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JimfromOhio

I am happlily married with 5 kids. I am an accoutant and worked in an accounting field for over 25 years. I like to make a habit of writing down whenever I have deep thoughts about God (so I won't forget). I really into Reformed Theology that is connected to Presbyterian Church in America.

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Location: Columbus, Ohio, United States

I enjoy having deep thoughts about God and put down what I actually think about (so I won't forget).

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Type of Prayer or the Attitude or Prayer

Just as worshipping. Everyone worship differently as well as pray differently. The main thing is our hearts are to be right when we pray. I should ask God for help. Psalm 40:13 God will not hear my prayers if I am willfully sinning. Micah 3:4 Prayer should be private. Matthew 6:6 Jesus taught me how to pray. Matthew 6:9-13 I should pray with an attitude of humility. Luke 18:9-14 I should pray in Jesus' name. John 16:23-24 I should pray all the time. Ephesians 6:18 I should pray without doubting. James 4:3 I should pray with the right motives. James 4:3 I should pray according to God's will 1 John 5:14-15 There is "NO" wrong way to pray since prayer is spiritual from the heart. That's between God and the believer who worship. Jeremiah 17:10 "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve."

Tradition versus Holy Scriptures

Tradition like the Pharisees have no legitimate place of authority. That's why Jesus' rebuke to the Pharisees because their faith in Rabbinical tradition was in and of itself a seriously out of the covenant and commandments of God (Matt. 15:3). 1 Samuel 15:22 But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD ? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. Matthew 15:9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men. Isaiah 29:13 The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. The point is, the Word of God needs no support from traditions, however, traditions do need support from the Word of God.

My Parents

My wonderful parents who made sure I know Christ while growing up that they have planted the seed and waited for the Holy Spirit to reap me. Ephesians 6:4, "And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." Parenting is loving your children so that they're not angry with you and bringing them up to know the Lord. My parents taught me that the greatest wealth is in Christ and I can get that spiritual wealth as a gift.

Liberty and God's Will

Every Christian must decide whether they will us their liberty to decide on their moral decisions. We are free, but our freedom must prove a source of real temptation of this world. We are free from the chains of sin because by grace we are saved by Christ that we are forgiven. It is God's gift that we have the complete spiritual freedom and loving dependence upon one another. The mystery of our free will is too easy because when God said to Adam and Eve: "Thou shalt not eat from this tree." Here was a divine requirement calling for obedience on the part of those who had the power of choice and will. They had only ONE commandment. In regarding to Salvation....Reading Hebrews 6:4-6, "It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance" helped me understand the balance between Calvinism and Arminian. Calvinsts will view these words differently than the Arminians, at the same time both will be "consciously" reason the verses as how they have been taught. Both do understand the verses exactly what has been taught that they mean. The bottom line is this: The meaning of the verses will appear to them so natural that they will not agree with each other. Which sadly that each will more than likely think the other a hypocrite or heresy that were taught from the devil. The potter (God) is working with this soft, yielding clay (us). If this clay does not submit, the potter may not be able to do what I should do according to His will. The potter still could make anything except for useful and beautiful (spiritual fruitful) out of an unyielding blob of clay. If God is going to make those kinds of vessels out of clay (us), however, we are going to have to yield to the spiritual law of surrender. Give ourselves to God as a living sacrifice and let Him have us--all of us. Of course at the same time, I understand that God, just because He is almighty, needs no support from me and He is still able to do what He wills to do. Often I noticed that the providential of God leads me to what I call "coincidences" in my life which perhaps God will make sure that His wills will be done at His right time and place. There are two worlds, set over against each other, dominated by two wills, the will of man (me) and the will of God, respectively. Whose Will have more power? Of course, God. He directs our lives no matter what we do. Sovereign God is the absolute, infinite, unqualified ruler in all realms in heaven, earth and sea. God governs the world (Isa. 40:22-24), the nations (Isa. 40:15-17), and us (Proverbs 16:9). We have freewill completely and God will only interfere when needed simply because God is in control and He will allow us to have freewill only if its according to His will. The "freewill" is always subject to God's sovereignty and His divine freewill. The key is that God is ALWAYS in control even in our own freewill. All circumstances are work for heavenly good and called to His purpose. Even though we can not see the purpose for the trials we are going through, we can trust absolutely that the Lord is in control of all things. Every trial in our life is a furrow being plowed by the Lord, that we grow in faith, and learn to trust ever more confidently in the Lord. Proverbs 16:9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. Proverbs 20:24 A man's steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way? Proverbs 21:1 The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases. Jeremiah 10:23 I know, O LORD, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps. Romans 8:27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

God's Covenant

God's New Covenant is eternal because Christ is the mediator of the covenant, that we receive the promised eternal inheritance. That Covenant is that He has died as a ransom to set us free from the sins committed under the first Covenant. The Book of Hebrews explains that Jesus is the mediator, the executor, of The New Covenant (The New Testament). The word mediator comes from the verb "to mediate" which means a mediator is one who stands between two parties or two factions needing to be reconciled eternally. With that promise, as a Christian, I always thank God continually for our New Testament guarantees of spiritual life and freedom in Christ. The bond of the Covenant between God and US is ETERNAL that will never fail because it is God who has promised, and I have strong FAITH in His Character of His Eternal Promise. The problem is when Christians adjusting their expectations to the promises of God in complete assurance that God will provide His promise as expected in temporal sense. Faith is confidence in the character of Eternal God, and hope is the sweet anticipation of desirable things promised but NOT YET REALIZED (which means eternal). We need to understand that this New Covenant is sealed in the blood of Jesus, Who is our Savior and Mediator, brought us together with His Grace and Mercy that we have great spiritual and eternal freedom.