Prayer and Fasting

The Path To God

Fasting And Praying

part1

Overview

God has said that we need to pray and fast to overcome many things in our lives. That it should be a part of our Christian lives, unfortunately, we as a church have fallen away from this. So God, has instructed me to help bring Praying and Fasting back into the church, so He can begin to work through us once again.

12 Specific Benefits

1. Revelation
2. Healing and wholeness
3. Righteousness
4. The presence of the shekinah glory of God
5. Answered prayers
6. Continual guidance
7. Contentment
8. Refreshing
9. Strength
10. Work that endures (like an ever-flowing spring)
11. Raising up of future generations
12. Restoration


Why Do We Fast?

(Nine Biblical Reasons)

1. We fast in obedience to God’s Word.
2. We fast to humble ourselves before God and to obtain His grace and power.
3. We fast to overcome temptations in areas that keep us from moving into God’s power.
4. We fast to be purified from sin (and to help others become purified as well).
5. We fast to become weak before God so God’s power can be strong.
6. We fast to obtain God’s support in order to accomplish His will.
7. We fast in times of crisis.
8. We fast when seeking God’s direction.
9. We fast for understanding and divine revelation.



The Principal Key of Fasting

This is the main reason we must fast and pray, it’s to cleanse ourselves to allow God’s Holy Spirit to work through us, so we can

Go beyond the in-filling of the Spirit to tap into the power of the Spirit.

(Note: I suggest while studying this you also learn as much as you can about having faith, building on it, and learning to act on it. For there is nothing that can steal away God’s power as UNBELIEF can. He could do nothing in his hometown because of unbelief. I find it hard to teach on pray and fasting without adding faith.)

Jesus Our Model

God sent Jesus to save us but He also sent him as a role model so we would know what is expected of us. Through Christ’s life we could learn the ways of God and His Kingdom.

God Sent Him and in return Christ sends you but not alone. He gave you his Holy Spirit to accompany you along the way.

Joh 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
Joh 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:


To give you POWER over all things:

Luk 10:17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.

Luk 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

Luk 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Luk 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

Now that you know this, you say: “Why can’t I do the things Jesus did?” God has rules, unless you obey them he will not let you use the power, like you think you should because when you do have and use his power, people are going to be watching you and your life and you are His ambassador.

Act 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.


People think repenting and being baptized and receiving the Holy Spirit should give them full rights to the Holy Spirit. Jesus, after He received the Holy Spirit was driven by the Holy Spirit to go fast in the wilderness for forty days and was tempted by Satan himself before He was given the power of the Holy Spirit.

Luk 3:22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

Luk 4:1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

Luk 4:2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

Luk 4:14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.

As you see, even Jesus had what I call an incubation time with God before he was released to do His work. A time where God helps you grow in the Spirit, cleans the muck out of your life and let’s you be tested.

Praying and Fasting is how you go through this incubation time. This is where He puts conviction on your heart to clean out the things that are still hanging in your life that need to be removed. A time when he makes you take a deeper look at yourself and the things that are hidden in your heart that you kept covered so that no one will know. It’s the time He uses the Holy Spirit to come clean house and boy can He clean!

He uses this time to give you direction, guidance and correction to give you revelations of things to come and to allow the Holy Spirit to heal you spiritually and physically.

This is where He shows and gives His love of mankind to you and touches your heart.

He purifies your heart, soul and body during fasting and praying. This is where he begins to let the Holy Spirit work through you.

God will not work where evil resides, that is why we need to pray and ask for the renewing of our mind and the quickening of our souls. The cleaner we are on the inside, the more likely He is going to work through you.

If you are reading this, I believe you want to see God’s face. This is one step in getting there. God wants you to join his army and give you the tools to do battle with, think of fasting as boot camp with God. This is where He hands you the sword, the armor and the breastplate, it is your graduation present. Just like in our world, we don’t want to go to boot camp because it is a lot of hard work. It’s much harder when the drill sergeant is the Holy Ghost. He opens doors you never new existed.

The reason why I chose this book

Mr. Mahesh Chavda has spent his life praying and fasting; God has revealed many things to him about this. I felt, along with the Bible, his book would help to bring us to a better understanding of what God wants us to do and how to do it with fewer mistakes and saving time on the learning curve.

We have already gotten into part of the second chapter, Jesus Is Our Ultimate Model.

Here, he talks about the disciples and that they probably would not have wanted to believe Jesus if he told them they where going to change the world. He talks about how disciples hid in the upper room, frightened because their master was killed on the cross. Then Jesus came to them to prove he was alive and to bring the anointing of the Holy Spirit to them. After that, He sent them into the world to proclaim the gospel. Just as He sent them, He also sends us, to do the same. He sent us with the same authority, vision and responsibility. Notice, I said same authority, this is what Jesus told them and tells us through His Word.

Joh 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

Joh 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Joh 14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

Sorry, I have to stop here and move to faith for a minute.
Why do we have to have God prove everything to us, when He has already told us He is the Truth, the Light and the Way but we still don’t believe him, we want him to prove everything to us. Now, we will go to work for a man believing he will put money in the bank for us, which we cannot see and in good faith we write checks on it and give it to someone else. This is all done and we never see anything but we know it has happened. When are we going to write the checks on what God gave us and know that they will happen? We have more trust in man than in God.

Now back to the book, Mahesh said we shouldn’t judge the disciples too harshly because the Modern Church today for the most part has hidden itself away. He believes we only have enough of God in us to survive in today’s world. So, how could we boldly go out into the world and minister to the hurting (like Jesus)? I’m sorry but I am inclined to believe the same.

Let’s learn the Secret to the Power Jesus has

We saw that Jesus was filled with the Holy spirit, he fasted for 40 days, was tempted by Satan and totally defeated him and came out of that experience in the Power of the Holy Spirit. We need to make the secret of his Power our Power. He is after all, our role model, right! Mahesh said, this was the same secret he discovered when working with Stevie. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is great but it is only the first stage of progress beyond salvation. We need to go on.

Move beyond the infilling into the Power of the Holy Spirit

Being filled with the Holy Spirit does not mean that you are ready for your calling.
We must first learn to submit to the discipline of the Holy Spirit. This is the time God disciples us in the crucial works of prayer, fasting and the skillful use of His Word as a weapon. Then we can go and do God’s work in the Power of the Holy Spirit. We have just touched on the obedience regarding prayer today but fasting is rarely practiced in the modern Church today.

You are going to find that the fasting part is just as important as the praying. This appears to be the principle key to going beyond the infilling of the spirit and to tap into the Power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus was able to do this in 40 days but it will probably take us longer. The most important part is to begin the process. Please understand, I am not saying go out and fast 40 days, unless God has put it into your heart and you know what you are doing. Without the proper training and God’s intervention you can cause yourself physical injury. This we will cover later as we study about fasting and praying.

For one to receive the power of the spirit, one must be ready to commit his or her life to Christ and make prayer and fasting a way of your Christian life. This will allow His anointing to begin to work through you with greater and greater power.

Please don’t think you need to measure up to the accomplished leaders and ministers. God only wants you to measure up to the plan He has for you. These leaders and ministers should be looked upon for encouragement to push closer to God.
There is a dramatic difference between being anointed of the Spirit and the power of the Spirit. In the follow verses you will begin to see the difference and how praying and fasting plays a big part.

Mat 17:14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,

Mat 17:15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick (This is what we might call an epileptic in today’s terms), and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.

Mat 17:16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
Mat 17:17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

Mat 17:18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

Mat 17:19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?

Mat 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Mat 17:21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

I have Highlighted a few things here: again, this has to do with faith because your long days of fasting and praying can all be destroyed by a moments doubt. You must keep your eyes, heart and mind on God and do not allow doubt to enter in. The faith of a muster seed is all you need!

Second: You can see that Prayer by itself sometimes is not enough to win the battle. We need the infilling of the power and then we can overcome all things.

If we are to be victorious, we must fight our battles in the Spirit realm, here’s what Paul had to say about it.

2Co 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:

2Co 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Co 10:6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

Now beware, even though our fight is in the spiritual realm doesn’t mean that Satan will not try to pull you into the physical realm. He knows he has a better chance of overcoming you if he can get you into the physical realm. He would rather battle you in the flesh because that’s where he works best.

That is part of the reason why we fast and pray to keep control over our flesh. To keep our mind, body and soul in tune and aligned with God’s spirit world through the Holy Spirit.

Remember, Jesus prayed and fasted for power in his ministry, why shouldn’t you? As a matter of fact, Jesus wants us to:

Mat 6:5 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.

Mat 6:6 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.

Mat 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

And

Mat 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

Mat 6:17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
Mat 6:18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

So, if you are a Christian, you pray and fast.
We are in the last days and Christ said that He would pour out his Spirit.
If you want to receive it, you will have to pay the price.

Joe 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

Joe 2:29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

Are You Willing To Pay The Price?

Author,
Donald Minor

P.S If you would like a copy of Mahesh Chavda's Book "The Hidden Power of Prayer and Fasting" follow the link below.

I Personally recommend this book in understanding fasting.

The Path to God Study Group

How to study the bible

Studying for yourself

This is an outline in understanding how to get the most out of God’s Word. First, you must confirm, “Does God Exist” in your heart and mind. This is a must before you start studying the bible. (If this is something you are not totally convinced of, please see one of the teachers in the class or talk with your pastor. We will find the materials you need to read and talk with you about it.) In studying the Bible there is a right way and a wrong way of going about it. We are about to show you a few ground rules to keep you on track and in helping you understand God’s word. There is not necessarily and order but you should use this as a guide.

Praying for guidance

First, you need to ask God to open your mind to His word. Dave was a man after God’s heart, he asked God many times for guidance, to open his mind and to reveal his truth to him.

Psa 119:33 HE. Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.
Psa 119:34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
Psa 119:35 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.
Psa 119:36 Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.
Psa 119:37 Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.
Psa 119:38 Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear.
Psa 119:39 Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good.
Psa 119:40 Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness.

Without God’s help you cannot truly understand God’s Word. Many intelligent men have tried and fall short of the true message God has. You need to be sincere and believe for God’s direction in your studies when asking for His help. Otherwise you are just wasting your time, without His help you will never understand the full truth that God has for you in His Word. Don’t get me wrong, some of the studies done by these men can be helpful but be careful. Put it to the test before you write it in your heart make sure what you have read aligns itself with God’s Word.

Formal education not necessary

Don’t ever think you are not smart enough to study God’s Word. God tells us his Word is not necessarily meant for the wise, mighty and noble to understand.

1Co 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
1Co 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

God knows, you don’t know his plan and that’s why you must ask Him to show you and to reveal his truth to you. If all it took were brains to understand God’s word there would be a whole lot more people with this understanding. Keep in mind it’s not how smart you are, it’s where your heart is when you ask God. God said,

Jer 4:22 For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

There for prayer is your contact with God and the most important step in understand and studying His Word, without it you many spend many profitless hours of studying.

Attitude must be for self-correction

Before you rise from your knees in prayer recognize the reason that you are studying His Word; know it is not just to gain knowledge or to prove or disapprove certain doctrine or facts but to get closer to the stature of the fullness of the very character of Jesus Christ. The only way that you can do this is for you to be corrected.

Special note: God’s Word is written directly to each of us as an individual- it is personal, direct – and as far as our salvation is concerned it has nothing to do with anyone else.
(Another reason to ask for your understanding of his word)

Your attitude should be as Jeremiah’s in:

Jer 10:23 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
Jer 10:24 O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.

Do this because you want and know you need correction if you wish to see God’s face. Remember:

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Keep in mind that the Bible contains the thoughts of your creator, it is the way he has set things to be. It is not to be argued about, it is not meant to be a club to chastise other people with. In other words you don’t use Ephesians 5:22 as a weapon against your wife or if you are a wife you don’t use Ephesians 5:25 against your husband. But each of you should apply scripture to yourself. The Bible says you should study:

2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Prove all things

Third rule which is an extension of the proper attitude of self-correction. You should always have a positive approach to God’s Word. Here is an example:

Act 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

The Bereans were not negative, angry or bitter nor were they trying to prove Paul wrong. If you hear or find something you don’t understand or you are not sure of, you need to prove it so with the Word. Always keep the word proving positive. The word prove means “put it to the test”. Here is somewhat an example of put it to the test:

Luk 14:19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.

This man wants to make sure the oxen could do what they were supposed to do.
What other oxens did, if what they said about them were true.

God wants you to test it to see if it holds true to His Word and Nature. Here is another example God wants us to prove Him in tithing:

Mal 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

This is not a search for errors or disproof, this is finding out what God does say in a positive way.
To prove God’s Word does not mean that you always have to go searching through a lexicon to find out Greek and Hebrew derivation. Using the Holy Spirit along with the good sense God gave you, most of the time you will know if it lines up with God’s Character.

The Bible never contradicts itself

The Bible is inspired by God there are no errors in it.

Joh 10:35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;

(Note: because there are no errors let’s look at the verse before this.)

Joh 10:34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

(This statement was taken out of the Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary)

Ye are gods — being the official representatives and commissioned agents of God.

I suggest you keep this in mind as you study, you have a very big responsibility in knowing God’s Word, His mind, His Holy Spirit and His Character. You represent Him at all times. You are His Light unto the World.

If by chance you have scriptures that seem to say something different from another scripture and you don’t understand, you may need to study further. Always remember rule four: God NEVER contradicts Himself! Therefore, either your understanding of the particular scripture or the translation that you are reading is incorrect or misunderstood.
Example:
Pro 26:4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.
Pro 26:5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.

These two verses are not contradictory but are complementary of each other. It depends on the circumstances in which you use each verse. Each verse has it own particular use and wisdom. It’s the last part of each verse that unlocks the use and wisdom.

Verse four reads; don’t degrade yourself by getting into an argument! Don’t harangue, bite back or argue back with someone trying to stir contention. You will find Jesus setting the example in the following verses Luke 20:1-8 He avoided the argument by giving them a question they did not want to answer, so He didn’t answer theirs.
In verse five, again the key is at the end of the verse. You don’t answer the question if you don’t accept the challenge; they are going to think of themselves wise. Paul had this problem with false apostles, he needed to smash the contentions and answer these false apostles. He answered them starting in II Corinthians 11:23, He showed he was the true minister. He answered and debunked the claims of these other men.

Now you have some wisdom that you can apply to your daily life!

What does the Bible say

Many times our misunderstanding comes form this world, from misinterpretation or a direct twisting of the scriptures.

Isa 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Isa 5:21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

Many who claim to be representatives or interpreters of His Word twist and wrest the Word to their own destruction and to their listeners destruction.

So, always ask yourself this question and answer it ” what does the Bible say?” use this scripture to go by:

Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Is it what the Bible says or is it what people want it to says or what they want you to believe it says?

At times you may need to use other aids, sometimes the true meaning may be hiding or not translated quite right in a way that is easy to understand. Like the following verse:


Luk 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

The King James translation is the only translation that says this “The kingdom of God is within you.” Not necessarily God’s exact words, so other aids are needed to truly understand the meaning.

Warning: Be sure of the resources that they are trusted and had been well established in the Christian church. See your pastor if you are not sure of the resource materials you are using. He should be able to offer you help in this area.

Which Bible do we recommend?

Again check with your pastor but most likely they are going to suggest the King James (KJV) or the New King James Versions (NKJV).

Why, because they are considered to be the most accurate and taken from the Greek Manuscripts. These scriptures have been carefully preserved over the generations. (Note: there are some corrupt texts out there that have been rejected by the Greeks long ago.)

Of course, other Bible translations can be helpful sometimes in understanding the Word of God. Here are a few you may wish to consider using:

The Revised Standard Version (RSV)
The New English Bible (NEB)
Moffatt translation

If you do not wish to purchase each Bible you can go online to: http://www.biblegateway.com/ They have 20 different versions of the Bible there but ask your Pastor which ones may not be for you. Some are written for different denominations. You can also find the Bible written in different languages, if you should need them for people that don’t speak or read English very well.

I also have a list of Bible translations with the dates they where written if this interests you.

Check the context

Read the verses before and after the verse you are reading is one of the best ways to check context but sometimes you may have to read a couple of chapters to find the meaning of a verse. Here’s a small example:

Luke 17:21 you need to ask yourself a few questions here regarding the context the text that is with (con) Luke 17:21 is Luke17:20 this verse just before answers the question regarding verse 21, but in order to answer that question you must ask yourself the question, “Who?”

In other words, you must ask yourself: If “the Kingdom of God is within you”- who is the “you” that the Bible is referring to? In this case verse 20 explains that it is the Pharisees! Certainly you know Jesus Christ wasn’t saying that the kingdom of God is inside the Pharisees! Therefore the con (with) (a help in your Bible sometimes)Text helps you see that there must be a mistranslation in this particular verse.

And sure enough when you check the margin of your bible, you find that the word “Within” should be better translated “among”- Referring to Jesus Himself as a representative of God’s Kingdom who was at that time “among” the Pharisees.

Some of the more modern Bibles make this easier because they have done it for you with translation notes and cross-references built in. Some even have commentaries built in also.

Get all the scripture

No one scripture can of itself, taken out of context, be used to establish the truth.

(2Pe 1:20) Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

To understand the Word of God, first you will need the Holy Spirit as your guide. Then you will need to gather all the scriptures on the matter and read them and ask for God’s understanding and guidance to open the meaning to you.

Keep in mind that when two or more writers have written on the same subject you need to read all the verses to get the proper understanding. The writers are looking at it from different viewpoints. You will have to put them altogether and use the Holy Spirit to understand God’s viewpoint.

Taken For the Ambassador College Publication, How to Study the Bible.

Let the Bible Interpret the Bible

You will hear how so many people will comment on how so and so interprets the Bible on their television shows and that they say it is the plain biblical truth.

(Rom 3:4) God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

Rom 3:4 God forbid, yea, let God be true, but every man a liar,.... Let no such thing ever enter into the minds of any, that the truth of God can be, or will be made of none effect by the want of faith in man; let it be always asserted and abode by; that God is true, faithful to his word, constant in his promises, and will always fulfil his purposes; though "every man is a liar", vain, fallacious, and inconstant: referring to Psa_116:11;
(Taken From the John Gill Exposition)

Lets look at the book of Revelation in the King James Version you can see man has named it “The Revelation Of St. John the Divine” but right in the first verse you find that it’s not so. The Bible says this is “The Revelation Of Jesus Christ.” The picture man tried to set was not the truth. The New King James does not read this way; it says “The Revelation Of Jesus Christ.” This is another good reason to use different sources; it makes these errors stand out.

Don’t put vague scripture first

Never establish a doctrine by a vague or difficult-to–be understood scripture. Like this verse when God was talking to Peter, most people will think that God cleansed the meat from reading this verses but lets read on.

Act 10:11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:
Act 10:12 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
Act 10:13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.
Act 10:14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.
Act 10:15 And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.

Peter doubted what he had seen and even says so here

Act 10:17 Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate,

When he met with Cornelius he knew the true meaning of what God’s was trying to tell him.

Act 10:28 And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean

When studying, begin with the plainer scriptures first. Reserve more obscure ones for when you have more knowledge. Scriptures take out of contexts can be made to say more than one thing. It is important that you follow this rule, study all the scriptures on any subject to get the truth. Always beginning with the plain and clear scriptures first.

Use several translations

We have two options we can learn to read Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic or use different translations to help clear up things we don’t understand. The reason we need to do this is because the English Language has undergone a lot of changes in 360 years. Some words don’t carry the same meaning as they use too. Yes there are more modern translations, but use caution some of these versions have been rendered from faulty original text. Beware if they start to wander off to far from the King James Version because they are probably errors. The King James Version is still by far the most accurate and is used to judge the other versions.

Note to remember: when reading the King James Version, words that are in italics are supplied by the translator and are not always correct. They were added to help you understand better. In some cases they may hinder your understanding. However, the verse I John 5:7 in italics only appears in the New King James Version, it was inserted by the monk-copyist in the middle ages.

If you find words you don’t understand, look them up in the dictionary like Webster’s, if possible use a Bible dictionary or an Concordance which may help you find the Bibles meaning of the word.

Don’t establish doctrine with bible helps

These helps can lead you astray, be careful using them; Use them to establish historical or grammatical facts related to the Bible. Do not use the to establish doctrine or interpret meanings in the Bible. They can be useful in finding other scriptures in the Bible on the same subject. Use Bible helps for technical facts, not interpretative facts.

Bible study aids

Here are a few suggested Bible study aids:

Other Bible translations:

Revised Standard Version
New English Bible
New American Bible
Moffatt Translation
The Amplified Bible
The Goodspeed Translation
The Holy Scriptures Translation by the Jewish Publication Society (Old Testament only)

There are a great many translations of the New Testament. Some of them are known by names of the translator such as Williams or Phillips. While these often add clarity where they are right, they also tend to introduce denominational doctrinal bias depending on the author’s preconceptions. One volume, 26 translations, includes extracts from 26 different versions for each New Testament passage.

Concordances:

Cruden’s Complete Concordance
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible
English’s Greek Concordance of the New Testament and the Englishman’s Hebrew and chaldee Concordance of the Old Testament (You don’t need to know Greek or Hebrew to use these.)

Commentaries

The international Critical Commentary
The Jerome Bible Commentary
Clark’s Commentary
Jamieson- Faustett-Brown Commentary
Matthew Henry Commentary
Matthew Henry Concise Commentary

Dictionaries and Handbook

( Please Note Some Of these books are old and hard to find)

The New Bible Dictionary
The Interpreter’s Bible Dictionary
Peake’s Bible Dictionary
Hasting”s Dictionary of the Bible
Halley’s Bible Handbook
Unger’s Bible Handbook
Oxford’s Bibles Atlas
Rand McNally Bible Atlas
Robertson Harmony of the Gospels (PDF) (Can be found here (http://www.archive.org/index.php and many others. )
Introduction to the Old Testament by R. K. Harrison
Introduction to the New Testament by Donald Guthrie

This is a book archive where you can find a lot of study helps books like Bible dictionaries, handbook and more. They can be down loaded in a PDF format. I found 53 books on prayer and fasting here.
http://www.archive.org/index.php

If you find (PDF) behind books it can be found on line in that format and download for FREE

Materials used to find this information was taken from:
The King James Bible
How to study the Bible by Ambassador College Publications
My own personal study habits, Donald Minor

Author

Donald Minor

Please note: there is a PDF file format at my other website for free, if you wish to send it to friend or print it.

http://www.shouldibuyit.com/free_bible_lesson_downloads/

God knew What He Was Doing

We go through life looking for all kinds of things that will bring happiness into our lives. We buy big houses, nice cars, rings and things, trying to build memories and things to hold onto, things we think mean so much. It’s sad to say, that many times it’s late in life that we learn the things that are most important to us, are the simplest things in life and in the end hold more meaning than anything we could ever buy or possess. It’s the simple things God gave us from the very beginning of time, like a smell that you remember that brings the memories of happy times, with loved ones long past or an action that someone does, that brings our childhood memories back to mind of good times past. This building of memories that God gave us is kind of a self-check system; He knew we would rather have more happy memories than bad. He also gave memories as an encouragement to do good things not bad. He gave us an inter feeling to go along with these memories to encourage us even more, to do good things for one another. Sometimes just the simple act of helping someone can bring more satisfaction than all the money in the world. Just to see the smile on another persons face and to know that you just made that person’s day or life in some cases. To feel that warm feeling inside and to know you’ve done well. Again, some of us don’t learn these things till late in life. Sometimes it’s not until we are laying on our deathbed, that we realize that we wasted a lot of time doing things and making big deals out of things, which in the end, really don’t matter. Why do you think He said, love your neighbor, doing nice things bring back good memories, things you will enjoy looking back on. He knew that there would come a time that we would want to enjoy looking back on our lives and see good things not bad. Doing good thing please God too! He knew that being greedy, deceitful and hateful to others and trying to get everything you can from someone was not the way to go. This would not be something that would build memories that you would want to keep in mind. They most likely would be accompanied by memories of pain, worrying and suffering. Things you probably would not want to remember at all. I think for this reason, God gave us memories, so as we aged and looked back on our lives, we would see some of what God would see and if you can’t see the good that’s been happening in our lives, what do you think God is going to see. Have you stopped to add up the score on your life lately? Maybe it’s time to be good to your neighbors, friends and family? Author Donald Minor

God Drove This Verses Home

I just want to share this with people in hopes that they would apply it to their life too. The verse that follows has real meaning in it for me now more so than it ever did.

Colossians 3:23 (King James Version)

23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

Let me explain, I work for a large company that delivers food to restaurants in the United States, places like Wendy’s and Donatoes. We are going though laid offs, just like other companies. At this company, I do a fairly meaningless job I fuel trucks. About 4 months ago they laid me off trying to cut cost. The call me back on Dec. 2, I am one of the first to be called back, as far as I know there has only been one other call back and he was in management. From what I have gather form the other employee’s, they were all complaining because my job was not getting done right by others that had taken over my position. I have always done the job to the best of my abilities even though the job was not important to most people. I fuel the truck, washed the windows, check the oil and coolant levels. Looked over the trucks for broken parts and safety problems, and sometimes did repairs on the spot to get drivers down the road. I did this to about 40 to 50 trucks a day. While still trying to have a good time with every one I worked with. No one new why I toke my job so seriously, they though I was stupid for doing this. But I have always been someone that thought, if I was going to do something I was going to do the best that I could do or I just was not going to do it at all. No the job doesn’t seem that important unless you happen to be that one taking the trucks out. You see it was about God, the drivers, and Me. God said Always to my best as if I was doing it for him. Beside after a while I starting liking and caring about the drivers, I got to know them and I would feel real bad if something happen to one of them because I was lazy or just did think my job mattered enough to do my best. I believe, because I did my best to do my job even though it wasn’t or didn’t seem that important, it made a difference in the over all company performance and people lives. That’s why I was call back when they are still cutting jobs and routes. My follow employee’s wanted me back and they were complaining so much about how bad things where getting, that they decided to call me back even though they were still laying off people and doing cut backs.

God drove it home for me. I have learned my lesion well and found again that following God ways does have its rewards even here sometimes and in more ways than one! I believe if we all would learn this lesion this world would be a much better place for all of us. So do your best even it don’t seem to mean much to you because it probable does to someone somewhere!

Don Minor

Service, Friday, Healing, In Columbus, Ohio

You Are Invited To Come!

This will Be at:

Kingdom Life Christian Center

220 Main Street Groveport, Ohio 43125

Time: Friday, Nov. 21, at 7:00 pm

If you would need directions call 614-348-8850

"Come Let God Fill your needs!"

Message From the pastor

Good Afternoon To All Of You:

We pray that you are experiencing God’s “kingdom life” on earth TODAY while joining the apostle Paul in praying the following for you:

“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

You are invited to experience total freedom this Friday evening . . . freedom from chronic sickness and disease, freedom from fears and phobias, freedom from addictions and habits . . . you are invited to a night of victory and healing!!

On Friday, November 21st, we will join forces with people from various churches and ministries to pray and believe with you that God is going to set you free from things that have been perhaps plaguing you for weeks, months or even years.

The Bible says that “God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power and He went about doing good and healing those who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” Jesus exemplified the very nature of God while He was on the earth. It is God’s desire that mankind be whole and healthy, otherwise Jesus was disobedient to His Father’s will each time He would heal someone.

Now, God’s desires are carried out through His church. And we are believing for great miracles of God this Friday night. We will begin at 7:00 PM and stay until the last person is set free!! Kingdom Life is located at 220 Main Street in Groveport, OH. Main Street in Groveport is actually Groveport Road. We are next to the Dairy Queen and across from the Groveport Post Office.

We look forward to seeing you on Friday and we join with you in believing that God is going to set you free, free in your body soul and spirit . . . FOREVER!

We love you –

Pastor Steve and Traci

http://www.kingdomlifechristiancenter.org/

Mediums should we listen or should they listen?

I have heard so much about people talking to mediums, going to them for guidance and it really brothers me. I have to stop and think, these people are looking for hope in something, to fill their lives that vacant part that missing and they don’t know where to look for it. So they turn to these mediums for their answers in life but whom are they really talking to, do the mediums they really know? Do the people that going to them know? There is one all knowing power that’s God. He can do all things, so why do we turn our backs on him and go to medium and talking to spirits, that we are not sure who they are? God said he (devil) is the great deceiver, the most beautiful Archangel that was in heaven; he was prefect in his ways until iniquity found him. We read of this in

Ezekiel 28:12-19.
12 “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “ You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes, Was prepared for you on the day you were created. 14 “ You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you. 16 “ By the abundance of your trading. You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones. 17 “ Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you. 18 “ You defiled your sanctuaries By the multitude of your iniquities, By the iniquity of your trading; Therefore I brought fire from your midst; It devoured you, And I turned you to ashes upon the earth In the sight of all who saw you. 19 All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; You have become a horror, And shall be no more forever.”

Here we see the angels that where cast out with him in

Revelation 12:9
9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

You think he can’t fool you, he toke a third the angels out of heaven and they new god, what about you! You are easy prey for him especially if you never read or heard about God. Yes he can lead you down roads that seem good and tell you things that will come to past, for he knows what is going to happen when he leads you there. God’s done told him what’s going to happen to him in the end and the ones that were cast out with him. They want so every much to take you away form God’s because of this. They have lost their place with God but you still have a chance and they are jealousy of you! I hope by now your getting the idea. That he can lead you about anywhere he wants to, if you don’t know God. These spirits that the mediums say they speak with and talk to I would say are Satins Angels that where cast out with him and my even be Satin himself. Think people a third the angels with him they belong to him and work for him. Even they are afraid of him. Even the archangel Michael didn’t want to stand up to him, instead he let him know that it was the lord that he would have to deal with in

Jude 1:9
9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

These spirits have powers just as the ones in heaven do except they use the to deceive, kill and destroy. Why wouldn’t they want to guide you down the wrong road following them and not following God? Sure they will talk to you be nice, as long as you follow them that’s what they want. Next time you talk with one start asking about God read some of the bible and ask them question but watch the will use only parts of it, twisting it to use it to fit there needs and to sway you! Test them find out who you are talking to for sure don’t take their word for it, test them. But listen closely for they know the Word of God better than we do and they know how to pick and chose the part they want to try and use against you. Find what they say in the bible and compare it see if they told you the whole verse or just parts.

Now, you heard my viewpoint lets see what God says about talking with spirits. Lets take look at

Leviticus 20:6-9
6 ‘And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people. 7 Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God. 8 And you shall keep My statutes, and perform them: I am the LORD who sanctifies you.

We see that that God is not real happy with this, I fact he not even going to look your way if you are involved in this thing. You have chosen to follow another god, spirit or thing as you God, He a jealousy God and he makes that perfectly clear in

Exodus 20:4-6
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Here’s what else the Word of God has to say again in

Leviticus 20:26-27
26 And you shall be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine. 27 ‘A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them.’”

Again, it doesn’t seem He's too happy with us doing this!

In short this doesn’t seem to be the thing to do. Could I make a suggestion pick up a good book, it’s called The Bible I prefer the King James Versions myself or the New King James Versions. Read it, it’s not going to hurt. You toke the time to study these other things why not take a look at it. It’s the real thing a lot better than 7up. If you need to talk to some thing spiritual try the open line of prayer Gods has an open line just for you, He’s waiting for you to pick it up. When you read the word of God ask him to open you heart and mind to it, because with out his help you will not understand a lot of it. You can read this book form cover to cover, over and over again and find new things each time you do!

Please be aware that if you are a medium and try to do this, he (Satin) may come at you hard. Find a good Minster of God someone strong in the faith because I believe you will need him. He will help you understand the Word of God and what you are up against!

There is someone this is meant for because I have had a hard pressed time trying to write this, he has already begun the fight! So, hold tight to Christ.

Friend and brother in Christ,
Donald Minor

Power Of The Spoken Word

I have been trying to become a successful Internet Marketer online and in doing this, one of the places that I have been learning from suggests certain books to read. One of the books, "Think And Grow Rich," tells a lot of different things that very successful men have learned that made them successful in this world. Men, such as Henry Ford and Thomas Edison and many more have used these things. It keys on the same concepts they found that they all had in common with each other. So I approached this book with an open mind, keeping in mind that God said to look at things, keep what is good and do away with the bad so with this in mind I read on.
While in my reading, God spoke to me and said; these men have learned how to control the things that you cannot see. I have tried to show you this but you have not listened to me. Through this book you will learn part of the secret of being one with Me and finding favor with Me. If you look at it from a Godly point of view and compare it to what I have been trying to teach you. You said you wanted to know about faith and how to build your faith. Well, read on and compare what is in this book to what is in my word and you may begin to see things a little clearer.
In the book, it talks about why people are poor and how they become rich beyond their wildest dreams. It talks about what you let enter into your mind and what you surround yourself with and the people that you associate with. How they can influence your thoughts and mind, pull you down with them, if you let them. Now, let's compare Gods words to this, He says read His word everyday, dwell on the Lord and to separate from those not of God for if you don't and your not careful they may pull you away from God because of the influence they may gain over you and you many not even know that they have. The book (Think And Grow Rich) talks about these negative things that enter into your subconscious mind. The things that you are feeding into your subconscious mind can keep you in poverty all your life if you never control what's entering into your mind. God said pretty much the same thing, that if you let things of this world enter into your mind they will begin to have control over you, especially if you take in more of the worlds junk and none of Gods word. That's partly why the world's standards have changed, Man listens to man not God. You could say that man is putting himself into the poor house.
Now reading on, you discover that what you say aloud has a very powerful influence over your subconscious mind. If you say negative things aloud your mind will begin to believe what you are saying. It will believe it is true after a period of time. So there is power in your words and thoughts when you say them aloud you start to make them into reality from that point on. So, the more you say that you're not going to be able to make enough money to pay the bills or I will never be successful at this, you have already put that in motion. For it all starts in the supernatural or spirit world with the thought and the spoken word, that's what begins to shape it. This is how we have control over the spirit world. Our thoughts and spoken words starts the process and all we have to do is have faith and believe then we can bring it into reality. Now, if you are a Godly person, you should know this but we just don't think of it in the right way. God has set the example for us from the very beginning. Let's see how God does it in the book of Genesis, 1st Chapter. It seems to me that He fully believes this to be true for He created the whole world by His spoken word.
Matthew 12:37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." Matthew 8:7-9 7 And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." 8 The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." And what was his replyMatthew 8:13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And his servant was healed that same hour. Just because the centurion spoke it and believed it, Jesus said it was done and so it was.The book goes on to say by speaking it aloud you begin to put the thought or idea into you subconscious mind and by repeating it over and over you will begin to believe it. Creating faith for that which you desire and with that burning desire and faith you can achieve what you have conceived in your own mind!Maybe that's why God's word has such a profound effect when you read it aloud. In that way, it enters into your subconscious mind that helps you to build the faith that you need to gain control over the spirit world. The spirit world, which is the real world has control over this world. For this world was spoken into existence from the spirit world.The men of "Think And Grow Rich" had these things in common.They all had a dream.They repeated it and worked on it daily.They where driven by a deep desire.They would not let defeat enter into their minds. They had faith that it would happen.They believed until they seen it in reality. I believe then, I would be safe in saying that God works in much the same way. Your hopes and dreams align with Gods.You read and dwell on God and His word daily.Hearing the word of God read out loud which builds your faith.By speaking it and confessing aloud you will start to bring it to reality.Believing God has already given it to you.Will bring it to reality, in this world.Hebrews 11:1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
I think God has set a fine example for us to follow through Himself, Christ Jesus, and the Apostles. They believed, they spoke it and it was so. By Don Minor

How Great and Mercifully

Romans 5:17
For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)

I was reading this out of my daily devotional, and had to stop and think about what it truly states here, that even after Adam and eve mess up and cause us all to be condemned with death, pain and all other things that God cruse him and his decedents with. God in return for accept Jesus as the risen savor and turning your back on all things that are evil and sinful. He rewards us with abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness, which we receive in full when we accept him as our savor And we receive the benefits starting in this life and carries on for ever and ever. "How great He is and mercifully".
Amen

I was asked what I thought mess up this nation

I spend some time on Jason’s Network here lately and he sent us a question for a contest he is having. So I could not help but reply! Here was the question.

"How did we did (get)(Forgive him for his error.) into this financial mess and more importantly, what are some spiritually-based solutions that might help to get us out?"

Jason,

Our country is unfortunately trying to remove God from it. If you haven’t noticed, the more we take God out of our country the worse it gets. We are trying to change His law to fit our wants. We are choosing a leader, which is not the president and pushing out the one who loves us and has for 200 years now. If the people of the United States would put God back into their hearts and country things would change and if you don’t agree read this and get the movie: http://disciplethenations.org/index89.html

I suggest that every Christian living in the United States should start praying for God to be put back into our country and the hearts of our people. In doing so, he would start to bless us once again! You will find in the movie and at the website the communities that put God back into their hearts became prosperous, crime rates went down, one town even closed it’s jails, it had three and they were going to build another before God came to town. Think back 25 years ago, when God was still a part of this country. There was good food, schools, farmers had good crops and the land was plentiful.

Donaldwealthormoney

P.S. This Site has some good stuff that is happening around the world when god comes to town!
http://disciplethenations.org/index89.html

Faith, What is it?

What is faith? It is the power God gives you over all things. If you hope for it, then you speak it. You start to bring it into this world when you say it enough that you really believe and the things you hope for will come to you. There is power in your words. Christ was trying to teach us this but how poorly we listen. There are some of us who have learned that we are in control of this world and have learned how to control the power of faith God has given us. There are men who use their faith in God and using His good grace to heal physical ailments and have even controlled the weather and this is only becuase of his faith in God to do it. There are some that through the years have learned that if they set their sites on something that by repeating it over and over through the power of suggestion on a daily basis and implanting the thoughts of the hopes and dreams they have set their hearts on, they can achieve it and bring it to reality. Such are the cases you can read about in books like "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill, these men learned to use this precious gift of faith so they could achieve great things because without faith you have nothing. No hope, no dreams, no life,and no God. These men learned this and achieved great things. You would think with as many of us that say we know Christ and believe in him, we would see greater things coming out of the church. I have to lower my head in shame that men of the world can show more faith than those who follow Christ. Shame! Shame!

Sometimes you're not sure if you want the answer

I was praying to God for an answer on whether to stay at my job as a mechanic / fuel or if I should move on. Well, he gave me my answer on Aug. 20, 2008. I ask if I should move on and trust in him so I would be able to make enough to do his work. So I walk with faith that go will show me the way as I venture in to the world of Internet Marketing. Please pray that I hear him correctly.

Should You Celebrate Christmas

I know even as a kid all of us celebrated Christmas. You were lied to by your parents about Santa Clause. First, let's look at this example, lying to your children, what does God say about lying? Is this an act you want to instill in your children? Aren't we suppose to be teaching our children the way of God? Lying is a sin and it will not lead to eternal life in the eyes of God. Is this where you want to send your children? Such loving parents we are and what an example we set.
Now, let's take a quick look at Christmas. Did you know that it really has nothing to do with Christ. Dec 25th, was not his birthday. That it was made up a long time ago because the Catholic Church was trying to get the people to worship God but the people worshipped a Sun God. They had a feast for the Sun God on Dec. 25th, so the church created Christmas and the idea of passing out gifts to get their attention off their God. Here again, we are working with lies. The church is making up the lies. Jesus said nothing about celebrating his birthday or of giving gifts to one another and if he would have, I believe the gifts he would have wanted you to pass out would have been the gift of ever lasting life, which is the truth in Christ and all of Heaven would be celebrating. Please take your time and go look into this. Christmas celebrating, is of man not God. Here's another place to read up on this subject, please click on this: Tomorrow's World

Is any one out there

Woukld like to know if anyone has taken the time to read anything that I have posted. If so please me E-mail me

Religon Or Follower Of Christ

My Prayer

Please, Oh LORD, let these words you have enlightened me with, shine brightly into the world, so the blind may see.
In Jesus name, I pray

Religion

Welcome, I would like to take a look at what we call religion or being religious in today’s world and the difference in being a follower of Christ. First, we should look at the definitions of the two words, religion and religious.

Definition of religion: 1. the recognition of man’s relationship to a divine or supernatural power to whom obedience and honor are do; 2. the acts and practices of life that grow out of the recognition of such a relation; 3. any system of faith and worship; as the religion of the Greeks; 4. specif., conformity to the teachings of the Bible; Christian faith and practice.

Definition of religious: 1. feeling. And living in accordance with, a belief in a divine power to whom honor and obedience are due; devout; pious; 2. pertaining to, or set apart for, religion as a school; teaching religion, as a book; 3. bound by monastic vows; 4. strict; conscientious as, with religious care:---n. one who is bound by monastic vows. –adv.

Lets look at definition 1 on religion: The recognition of man’s relationship to a divine or supernatural power to whom obedience and honor are do; Notice it says divine or supernatural powers, this is to cover all religious purposes. For we know that there are many orders, groups, and cults willing to call themselves a religion, worshiping something other than God. They also show honor and obedience to whatever they decide to worship. The churches here today have many denominations and most of them cannot seem to find the true order of Christ. They have been fighting this for years, of who has the right religion. I think this should start to get my thoughts across to you and make you think! If you would like more information about this, you can go to: http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/religious confusion. This may make you think about what is happening in churches today.

Now, lets look at 2.: the acts and practices of life that grow out of the recognition of such a relation; this also covers definition 1.; religious. I could go on all day with this one but I will try to keep it short. This, you could say is where all the real trouble begins. The way you live is only a reflection of what you learn. It is like a computer, if you put junk in, your going to get junk back out. (Could this be why we have so many problems with our kids today.). Back to definition, this stands true in most religious orders we have today. They have a few who say they have this relationship with the supernatural power or God in some cases, believing that what they think should be adhered to by all. In turn, they get together and come up with a set order in which you and I should live our lives. (Note: It does not have to be what God had in mind.). In most cases, these ideas or concepts are mostly of men. Some of these men know, no better themselves having been taught from those above them and following without question. Only studying the things they were told to and not looking any further on their own. With so many twisted minds out there, who is to say what we could be following next. We now know why there is probably so much corruption going on in religious orders today. So just what are these acts and practices we are following. Can you prove which ones are of man and which ones are Gods. Can you show me in God’s word? Most people just follow along with what is set in front of them, as long as it does not mess up there life. If they do not agree with them, they just change where they worship, in most cases until they find something comfortable.

On to definition 3.: any system of faith and worship; as the religion of the Greeks; Here we go again, we are wide open for just about anything here. Man, has the ability to take just about anything and make it into something, even though it really is nothing. Man’s ability to create is only next to God, for in his own mind, man can come up with just about anything he needs too. Usually, he can find a way to justify it somehow. If he cannot justify it, he will just call it divine, supernatural or heaven sent. This makes it ok in his eyes and others. So in knowing this, you can make a religion out of just about anything man can think of. You just need to create a system and get others to believe and follow the ways you setup. If you can get them to put there trust into an object or concept, leading them to believe that they will have a better way of life because of some higher power or something to this nature and then you have the chance to create a new religion. Not to hard,” huh”, again you can see why there are so many problems and different forms of religions today. Especially when people do not take the time in today’s busy world, to research what it is that they are truly doing. People today will follow just about anything as long as it looks and sounds good. It is even better if it fits comfortable in their life style.

Now, here is definition 4.: under religious; strict; conscientious as, with religious care:---n. one who is bound by monastic vows. –adv.; Honestly, in today’s world, when people just tell you what they want you to hear, this has become a way of doing things in today’s society. What could make you think that even half of those who take vows are going to keep them, when most people cannot keep their marriage vows and those are to a person to whom they are suppose to love. What makes you think, that most of these people can keep their vows to God or to anything else, when a person they can see, touch and have a physical relationship with but they still cannot be true to them. What makes you think they can be true to anything else especially if they can’t see, feel or talk with them. Sixty or seventy years ago this may have had some meaning to it but probably not much more than it does today. You see mans word, does not hold much value. Most men’s words only hold value for that moment in time and are subject to change without notice, whenever he sees fit or the need arises. The only words you count on are those of God and Christ Jesus. For these stand for all times, never changing, everlasting and promises that are unbroken and some yet to be fulfilled. You see how I feel about vows that men take for the most part. I’d rather see a man with a good heart not taking vows and telling me the truth, than a man taking the vows and standing before me probably telling me a bunch of lies. Neither man may do the right thing but at least the man with a good heart did not lie by trying to make me think he would do the right thing. Now, so much for the man that took the vows, being strict, conscientious and caring, for we know that probably was not true either.

Now, to definition 4 under religion: specif., conformity to the teachings of the Bible; Christian faith and practice. Again, I see many problems in this area. You see, we have a problem with authority, we do not like for anyone or anything to tell us how to live our lives. Let alone for anyone to say we are wrong in the way we live our lives. You see, to following the teachings of the Bible goes against are very soul. Most of us are afraid to follow the teachings of the Bible and Christ because we know it would totally disrupt our lives, forever changing our friendships, the way we do business and our whole personal being. There are many of us who say we have accepted Christ into our lives but are having a hard time with this one (I being one of them but I am trying, with His help. I thank God for sending His Holy Spirit. For LORD has shown me the path, yet, I find it hard to walk, by myself). There are those who like to change things to fit their life styles so they will not feel uncomfortable worshiping God and not have to change there lives in the process. This is breaking down the church today and why so many are on different pages, even though I cannot seem to find them pages in Gods word. There is so much more to this, you really need to be careful in what you are following. If you would like to learn more you can go to:
http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/booklet/doyoubelievetheturegospel This may help you to understand better, along with reading your Bible and asking God for the truth, if you ask, he will show you. However, you may not wish to know.

Lets look at definition 3 under religious: 2. pertaining to, or set apart for, religion as a school; teaching religion, as a book; I find this to be true pretty much as stated. Pretend it does not pertain to us. We set it apart from our daily lives. Most people are trying to put their kids in religious schools. It is the only safe place any more and the rest are trying to keep religion out of our public schools. It is taught and being learned in Sunday school as if it were just a book! I think, I use to have this religious thing down pretty well, how about you?

Now lets review a little about what we have learned about religion and being religious; we have learned that we can create a religion with very little effort. We just need to create something to follow and get them to believe in it. Setup a system to follow in their life, practice it and teach it to others who will listen. It does not necessarily need to be about God but if we get this all to happen, we have a religion and if we follow the concepts, we can call ourselves religious. So in short, if we make a system up which others will believe, in the same way and follow a set of predefine rules we can call ourselves religious.

I think this pretty much covers this topic, so now lets move on to the follower of Christ. I cannot define this one using the dictionary but let me try to give you the best definition that I can with Gods help.

Follower of Christ:

1. believes in the all Mighty God and fears him. 2. one who has truly repented and confess of his sins. 3. accepted Christ Jesus into his life. 4. baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for remission of his sins. 5. filled with the Holy Sprit. 6. show the signs of gifts of the Holy Sprit. 7. live his life to glorify God.

Lets look at 1.: believes in the all Mighty God and fears him. He must have full respect for God’s power, that he knows all and has full control over everything, even his very own life, spirit and soul.

Matthew 10:26-28 (New King James Version)

26. Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.27. “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. 28. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Again he tells us in Luke.

Luke 12:3-5 (New King James Version)

3 Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops. 4 “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!

You will find many, who say they fear God but I ask you, if they did, would they live and do the things they do. If I feared Him, I think I would want to be on his good side and be obedient to him, wouldn’t you? From my point of view, a follow of Christ is someone who holds the teachings of Christ and the word of God near to his heart and lives his life accordingly.

Now for 2.: one who has truly repented and has confessed of his sins. This must be done to be a follower of Christ. Jesus taught it and so did Peter. Jesus told the apostles after his resurrection, when He appeared unto them in the upper room that they should preach this to all nations.

Luke 24:46-48 (New King James Version)

46 Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And you are witnesses of these things.

Peter said this when they asked, “What shall we do?”

Acts 2:38 (New King James Version)

38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Peter also said this for another reason.

Acts 3:19 (NewKing James Verson)

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

Lets look at 3.: has accepted Christ Jesus into his life. Unbelievably it really is not hard to tell if a man has accepted Christ into his life. Not a whole lot bothers him; he is content with what God has given him. You will also see it in his life style and how he treats people. The follower of Christ has the love of Christ in him, which shows through to his fellow man. Let us look at a few things from the Bible.

Notice Paul was content through all his troubles

Philippian1 4:10-12 (New King James Version)

10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. 11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

Paul in talking to Timothy tells us that being content has it advantages

1 Timothy 6:7-9 (New King James Version)

7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.

This is probably the best way to tell if a man has accepted Christ into his life.

Mark 16:16-18 (New King James Version)

16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

If all these signs or some of them are happening in his life, you can pretty much believe, Christ is within him.

Now, lets look at 4.: baptized in the name of Jesus Christ remission of his sins. The act of Baptism is representation of Christ death, burial and resurrection. It also shows obedience to Him. This is another basic requirement of a follower of Christ. Here a again, is another big area for controversies in the churches today, some say we should be Baptized in the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, others in the name of Jesus Christ. Some believe that sprinkling water over your head is good enough to be called a baptism while others believe in full submersion under water. Lets see what the Bibles tells us.

Matthew 28:18-20 (New King James Version)

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Now, this is the verse that starts all the trouble, this is where they get baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Sprit but notice, it doe not say names, it said name, one, not three and there is one name, which is Jesus Christ.

Acts 4:12 (New King James Version)

says “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved “ also Peter told them “

Acts 2:38 (New King James Version)

38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
This verse also brings the trinity idea, in to play (By the way, the Bible does not say anything at all about trinity.} but where did it really come from. Under Emperor Jovian, who followed Julian, the substitution of Christianity for Mithraism made further progress, and old Pagan beliefs, like the Virgin Birth, Baptism and Holy Trinity, became generally accepted as the basis of the state religion. The early Christian idea of Unitarianism was quickly squashed in favour of Trinitarianism, and those who refused to accept the Holy Trinity were put to the sword, the beginning of mass slaughter in the name of religion, which was to go on for centuries. (They are talking about a sun God here)

John 14:6-8 (New King James Version)

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” 8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

In these verses, you see Jesus saying that he and the father are the same, but if this is not enough to convince you, here are some more verses that include the Holy Spirit.

John 14:20-23 (New King James Version)

20 At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

Now in these verses, we see Jesus saying that he and the father will come and make a home in you. This is through the Holy Spirit. All three are one through the Holy Spirit. Lets see, if I can explain this in a way that most will understand. A Squid has eight tentacles, all-reaching out from his body but all are part of the same body and so, all are part of one. This kind of shows the way God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, are. We just cannot see it with our eyes.

The part we are to focus on is the part that has been sacrificed to save us from eternal death and this is the channel or path through which we are saved, Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us in:

John 14:6 (New King James Version)

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

By accepting Jesus Christ into your life and by the act of baptism, this is being washed with the blood of Jesus to wash your sins away, this makes you acceptable to God and both God and Jesus come to abide in you through the Holy Spirit. Water in the baptism symbolizes the blood of Jesus. He is the one who suffered and gave his life for us. It is because of his love for us that we are saved. The father sent him to us for this purpose. He is the one you must go to for the remission of your sins. The Holy Spirit was given to us after Christ went to be with our father as a helper, not as a savior. God and Jesus come and abide in you, through the Holy Spirit.

Now, if it were any different. Why then, were they told by Peter to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ?


Acts 2:38 (New King James Version)

38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit

Why then would Paul do this in the following verses, if it were not true and the way Jesus Christ had instructed him to do?

Acts 19:4-7 (New King James Version)

4 Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. 7 Now the men were about twelve in all.

Now, lets tackle Baptism part; some believe that sprinkling water over your head is good enough to be called a baptism, while other believe in full submersion underwater. Again, the act of Baptism is representation of Christ death, burial and resurrection. Since the New Testament was written in Greek we must define the Greek word that is our English word baptize. Standard Greek Lexicons (Dictionaries) recognized and used by scholars, schools and colleges uniformly define "baptize" as meaning "to immerse, dip or plunge." Note what two well known scholars have said concerning this word baptize:
"The very word `baptize', however, signifies immerse, and it is certain that immersion was the practice of the ancient church" John Calvin in Institutes, Vol. 3, p. 343.
"Alluding to the `immersion' practiced in the case of `adults,' wherein the person appeared to be buried under the water, as Christ was buried in the heart of the earth. His rising again the third day, and their emerging from the water, was an emblem of the resurrection of the body." Adam Clark in Commentary on Colossians 2:12. Having thus defined what we mean by baptize let us now note the Scriptures that pertain to baptism
If you wish to read more on Baptism, you can go to the following link. http://www.main.nc.us/spchurchofchrist/baptism.htm
Lets see what the Bibles say about this subject.

Unfortunately, the only places in the Bible I can find about baptism is in the book of Matthew. This is where we see Jesus, coming to John the Baptist, at the River Jordon. It says he came up immediately form the water. So I have to assume He was under water, if He came up from it.

Matthew 3:13-17 (New King James Version)

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” 15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. 16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

The only places in the Bible talking about sprinkling of water, is what I found here, as you can see sprinkling water was not for purposes of baptizing. In the case of baptism, water represents Christ Blood, which we need to be covered thoroughly with, so our sins are totally washed away or we can not stand before the Father. In the other cases there was much more to it than just the sprinkling of water as you will see.

Number 8: 5-12 (New King James Version)

5 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 6 “Take the Levites from among the children of Israel and cleanse them ceremonially. 7 Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purification on them, and let them shave all their body, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean. 8 Then let them take a young bull with its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another young bull as a sin offering. 9 And you shall bring the Levites before the tabernacle of meeting, and you shall gather together the whole congregation of the children of Israel. 10 So you shall bring the Levites before the LORD, and the children of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites; 11 and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD like a wave offering from the children of Israel, that they may perform the work of the LORD. 12 Then the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls, and you shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the LORD, to make atonement for the Levites.

Numbers 19:13-22 (New King James Version)

13 Whoever touches the body of anyone who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD. That person shall be cut off from Israel. He shall be unclean, because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him; his uncleanness is still on him. 14 ‘This is the law when a man dies in a tent: All who come into the tent and all who are in the tent shall be unclean seven days; 15 and every open vessel, which has no cover fastened on it, is unclean. 16 Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain by a sword or who has died, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days. 17 ‘And for an unclean person they shall take some of the ashes of the heifer burnt for purification from sin, and running water shall be put on them in a vessel. 18 A clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, the slain, the dead, or a grave. 19 The clean person shall sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, wash his clothes, and bathe in water; and at evening he shall be clean. 20 ‘But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean. 21 It shall be a perpetual statute for them. He who sprinkles the water of purification shall wash his clothes; and he who touches the water of purification shall be unclean until evening. 22 Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.’”

In these verses, it says having ours hearts sprinkle, but we are to be, washed in pure water.

Hebrews 10:21-23 (New King James Version)

21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

Here God cleans the house of Israel with the sprinkling of water but still it has nothing to do with baptism.

Ezekiel 36:22-26 (New King James Version)

22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. 23 And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD,” says the Lord GOD, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. 24 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

So in my search for the truth in these matters, I have concluded that it would be best, if I were to cover my but and do as Jesus said and done. Moreover, as he advised his apostles to do and they did. That being; submerged under water and in the name of Jesus Christ would be the way to go.

Definition 5; This is a very important part of the follower of Christ, filled with the Holy Sprit. This is so to speak, the follower’s lifeline. It guides him through his days. It is how Jesus and God communicate with him and how God works his gifts through him. Without the Holy Spirit the follower is nothing, this is what makes the true difference.
This gives him knowledge that sometimes he does not know he possesses. In matters, he may have no knowledge at all. If God leads him there, he will get what he needs, when he needs it. This is a gift that Jesus said was to be given to us when we accepted Him and are baptized in His name. Here is what the Bible tells us.

John 7:37-40 (New King James Version)

37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Even before his death and resurrection Jesus told of the gift of Holy Spirit in which you would receive if you believe in Him.



Luke 3:21-23 (New King James Version)

21 When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. 22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

Even Jesus, was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 3:16 (New King James Version)

When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.

Acts 2:38 (New King James Version)

38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Luke 11:12-14 (New King James Version)

12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

Here about twelve more receive the Holy Spirit and you hear about some of the gifts here, Tongues and Prophesies.

Acts 19:4-7 (New King James Version)

4 Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. 7 Now the men were about twelve in all.

Will get help from the Holy Spirit when needed.

Luke 12:11-12 (New King James Version)

11"When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say;
12for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."

The knowledge of things that seem to come from nowhere, the Holy Spirit will provide for you when needed. This is when real faith is called upon. My only hope is to have this kind of faith when the time comes.

John 14:26 (New King James Version)

26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

The Holy Spirit will teach you of the word of God and His will, imbedding to into your heart so you will not forget.

Now lets look at definition 6: Shows the signs of gifts, of the Holy Sprit: Here again we have great debate, among the different denominations today. If the gifts are still active in the church today, some say they where done away with, all because of these next verses I am about to show you. I think that the people who say they are not active, need to look a little bit deep here. They truly are not under standing the meaning in this verse. As I explain this, you to will see the Gifts are indeed, a live and well today.

1 Corinthians 13:8-10 (New King James Version)

8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

Here is what they see in these verses.

But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part

The love that never fails, is the love that comes from knowing Christ Jesus. This love is so great that, as long as we hold on to it, it gives us power to endure all things and do all things. It is this love that does away with these things in his coming. They miss the whole point of the verses; ”but when that which is perfect has come”, Jesus Christ, these gifts will be of no need any more. There will be no more sickness, so you will not need to lay hands on the sick. No need for prophecies, it will be all completed, we will be there with God, we will know. We will no longer need tongues to have our spirit speak to Him because we are in paradise with Him, we can go straight to Him and talk, besides we will know His will and plan. What do you need to pray for in paradise, you will have everything you need and so will everyone else? You see, while we are here before Christ returns, God shows each person a little bit of his plan, never letting us see the whole picture, he only shows you the part He wants you to be concerned with and understand. When He returns, you will know the whole plan, then we will know in full, not part. The most important part of all in His Coming is the perfect love we will share through knowing Jesus Christ. With God, Jesus and one another, this is love in its most perfect form.

So, He did not say the gifts were taken away at this time but there will come a time, when they will no longer be important to us after His return. The only thing that will matter will be our perfect love, which comes with Him who is perfect, in His coming.

Looking on further in the following verse we see there is nothing we cannot do. It is only due to the lack of faith that stops us from doing these things. If we just had that faith of a mustard seed, all things would be possible to us.

Matthew 17:20-26 (New King James Version)

20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”



The follower of Christ will show some or maybe all of these signs in his life, which were chosen by the Father and are given to him through the Holy Spirit, to draw nonbelievers near to him. That way, he may be able to teach and testify of Christ and the Kingdom Of God. They are small samples of God’s mercy and power for the nonbelievers; they are to help get the nonbelievers attention. They are to help his Children or fellow followers of Christ. These Signs are:

Miracles
Healings
Tongues
Interpretation of Tongues

The Holy Spirit helps us in many other areas in our walk with Christ. They are considered as being Gifts from the Holy Spirit; I will have to tell you about them later. Here are the ones you will see and hear about the most. These show the power of the Holy Spirit, which lives inside the follower. Through these signs you will know that, he is a follower of Christ.

1 Corinthians 12 (New King James Version)

Spiritual Gifts: Unity in Diversity
1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: 2 You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. 4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

Mark 16:16-18 (New King James Version)

16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”


7. Lives his life as to glorify God: The follower of Christ should be living his life in a way that does not demean his character. His character should be as without blemish and question, of good standing.
He should be a man of his word, trusting and honest. He should live his life to serve those in need. He will be a helping hand to others, a friend in time of need, and a tower of strength when the storm comes. He should stand on his belief in God and obey his commandments. Yes, you should see Christ living in his life.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (New King James Version)

19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

This is my last and final comment in this matter.

After writing this with Gods help, I find myself with lots of work still to be done. This has been an eye opening experience for me and I hope it will be for you too. I once thought I was doing good and thought I was walking in the right direction. As God has let me see, I find that I may be on the wrong path. That my life is not as it should be. There are many areas of my life that I need Gods help. I find myself asking for forgiveness again, for my lack of understanding, needing more strength and faith in Him. My hope is to be able to someday fulfill what is written on these pages and much more. For I find myself falling short of His glory, I pray that He will forgive me and give me the strength to change my life to align to his will, as I also pray for you who find yourselves in the same boat. That some day we can all jump out of the boat together with Christ Jesus and take his hand in love.

May the love of God be with you all for now and forever.
In Jesus Christ name I pray
Amen

Written by
Don Minor
12/17/06