praying

[cv5]

Associated with the Worldwide Church of God

Made the same mistake many years ago. Never bought into it. I attended a few meeting and bailed. And I thank God for that. Jesus delivered me from that mess just like all of the others. Many many others BTW. In fact all of them.

Same goes for the JW's. I was associated with them when I was a young man. Never believed their song and dance either.

Now I know better. Way better. Maturing and abiding does that to a believer.....

Joe Focht is spot on. Top notch sermon material and totally legit IMO. Download to phone and/or stream.

John - Topical by Joe Focht (blueletterbible.org)

 

[persistent]

just a teaching about prayer from a great Bible teacher 🙂

“And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

Give us day by day our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.

And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.


And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭11:1-13‬ ‭KJV‬‬

one note Jesus is t saying to simply Munich and repeat his words but is giving us a shape and mold and teaching about how we should pray

“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:5-9‬ ‭KJV‬‬

prayer is children speaking with their heavenly father and Jesus is teaching us about it

This is something that troubles me since I didn't grow up with a father in the house and not much of a mother either. That commandment about honoring mother and father is a real stickler to me. I have yet to hear any preacher so much as address the subject and there must be millions that have the same situation. If you know any preachers that want to broach that topic it may be helpful. But since I have never really heard many sermons live, maybe it is something talked about.

 

[persistent]

Made the same mistake many years ago. Never bought into it. I attended a few meeting and bailed. And I thank God for that. Jesus delivered me from that mess just like all of the others. Many many others BTW. In fact all of them.

Same goes for the JW's. I was associated with them when I was a young man. Never believed their song and dance either.

Now I know better. Way better. Maturing and abiding does that to a believer.....

Joe Focht is spot on. Top notch sermon material and totally legit IMO. Download to phone and/or stream.

John - Topical by Joe Focht (blueletterbible.org)

Thanks for the info. I spent some 20 years in Socal from Norco, down by Corona, to LA to La Canada-Pasadena and etc.. I get Dudley out in Simi Valley here in Chicago on tv. (liftupJesus) He delivers a nice sermon.

 

[GRACE_ambassador]

This forum is a real help to me so far; joined here 9/11/22. My previous interactions with "Christian" ideologues and possibly true believers has probably been minimal. Went to Roman Catholic grammar school and performed all the ritual. Associated with the Worldwide Church of God, on and off for approximately 5 years (1971-1976). Roman Catholics had "fixed" prayers. i.e. Our Father, Hail Mary and ?. WCG mentioned praying on occasion but primary focus seemed to be that Herbert Armstrong had the answers. And if his word wasn't good enough Dr. H. Hoeh had the answer. So now within the last month or so find Timothy Keller of New York City saying the Psalms are prayers. I was congratulating myself for not praying when I came across Proverbs 28:9 "He that turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayers are abomination.". I still think it right that I didn't pray since during my life I went from being very antagonistic toward religion (God) to being an expert when associated with WCG to being antagonistic to being an unbeliever to being confused to being a searcher to being a finder, maybe, to being a questioner to being an "hopeful" but feeling stupid prayer. So now for about the last 18 or so months by praying to the Father in the name of Jesus His Beloved Son for guidance by the Holy Spirit I think I'm making progress. All glory and thanks to a loving and merciful God.

Precious friend, thanks for sharing; hope this helps:

Rom 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but The Spirit Itself Maketh Intercession For us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Rom 8:27 And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is The Mind of the Spirit, because He Maketh Intercession for the saints according to the Will of God.

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the Called According to His Purpose.

and:

Please Be Very RICHLY Encouraged And Edified In
The LORD JESUS CHRIST, And His Word Of Truth, Rightly
Divided.

GRACE, Peace, And JOY...

 

[Pilgrimshope]

This is something that troubles me since I didn't grow up with a father in the house and not much of a mother either. That commandment about honoring mother and father is a real stickler to me. I have yet to hear any preacher so much as address the subject and there must be millions that have the same situation. If you know any preachers that want to broach that topic it may be helpful. But since I have never really heard many sermons live, maybe it is something talked about.

brother consider that the old covenant is t yours but the new is so what I mean is this

“And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭23:9‬ ‭

no Christian has an earthly father they are born into the Heavenly Father.

having no parents present leaves scars in our hearts , leaves trust issues towards parental figures ect

the gospel is for the healing of those types of things how good of news is it that though our earthly parents may anndon us or abuse us or forsake us and let us down in many many ways


How good is the news tbat your true father has always been there with open arms ? That though earthly parents heavent been blessing in many ways , the God of all creation the eternal and everlasting God the creator , is through the gospel telling you who believe “ I’m your father , I’m your “abba “ I’m your “daddy “ I choose you and I know every aspect of you your flaws and your strengths


I the unimaginably great and mighty God who speaks and nations rise and speaks again and they crumble to ash , I choose you to be my son and I will prove to you what a father is just believe “

we should definately honor our parents because it’s fitting in the lord, but also we have to understand who our family really is

“For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭3:35‬ ‭KJV‬‬

there is such healing in the message of Christ for believers if we are orphans in this lifetime is irrelevant because we’ve been born again by the Will of God into his eternal family

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
‭‭John‬ ‭1:12-13‬ ‭KJV‬‬

don’t get me wrong honoring our earthly parents is definately good and approved of God but sometimes they aren’t there to honor sometimes they are actually leading us astray , sometimes they abuse and do damage and teach things tonthier children contrary to God the father

the key for us is to let the gospel be our new life and identity it’s God choosing his children from this world you have a Father brother and many brothers and sisters in this world we want to focus on those family members and never do any harm to others or anyone else we want to also share with our earthly family the love of the father because many don’t hear about it Being in this world

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭2:15-17‬ ‭KJV‬‬


honor everyone as far as it is possible but your true eternal father above all

 

[HealthAndHappiness]

Thanks for taking the time to make this post. I read it word for word and accept all that it says. I know I have even previous to this time, say some time within the last year, accepted Jesus as my Savior and came to the understanding of His having paid the price for His elect in full by accepting the title Lamb of God as John put it. So I hope you see me as brother and we can both say all Glory to our King and older brother and friend, Jesus. Now, let me ask you a question that I have been thinking about. I think it came to me when listening to a sermon of Spurgeon's. I never had an children but I still think that Jesus' Father also is including in suffering that He had to even provide the flesh and blood body for His Only Begotten and Beloved Son and then He had to administer the wrath which we deserved on His Beloved. Wouldn't any father suffer in such a case? Like Abraham. Am I way off course?

AMEN, Glad to hear that!

I was just about to sit down for dinner. I'm not sure if I will have time this evening but will cover that ASAP.

🍝🍽️🙂👍

 

[oyster67]

So now for about the last 18 or so months by praying to the Father in the name of Jesus His Beloved Son for guidance by the Holy Spirit I think I'm making progress. All glory and thanks to a loving and merciful God.

Praise the Lord! One of Satan's most deadly tactics is to try and make the Gospel and our daily walk with Jesus seem complicated.

Revelation 3:20
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

 

[persistent]

Praise the Lord! One of Satan's most deadly tactics is to try and make the Gospel and our daily walk with Jesus seem complicated.

Revelation 3:20
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

I think opening the door means read the bible. I've heard said the bible is a good place to hide your money, nobody ever looks there.

 

[persistent]

brother consider that the old covenant is t yours but the new is so what I mean is this

“And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭23:9‬ ‭

no Christian has an earthly father they are born into the Heavenly Father.

having no parents present leaves scars in our hearts , leaves trust issues towards parental figures ect

the gospel is for the healing of those types of things how good of news is it that though our earthly parents may anndon us or abuse us or forsake us and let us down in many many ways


How good is the news tbat your true father has always been there with open arms ? That though earthly parents heavent been blessing in many ways , the God of all creation the eternal and everlasting God the creator , is through the gospel telling you who believe “ I’m your father , I’m your “abba “ I’m your “daddy “ I choose you and I know every aspect of you your flaws and your strengths


I the unimaginably great and mighty God who speaks and nations rise and speaks again and they crumble to ash , I choose you to be my son and I will prove to you what a father is just believe “

we should definately honor our parents because it’s fitting in the lord, but also we have to understand who our family really is

“For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭3:35‬ ‭KJV‬‬

there is such healing in the message of Christ for believers if we are orphans in this lifetime is irrelevant because we’ve been born again by the Will of God into his eternal family

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
‭‭John‬ ‭1:12-13‬ ‭KJV‬‬

don’t get me wrong honoring our earthly parents is definately good and approved of God but sometimes they aren’t there to honor sometimes they are actually leading us astray , sometimes they abuse and do damage and teach things tonthier children contrary to God the father

the key for us is to let the gospel be our new life and identity it’s God choosing his children from this world you have a Father brother and many brothers and sisters in this world we want to focus on those family members and never do any harm to others or anyone else we want to also share with our earthly family the love of the father because many don’t hear about it Being in this world

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭2:15-17‬ ‭KJV‬‬


honor everyone as far as it is possible but your true eternal father above all

Thanks and the passage at Mk.3 but starting at verse 31 is the clincher. Never really caught the implications of those verses before now. I see it is also at Mt.12:46-50.

 

[Pilgrimshope]

Thanks and the passage at Mk.3 but starting at verse 31 is the clincher. Never really caught the implications of those verses before now. I see it is also at Mt.12:46-50.

yes brother once we start seeing what’s there and acknowledge it just a little bit , now you will start seeing a flood of things every time you study the gospel

sort of like Jesus is doing this for those who are accepting his words

“And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. …

Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭24:27, 45‬ ‭KJV‬‬

we don’t read the gospel one time and understand everything but as we grow in faith he is opening up our eyes and ears we can trust in him for salvstion the moment we believe but being disciples we need to continue on in his word and as we’re able to bear it he will always lead us to a little better understanding never too much at once but always a constant measure we can handle that won’t leave us complacent , nor will it overwhelm us so that we fall

even if we do fall he’s right there to lift us back up as long as we just believe and follow after him trust and love him for all he’s done and is for us

he will constantly open up our ears a little better and call us to take a few more steps with him as we do we are quickened and strengthened in the spirit and his words become part of our own faith our own convictions our own mind and heart begin to have his words written upon the walls and doorways until he’s reshaped this heart

“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭7:21-23‬ ‭KJV‬‬

through this power

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4:12-13‬ ‭KJV‬‬

the gospel is there to change what we thought into what we are created to think.

 

[Runningman]

6:04 am 144km 21.19 S 170.24 E Seems like seismic activity is higher than last 12 or so months.

I know this chat about earthquakes is somewhat off topic, but the nerd in me can’t resist. What I’ve noticed from looking at historical data on earthquakes is that they have increased in frequency and intensity over the past 100 years. At one point I created a report on this very topic.

I can’t remember where I put it. It’s probably in a random thread on this website, but I haven’t came across it again.

Of course, I’m working with limited data since earthquakes haven’t been reliably measured for very long, relatively. It’s worth considering that Jesus predicted something like this would happen.

Luke 21:10-15
10Then He told them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, along with fearful sights and great signs from heaven.
12But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. On account of My name they will deliver you to the synagogues and prisons, and they will bring you before kings and governors. 13This will be your opportunity to serve as witnesses. 14So make up your mind not to worry beforehand how to defend yourselves. 15For I will give you speech and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

 

[tourist]

Thanks for the welcome and I will attempt to contact you once my enrollment fee clears. Just posted it on 12th. I'm kind of a klutz with computer technology and me having been a tv repairman and even a RF amplifier designer and using computers when they required some understanding of machine language. So if I botch getting in touch for a while be patient or try to remind me.

I'm a bit of a computer klutz too. Glad to have you onboard with us. Welcome to CC.

 

[tourist]

This forum is a real help to me so far; joined here 9/11/22. My previous interactions with "Christian" ideologues and possibly true believers has probably been minimal. Went to Roman Catholic grammar school and performed all the ritual. Associated with the Worldwide Church of God, on and off for approximately 5 years (1971-1976). Roman Catholics had "fixed" prayers. i.e. Our Father, Hail Mary and ?. WCG mentioned praying on occasion but primary focus seemed to be that Herbert Armstrong had the answers. And if his word wasn't good enough Dr. H. Hoeh had the answer. So now within the last month or so find Timothy Keller of New York City saying the Psalms are prayers. I was congratulating myself for not praying when I came across Proverbs 28:9 "He that turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayers are abomination.". I still think it right that I didn't pray since during my life I went from being very antagonistic toward religion (God) to being an expert when associated with WCG to being antagonistic to being an unbeliever to being confused to being a searcher to being a finder, maybe, to being a questioner to being an "hopeful" but feeling stupid prayer. So now for about the last 18 or so months by praying to the Father in the name of Jesus His Beloved Son for guidance by the Holy Spirit I think I'm making progress. All glory and thanks to a loving and merciful God.

I was born and raised a Catholic but not have attended mass for many years due to perceived doctrinal conflicts with scripture. Attended weekly catechism for 9 years. Read the Plain Truth magazine from the Worldwide Church of God for a few years but put that aside as I realized it wasn't all that scriptural and found it very biased and slanted to fit their narrative. By all means keep praying and also to ask the Holy Spirit for discernment.

 

[persistent]

I know this chat about earthquakes is somewhat off topic, but the nerd in me can’t resist. What I’ve noticed from looking at historical data on earthquakes is that they have increased in frequency and intensity over the past 100 years. At one point I created a report on this very topic.

I can’t remember where I put it. It’s probably in a random thread on this website, but I haven’t came across it again.

Of course, I’m working with limited data since earthquakes haven’t been reliably measured for very long, relatively. It’s worth considering that Jesus predicted something like this would happen.

Luke 21:10-15
10Then He told them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, along with fearful sights and great signs from heaven.
12But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. On account of My name they will deliver you to the synagogues and prisons, and they will bring you before kings and governors. 13This will be your opportunity to serve as witnesses. 14So make up your mind not to worry beforehand how to defend yourselves. 15For I will give you speech and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

I think the "fascination" with earthquakes got in my head from a minister with (?Christian Science?) I think. I was attending AA meetings at the same place they had assembly and on occasion we of crossed paths and he was apparently trying to proselytize and would talk about end times saying that earthquakes being more numerous than times past were a sign of end times. I personally don't see any thing in the Bible that gives evidence that we need trouble ourselves with earthquakes and age of earth or any natural sciences and their implications as regard the crucial matters of faith. I think the name (?Christian Science?) of this ministers group speaks for itself, real appropriate? BUT; it does seem that seismic activity may follow some kind of cycle. Maybe influenced by the moon also and now also lunar wobble? Seems that activity was increased for short period recently and now is subsiding. I think there was also a recent Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) and maybe that also has some influence?

 

[persistent]

Another question I just remembered as I was praying this morning. I recently talked with my local contact in the Assemblies of God congregation and was told that praying to Father, Son and/or Holy Spirit are all acceptable. I usually address Father in the name of His Beloved Son Jesus and ask that the Holy Spirit would open my eyes to see truth, my ears to hear truth and my mind to understand truth and sometime my heart to be softened.