I have learned there are a lot of people who claim they hear from God or from the Holy Spirit who told them to do something, but often times it’s nothing more than justifying their own desire. It seems they just want to say it’s ok to do something they want to do and God’s voice becomes their “Rubber Stamp” of approval. Granted, there are people who do hear from the Lord but maybe, just maybe, there are more pretenders than practicers in the body of Christ than we realize.

When you read books about Christianity written before the 1900s, or even the early 20th century, they often used different words to described what a person coming to Christ should look like and act like. Generally, they did not use the word “SAVED” or even ”Born again” but rather they used a word like “Converted” to describe the change in a person’s life. Why is this important and and how should we look at our own salvation or the experience of others who have been “Born again?”

These days very few writers talk about the fear of the Lord because I think that they probably don’t understand the topic from God’s perspective in the scripture and because they think it is only an Old Testament concept which is outdated because Jesus came. So, is the topic useful to those who believe in Jesus or is it an outdated concept for Bible believing Christians?

We live in a time in history when we are so attached to our technology that we are losing our ability to truly care for one another in meaningful ways. Our addiction to smartphones have beguiled us into an insatiable hunger to be informed about what’s happening in the world, and people in whom we are interested, that we are unaware of how separated we have become from the people right around us.

How often does Jesus say something that you say you agree with and yet you don’t understand what he meant by what he said ? I want to say this happens more times than we want to admit, yet we gloss over our lack of comprehension. Why do you think we miss so much but don’t dig for more understanding? I hate to say it, but it’s all about how much time and effort we give to the words of God.

When we find ourselves in a struggle that seems we must have a miracle to overcome, I think we often jump to conclusions about what that miracle is meant to look like. All to often God works miracles in tandem with natural means and thus we often don’t think they are miracles at all.

The body of Christ so often seems to have the ability to take a revelation that God gives us about some important spiritual truth and turn it into some doctrine or theology instead of learning how to apply that truth. Shouldn’t we be asking the Holy Spirit to explain how that revelation should be understood and applied? After all, Jesus specifically said the Holy Spirit would be our counselor.

This is the fourth article in a series on prayer.  I am attempting to explore the vast  insights the scripture gives us if we would only open the scriptures to find them.  The topic of prayer, based on my experience, has few believers practicing because of misguided teaching in the greater body of Christ. Believers say they understand prayer and yet practice it either infrequently or poorly. The subject of prayer deserves a lot more attention. Jesus said his house was to be called a house of prayer, not of preaching or worship, even though those are important items and functions in a healthy church. Real healthy prayer is the gateway into the presence and provision of God. If you have not read the first three articles please do so now so you can see the foundation points on my understanding on the importance and practice of prayer for each believer. Look at what the disciples ask Jesus one day about prayer and how to pray according to the will of God.

In the first article under this same title I shared how prayer should be a top priority of all believers and yet I fear it is often the least practiced discipline of the Christian faith. At best it is often a desperate means of crying for help from a God we barely know.

As we approach the holiday season of Thanksgiving and Christmas, it is very easy to get caught up in the busyness that comes with this time of year. It is easy to lose focus and fail to be really thankful for all of the blessings that God has brought into our lives. Ironically, we can become ungrateful due to all the preparations and responsibilities that the holidays can bring.