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Regarding Genies and Prayer

Birthday Cake

One of the problems I often face in prayer is that I am concerned with saying the right thing. That I am providing all the information God needs to know. Not forgetting any crucial point. And being careful not to mess up in the way and manner I ask for stuff.

I worry that I will not cover all the details properly. That something vital will be left out.

Recently, I was watching an old episode from the X-Files. Actually one of my favorite ones. It was about a genie, like the one from Aladdin’s lamp. The genie would grant 3 wishes. But you had to be careful. The manifestation of a wish could be disastrous. It was about not providing enough information, not asking in a very specific way. You needed to be really careful or things could go very badly. REALLY BAD.

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He is Not Far from Any of Us

Florida Beach Sun Spot

“That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being…” (Acts 17: 27, 28)

This is quite a statement. It is not what you would expect about the world in general. We are led to believe that God is distant from all but the really good people.

This is speaking of God’s desire to be there to help us. Of His constant care over each soul that He has created. It does not necessarily mean that we have chosen to be close to Him. That is a separate issue which involves our individual decisions.

The above verse is saying that God is expectant for us to trust Him. That He longs for that. That He wants each of us to know His fellowship, love and peace. He does not sit above us waiting for us to mess up so that He can send a lightning bolt up our wazoo.

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By Grace thru Faith Alone

Christmas Gifts

“For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

We are living in a world where most men and women follow their own religious codes. Many are very moral people. Some are religious. Others are more secular.

Many of the secular folks believe that their morality, without Christ, can stand on its own before God. That their actions are what count; not their religious observances or doctrines.

Within many mainstream “Christian” denominations, many believe that God is just like an old grandfather that loves them and accepts all but the most evil characters. Others believe God is very demanding and must be appeased by a life of dedicated religious works.

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The Day of Small Things

Chip and Elf

“For who hath despised the day of small things?” (Zechariah 4:10)

Whoa! That really does not fit the modern goal-setting mentality of Evangelical and Fundamental churches today. We are goal obsessed. We are results oriented.

Christian leaders have been seduced by the dream of large ministries. Bible churches today, seem to have no resistance to the Church Growth movement’s emphasis on secular-marketing philosophy and strategy. We have become moths drawn to the light.

Where are we told to build big things? To go for big goals? To build a big church or outreach? To build huge arenas and call them churches?

Please, call them something else; just not a church.

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By the Scriptures Alone

White Clouds

Nothing is more important to the Christian than the Word of God. It is the one thing that he can physically hold in his hands that is eternal and sure. There is no tradition, philosophy, creed or catechism that can replace the word by word revelation of God to man.

It is by His Word that all things were created. He spoke and it was done. And it is by His Word that all things will be judged. No authority exists on earth or heaven that exceeds or is even equal to His Word.

Jesus Christ is The Word. His incarnation was the written words of God expressed in physical form. This was the eternal GodHead perfectly revealing Himself in the Son. The “express image of His person”. (Hebrews 1:3)

ABOVE even His Name

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By Jesus Christ Alone

Mt Baker Rainbow

Years ago, I took a college course in how to recognize false cults and religions. While studying, it became apparent that false religions are generally born out of errors concerning the character of God, the Word of God, or the nature of Salvation. All of this based on the Bible alone as the final authority.

A great percentage of those false teachings deal with some aspect of the Person, character and work of Jesus Christ specifically.

The Bible places Jesus Christ at the center of our faith. He is to be the main focus. The Father and the Holy Spirit have ordained this order. That “Christ may be all in all”.

The Mediator

Christ is the only Mediator between God and man. There is no Other in Heaven or earth that we can go to. No one else that we should revere, adore, worship and commune with. We must go to Him alone. Period.

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The Holy Spirit is a Person

Brunsw Pond Reflect

The Holy Spirit is a Person. That may seem like an obvious, trivial point. But, practically speaking, we do not treat the Spirit as a Person. We act as if He is something else. Something impersonal or secondary.

We know that all persons are thinking, feeling beings. They laugh, grieve, love, hope, dream. The Spirit of God does all these things. He is all that Jesus Christ would be if the Lord were still here, in bodily form, upon this earth.

Who is the Spirit of God?

To illustrate our confusion about the Spirit of God, there are believers who place an inordinate amount of focus on Him. They are focused on manifestations and experiences. They desire those things for many reasons. Miracles are supposedly meant to bolster the Christian’s faith, draw the unbeliever to Christ, and to provide a kind of personal affirmation from God for a believer.

For example, some Christians look for a miracle as an outward affirmation from God of one’s own conversion. The gift of “speaking in tongues” is a common experience taught within the Charismatic movement that gives assurance of salvation to a believer.

This is a serious error. And it is compounded by other attitudes toward the Holy Spirit that lead us down many rabbit trails of confusion.

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Hiking with God

Bath Hills Walk

Let me ask you a question.

In prayer, how do we determine what we should request of God?

Many years ago, I read an explanation about the passage in I John 5:14. “And this is the confidence that we have in him. That if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us. And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions we desired of him. ” The writer broke that prayer down into a rock-solid method of knowing how to pray. The answer: pray according to the will of God.

So, we then ask, “How do we determine God’s will?”

The Secret Formula

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Designed for Eternity

Shore Figure Oregon

There is a film that I have seen many times that always makes a deep impact on me. It is called, “Powaqqatsi”. I think the title is from the Hopi Indian language. There is no dialogue; just music and video. The footage is of people from all over the world; specifically from the “Third World” countries. Countries struggling with the transition from ancient traditions into new technologies and industrialization.

The film is beautifully photographed and is accompanied by a very haunting film score. It shows the beauty, the rhythms of life, and the hardships of these people. I think Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas were producers on this. And that shows in its quality.

But I find that each time I watch this film, I have to pray. Because I am always overcome with a sense of insignificance. Watching these countless people, it is difficult to not feel like only a tiny spec on this planet. Not even a blip on the radar.

And it makes me wonder how God can keep track of every soul.

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