Fred Flintstone!

I got to thinking last evening about the pictures of my Camaro that I had posted as an advertisement for our last blog post written 10/18/21.  It dawned on me that Piper and I had spent more time in that vehicle than any other of the many cars that we owned over the years.  Although we didn’t realize it at the time, that car was to be a harbinger of good things to come for us.

We had just gone through a rough three-year time with our finances that ended up with us losing our house.  I had previously left my employment with Hewlett-Packard to pursue some ministry opportunities that although were a great blessing… all of our hard work and effort did not pay the bills!  So, toward the end of that period, I went back to work at HP as a temp assembling high tech connectors on a manufacturing line.  In less than a year I was rehired (in 1996) and immediately began applying for supervisor positions like I had held in my previous eleven years there.

And God blessed… I ended up back in my old division, supervising in the fabrication area, in a position that was two pay grades higher than the one I had left.  By that time, I had morphed from my affections of black Knight Rider Firebirds to a Camaro with the similar body style.  But we needed two new cars and set our first attention to looking for a family car for Piper.

Most of you know the story of how I came home from work one night and Piper met me at the door with a serious but yet happy glint in her eye and said, “Ya know Jim?  I’ve noticed that you look like Fred Flintstone in that little truck of yours (1982 Datsun 4X4) and we need to get you a new car first!”  So… that’s when the story of our Camaro began in earnest!

We had looked at numerous cars and came very close to buying an early ‘90’s Camaro IROC… but just didn’t have the inner peace so we backed away from the deal.  Ooh!  The salesman at the dealership was NOT happy with us!  Anyway… in what turned out to be a series of little miracles (as we believed they were), we ended up with our 1989 maroon Camaro RS that was previously owned by a fellow supervisor at HP.  He and his wife had bought it new and literally only drove it on warm weekends.  They kept it covered in their garage.  It had never been in the rain and had super low mileage while kept in original, pristine condition… and I did everything I could to keep it that way… I didn’t even let the kids play in the garage when it was parked there!

It became a symbol of God’s love for us.  It was a joy to drive (although not anywhere near as powerful as my Mustang), cornered like a champ, and always set the perfect mood for Piper and I whenever we were in it together!  It also was a place of respite for me after a hard day at work or on the way home following an anointed and enjoyable, but physically taxing session with the members of the youth group or Children’s Church. 

It was the exact car that I had been believing for.  I remember going to lunch with my new boss at HP one day, when we walked through the parking lot on the way to the restaurant and passed a Camaro similar to the one I had put my faith out for.  He saw “the look” (lust?) in my eyes and said, “You like hot cars?” and without hesitation I said “Yes… and I’m gonna own one just like that!”  He looked a little funny at me and laughed… and a few months later I brought him out to the HP parking lot to show him my new car!

I can’t help but to be reminded of a particular scripture in the book of Mark where Jesus told a story that was the basis for my confidence in getting that Camaro… and just about everything else that Piper and I believed for over the years.  In Mark 11:24 Jesus taught,

“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” (KJV) 

What has always impressed me about this teaching/verse is the certainty in which Jesus spoke.  He really makes our ability to know that we can and will receive what we believe for sound doable… doesn’t He? You’ll notice as you study this verse that the word “You” or “Ye” in the King James is repeated 5 times.  That tells me that Jesus was definitely emphasizing the point that the responsibility of this verse is totally dependent on one person… “YOU!”

There are many facets to this verse, but suffice to say for this post, we’ll just highlight the point that the person asking for something in prayer has a lot to do with whether the request is fulfilled or not.  In the previous verse, Jesus schooled His disciples on the importance of having NO DOUBT in their hearts when believing for something to happen in response to any faith-filled request on their behalf.

Does that surprise anyone?  The Passion Translation simply says, “This is the reason I urge you to boldly believe for whatever you ask for in prayer…”  Do you go boldly into prayer before the Father?  The Apostle John specifically addressed our confidence in prayer when he wrote,

“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he hear us, (in) whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” (I John 5:14-15 KJV) 

This scripture also has a lot of “we’s’” and “us” in it, once again, signifying the important part that we as a believer have in a successful prayer life.  John includes the prerequisite of us knowing the will of God for whatever it is that we are asking for.  And the Apostle Paul, among other writers, tells us exactly where we can find the will of God…

In Romans 3:4 he wrote, “God will always be proven faithful and true to his word…”  He also explained in Romans 4:18 how the great Patriarch of our Faith Abraham stayed in faith for the promises that God had given to him saying, “Abraham believed the promise and expected God to fulfill it. He took God at his word, and as a result he became the father of many nations.”  (all verses TPT)

Then a few chapters later in Romans, Paul similarly declared, “For the Lord Yahweh will act and carry out his word on the earth, and waste no time to accomplish it!” 

So, it’s unanimous!  John, Paul and Jesus Himself all agree that God’s will for us is found in His Word and that we have the personal responsibility to find it, believe it, ask the Lord for it and then allow no shred of doubt into our hearts or minds to stop it from coming forth… Simple right?

Well… in most respects it is!  Once more, the Apostle Paul gives us the answer.  In Romans 12:2 he wrote to the church, “And do not fashion yourselves after this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and well pleasing and perfect will of God.” (God’s Word ©)

The key is in keeping the eyes of your personal faith on the Word of God and not sneaking peeks at the opposite (to the truth of God’s Word) information that others in the world fashion their beliefs by.  In fact, this practice not only renews our minds and keep our focus on God’s promises, but according to Romans 10:17, it also builds our levels of faith!*

In my next post, I’ll share some steps to answered prayer from a 1960’s annotated reference Bible that I recently acquired.  It gives a little more detail on some of the things that I’ve written about today.

But until then… I pray that you are having a great week, are keeping focused on the Word of God and continually and CONFIDENTLY EXPECTING God’s best for your life!

 

 

*”So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (EMTV)