swordwoman

In the sense that we are in agreement with the Father that His will be done on the earth and satan's rule be abolished. We are asking the Father's will to be done here on earth because we want the ultimate glory of the Lord Jesus Christ to rule and reign here as soon as possible...like today would be good...! This prayer should affect our living in that we are always "on guard" with our "lamps full of oil"...joy in the Holy Spirit...watching and praying at all times.

The scriptures say that God is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love...and most assuredly, He is Holy...Holy is His name. His name is desecrated when man curses His name and uses His name as though it were any other name (co-equal with man). Philippians 2 is a perfect example of the humility of Jesus and how He did not consider Himself co-equal with God, but took on the role of a servant. We "hallow" the Father when we begin our prayer in a state of humility and praise before a Holy God.

All of the above...the verse that comes to mind is when Paul said he has learned to be content in all things...in plenty and and in want...and that in essence Christ is His all in all...(paraphrase mine)... When God strips you of all ... and you walk through times of want and total dependence on Him, you learn that anything on earth is His and you only have it because He gave it to you. This is only learned by revelation and by walking out the truth of that revelation. No text can "teach" you that...you need revelation and life application. So, in answer to is this a new teaching or an old one -- the answer would have to be an old teaching...and I believe it to be the First Commandment.

I believe Jesus condemned the man for placing his trust and security in his possessions. The man's actions were a picture of selfishness and his motive of greed. The key verse is Luke 12:15. The context of this parable deals with covetousness and it relates to the Sermon on the Mount because Jesus taught that we are store our treasures in heaven and not on earth...as what is of the earth are temporal and will decay and the things of heaven are eternal.

Everything rises and falls against the Word of God. Yes, I believe there are times when we must take a stand against evil men in order to fulfill what God calls us to.

To create an intimate relationship. I believe God wants to hear it all...every last detail. His will be done...His Kingdom come...on earth as it is in Heaven... Basically, if your heart is poised in the direction of His will...you can't miss all He has in store.

Secret prayer strips us of having to be "noticed"...it's just me and God...alone together...together alone. Public prayer is necessary in that it creates the power of agreement...however, flowery prayers hinder the development of praying disciples in that the focus shifts from communion with God to "communion" with man...again, to be seen and heard by man...the whole "am I doing it right" thing, when God is simply interested in our heart motivation and sincere, genuine faith for Him to "git 'er done..." God is all about relationship...us and Him...Co-Union.

God has granted me the gift of being a Giver. It is a wonderful privilege to be His servant in this way. When I give, I do not give to be seen, acknowledged, or even "thanked"...I give out of my passion to see Him glorified...to advance the kingdom of God one person at a time... My attitude towards the poor is this: I know what it means to be poor. I was there for many years and worked hard in spite of it. I believe God allowed it to fashion my heart in such a way as to "see" that people are people and their circumstances do not make them any less or any more human. We are called to love. I wouldn't do anything different than what I am doing now as far as my involvement with the poor. I minister to the poor in my sphere of influence in very practical ways. What they do with the resources I give them is of no matter to me....if God says "give" I give. What happens after that is between them and Him...not me.

When we give in secret without the "need for recognition of man," we are giving to an audience of One. The antidote for the chief sin of pride is humility in the secret place before God...hearing from Him and receiving all the approval and recognition one needs from Him and Him alone (again, the audience of One)... Churches and non-profit organizations use this to motivate people to give (at times beyond their means) to puff them up and make them "known" in the church or community. It is an abomination as it is totally devoid of the pure essence of the gospel message regarding giving. The Bible is clear in that each man must purpose in his own heart what he will give, not under compulsion or obligation, and that it is in the attitude of cheerfulness that pleases the heart of God. I do not think it is possible to be pridefully cheerful...that just doesn't seem to fit...and I believe one of the ways these organizations pressure people into giving is guilt and manipulation. No good thing can come from that...

Speak truth. If we obeyed this we would be a lot quieter...limiting idle chatter...and our credibility would be of greater value. My motto is Speak Life and Speak Truth...Let love abound from your mouth...and never miss an opportunity to keep your mouth shut.

The blood of Jesus on the cross covers everything and anything. God's gracious gift of repentance and restoration does the deed. A person gets back into God's will by having a relationship with Him. 'nuff said on the subject...sheep should take more time combing each other 's wool instead of looking at the mud spots... Our God Reigns...no matter what. Jesus said it was finished at the cross...remember?

The Mosaic law did not command divorce...it allowed for protection for the wife in the way divorce was regulated...a sad reality then and now...although now there are many who have left God out of the equation and women are abused even in the process of divorce (deadbeat Dads, custody battles, etc.) Divorce is allowed because of the hardness of heart. From the beginning God's intention was commitment "to the end..."

No you don't have to be a Christian to be joined as one flesh. I believe this has to do with God's intention of a man leaving his mother and father and cleaving to his wife on both a physical and emotional level. God does the "joining" 100% of the time. Nothing is impossible with God. ...although, I believe many get married without really thinking about it...and end up making a huge decision with impure motives and are left to deal with the consequences. I do believe one needs Christ to have a successful marriage...for without Him, there is no Life...

I believe the point of Jesus' parable of settling out of court is to be reconciled and hold offense against no one . We are to "settle up" with anyone we hold offense with...settling entails truthful exchange...and we are to settle so no bitter root is allowed to form. How free do you want to be?

The point of similarity is that both are rooted in the heart. The heart is deceitful and is in need of being cleaned by the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus Christ. **** breaks the tenth commandment because you want something that is not yours.

Simply stated, the environment for God's gift of sexual intimacy is the marriage bed with the marriage partner. All other arenas are in the domain of darkness and not in God's plan. How do we distinguish the two...? Easy -- who are you having sex with? The rest will become clear.

There seems to be many Christian churches who do not teach the whole counsel of God...they are people pleasers and do not allow the Holy Spirit to bring conviction... Christian legalism is putting emphasis on the outside and not allowing Love to move... It looks like the world, and not the Bride...

How these verses relate to each is this: If you are persecuted for righteousness sake, then you know your light is shining and you are a "salty"...the persecution you will be under is a direct result of being a peculiar people (Praise God...!). By being this way, we know we are bringing glory and honor to the Father, and therefore, it matters not what the world thinks. The important thing is that they see Jesus and recognize there is Life to behold. All Glory and Honor be unto Him. What this has to do with Romans 12:2 is that we are not to be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. To be renewed in our minds is to fill ourselves up with the Word...live a life bringing honor to God...and glorifying Him in our words and actions.

The danger is you've been given the gift of Life in Christ...The true Light. If you hide this precious gift, you are of no value to the cause of Christ. How dark is dark? Darkness is simply the absence of light. If you've got light, let it shine.

A Christian who has lost "saltiness" is one who has lost the ability (or at least lessened the ability) to preserve himself from "spoiling"...in essence, using the preservation analogy, salt enables a product to remain fresh longer. A Christian with a comprised heart attitude will eventually begin to act, look, taste, and smell like the world around him--without salt, there is no preservation. Yes, I believe it is possible for a Christian to detect "unsaltiness"...such ways would be actions and attitude. The remedy to "realtify" is prayer, repentance, prayer, restoration, prayer, healing, prayer...and practicing the presence of Christ...to put is simply: Recognize your need to get some 'mo 'dat salt...!

People with a pure heart can see, know, and discern God because a pure heart is a believing heart. A believing heart is a heart that continually seeks to glorify God and is washed in His blood continually cleansing from all impurities. Yielded to Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Chronic sinners cannot see God, because sin begins to harden their heart. We obtain a pure heart by His blood and the washing of the Word.

As a believer, we have a righteousness that is by faith. The very substance of faith (and the resultant righteousness) is in direct opposition to what the world considers "righteous" (self works). Self-works/performance based "faith" simply does not fill. I believe Jesus is talking about the righteousness that is by faith. The promise we are given is that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled...we will be satisfied in our hearts and full of the Spirit.

In response to this question I am reminded of Philippians 2:1-18...(lots on humility in there)...in essence, let the attitude of Christ be in you...although He was God, He did not consider Himself equal with God, but considered Himself a servant. The rest of the passage goes on to describe the attitude of humility as described by submissive servanthood and obedience to God. In a world that promotes "me...me...me... -- to understand the essence of humility, I would offer the concept in their own language: "It's not about you. It's about Jesus Christ." Words like humility, submission, obedience, meekness, gentleness are words that describe a "lack of strength" in the world...however, in the Kingdom of God, those very words bring courage, strength, confidence, and inheritance. The meek shall inherit the earth. Jesus said it. He meant it. We're here to represent it. P.S. The stallion analogy painted a powerful picture...

If you aren't aware of your spiritual need, you will have no need (or interest) in a Savior, much less a Lord and Savior. When God begins to call you and draw you near to Himself, His lovingkindness "alerts" you to your need for spiritual life...and that Life is in Jesus. The mourning necessary to become a Christian is repentance. A Godly sorrow will lead you to repentance and a changed heart and transformed mind will be the result. Too many people are only getting a partial gospel. The whole counsel of God is needed in these last days. People are perishing for lack of knowledge. The "kickoff" of the ministry of Christ was "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." It is in repentance and rest that we find salvation... I don't know what kind of mourning is "common" for Christians, but I know for myself, the mourning I have experienced is deep. I grieve over my sins, but I rejoice in my Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. He did for me what I cannot do for myself. I rejoice in the God of all comfort.

The two parts consist of an awareness of condition [or need] and the blessing that follows. I believe He made each Beatitude a paradox to show us our need and the resultant promises of the Kingdom for those who have ears to hear and eyes to see...the true believers who believe in Spirit and Truth. The Beatitudes are an "attitude" of the fruit of the Spirit...a blessing of attitude resulting from the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. As we yield to Him, He works in us to produce His fruit.