Theology 101: What is Prayer?

One of the ways God allows his creation to stay involved with him is through prayer. Prayer is personal communication from us to God.

Through prayer we can

• Communicate our requests to God
• Confess our sin
• Give adoration, praise, and thanksgiving to God

The Reason for Prayer

God does not want us to pray so that he can find out what we need. Rather, God wants us to pray so that our dependence on him can increase

• Jesus said “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matt. 6:8)
• When we come to God in prayer about something, we express trust in him, a trust that he will hear and answer our prayers.
• We should pray like a child asking his father for an egg or a fish (Luke 11:9-12). As a child trusts and expects his father to provide for him, so we ought to expect, in faith, that God will provide for us.

God wants us to pray because it allows us to be a part of a story that is greater than out own

• Prayer allows us to be involved in activities that have eternal significance.
• When we pray, God’s kingdom is advanced and his will is done “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10).

The Effectiveness of Prayer

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” (Luke 11:9-10).

 

On our own we have no right to boldly ask God for anything

• Our personal sin should disqualify us from requesting anything from a holy God.
• But if our faith is in Jesus, the Bible tells us he stands as the “one mediator between God and men” (1 Tim. 2:5).
• Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
• God is under no obligation to answer the prayers of those who have rejected his Son. Although, in his mercy he chooses to answer them at times, he does not promise to answer the prayers of unbelievers. But he does promise to answer the prayers of believers who pray in accordance to his will.

Our Attitude of Prayer

The effective prayers that Jesus answers must be prayed “according to his will” (1 John 5:14)

• Praying according to Gods will often requires humility on our part, because it requires that we pray not simply for what we desire but instead for what God desires.

When we sin, God urges us to use his gift of prayer to seek his forgiveness

• When we confess our sins, God is “faithful and just” to forgive those sins and not punish us for them (1 John 1:9). Christ already bore the punishment of those sins on the cross.
• James encourages us to confess our sins to one another and to “pray for one another” so that we may be healed (James 5:16).

When prayers are not answered you are joining the company of men like Jesus and Paul

• Before Jesus was crucified, he asked the Father to “remove this cup” from him. But his humility and submission to God’s will were shown in the second part of his prayer: “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).
• “Three times,” Paul “pleaded with the Lord” to take away his affliction; the lord did not do so, but instead told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corin. 12:8-9).

God still promises us today, “I will never leave you or forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). Therefore, regardless of the situation, we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I shall not fear; what can man do to me?” (Heb. 13:6).

 

 

Fight On

 

The Best of Judges Pt.1

Judges is found in the Old Testament that covers about 350 years of Israel's history. The basic theme of the book is God raising up "Judges" to rule over and protect Israel, but like clockwork as soon as the Judge dies, Israel goes back to serving other gods until the true God raises up another Judge; and so the cycle continues. Judges showcases Gods love for his people. Even though they chase and whore after other gods, he is faithful. There is great hope to be found in the book of Judges, as well as some amazing stories. These stories are sad, funny and a few are just downright weird. I am going to share 2 stories in this post, with more to come. Enjoy.

Ch.1 

Judges starts off with a bang. Judah and Simeon (people on Gods team) are pursuing Adoni-bezek (who had previously gone on a rampage of cutting off the thumbs and big toes of Kings in the area). So, once he is caught Judah and Simeon cut off his thumbs and big toes. Adoni-bezek's response lets us in to his personal life (which is a little freaky) "Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to pick scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me."

This guy is a total weirdo. He goes around cutting the toes and thumbs off of Kings and then makes them lie around and eat the scraps that fall off his table. This dude has got some issues. This is something you would expect to see on CSI or Criminal Minds, but nope...it is right here in Judges 1. 

Note to self: if you meet a guy named Adoni, watch your thumbs

Ch.3

Here we meet Ehud-the studly guy who God called Israel's "deliverer." Ehud apparently likes Splinter Cell and decided to use some of the moves from the game to kill Eglon, the King of Moab (who had been messing with Israel). Ehud made a short sword and attached it to his leg under his robe, and went to meet King Eglon for dinner. Before Ehud left the King for the night he told him that he had a "word from the Lord" to share with him. So, Eglon got up and went to Ehud to hear this "word from the Lord". As soon as Eglon got close Ehud took the sword from his thigh and thrust it into Eglons belly. It says that the hilt (handle) of the sword went in after the blade and that the fat of Eglons belly closed up over the blade...which was immediately followed by "dung coming out" of Eglon. 

Appearantly, he got the crap scared out of him. 

Ehud walked out like a stud and locked the door...and who wouldn't have? He went medieval all over the king. When Eglons servants saw that the doors were locked they thought "surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber". And they waited until they were embarrassed. But we all know that the dude was stinky dead

Eglon a.k.a. Jabba the Hutt, was a punk who messed with God's people which got him manhandled by Ehud. I like to imagine Ehud saying something like "The Lord says SUCK IT EGLON" as he stabbed him. He better have said something cool. My favorite part was when Eglon relieved himself after being stabbed. I am quite sure that Ehud had not planned for this to happen, and even more sure that Ehud was wearing a new pair of Jewish Flyers (so he could run faster and jump higher after killing Eglon)...which probably got crap all over them...which probably made Ehud mad. The funniest part was when the servants waited until it got embarrassing. You know how weird it gets when someone goes to the restroom and has not been back for a while...the thought of them struggling on the porcelain throne is hilarious.

"Hey...ummm...the King has been in there for a while Charlie, you think he's having a hard time?" 

"Man, all I know is that the dude can eat, he can choke a donkey man"

"Yeah, it's official...this is embarrassing"

The scriptures are great.

Fight On

Is anything too hard?

Abraham was 100, Sarah 90, and God shows up with a crazy promise "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son" (Gen. 18:10). Hum, really God? You said that Sarah the 90 year old woman with whom "the way of woman had ceased to be with" is going to have a baby? The tired old lady who has gone through menopause and more than likely quit having sex with Abraham because of their old age is going to have a baby? I think Sarah's response was proper...she laughed at God. But God responded with seven amazing words "is anything too hard for the Lord?" Excuse me, Sarah, maybe you do not remember who you are talking to. I spoke the world into being, breathed life into man, flooded the earth, turned an ocean into blood, split the sea and now giving you a child is suddenly too hard for me? 

That time next year God showed up and Sarah bore a son, and she named him Isaac, which means laughter. Isaac was a constant reminder to sarah that NOTHING WAS TOO IMPOSSIBLE FOR HER GOD! 

Fight On

Passover Reminder

Really great song by Joe Day an artist at Mars Hill...the song is called "Passover", check it out

Keep fighting to give Him the "firsts" of your life

The Sun and The Iron

“And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped…” Joshua 10:13
“…when he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw it in there and made the iron float”
2 Kings 6:6

God made the sun stop and the iron float; and why couldn’t he?…he created all three. He sustains every heart on the planet and knows every sparrow that falls from the sky. He has never been surprised or taken off guard. He cannot be tricked or made to look foolish. He is eternal.
Psalm 43 tells us that when all seems to be falling apart and when our soul is “cast down”, that we are to “hope in God.”
Maybe you haven’t been hoping in God…if you are like me and see the glass half empty and full of poison, you know how hard it is to hope in God. But he made the son stop and the iron float…if there was ever anything to hope in, it would be Him.

Fight On

Quotes on Evangelism

•“A Christian is a guide to Heaven”
C. Spurgeon
•“Make me a fork (in the road in peoples lives)”
Jim Elliott
•“Our one aim is to win souls; and this we are not to talk about doing, but to do in the power of God”
C. Spurgeon
•“I would think it a greater happiness to gain one soul to Christ than mountains of silver and gold”
Matthew Henry
•“You must go into the fire if you are going to pull others out of it; nor can you man a lifeboat without being covered in the waves”
C. Spurgeon
•“We should never stop at having won a soul for Christ. By this, we have done half the work. Every soul won for Christ must be made to be a soul winner”
Richard Wurmbrand
•“Work as if everything depended on you. Pray as if everything depended on God”
St. Augustine

Fight On

Theology 101: What is Creation?

Where did the universe come from?
Why was I made?
What is my purpose?

Where did the universe come from?
Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”
John 1:3 “All things were made through him”
Colossians 1:16 “By him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible”

God spoke ALL of creation into existence-the land, water, plants and animals but not man
(Gen 1:3-25)

Why was I made?
You and I were not spoken into existence; we were created by God’s very hands and received life from God’s very breath.
Genesis 2:7 “Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature”
Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in his own image; in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them”

Humans are the only aspect of creation made in God’s image. To be in God’s image means to be like God and to represent God. As Gods image, man is the pinnacle of all creation, more like God than any other creature.

Scientific theories that do not see God as the Creator fail to give us the dignity that is given us in the biblical account.
Evolution: man evolved from monkeys
Big Bang: material collided and now we have earth

God did not need to make us. He is completely fulfilled within the trinity. The amazing part of creation is that HE CHOSE to make us.

What is my purpose?
Before creation nothing existed but God.
Therefore, nothing but God is eternal.
Nothing but God can ultimately rule over that which he made.
Therefore, nothing but God is worthy of our worship.

We are special products of God’s creation and this should give us a sense of awe!

Creation was a totally free act of God. He created the universe to show his greatness, to demonstrate his excellence and to delight in his work.

You are his work, his most prized work, so the question begs, is he finding delight in you? Is your life bringing him glory? Is your life being lived in the awe of his creation?

Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created”
Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork”

As we take spontaneous delight in God’s creative activities, our creative activities, and the creative activities of others, we are giving glory to God by imitating the delight he takes in his creation. We should joyfully use the abundant earth God has given us and seek to develop it in a way that brings glory and honor to God’s name.

Theology 101: What is the Trinity?

Sometimes people use 3 different names when referring to God:
God the Father
God the Son
God the Spirit

These are not just 3 different names, these are 3 distinct persons. All three have existed as three distinct persons, but there is only one God. This is called the trinity.


Biblical Evidence for the trinity
God said, “Let us make them in our image, after our likeness”. These are not angels, because only humans were made “in the image of God”
(Genesis 1:26-27)

When Jesus was baptized, “the heavens opened to him, and the Spirit of God descended like a dove and coming to rest on him”…and a voice from heaven said “this is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17)

What were all 3 members of the trinity doing at this time?
God the Father was speaking
God the Son was being baptized
God the Spirit was resting on God the Son

When Jesus sent his disciples out, he told them “to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19)


The meaning of the trinity
The trinity is three distinct persons, but one God.

God the Father is God. When you read “God” in the bible, you are more than likely reading about God the Father.

God the Son is Jesus. He is fully God, but in the form of a man. He had to come as a man to do what Adam could not do, life a sinless life and die for our sins.

God the Spirit is the Holy Spirit. He is given to live inside you when you become a Christian. He is your connection to God the Father. He convicts you of sin, teaches you how to pray, read, and live out the Christian life.


The role of the trinity
In creation
God the Father spoke the world into being (Gen 1:9-10)
God the Son carried out those words (John 1:13)
God the Spirit keeps Gods presence in creation (Gen. 1:2)

In Salvation
God the Father loves the world (John 3:16)
God the Son came down from heaven (John 6:38)
God the Spirit was sent to complete and sustain Jesus’ work (John 14:6 and John 16:7)


Examples of the trinity
Church
“Many members” all with different skills but “one body” with one purpose (1 Corin. 12:12)

Marriage
Two distinct persons come together and become “one flesh.” (Eph. 5:31)

The unity and diversity that exist in this world are simply a reflection of the unity and diversity that exists within the Trinity

Fight On

A secular world view:


Secular is from the Latin “Seculum” which means “NOW". We live in a now society
There has never been a culture like ours set up for disappointment, depression and despair.

Peggy Newnan
“Our ancestors believed in two worlds and understood this one to be the solitary, poor nasty one. We are among the first to believe that we can find our happiness here completely on earth”

Our search for it has actually produced unhappiness. If you do not believe in a second world, you believe this to be the only place to find happiness and when it lets us down it produces utter despair.

Fight On