Getting What You Want

It has been said that when the gods are angry with us, they answer our prayers.  Some Greek philosophers taught to only pray for good things because we don't know what good things are!   Many a preacher has done an exposition on unanswered prayer or when God says "no."  Remember that He said  "no" to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, so He certainly can do so to us.  Jesus does sympathize with our plight or dilemma. Usually, they say that God is just telling us to wait, or that He has something better;  a negative reply is for our own good.

God also says "yes" to our prayers when He is really saying,  "Okay, have it your way." As they say, "Be careful what you pray for; you may get it!   He alone knows what is best for us and is always interested in our welfare and works on our behalf, whether we want it or not.  Some of the ancient Greeks would only pray for good things because they didn't know what good things were, and they left the option open to God.  Just like wondering why God says "no," we should also wonder why He says "yes," just the same.  Are we praying, "Thy will be done?"

Some people get all they want and still aren't happy.  God has His glory in mind front and center:  We should always respond, "Why me Lord?"  Living hell has been described as the place where everyone gets what they want--and have no capacity to enjoy it.  I've heard of millionaires who have everything to live on and nothing to live for.

Some brethren believe God gives us a carte blanche or a blank check to get from God what we want as long as we abide by the right formula.  God isn't a genie or a vending machine!   Prayer is not to get our way, but to tap into God's will and get done through us. "I venture not to speak of but what Christ has accomplished through me"  (Rom. 15:18).    Psalm 106:15 says, "He gave them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them."   Another translation renders it:  "He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their souls."  Think of the parable of the prodigal son who got what he wanted only to finally come to an end of himself and return to God in repentance.   God is really teaching Israel a lesson to trust in Providence.

We should always pray for God's will to be done, not ours; believe me, we would mess up our lives if we always got our way--"Father knows best."  The best prayer we can pray is simply:  "Thy will be done!" Even Jesus had to struggle whether He'd submit to the Father's plan or not.   I am an example of a  person who usually got his own way and now realizes the wisdom of God despite myself.   We need to thank God, that in His wisdom, He denies  some of our requests and we cannot  boastfully say, "I did it my way."   Soli Deo Gloria!

My Spiritual Journey

This is a first-hand account of my religious and/or spiritual pilgrimage, pitfalls and all, without glorifying the past--and sparing the details.   It's an example of a  believer who got his own way and ultimately learned to submit to God's will the hard way of "been there and done that."

I was baptized in California as an infant in a Lutheran church and the pastor was my sponsor--we were corresponding for years.   I was also confirmed in childhood.  I can remember as a youth making a scrapbook of Jesus' life and my pastor showing it to the church, teaching vacation Bible school, and inquiring of my pastor whether I should go into the ministry.  I even went to Bible camp and believed I  knew the Lord mainly because I was fascinated with the book of Revelation (reading Billy Graham's book World Aflame), and then shared insights with my mom.

I recall no particular moment of surrender or spiritual awakening, but my faith was very important to me and I loved the Bible (I recall beginning the habit of underlining favorite verses).  I was a person of the Book as far as I can recall, even buying a children's Bible on my own.  My grandmother became very close to me and told me Bible stories.

I  made the big decision to dedicate my life to Christ in a Billy Graham crusade I heard on TV around my 15th birthday, and then got involved in a Seventh-Day Adventist Church Bible study.  Counseling with my pastor,  he told me to read  Martin Luther's Commentary on Galatians.   I then proceeded to write a paper debunking the sect and defending the Lutheran faith.  I also found out I am not Sabbatarian.   I don't believe in "forsaking the assembly together of ourselves, as is the manner of some." But to affirm that  there are no "hard-and-fast rules" for the Sabbath Day."

I went to Augsburg College (a so-called Lutheran Christian college), and was exposed to "higher criticism"  and liberal theology, finding out I didn't know all the answers. With no more motive to study and being confused in my beliefs, I dropped out to do some soul searching and to find myself--wondering if my experience was to no avail.

Joining the Army and looking for love in all the wrong places, I heard a Billy Graham crusade again, only this time it was from South Korea; it was translated into Korean, so he had to go very slow and not being a good listener, it sunk in that I needed to repent, the missing link in my walk ("Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, and times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord," Acts 3:19; "And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem, Luke 24:47").   I was under grave conviction of my sin and rededicated my life to Christ.   I called my mom and told her she will like the new me; she said she liked the old me!   It seemed like I had made this decision before, but this time it stuck. I had to get to the end of my rope before admitting my need.

Going back I hooked up with the Navigators and was mentored.  Once you've experienced it,  you want to pass it on; so I got the bug to witness.  Witnessing to a  friend, he got saved; we became bosom buddies and hung around together the rest of my stint--I could not have made it through without his companionship and fellowship.   I credit the Navigators for teaching me devotions, witnessing, Bible study, and the discipline of committing Scripture to memory.  Then I taught Sunday School while in Okinawa and made many Christian friends.

I matured in my doctrinal viewpoints and the first doctrine I became interested in was eternal security--I even wrote Billy Graham to ask him his stand.   I perceived that repentance is a continual attitude and not just a one-time event and that God grants it by grace.  I frown upon "cheap grace," which justifies the sin, and not the sinner, as it were; giving a license to sin.  I had thought you could sin as much as you want as long as you confess it!  Repentance is an about-face, in military terms, and "If we regard iniquity in our heart, the LORD will not hear us."  We must get a new attitude, change our mind about our sin.  We can be very bad sinners, but never too bad to be saved ("Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD, though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow....").  

I became convinced of believer baptism and was officially dunked in the church--Dr. Johnson knew me and didn't give me a hard time.   I then shared my faith for the first time publically in the church, and had a personal revival and couldn't restrain myself--I had the "can't-help-it's" ( and I couldn't stop reading the Bible).  I was accused of living "under the influence.    And it was so strange that my mom committed me to the mental ward of the hospital for observation (they couldn't find anything wrong with me and released me).  I was accused of going overboard on my religion.   But I was scarred as a result and never got over it.  Afterward, I wandered the state of Texas flat broke, and went down to Mexico, and then committed myself to the VA.

Finally, I decided to move to Minnesota to live with my grandmother.  I gave my spiritual ambitions a rest and took up electronics and got a job at Honeywell troubleshooting torpedoes--I  wanted to pursue this as a career path.

Then I joined the Army again, but had issues with depression and wanted out,  and was given a medical discharge.  Later, I had many personal problems and found a girl who listened to me and fell in love--we were married for ten years.   During those years I was in and out of the mental hospital, being committed by my best friend, and then by my wife several times.  Once I spent 18 months in treatment, but, praise God,  have not had a relapse in over 20 years--but I do take medications,  and am under psychiatric observation, to be safe, considering my track record. 

I thought my hope had perished from the Lord, and  I was destined for mediocrity.   I found a church  where I  could continue to grow  (I learned that one must keep the main thing the main thing and that the purpose of the universal, as well as the local church, is to evangelize and fulfill the Great Commission), and this church had a place for me to serve; however, I wasn't that dogmatic anymore.

Later, after a lot of studies, I started to be concerned about my beliefs  (I became cognizant of the deity of Christ in a real way, and realized the Proverb "without a vision, the people perish"). I knew I had to exercise grace toward those I disagree with, and not be judgmental;   putting Augustine's dictum into practice:   "In essentials unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity."

Since then I've had a meaningful relationship and friendship with my mom, who is not ignorant of doctrine, either--neither of us believes ignorance is bliss, and know our way around the block, theologically speaking.  We talk every day and usually have mutually edifying and lengthy fellowship; we are on the same page so we can bounce ideas off each other.

I am not a success in the world's eyes and haven't achieved the American dream:  But I believe what Mother Teresa of Calcutta says, "The Lord calls us to faithfulness, not success."  God isn't interested in our achievements; He's interested in us and our obedience--Isaiah says, "All that we have done [God] has accomplished for us," and Paul says, "I venture not to speak, but of what Christ has accomplished through me"  (Rom. 15:18).

Doctrinally speaking, I am a Calvinist who believes in the gifts of the Spirit--an oddity.  Sometimes we must agree to disagree, and not be disagreeable, contentious, divisive, or argumentative.   Even Paul and Barnabas disagreed and had to go their separate ways:  There are more important things than being right all the time--relationships--our faith is a relationship with a person, not a creed.  We must accept one another in love because we are "accepted in the Beloved" (cf. Eph. 1:6) and always "speak the truth in love."

As far as doctrine goes, a good frame of reference for soteriology, the doctrine of salvation,  is important for witnessing and assurance of salvation.  Like they say,  "God said it in His Word, I believe it in my heart, that settles it in my mind."  I'm not what I ought to be, but thank God I'm not what I used to be! I now live an abundant life with a capital L and am seeking God's Kingdom first.

In summation, I am what I am by the grace of God, and am blooming where God has planted me.  My mission is to the vets, my ministry is my Bible study, and my avocation is blogging to the glory of God--I thank God for my church home!    

My favorite Bible verses are as follows:

"Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep thy word" (Psa. 119: 67).
"He brought me out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps"   (Psa. 40: 2).  "Therefore, the LORD longs to have mercy on you, and He waits on high to have compassion on you" (Isa. 30:18).   "I know the plans that I have for you, says the LORD, plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jer. 29:11).  "If thy Word had not been my delight, I would have perished in the way"  (Psa. 119:92).
"The LORD has chastened me severely, but He has not given me over to death"  (Psa. 118:18).

Most importantly:  "The LORD knows the way that I take, when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (Job 23:10).   Soli Deo Gloria!

Importance Of Knowing God

"There is no mercy or truth, or knowledge of God in the land"  (cf. Hosea 4:6).  

I'm not writing as one who has the inside track, has had special revelations or visions or has superior training, but I have studied the subject enough to arrive at some conclusions, mostly thankful to J. I. Packer's book Knowing God.

There's such a thing as knowing someone intimately, and knowing facts about them or knowing about them versus knowing of them.  God is so good that to know Him is to love Him, and knowing Him makes us want to love Him and be like Him.

Anyone who says he knows God (especially on the basis of some experience) and does not obey Him is a liar, according to Scripture (not me).   Knowledge of God, not knowledge about God, is a means to an end and we must apply what we know to relate to our relationship with Him--we long for more than just knowing about Him, which would be like having a theoretical cognition.  We find God (and Pascal says he would not have found Him, had He not first found him), and this is the main pursuit of believers, by seeking His face and searching for Him with our whole heart, mind and soul, and strength.

Our goal is knowing Christ personally, which is eternal life (cf. John 17:3),  and not moral perfection, which is only a side effect or result.   Life's major pursuit is seeking God and the first step is to recognize how little we know Him and need some answers and guidance.  Packer says, "A little knowledge of God is better than a lot of knowledge about God."  Note, knowing God doesn't excuse us from knowing about Him.  The goal, I reiterate, is to know God, not knowing ourselves, as the Greeks would say, "Know thyself."   Hosea says, "Let us know God, let us press on to know Him."  God's peeve or controversy with man is that he doesn't know Him ("And they do not know Me," says Jeremiah of God).   God says through the prophet Jeremiah, "Let not a man boast of his wisdom ... but that he knows Me."   This is a command according to 2 Peter 3:18 is as follows:   "Grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ."


Job says, "Acquaint now thyself with Him and be at peace"  (cf. Job 22:21).  We do good deeds to grow:  "Bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God"  (cf. Col. 1:10).  Titus 1:16 warns of those who profess to know Him but deny Him by their deeds.

Why know God?

 1)  To know Him is to love Him.
 2)  Shapes morals and ethics.
 3)  It affects our response to life.
 4)  It gives strength in temptation.
 5)  It keeps us faithful.
 6)  It enhances our worship.
 7)  It determines our lifestyle.
 8)  It gives meaning to our life and religion.
 9)  It sensitizes our conscience.
10)  It stimulates hope.
11) It enables us to know what to respect and reject.
12) Is the FOUNDATION.

Five motives to know God:

1)  It gives us a desire to be like Him (Jer. 9:24).
2)   It reveals the truth about ourselves (Isa. 6:5).
3)  It enables us to interpret our world (Dan. 4:33-35).
4)  It makes us strong and secure (Dan. 11:32).
5)   It introduces us to the dimension of God and eternal life (John 17:3).

Loving God is the ultimate response, according to Chuck Swindoll.

He lists four things we cannot apprehend and never probably will:  Trinity (His persona); glory (personhood); Sovereignty (plan); and majesty (position).

What are we going to do with our knowledge of God?

--Do we become conceited?
--Do we see others as poor specimens?
--Does it make us toxic intoxicated and sour, as if not applied?
--Do we turn knowledge about God into the knowledge of God?
--Does it remain theoretical or become practical?
--Does it lead us to lead others to God and know the more?
--Do we meditate (a lost art) on the truths?
Paul said in Phil. 3:10:  "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection...."

Two caveats:  We can know a lot about Him as did ever 17th-century gentleman as a hobby, and not know much of Him at all--even getting A's in theology;  we can know a lot about godliness and be religious and not know God--it is not about being good or talking "God-talk", but being alive in Christ.  Christ didn't come to make bad men good, but dead men alive, says someone.

There are four evidences of knowing Christ according to J. I. Packer:

1)  Exhibiting great energy for God (Dan. 11:32).
2)  Having great thoughts of God (Dan. 4:26; 9:4,7,9,14).
3)  Having great boldness for God (Acts 5:29; 20:24).
4)  Having great contentment in God (Dan. 3:16-18).

Soli Deo Gloria!