Results 101 - 120 of 975
|
||||||
Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Author: Aixen7z4 Ordered by Date |
||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
101 | How many times is love in the bible. | Bible general Archive 2 | Aixen7z4 | 150204 | ||
I like your point, if I understand it. I like it a lot. I am amazed, and sometimes amused, at our love for words, as distinct from ideas, and at our focus on words, for words have no meaning except in context. “How many times is love in the Bible?”, the person asks, and I wonder. Is that person interested in a word count, or do they want to know to what extent the Bible deals with love; love for God, love for one another, how to recognize love or give love, for example. I wonder how many times the word “love” is preceded directly, or followed, by the word “not”. But the idea that we can love the uppermost seats with an agape love is stunning. Let us how it shocks us into looking at words, not myopically, or under a microscope, but in context. |
||||||
102 | accepting a non-beleiver | John 6:44 | Aixen7z4 | 150202 | ||
It may well be that a person can be won to the Lord by philosophical argumentation. Some of our brothers (Josh McDowell, et al.) seem to specialize in that approach. But I think there is something to be said for using the pure word of God. We can trust in the power of the word, I think, and use it. It is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4). I heard a story once, of an atheist who turned to the Lord as he was presented with a single sentence from Scripture. He had said, “I don’t believe in God”. His friend replied, “The fool hath said in his heart, ‘There is no God’”. That word, from Psalm 14, touched that man and turned him around. I heard a preacher say that he himself had been won to the Lord by a single phrase: “that Jesus Christ is Lord”. That word, from Philippians 2, gnawed at him night and day, until he confessed it, and claimed Jesus as his Savior. I am not sure what happens when a person is convinced by reason. But when we “receive with meekness the engrafted word”, it is able to save our souls. |
||||||
103 | Can anyone tell how he understand that? | John 6:54 | Aixen7z4 | 150198 | ||
It is one of the “hard sayings” of Jesus. It means we have eternal life when we trust only in the fact his body was broken and his blood was shed for us. Many of his disciples, when they had heard it, said, “This is an hard saying; who can hear it?” Jesus was aware that they were having difficulty with it and yet, he did not explain it. Instead, he repeated it, insisting that we must eat his flesh and drink his blood. If you read the entire story in John chapter 6, it may seem that Jesus made the statements more and more complicated. First he had said we should believe on him. God had decided that “everyone who sees the Son, and believes in him, should have eternal life” (verse 40). That seems simple enough. But the people had difficulty with that, because he said he had come from heaven. Then Jesus said that anyone who is listening to God would know that they should come to him (verse 45). God had been talking to them and his ultimate message was that they should believe on Jesus. That was God’s message to them when he gave them manna in the wilderness. Then he said he was the bread of life. Just as God had given them natural bread to sustain their physical life, he had given them a spiritual bread which, if they ate it, they would have eternal life. Then he said he was that bread (verse 48). They were mystified. Still he was saying what they needed to do was to believe on him, and trust him (verse 47). He would give his body to be crucified, and that was the means by which they would have access to eternal life. Yet the people did not understand. They were asking, “How can this be?” Then Jesus said they must eat his flesh, etc. (verse 53). Do you see how the simple matter becomes more complicated with each additional piece of information that Jesus gives? The disciples simply believed on Jesus (verse 69) although they did not fully understand his words. Later they would say, "At last you are speaking plainly, and not in parables. Now we understand that you know everything and don't need anyone to ask you anything. From this (what you have just said) we believe that you came from God" (John 16). From this we learn that we should believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and we will understand the “hard” things later. There are many things that Jesus said, that the people found it hard to understand. One of the most famous ones is the fact we must be born again (John 3). The man asked, “How can these things be?” Jesus said those were the simple things. If we could not understand those how could we understand the more complicated things? He would say, (John 16): “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth”. The words that Jesus spoke are spirit (John 6:63), and only the Holy Spirit can help us to understand them (1 Corinthians 2). And yet they seem so simple! After all these words, (including those of my brother, who answered you minutes before I did) I trust the Holy Spirit will help you to understand. We eat his flesh and drink his blood when we believe that his body was broken and his blood was shed for us. |
||||||
104 | the good news | 2 Thess 3:16 | Aixen7z4 | 150144 | ||
I trust you are encouraged. There is comfort in knowing that the Gospel is going into all the world. And there is joy in having a part in it, no matter how small. Walk with Jesus. | ||||||
105 | A fresh mental and spiritual attitude? | Eph 4:23 | Aixen7z4 | 150136 | ||
It would be nice to say it is your brethren who are waiting to hear some scripture to support the idea of a holy spirit. That would be to say that the burden of proof rests with the proponent of the idea. But we have understood all along that being filled with the Holy Spirit means being filled with “the Spirit of God” (as in 1 Corinthians 12). We understand from a passage like that, that he is otherwise called the Holy Ghost (v. 3). We have understood that the same Spirit (v. 4) is Lord (v. 5). Moreover, we have understood that the Holy Spirit is working in us (v. 6). We have understood that he gives gifts to individuals in the church (vv. 7 and 11). He gives these gifted men to the church (Ephesians 4) so that all can profit from their ministry, as we read again in 1 Corinthians 12:7. It is apparent that the brethren are not ready to receive any information suggesting that the Holy Spirit is other than a person, one of the three in the Godhead. They do not believe that any such information exists in scripture. The Holy Spirit gives specific gifts, and he produces certain fruit (Galatians 6). We understand that he works in us to produce the desire (Philippians 2), and the ability (Zechariah 4) and the actual operations (1 Corinthians 12) and fruit (John 15). But we do not read anywhere that he gives anything called “holy spirit”. Above, this writer had to be careful to not say, “It is he …” because someone would think he was referring to the Holy Spirit as an “It”. He had to make sure he did not say “…anything other than a person …” so that no one would think he was referring to the Holy Spirit as a “thing”. We are very sensitive to the fact the Holy Spirit is a person. The conventions of the English language would allow us to say those things, but we are careful not to give a wrong impression. We understand that God can and does give a spirit, for example, a spirit of wisdom (Exodus 28). He may give, through the Holy Spirit, a fullness “in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship (Exodus 35). He may give a spirit of a spirit of judgment (Isaiah 28); even a spirit of deep sleep (Isaiah 29). But none of these things is referred to as a “holy spirit”. Peter tells us (Chapter 3) that we should have a meek and quiet spirit. But that is not referred to as a “holy spirit”. Jesus, being always full of the Holy Spirit (John 3) always had all of the gifts. Isaiah said of him (chapter 11), that there would come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and as a branch out of his roots. The Spirit of Jehovah would rest on Him; and he would have “the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and power, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah”. But even when those were put together, they are not said to constitute a “holy spirit”. It never was said in scripture that that Jesus had a holy spirit. Now, there is a spirit in man, “the candle of the LORD” (Proverbs 20:27) and it is through that spirit that a man knows what is in his mind. And the Spirit of God knows what is in God’s mind. He reveals God’s mind to us (1 Corinthians 1). And he witnesses with our spirits, telling us, for example, that we are the children of God (Romans 8). He is the one who tells us what the word of God means. It is interesting that this thread begins to suggest we can have a kind of mind, as in Ephesians 2:23, an attitude that might, apparently, take the place of the active ministry of the Holy Spirit in filling us. There is such an attitude: “Let this mind be in you” (Philippians 2). And yet, that attitude, of humility, only allows us to yield to the Holy Spirit, so he can fill us and work in us. It is apparent that it is the Holy Spirit who provides that attitude (v.13). But we can resist him (Acts 7:51). But we are encouraged to allow him to fill us. And he can do that, because he is God, and like the Father (1 Corinthians 15:58) and like the Son (Ephesians 1:23) he can fill all in all. It is not only a mental and spiritual attitude we need, though those may be prerequisites. We need the Holy Spirit himself to fill us. As for a holy spirit, we have never heard of a holy spirit. We know that angels are spirits (Hebrews 4) and they may be holy (Matthew 25, Revelation 14). But that is another subject. We have no information about being filled with something called holy spirit. Having searched the scripture in vain for it, we should be on guard, and fortify the brethren so they can resist the idea. We should discourage anyone from taking on a burden of proof, as it were, in order to try to import that doctrine into the faith. |
||||||
106 | ... | Bible general Archive 2 | Aixen7z4 | 150057 | ||
... | ||||||
107 | 5 ways Joseph was like Jesus | 2 Tim 2:15 | Aixen7z4 | 150051 | ||
Still, I can't help thinking we do need some kind of protection from people like that. It may be that monitors are still not a good idea but ... | ||||||
108 | Why should we go ?????? | Heb 7:25 | Aixen7z4 | 150040 | ||
I would like to offer you a view from Jesus’ standpoint. He has had to do a lot of the work alone. In the words of Isaiah 63, “I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me… I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation”. This is taken out of context, to simply isolate the sense of aloneness. It is one instance where he works alone, not because he wants to work alone, but because there is none to help. As he faced the cross, he was in agony, alone. He asked them, “Could you not watch with me?” And then the soldiers came, and they all forsook him and fled. Peter stood around and denied that he even knew him. He went through his trial with none to testify on his behalf. He bore the cross to Calvary, and suffered and died, alone. Truly, he had to do that work alone, as no one else was qualified. And yet, in all of this, he was procuring salvation for all of us. Now he wants to get the news to the world, that he is ready to forgive them. Must he also be the newsboy? Must he spread the Good News of the Gospel all alone? He has asked us to help with this. Shall we not do that small part? Now I will speak in human terms to try to get the point across. Imagine you are a little girl. Your parents have worked for the money. They have bought the food. They have cooked the food. You have eaten your fill of the food. Now your mother asks you to help with the dishes. The two of you will do that task together? Will you not do it? “But she is doing the dishes”, you say. “Why do I have to do it?” Do you see a parallel there? Imagine you were the companion of a very brave man. He is on a mission to save people from disaster. He asks you to come along, to simply speak a message while he works. Would you go with him? But I will make an excuse for you. Perhaps you do not feel led, or you are scared, to give out the Gospel. More than that, you do not feel competent. You think that Jesus can do a much better job by himself, and you would only get in the way. In other words, you do not have the gift or the calling of an evangelist. I think of Moses and Jeremiah and Jonah, who were all gifted and called and who had to be urged to do the task. But each of us must decide whether we have been called by God to a task, and whether he is the one encouraging and urging us. You would like to see everyone saved. You know they need to hear the Gospel. You know that some people are preaching the Gospel, and I know that you are glad for that. You worry about the ones that humans cannot reach. You can't bear the thought they won't have the opportunity. And I assure you, with the Scriptures I have quoted before, (John 1:9; John 12:32; etc.), that everyone will have an opportunity. He lightens every man. He draws all men. Every one will see the truth and have an opportunity to accept it. Read the passages again and rest in the fact that the Judge of all the earth will do right. He will not condemn a man to Hell, who has never heard the Gospel. He will wink at the times of ignorance and hold men responsible only after he has shown them the truth. He says if he had not come and spoken to them they would have (been as though they) had no sin. He comes to them, with or without our assistance, and commands all men everywhere to repent. But now you say, since he is doing it we should not have to do it. It may be that you are correct that, with Jesus doing it, we don’t really have to. But I will offer you some reasons why we should. 1. We love him and we want to make him happy (1 John 4:9, etc.). 2. We know he wants people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4, etc.). 3. We think it is not good to withhold good news (2 Kings 7:9, etc.). 4. We have the gift of evangelism and want to use it (1 Corinthians 9:16, etc.). 5. We want to follow his example (Mark 1:14, etc.). 6. Again I say, a person needs to think and judge whether he or she is gifted or called in the area of evangelism. Every believer is a witness, and every believer is called to be ready to give an answer to those who might ask them why they believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. But I do not think, as some claim, that every believer is called to be an active proactive witness. But we are called to do that task together, and together with God, as his coworkers. Let us bear the yoke together. Let us be as a bride, a help, to our bridegroom, our Lord Jesus Christ. If he is about the business of enlightening men with the message of the Gospel, then so should we, as a church, in cooperation with him. With all these words, and examples, and scripture references, I have tried to answer your question. I trust you will see that it is our responsibility, and our privilege to do this work along with our Lord Jesus Christ. |
||||||
109 | people who have never heard the Gospel ? | Heb 7:25 | Aixen7z4 | 149993 | ||
That question has puzzled many people for many years. But now, if you will promise to stop and think on it again, I will suggest to you that God has given us an answer in his word. Now I wish I could say, as Joseph might say, (Genesis 41) that God will give Gina Marie an answer of peace. I suspect that the answer which follows may be disturbing to many, but I trust that in so far as it is documented with passages from the word of God, you will consider it. No one who has left this life will ever be able to say he never heard the Gospel. God will make sure he hears it. God is clear in his declaration (in Romans 10 and elsewhere) that one must hear the Gospel in order to be saved. And I will say to you that ever since Genesis 3, the world has been hearing the Gospel. The news spread that the Lord had said to the serpent, “The seed of the woman shall bruise your head”. That was the event the world had to look to, and Jesus came “that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them” (Hebrews 2). That was and is, Good News. We should not take too much time here to show that the Gospel has always been preached. Let us say that God was surely speaking it to the Jews. There were too many statements, and events, and sacrifices, and figures, for them to miss the point. Jesus would one day appear to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Please note, however, that the message was sometimes brought by Jesus Christ himself. The LORD appeared unto Abraham in the plains of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day (Genesis 18). The Lord revealed to him that the wicked would be destroyed. And Abraham asked him, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” It is a rhetorical question, and we should always remember the answer implied. The Judge of all the earth will do right by all the earth. He will give every person a chance to be saved. After saying that a person must hear the Gospel to be saved, he will not punish those who have not heard. It will always be the condemnation, that light came, and men preferred darkness. What will happen to those who have not heard, then? The point of this note is that there will be no such situation, because they all will hear. The Lord made a promise to Abraham (Genesis 12) and to Isaac (Genesis 26) and to Jacob (Genesis 28) to each of them, saying, “In you and in your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed”. He does not say, “Seeds”, (plural) but “Seed” (singular), referring to Christ (Galatians 3). And he does say that all the families of the earth will be blessed. So people everywhere will be saved through Christ. God is no respecter of persons. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10). But the question was this: “How shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?” Also, “How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?” The point is that they must hear of Jesus. And Jesus told us to go into all the world and tell them about him (Matthew 28; Luke 24, etc.). But the follow-up question is this: “What if we do not go?” The answer I give to you is this, that Jesus goes himself. Do not be surprised at this. Jesus told us that he is going anyway. When he sends us, he goes before us (John 10). As we go, Lo, he is with us always (Matthew 28). I wish that I had the time and space now to show this in detail, but I will offer you these references. Jesus is the Light, and he lightens every man (John 1). He draws all men (John 12). He preached to them in Old Testament times (1Peter 3). He preached on earth in the times covered by the gospels (Mark 1, etc.). He appeared to Paul (Acts 9). He appeared to John (Revelation 1). He comes to the church (Revelation 3). He sends us into all the world, and we have that privilege to be coworkers with him. But when we do not go, and where we do not go, he goes himself. In every place, those who seek after him find him (Acts 17) because he is there for them. I hope this is not a comfort to anyone who refuses to go with the Gospel, to consider that Jesus goes himself. We do not refuse to praise him and then rejoice because the stones cry out. We must go, and he, going before us, will prepare their hearts. The Holy Spirit will use the words we speak to convince them. And we will win them. That is how we know our work is not in vain, because God is with us. It is God who works in them, as in us, both to will and to do his good pleasure. But when we disobey, and fail to go, that will not make the word of God of none effect. God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, will shined in their hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. He will bring the light of the Gospel to everyone, even if he has to do it himself. |
||||||
110 | How is Joseph like Jesus? | Gen 30:25 | Aixen7z4 | 149903 | ||
Try these links: http://www.hishows.bizland.com/Topics/SUBTOPS/SoLikeJoseph.html http://www.cob-net.org/inspire/joseph_jesus.htm |
||||||
111 | When God Sings | Zeph 3:17 | Aixen7z4 | 149890 | ||
That is so beautiful, I fear I will spoil it by trying to add to it. The Lord will call on his speople to sing (v. 14). He will also sing to his people? I wonder when that will be. But would you not say there are other times when God has sung? What do we have in Isaiah 5? It may not be the happiest of songs, but it is a love song, I think, from God, to his Son, about his people. Some say that God dictated it, and it was the prophet who sang it. What do you say? In Deuteronomy 31 God gave them a song to sing. "Write ye this song for you", he says, "and teach it the children of Israel. Put it in their mouths". The Psalms are songs, and we may think of some of them (Psalm 22, Psalm 40, Psalm 69) as Jesus' songs. The Song of Solomon also has a part for the bridegroom. Is he simply Solomon, and not also the King of kings, and the church's bridegroom? Is he not there singing to her? In Psalm 22, he promised tha the would sing with us, and in Hebrews 2, it seems that he fulfills it. He is not ashamed to call us brethren. He says, "I will declare your name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto you". When we gather in his name, and he is with us, and we are singing praise to God, is he not singing with us? I worry sometimes when we put words into God's mouth in song. ("My life was given for thee ... What hast thou given to me?") But there are so many songs we sing to God. It is good to see that he will also sing to us. |
||||||
112 | How can i MEET God? | Ps 132:1 | Aixen7z4 | 149888 | ||
Still, I wonder if I have addressed the concerns you have expressed. You still desire God to come to you like He did to Moses, or Elijah. You're wondering why He doesn't speak to us like that anymore. I think the fact is we have something better than they had. "For you are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more. (For they could not endure that which was commanded, and if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, 'I exceedingly fear and quake'). But you are come ... to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaks better things than that of Abel" (Hebrews 12). We have it better. We have the privilege of entering into the holiest, by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10). Let us not be content with anything less. Let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith. But also, I wonder why the talk about slipping. It does not seem to the idea of giving up the search. Is it the idea of giving up on the ways of organized religion? I take "All I care is that I know God" as a determined, undeniable desire. Perhaps it is the desire to be saved. You should look back on your life for a time when God filled your life with a sense of his presence. If there is no such memory, then I suggest you do the steps. Renounce sin. Trust in Christ. Then, accept his presence in your life. From my experience, and according to John 7:37, he will fill you to overflowing. One last thing before I close this second piece. Let God have his way. He will fill you when he sees fit, to enable you to his will. If you are not prepared to follow him into some field of service, you will find his presence not only overwhelming, but also quite uncomfortable. David prayed for the Spirit, and promised to "teach transgressors your ways" (Psalm 51). Isaiah said, "Send me". If you do not plan to serve the Lord, then there is not much point in seeking him. You may plan to simply enjoy his presence, but he has more than that in mind. You may want to experience God as Moses and Elijah did. But remember that God said to Moses, "Go" (Exodus 3), and to Elijah, "Go. Return." (1 Kings 19). Isaiah saw the Lord (chapter 6), but then the Lord asked, "Who will go for us?" It may be that your key to finding the Lord is your present willingness to do what he says. You do not know what he will say, or where he will send you. Some of it will be hard. It may be unpleasant, especially if he sends you to the multitude who said you should not have sought him in the first place. But do you think you will see the Lord and not want to talk about him? Do you imagine you will hear from him and not not want to speak for him? Count the cost, my friends. Then you can seek him and find him. |
||||||
113 | How can i MEET God? | Ps 132:1 | Aixen7z4 | 149887 | ||
I thought it was the best question, the greatest question ever asked. Surely, that is the biggest need of the human heart: to know God,and to fellowship with him. Without that question we find ourselves under this his indigtment: "The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but ... my people do not consider" (Isaiah 1). We belong to God. If we are away from him, we are to seek him. We should not stop. "Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near" (Isaiah 55). We should not accept denial. We should be like the blind man in Luke 18. "They which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more". Strange how the crowd sometimes tries to stop the seeker. They did it in Matthew 20. Two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David", and the multitude rebuked them. But they would not be denied. They cried the more. Even believers try to stop us. They shut up the kingdom against men (Matthew 23). I wonder if it is that they do not understand. They take away the key of knowledge (Luke 11). Little children were brought unto him, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them (Matthew 19). We should seek the Lord. That is what God has in mind for us, that we should seek him, and find him. Paul says that he designed it so "that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him" (Acts 17). He had promised that our seeking would not be in vain (Isaiah 45). He is near to us, and we can find him. Aside from the hindrance of the multitude, what makes it so hard to find God? There may be many things, but the situation can perhaps be summed up best by noting his his requirement, that we seek him with the whole heart (Jeremiah 24;Jeremiah 29). For a while, we may be like the lover in the Song of Solomon 3: "By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not". But that does not last. "It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth." David sings, "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?" (Psalm 42). Again: "O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;to see your power and your glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary" (Psalm 63). It is the most amazing thing, to realize that the one we seek is actually pursuing us. The Good Shepherd (Luke 15), the Son of Man (Luke 19), is seeking that which is lost. We thirst for God. But also, in the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believes on me, as the scripture has said, 'Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water'" (John 7). The good news for the person who is saved is the fact that God is actually already in us (John 14). When we seek him, we find that he is there, with us, and in us. But everyone, saved and unsaved, should seek him. |
||||||
114 | Is "Your God" the same as "My God"? | Bible general Archive 2 | Aixen7z4 | 149870 | ||
I suppose you are correct, that there are no rules to this. But would you take some time to look, see if there is a progression, perhaps? Does anyone in Scripture change his expression from "God" to "your God", to "my God", for example? You might want to compare a king such as David, who said, "O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust" (Psalm 7) to one such as Pharaoh, who said, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice ...? I know not the LORD ..." (Exodus 5). There is something about God being my God, that umagumadog wanted to share with us, in addition to the fact he is good, and it might be profitable for us to explore it. As always, it is desirable to support personal opinions and experience with scripture. |
||||||
115 | "My God". "My God". Why? | Bible general Archive 2 | Aixen7z4 | 149858 | ||
I do not know if that person meant to ask a question, but the statement leads me to ask one. Why do we refer to God as our God? The query had hardly formed in my mind when I realized that that person is not the only one. Jacob decided (Genesis 28) that the Lord would be his God. Moses referred to him as his God. David, Paul, and the prophets did. Jesus cried, “My God! My God!” And Thomas cried, “My Lord and my God!” One is not surprised if Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2) would refer to the Lord as Daniel’s God, because he had another god. Paul says (Philippians 3) that some people have their belly as their God. The Psalmist says, “Blessed is the nation (Psalm 32) or the people (Psalm 144) whose God is the Lord”. Other nations had other gods. Ruth had another god until she decided (Ruth 1) that Naomi’s God would be her God. But now I wonder why the possessive in all those other cases. I checked and found that the KJV refers to “our God” some 195 times. It has “your God” 172 times, and “my God” some 137 times. Even God himself says, “It shall come to pass … that … I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, ‘You are my people;’ and they shall say, ‘You are my God’” (Hosea 2). There are times when people refer to God without the possessive. Then he is the Lord, the Lord God. When do they choose to say “My Lord” or “My God”? Who can tell? |
||||||
116 | 1 Thess. 5:17 | Jer 29:12 | Aixen7z4 | 149847 | ||
I was pleased to read Piper’s paper. He seemed to be saying what I understand: that we can only exercise faith in what God has said. We cannot believe God about anything God has not said. When we have not seen the mind of God on a subject, when he has not revealed it in Scripture, then the word Faith does not apply. God must speak first, and faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10). But God has spoken (Hebrews 1) and we need to find, in Scripture, what he has said. I was surprised, and disappointed, when he added “when Scripture does not give a promise that a particular blessing will definitely be given in answer to prayer, God may make known in some other way that He intends to give the blessing”. He does say that he is adding that “with some hesitancy”, and that is understandable. The reason is not; it is because he has never experienced it. He says, “God has never communicated to me what He intends to do any other way than by the Scripture”. Here we have the familiar and dangerous error of exalting “experience” (even possible, potential experience) to the level of Scripture, and I think it is most unfortunate. He should have decided to refrain from saying those things. He whom God has sent speaks the words of God (John 3). We should be guided by the Spirit, and he does not speak of himself; but whatsoever he hears, that’s what he speaks (John 16). It is important that we “learn not to think beyond the things which are written” (1 Corinthians 4). I appreciate the reminder, that our prayers should be for that which brings glory to the Lord. One might even say that we should bring him glory with our lives, and our worship, and our thanksgiving, even before we bring our supplications. Whatever he shows us his will is, we should pray as Jesus did (John 12:28): "Father, Glorify your name". |
||||||
117 | 1 Thess. 5:17 | Jer 29:12 | Aixen7z4 | 149838 | ||
This is a good opportunity for us to understand what preachers mean when they say that God always answers our prayers but sometimes the answer is No. How do we know when the answer is No? And for those who say that another answer is “Wait” one might ask how we can determine which one it is. I think we must acknowledge that there are times when God does not even hear our prayers. There are also times when he does not answer. Moses (Deuteronomy 3) refers to a time when “the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me”. I take that to mean the Lord would not listen, and would not even consider the request. Samuel described a condition under which “You shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day” (1 Samuel 8). Job cried in despair, “I cry unto you, and you do not hear me: I stand up, and you regard me not" (Job 30). David knew it: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalm 66). When prayers are not answered, God says that is one of the reasons (Isaiah 59): “Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear". David prayed, “O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not hear” (Psalm 22). Isaiah reports the Lord saying, “When you spread forth your hands, I will hide my eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear" (Isaiah 1). The Lord told Jeremiah (chapter 7), “Do not pray for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear you”. These examples should suffice to show there are times when God does not even listen to our prayers, not even to consider our requests. But there are also times when he listens but does not answer. Jesus did it. A woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David. My daughter is grievously vexed with a devil”. But he answered her not a word (Matthew 15). He indicated that there are times, as then, when God will not answer right away, but only after he has seen our importunity (Luke 18). It is one of the reasons we should keep on asking, when we know that our prayers are according to his will. He will answer when he knows the time is right. It’s what he did with the slaves in Egypt. He had heard their cry. Eventually he responded by coming down to deliver them (Exodus 3). There are some times when God says, “Wait”. It is what he said to Habakkuk. When the prophet complained, “O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! … and you will not save!” the Lord said, “I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you” (Chapter 1). But he does not leave us to interpret silence as a "No", or even as a “Wait”. The prophet decided to wait for an answer, and he got it. “The LORD answered me, and said, ‘Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that reads it. … Though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come’” (chapter 2). “Wait” is something that he says sometimes, even when we have not prayed. But again, he says it, and he does not leave us to infer it from his silence. The fact is, many of our prayers are already answered, and we need only to find it. That is the case with questions we may ask the Lord. The answers are in the word of God. But when we ask for things, we need not invent answers or assume that God is saying “No” or “Wait”. Ordinarily, an answer means we get what we have requested. Instead of saying “No” it is God’s way to show us his will instead, so we can pray for it and get it. That is what he did for Paul (2 Corinthians 12). That is what he did for Jesus (Luke 22:42,42; Hebrews 5:7). May God help us to understand his will and to pray in accordance with it. Then we will have our prayers answered. |
||||||
118 | Are Job's friends words true? | Job | Aixen7z4 | 149828 | ||
It is clear that many of the words spoken by Job’s friends were truth. One way to determine that is to compare their words to other words on the same subject recorded in other places in the Scriptures. Please note that Job sometimes agreed with them. For example, see his “yes, who does not know such things as these?” in chapter 12. What they had been saying was obviously true. But he had additional, deeper questions, for which they had no answer. What was the problem with their words, then? As in so many cases, some of what they were saying was the truth, but they were not speaking the whole truth. Notice how God responds in Job 42. He does not say that those men had not spoken truth. What he said was, “You have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job (has) ”. They had said the right thing about other things, but they had not said the right thing about God. The sum of their words to Job was that he was suffering because he had sinned. The pronouncement from God, however, was that Job was a righteous man: “a perfect and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil” (Chapter 1). They were saying that God would never treat him that way if indeed Job had been “perfect and righteous”. Of course, neither they nor Job were privy to the words that God had said to Satan. Also, they did not know Job’s heart or life as God did. But they were wrong to say that God would not treat a righteous person they way he was treating Job. That was a wrong thing to say, and a hurtful thing, was it not? Had God not corrected them we might still be befuddled today when we see the righteous suffer. The fact that Job recognized, and they did not, is that God is Sovereign and just, and will do what he wills, and what he does is right, though we sometimes fail to understand it. Note lastly that it was not the friends but Job himself to whom God said he had been darkening counsel by words without knowledge (Job 38). Job himself had not known the whole truth. As he would say, “I have spoken what I did not understand; things too wonderful for me; yea, I did not know” (Job 42). And we also do not know it all. But we have learned from Job’s experience, that God is Sovereign. Also, he is just, and good. Still, there are some things we do not know; secret things. The secret things belong to Yahweh our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. We can learn a lot from Job’s friends, I think, but they learned that they did not know everything. Now we know more than they did, but we still do not know everything. So though we speak what we do know, we can only encourage ourselves and each other to continue to meditate on the word of God. You will be able to say (as in Psalm 119) “ I have more understanding than all my teachers: for your testimonies are my meditation”. Consider what I say, and the Lord will give you understanding in all things. |
||||||
119 | 1 Thess. 5:17 | Jer 29:12 | Aixen7z4 | 149821 | ||
It is sometimes so difficult to know what a person has in mind when a question is asked. And yet, these are good questions. They seem to have come from a sincere and caring saint. “Does prayer really help?“ suggests that the questioner realizes that some types of prayer do not help. In other words, it may not really make a difference whether one prays or not, if one prays that way. A common situation is where one prays for a sick person to get better. Sometimes he does. Sometimes he does not. One then wonders if it makes any difference whether one prays or not. And yet, it is God who asks us to pray and he promises that he will answer (Matthew 7, etc.). Moreover, he says that the reason we do not have some things is because we do not pray for them (James 4). Clearly then, God is saying that prayer does help, that it makes a big difference. In the words of the apostle James: it “avails much” (James 5). Yet we fail to get what we ask for when we ask amiss (James 4). “What kind of prayers does God answer?” suggests that God answers one type of prayer and not others. We know that we need to ask for things that are within God’s will (1 John 5). It seems logical that God will give us want he wants to give us. It is important then, that we know what God’s will is (Ephesians 5). The prayer that God answers, then, is one that matches his will. God answers the prayer of Elijah (1 Kings 18) because he was doing as God had directed him (v.38). Paul stopped praying for a thorn to be removed (2 Corinthians 12) and prayed for grace instead (every epistle he wrote) because God revealed that it was his will to give grace. If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us, and we get what we ask for (1 John 5). “How can one develop an attitude of prayer?” seems to be a completely different question, posed in in anticipation of satisfactory answers to the previous questions. If prayer is worthwhile, then we may want to develop an attitude of prayer. I am assuming that “an attitude of prayer” is a readiness to pray at all times. Jesus said men ought always to pray (Luke 18) and Paul says that we should be “praying always” (Ephesians 6), and praying “without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5). “It seems that the prayer I have been hearing are no more than begging God for things?” suggests an awareness that prayer should be more than that. One can agree that prayer is more than that. Prayer might well include worship, thanksgiving, confession, intercession, etc. (See Matthew 6, Ephesians 3, James 5, etc.). Even in thanksgiving and supplication, one might suggest we should be thanking God for spiritual things (as in Colossians 1) and asking for spiritual things (as in Ephesians 3). “Is that the object of prayer?” (to beg for things) suggests the questioner knows it is not. One might suggest that the purpose of prayer is to know God’s will, and to do God’s will. Men of God have prayed that God would open their eyes to behold his will in his word (Psalm 119) and Jesus taught (Luke 11) and exemplified a prayer that God’s will be done (Luke 22). One may say that prayer is the expression of a desire to play an active part in God’s program. Prayer, whether constant or sporadic, whether the right kind or not, is a habit. We do what we have learned to do. But the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. And we might well pray to the Lord for that. But we have to be willing to change, to learn, and habits are often hard to break. The questions seem to have come from one who knows the nature and worth of prayer and is somewhat frustrated with the way it is practiced in the church today. It may be difficult to change what the church does, but we can change what we do in our private communication with God. We are happy to note that God listens to the individual and to the two who agree (on what his word reveals about his will). One person can pray, even silently, and the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. |
||||||
120 | Avoid Curtis Neeley's web site!!!!! | Rom 14:14 | Aixen7z4 | 149712 | ||
The bad news is, this person says he may restore the offending link. I have encouraged him to give his testimony here and to ask for prayer, but he is not inclined to do that. The sad fact is, it is so hard to get a brother to listen. People love to be confirmed in their original opinions, but they find it hard to change their minds. And yet, we cannot grow without changing. And what good is a Bible Study if it does not affect our behavior? Should we not cease to condemn a brother for what his conscience allows him to do? That is what Romans 14:10 calls for. And should a brother not cease to do that which causes offense? That is what Romans 14:13 calls for. But now the brother says he will not change in order to please people who have been rude to him. And the people say they will not encourage him to change because he has done wrong; he has fallen. And yet the scriptures call on us to restore such an one (Galatians 6:1). It should be clear now that warning people to stay away may have the opposite effect. People will wonder just what it is they are being asked to avoid, and they will go to see. I trust the brother will find the strength to keep doing what is right. And I trust the brethren will find the grace to encourage him. |
||||||
Result pages: << First < Prev [ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ] Next > Last [49] >> |