enhance the great amount of evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. It is because of this event that we can hope to enter the eternal country whose builder and make is God.
Grace&Peace;
Tom
1. The bodily resurrection of Christ from the grave is the foundation of the Christian faith; if Christ did not rise from the dead, none of it is true (I Corinthians 15:12-19). Every time the gospel was preached to the Greeks the resurrection is spoken of as evidence of the truth of the gospel. Yet, because of the religious and philosophical background of the Greeks, resurrection of a body was not a good thing--matter was not good, it was evil. The tendency of the Greeks would have been to disbelieve it or to change it to something more acceptable. There was no advantage in making converts by speaking of resurrection!
2. It was the women who found the tomb empty and met the risen Christ first. Given the male preference and dominance of that culture, this is evidence of the truth of the story. If the story were made up it would have been one of the male apostles, Peter or John probably, who first met the risen Christ to give gravitas to the story. But, no, it was the lowly women, perhaps the most lowly one, Mary Magdalene who had the honor of first meeting the risen Christ. When the story was related to the men, 'it seemed as an idle tale to them.'
These are just bits of evidence that only enhance the great amount of evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. It is because of this event that we can hope to enter the eternal country whose builder and make is God.
Grace&Peace;
Tom
Monday, August 14, 2006
WHAT?
Things are more like they are now than they have ever been before.
--The Leininger Collection
Grace&Peace;
Tom
--The Leininger Collection
Grace&Peace;
Tom
DEALING WITH ANXIETY
Since returning from California I have been struggling with a bad sinus infection. To treat it I have been using a couple of products containing pseudoephedrine. Though these medications work fairly well, one of the side effects I experience is anxiety. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that my wife, the lovely and gracious Helen, is in Kansas visiting her parents; the house feels so empty. So this morning I woke up at about three with feelings of anxiety. To try to stay in bed merely fosters racing thoughts, so I begin with a remedy that has always worked, running. I have a great running buddy, Obie the wonder dog. We headed down the gravel road together, covering a mile plus a hundred-yard wind sprint at the end. The rhythm of the exercise, the deeper breathing, the companionship of my dog, does wonders for dealing with stress--it is a remedy that always works for me. It is a weird time of the day to be running, but it is a lot better than sitting around dealing with racing thoughts.
Returning to the house a few minutes later, I heated some water and made some herbal tea and read these words, "Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).
Try some exercise with your prayers.
Grace&Peace;
Tom
Returning to the house a few minutes later, I heated some water and made some herbal tea and read these words, "Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).
Try some exercise with your prayers.
Grace&Peace;
Tom
Saturday, August 12, 2006
COMMUNION MEDITATION
Purely materialistic scientists believe that 'man is the result of a purposeless and natural process that did not have him in mind.'** That makes you feel special, doesn't it? When they say this they have left the realm of science and entered the realm of faith, because that is an untestable position. These scientists believe that life spontaneously generated from nonliving matter. One of the factors that drives the space program is the need to find life elsewhere in the universe. I'm not much of a scientist, but my response to the materialist is, "If life evolved from nonliving matter then demonstrate it in the lab. Surely, with all of our knowledge and technology, we should be able to duplicate the nonlife to life process." It has not been done, but wouldn't it be great if it could? Our seedstock companies would love it.
The Bible says that God created us in His image; that we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). The Bible says that God loves us and that Jesus died on the cross for our sins! (Romans 5:8). That makes you feel special! Why do I believe it? Because according to credible witnesses, Jesus rose from the dead. The truth of all we believe rests on that event (I Corinthians 15:14). By the way, that event is repeatable as we will rise from the grave some day.
God created us for a purpose. God loves us enough to sacrifice for us in Jesus. This is what we celebrate as we gather at the Lord's Table.
Grace&Peace;
Tom
*We made it safely home from California. It was a great adventure!
**Paraphrased from a science article whose author I have forgotten.
The Bible says that God created us in His image; that we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). The Bible says that God loves us and that Jesus died on the cross for our sins! (Romans 5:8). That makes you feel special! Why do I believe it? Because according to credible witnesses, Jesus rose from the dead. The truth of all we believe rests on that event (I Corinthians 15:14). By the way, that event is repeatable as we will rise from the grave some day.
God created us for a purpose. God loves us enough to sacrifice for us in Jesus. This is what we celebrate as we gather at the Lord's Table.
Grace&Peace;
Tom
*We made it safely home from California. It was a great adventure!
**Paraphrased from a science article whose author I have forgotten.
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