Divine Operating System

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.  For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man unstable in all his ways. JAMES 1:5-8

Wisdom is a gift from God. Ask for wisdom. But before you do, better know what you're in for. Divine wisdom is God's template for living. It's totally incompatible with the operating systems of the world. That's why, when you pray for WISDOM, you must not be double-minded about it.

That was the problem with James'  readers. They're trying to live by the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God at the same time. This fragmented their souls so badly that James found no word in the Greek vocabulary to describe them. He had to invent a brand new word for their condition: double-minded. Ut literally means two-souled in Greek.

The modern Church is overrun with two-souled Christians. We accept God's operating system on Sunday. But come Monday morning, we switch to.the operating system of the world. James won't have it. It's like trying to run a computer on Windows and MacOS at the same time. Your system will crash. You have to choose one or the other.
This is the sort of doubt that James condemns. It's a doubt that borders a dispute with God. A doubt that looks for proofs, guarantees, contingencies before venturing out in faith. Such doubt stems from double-mindedness. It cripples prayer.
So before you pray for wisdom, make sure you know exactly what you're asking for. Be singleminded. Because heavenly wisdom, if you receive and apply it, it will set you on a collision course with the world and all its humanistic thinking. Then you will know the agony of Abraham when he laid his son on the altar. If he acted on worldly wisdom when God asked him to sacrifice Isaac, he would have never gotten round to it. It was divine wisdom that enabled him to deny himself, defy his natural inclinations, and obey God, despite his great love for his son. And great was his reward.

Are you sure you want this kind of wisdom? Most Christians won't have it. Will you be different? Then simply ask your loving Father who gives and gives with no strings attached.

PRAY AND OBEY

Rocket science can take us to Mars. Medical science can improve our quality of life. But when it comes to knowing and doing the will of God, worldly wisdom can be a devastating liability. Time for a serious self-examination:

• Are you a double-minded Christian? Have you been straddling the fence between God's way and the world's way? Stop being tossed to and fro by conflicting values.  Let God's wisdom be your inner compass, your guiding light - even though it sets you on a head-on collision course with everything in the world around you, including the advice of well-meaning Christians! Seek God. Love God. Fear God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment (Proverbs 9:10). Resolve to live by God's Word, God's standard, God's wisdom from above. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).

• First world Singapore is a hotbed of competing ideas and influences. How do we fortify our young against the tossing waves of worldly wisdom, secularism, and liberal ideologies? Deuteronomy 6 is the key: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by your way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. Dare believe for a God-sent revival, connecting Church and Home for generational discipleship. (D6 FAMILY)

• Fathers and Mothers: You play a crucial role. The home is the first school where truth is lived, where faith is cultivated, where values are shaped. Will you prioritize this unglamorous home-based ministry to mould the minds of your children, tutor their hearts in wisdom, and sensitize their spirits to the power of the Holy Spirit? Truth is mightier than eloquence, the Spirit greater than genius, faith more than education. (MARTIN LUTHER)

• Ponder and pray this counsel from a wise judge: God assumed from the beginning that the wise of the world would view Christians as fools...and he has not been disappointed. Devout Christians are destined to be regarded as fools in modern society. We are fools for Christ's sake.  We must pray for courage to endure the scorn of the sophisticated world...Have the courage to have your wisdom regarded as stupidity. Be fools for Christ. And have the courage to suffer the contempt of the sophisticated world. (JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA)

Total Joy

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, not lacking anything." JAMES 1:2-4

Joy is the hallmark of true discipleship. Joy is not a natural reflex to trials.  It's a Kingdom response by a disciple of Jesus who sees reality from God's perspective. Like Paul and Silas in Philippi. In the deepest dungeon and the darkest hour, they sang hymns under torture! Not that they took pleasure in pain.  Not at all. But because they believed that God was in control and that he would bring about a positive outcome in line with his perfect will. (ACTS 16:23-34).

God doesn't put us on a treadmill to watch us sweat.  His purpose is always to show mercy and compassion (JAMES 5:11).  His plan is to make us perfect and complete in Christ. (1:4).  

Trials are special occasions for rejoicing because suffering produces patience and patience produces character and character produces hope. (ROMANS 5:3-4).

Patience is not passive resignation to suffering. Nor is it a denial of reality.  It's a resolve to bear up under the burden, trust God's character, and cling to his promise over the distance.  Patience confronts reality head on with the faith and joy of Jesus.  Give patience a chance.

Fanny Jane Crosby lost her sight in infancy due to a doctor's negligence.  But she never grew bitter.  At the age of eight, she wrote these lines: "O what a happy soul am I, although, I cannot see; I am resolved that in this world contented I will be. How many blessings I enjoy that other people don't. To weep  and sigh because I am blind I cannot and I won't."

Fanny Crosby never gave in to self-pity.  Like Paul and Silas, she sang her way through the darkness until she saw the face of Jesus in heaven.  She was so prolific a hymn-writer that she had to use a hundred pseudonyms to prevent her name from inundating the hymnals of her day.  She wrote 8,000 hymns, including all-time favorites such as Blessed Assurance, Christ the Lord Is Risen Today, and Near the Cross.

Are you suffering?  Assess the situation from a Kingdom perspective.  count it a total joy!! Give thanks for the good outcome that you cannot see.  Joy is the simplest form of gratitude. (KARL BARTH)

PRAY AND OBEY

• Following Jesus does not mean a trouble-free life. No one is exempt from suffering.  When trials come your way, your attitude is more important than your IQ. Do you react or do you rejoice?  Typically, people get upset or anxious. They feel undone. They despair. They blame.  They grumble. They demonise their enemies, real or imagined.  Some lose sleep.  Others fall into depression.  Some withdraw from Christian. fellowship.  Others become suicidal.  If any of this describes your pattern of response, break the cycle today in Jesus' name.  Turn to God with all your heart.  He is with you.  He is for you.  He is not against you.

• Are you in the thick of a painful, prolonged trial? Is it a personal health crisis? A domestic problem? A relational conflict? A workplace injustice? Take James (book of James) seriously.  Set your mind to rejoice, especially when negative emotions overwhelm you. rejoice in Faith. Defy your feelings.  Joy is a value of the Kingdom.  Joy is a command.  Joy is a choice.  Choose to obey.  Sooner or later, you will experience the joy of the Lord as your strength in the storm.

• In the midst of your trial, accept and confess the Truth: God is a Father. God is my good Father.  God never makes a mistake.  God is working all things for my greatest good.  God has nothing but good intentions for my life.  God is sovereign, and since he is sovereign, there is never any cause for despair.

• Pray: Heavenly Father, I am your precious possession, bought at a great cost.  I believe your Word of Truth. I accept your wisdom from above.  I cannot control everything that happens to me.  But I can control everything that happens to me.  But I can control the way I respond.  Yes, trials are not sent to crush me.  Trials are meant to create a better version of me. To bring out the gem in me.  To make me more like Jesus.  When troubles come at me from all directions, I will count it all joy! In all things, I will exercise patience so that I may become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.  I want to be your disciple of joy. I want to share in the fellowship of your suffering (PHILIPPIANS 3:10).  I will encourage others with the wisdom I gain from each perplexing episode.  I will look to Jesus...who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.(HEBREWS 12:2).

Ponder and pray this wise insight for living: Who are the most beautiful people in the world?  Those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths.  These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen. (ELISABETH KÜBLER-ROSS)