Tag: ice lake

 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

James 1:16-18

Choosing Generosity in Troubled Times

 “My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything. But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him.”

James 1:2-5, NET

How well do you give? I am afraid that I am a grudging giver when it comes to people. It is not out of arrogance but the opposite—a negative sort of humility whereby I think that if I get it everyone else ought to as well for which I lose patience. Patience in this area is not my forte because I tend to want (or should I say, demand) that everything goes my way. Faith requires belief in God rather than demanding that God fill my wants (slight trouble with the tenth commandment here and with who truly is lord). Ultimately, we must acknowledge God to know and be so much more than we can possibly imagine if we are ever to give him the scepter to our lives. Do I believe he will see me through whatever I face? He works out his will in our lives so I must ask how well am I relinquishing control of my life to him so I am working his will rather than my own. The trouble with trouble is that it tends to highlight my faults in a kind of Las Vegas blazing lights kind of way. Trouble makes me face my faults so that I deal with them and overcome them. The problem is that just when I think I have a handle on it all, new problems arise to show me just how wrong I was.

James calls for Christians to respond to trouble with endurance, prayer and a generous spirit. This is true whether the trouble comes from happenstance or temptation. Here is how faith works us through life’s trials: Endurance leads to perfection if for no other reason than we outlast the trouble and hurt we face. If we allow trouble to win, then our world will surely shrink. Picture it this way. If trouble stops us every time we face some difficulty, then it is as if we allow it to box us in until our world shrinks to nothing. We give up at every barrier or trouble spot and launch off in another direction until we face another, which means we go off into another direction. Eventually, trouble will hem us in, and we will find no room for joy in our lives. Endurance executes our faith in a practical fashion so faith endures through the trouble. This is the source of perfection. We may currently lack the skills, faith and wisdom to endure, but God gives generously.

The person who lacks nothing does not lack anything due to an absence of trouble but because he has endured to the end—enduring concludes in perfection. Please do not mistake modern notions of perfection with what James means by this term. James tells us that faith works or categorically produces endurance which leads to perfection—by perfection, he means a sense of completion and soundness (i.e., a vibrant, healthy spirit). Any deficiency we possess must taken to the One who gives wisdom graciously—without insulting or belittling those who require his wisdom so desperately. Wisdom is the application of knowledge to make possible skillful performance. A wise person becomes adept at accomplishing some purpose—an expert if you will. As we navigate life’s ocean, we must make course corrections, assess the weather, keep our eyes on the only fixed Star (Jesus Christ) and endure the journey to the end. Along the way we will learn to be more like Jesus. We will steer a course so that all our cargo remains in tack. Through it all we must learn to give to others as generously as God has given to us—without reprimand. Trouble teaches us to be more like God. We cannot control our lives so we may release our grip so his hand can slip into our own as we guides us to live for him. While so many seek to dominate their competition, God calls us to aid others on the high seas. This is how we learn to love and give as God does.

Steve Davis

The Prayer of Faith

¹³ Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.¹⁵ And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

James 5:13-16 NIV

How to Ask for It

 “But he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed around by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, since he is a double-minded individual, unstable in all his ways.”

James 1:6-8

Suppose you had one wish–any wish for anything and it would be granted, but it can only be one thing. Do you feel the pressure yet? Here are the rules: 1) It must be something you really want from your heart of hearts, 2) It must be within the general will of God and 3) It must be of a spirit-changing, earth quaking nature meaning that it evokes spiritual growth in you and those around you. What does it mean to ask in faith no doubting? First, we must understand the nature of asking–we ask for what we want. This sounds great, but we must also realize that what we want is the source of many temptations. James explains, “You desire and you do not have; you murder and envy and you cannot obtain; you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask; you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so you can spend it on your passions” (James 4:2-3). Satan does not tempt us stuff we do not want but with what we want. If we are not careful, dare I say wiseful¹, what we want will possess us rather than the other way around. Praying for ease does not develop character and faithfulness. As much as I like getting my way, it is not necessarily the best course for my spiritual development. Faith grows my soul and draws me closer to God while living on my terms and getting my way sends me in the opposite direction.

Life creates change–it is never stagnant but constantly in flux. Navigating life’s storms demands fortitude, wisdom and skill to cross life’s oceans. What we need may not be what we want since what we really need is wisdom to live really live in the present. Like you, I want my life to fit a certain pattern and for it to go a certain way, but life constantly throws curves at us. Stress fills our waking moments sometimes even our dreams. We are slaves to the urgent rather to the important. Time slips away from us, and before we know it, our lives have focused on life’s emergencies instead of what truly matters–God, family and personal and spiritual growth. How do we manage life on these terms? First, we must acknowledge that we are not in control. Second, we put our faith in God to see us through to the end. Finally, we hold on and seek him out as we pray constantly for wisdom, courage and endurance. If our faith is built on getting what we want, then our God and our faith are far too small. God calls us to live in this world. It is not a change of situation but a change of us–what we are and what we become as God works through our lives.

I wish God worked like the genie in the bottle who snaps to fulfilling my every wish, but it is his will not mine that must be done. Even if I receive my wish for a change in situation, do I have the wisdom to live in my new setting? We must hold to what truly matters–emphasizing the important rather than the urgent. We cannot allow the urgent to toss us around or else we will never find happiness that lasts even when our lives seem to be falling apart. We need a God who puts the pieces back together. What really matters in your life? Pray about it. Seek God’s will to be done (James 4:12-17). “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and not hypocritical. And the fruit that consists of righteousness is planted in peace among those who make peace” (James 3:17-18).

Steve Davis