Category: Christianity in America

Lest you think I am a proponet of, “name it and claim it”…

Yesterday a friend and I had tickets to the Twins game. The game was to start at 7 pm. The rain was forcasted to come through between 4 and 6 pm. I didn’t want to be guilty of not bringing my requests before God, so I again commanded that the weather behave itself for my outing. Yes, I used the same amount of faith that I had used on Sunday.

However, this time, God decided that I was not acting in His will, and saw fit to allow it to really pour (for Minnesota – nothing like what I have experienced in Florida, though!) from 5:30 pm until, well, I don’t know exactly when it ended. The game was delayed until 8 pm, and then postponed to a date TBD in August. My friend and I hiked through the downpour to the Rock Bottom Brewery, a local restaurant I would highly recommend. I guess their alcohol is amazing, though I wouldn’t know. But their food is wonderful. My friend and I shared some scrumptious lobster and shrimp mac and cheese, then washed that down with a mocha sundae that I wouldn’t have minded having more of, despite the fact that my stomach was near bursting (we had already had some food at the ball park before the game had been called). We found the precipitation quite light when we left for home at 10: 30 pm; it had stopped by the time I reached my door 30 minutes later.

So why did God answer my prayer on Sunday but not on Tuesday? It was the same prayer, prayed in the same way. The Bible says God will grant me anything that I ask in Jesus name, right? Well, here’s the caveat that many of us miss. “In Jesus name,” does not simply mean that we say, “in Jesus name,” and mean it. It means that we are praying something that Jesus agrees with, something that is absolutely in God’s will. For instance, if an official in a kingdom acts in the name of the king, they are doing something that the king has already said they could do, something that he agrees with.

In other words, when I prayed about the weather on Sunday, it was something that God agreed with, so he allowed my words to be fulfilled. When I prayed on Tuesday, is was not something he agreed with, so my words were not fulfilled. Quite frankly, I was being lazy on Tuesday. I should have first prayed, asking God what his will for the weather was, before wasting my time just praying for what I wanted.

Jesus’ prayers were always answered because He only prayed for what he already knew God wanted. If we want our prayers to be answered, we need to do the same thing – ask God what His will is, before we start blabbing 🙂

Thanks, God, for the weather

My niece just turned eleven a few days ago. I had a gift for her, but my sister has been too overwhelmed lately with wedding dresses (she is a fashion designer, so sews for people) and vacation planning to plan a get together for family. So I planned a short gathering at a local state park so that my niece got her gifts, and hopefully felt at least a little honored!

This morning on the way out of church the sky to the west was filled with grey, looming clouds. Oh, no! Should I call everyone to cancel the gathering, or try to move it indoors – but where? The park was on hour north of my house, in the middle of farmland. My sister’s house is only 10 minutes from the park, but she definitely did not want visitors, which is why I planned it at the park in the first place.

I decided to take to heart the sermon that was preached last Sunday, that God has given us all authority to do his will. I realized that I didn’t know for sure that it was His will to have a birthday gathering for my niece at the state park. But since I know that God wants people to gather together to honor one another, I decided that I would command the weather, in Jesus name, to behave itself until the gathering was over. I did add, “if it is your will, Jesus.”

It was chilly and foreboding as we drove north, several hours later. But halfway to the park, my kids opened the car windows, and I noticed that it was definitely warmer and the clouds seemed to be staying south. By the time we got to the park, I no longer needed one of my jackets and the sky was nearly cloudless.

By the time my sister’s family arrived at the celebration, it was downright warm requiring me to shed my other jacket. We had cupcakes, watched my niece open gifts, then walked down to the river, where the five kids played at the beach and us adults lazed in the sun for several hours. It was perfect.

Just as it was time to leave to find some dinner, the wind started picking up and the clouds started rolling in. I couldn’t help but smile!

 

Lukewarm

While baking the other day, I got what I considered to be lukewarm water, as instructed by the recipe. I decided, before adding the yeast, to get out the candy thermometer and see if the water was in the temperature range recommended (110 – 115F, as all of you who use yeast on a regular basis know). To my surprise, the lukewarm water I had taken from the tap wasn’t even close to 110F. It was maybe 80F!

I have a history of making not very good homemade bread. But my daughter really wanted to try a recipe that she had found in a craft book based on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House book series. The final product was to be a lovely loaf of bread in the shape of a sheaf of grain, tied with a braid around the middle. Not wanting to squelch my daughter’s enthusiasm, or interrupt the development of her blossoming culinary skills, I decided to give bread another go. This thought buoyed my hopes: if people were able to bake this bread out on a windswept prairie in a wood stove, surely I should be able to meet with some success in my modern kitchen.

To give the bread the best chance at turning out I decided that I had better make sure that I got the tap water to the correct temperature. So I turned on the water, and put the candy thermometer bulb into the stream. I had to keep pushing the faucet handle farther to the left, but finally, the thermometer measured 113F. When I touched the water with my finger, I was surprised to find how warm it felt. That was not at all what I would have called lukewarm! I found it quite warm – almost hot!

Now, I don’t know exactly what temperature God had in mind when he said that he doesn’t want Christians to be lukewarm in their faith (Revelation 3:16), but I have a feeling that He may have been trying to get my attention with this little baking experience. What I consider to be, “on fire,” may be what He considers lukewarm.

Hmmm, it seems He may want me to step it up a bit. Thankfully, he never asks us to do things that he will not sustain  us in. May we all never be spit out!

Back to loving our enemies

It took me awhile to pray about what all took place several weeks ago. I am so thankful that Osama was finally found. Go, Americans! I wished that he had not been shot. But the reality that he would be put to death for his crimes after a fair trial were very high, so I can understand the human logic involved. From a purely human standpoint, he definitely got what he deserved. From a purely Christiam standpoint, I wished that he could have been reached by the gospel. I realize that would have been a long shot, and I can hear many of you yelling, “What, why would you want him in heaven?!” But wouldn’t it have been cool to get a heartfelt, “I’m really sorry!” from him? Anyway, none of that is to be, and I am glad that he was finally found and is unable to help destroy more people.

I met the Pope’s preacher today

I am not Catholic – but my mother and my husband were both raised Catholic, so I have a deep appreciation for the Catholic church, as two of the most important  people in my life have their earliest Christian roots there.

I grew up in a conservative United Methodist  Church that was hit by the charismatic wave in the mid-70s. I attended Evangelical Free, Covenant and non-denominational protestant churches in college. I then ended up in a charismatic Lutheran church after college. Was married and dedicated our first child in a Southern Baptist Church, and am now a member at the charismatic Lutheran Church.

Through this somewhat ecumenical background, I have gained deep appreciation for the solid non-negotiables of the Christian faith, and have learned to not worry about many of the issues that we as humans make such a big deal about, simply because we are not smart enough to know better. If I listed some of those things, I am sure that I would start a firestorm, as some things that I see as non-negotiable, others would think trifling, and vice versa. So I will refrain from that at this time.

Our church just installed a new senior pastor this past weekend. The previous head pastor had retired, so it is nice that this was just a natural thing, not because of some scandal or other. Anyway, our new head pastor really wants us to be willing to work with other churches as a truly united body of Christ. Even as I write this I can feel my body tensing some, becoming defensive, as I have always feared being ecumenical, because of the worry that it would mean that all truths would be watered down into something that does not save any of us at all.

As one way to show unity, our pastor invited us Lutherans to attend a service with Catholics and listen to the Pope’s preacher, who is in town for a Catholic conference this week. Being a conservative Christian, I have always aprreciated the messages of the popes. I am glad that they are still “old-fashioned” in their moral stances. I thought it might be interesting to hear who the pope listens to for inspiration and encouragement. And I wanted to support our new pastor. So I gladly decided to attend.

On the way into the meeting today, I could sense my defences going up. I used to be a very open person, spiritually. But after getting mixed up with some less safe, at least in my estimation, groups in my younger years, I have learned to be a bit more discerning, not just walking into every group that calls themselves Christian and expecting everything to be theologically safe.

Well, I must say that I was more blessed than I had ever expected to be. What an amazing man of God is Rev. Cantalamessa. What makes him  so amazing is his humble, simple following after Jesus. He did not try to wow us with his intellect. He did not try to rouse us with boisterous cries or guilt us into action by tugging on our emotions. He simply told us his faith journey.

He told us how God called him when he was a boy. How he had questions he had to overcome. How he had to give up control of his life, and everything he had already attained. It was beautiful to hear such a plain, simple story of God’s power working through someone when they are willing. He had not been looking for such a position. But there he is, and I thank God that he was here this morning to encourage us to move forward in courage and serve God. I pray continued blessing on him and his ministry as he teaches all of us in all denominations of the love and power of our amazing triune God.