How God expects us to pray to Him…
Sep 30
Jesus promised that "whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you" (John 16:23). This condition for answered prayer and its resulting fullness of joy is not just a formula with which to end a prayer. "In my name" implies representing Him and what He stands for, so that our prayer could truly be His prayer as well. For example, our prayer must be in His will. "If we ask any thing according to his will . . . we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him" (1 John 5:14-15). We need also to recognize that God's great purpose in creation is of higher priority than our own personal desires, so this should be of first order in our prayers. Jesus said: "When ye pray, say, Our Father. . . . Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth" (Luke 11:2). We can also pray for our own needs, of course, especially for God to "deliver us from evil" (Luke 11:4), the closing request in His model prayer.
God’s idea of "Chain of Command"
Sep 24
"Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it." (Joshua 1:9-11) In the army of the Lord, typified here by the Israelites as they prepared for the conquest of Canaan, there must be order rather than irresponsibility. This is evidently the first reference in the Bible to a chain of command in these armies. God commanded Joshua, who had previously been appointed by God, through Moses, to be their human commander-in-chief. "Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people," who were thereafter to "command the people."
"I AM"
Sep 17
"And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it." (Genesis 15:7) There are seven "I am's" in the Book of Genesis. The first is a beautiful figure of speech ("I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward" |Genesis 15:1|)but the others are all names and titles of God. The first of these is in our text above, identifying Jehovah Himself (the LORD) with the "I am." The next is Genesis 17:1: "I am the Almighty God." The Hebrew here is El Shaddai ("God the nourishing sustainer"), also found in 35:11. Next is in 26:24: "I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee." Then, "I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac" (28:13). "I am the God of Bethel" (31:13). Beth-el means "the house of God." Finally, God says: "I am God, the God of thy father" (46:3).
Jerusalem belongs to the Jews
Sep 10
(For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he swore unto them. Deuteronomy 4:31 20 YEARS OF RESEARCH REVEALS: JERUSALEM BELONGS TO JEWS
The Lord’s Thanksgiving
Sep 03
"The LORD Jesus in the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you. . . . after the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood" (I Corinthians 11:24,25).
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