kathyrob

A broken heart or contrite spirit is to recognize fully the extent to which we have sinned against God and harmed that relationship. Only with that recognition can the relationship be fully restored, the sacrifice is that of our pride; to come before God with humility. Admitting that they are wrong is a hard thing for most people, pride gets in the way and God wants the pride removed and replaced with recognition that we depend upon Him for everything, for without Him there is nothing.

Yes, it is possible to have a pure heart. God grants this in accordance with His grace. Our part is simply to accept the free gifts of God, Grace, Faith, and Forgiveness with all our heart, and to rely on Him for all our necessities.

I don

Faith is a gift from God. God offers His Faith and forgiveness to all; all we need do is accept this free gift. Pardon is available from God for those that believe He can grant complete pardon, that belief comes from the faith God offers and is based upon His Grace, a deep compassion and love for us.

Abraham

It is apparent that Abraham

Boldness without humility would be the arrogance of pride, not one of God

God will not condemn the just. Abraham appeals to that nature of God hoping to spare Lot and family. I don

God's character, desire, and purpose do not change. You stated it as well as can be stated, both alternatives were within God

If all is predestined then the only prayer to pray would be

Pray based on God

They violated the first two commandments of God that they had just heard. God is not just a loving God, He is Holy, Righteous, Merciful, Gracious, Long Suffering, Compassionate, Jealous, Incorruptible, Upright, and True. God hates sin, and His anger directed towards sin is just. It is difficult for us to justify any action of God, particularly in these days of political correctness, when we find it so hard to criticize of condemn anyone for anything. We make excuses for sin, and try to whisk it away with some modern phobia or pass the blame game. God calls sin, sin. He is perfect in His will and Justified in whatever He does. We would do well to remind ourselves that when it comes to sin, there are black and whites. Everything is not a shade of grey to be justified by mans whim.

Q4. Why should we continually ask forgiveness? How can unforgiveness on our part block God's blessing? How can unforgiveness block God's forgiveness? We continually fall short of the Glory of the Lord, we should ask forgiveness daily for sins we commit through out actions, or those we commit through our inactions. God will not truly bless us when we are out of His will though He wants to. We must be repentant in order for the atonement of Christ to wash us clean, and that is not just a once only step, it is recurring as long as we are sinful by nature, which will endure until we are reunited with Christ in His kingdom. We strive to be Christ like, God blesses those efforts, but wants us to acknowledge that without Christ we are lost in sin, and continual renewal allows us to grow in faith and serve God better as Brothers with Christ. Unforgiveness on our part implies a kernel of hate lives in us, the kernel no matter how small is a foothold for Satan to use against us. Through deceitful actions Satan can convince us that we are somehow unforgiveable. God will triumph, but He asks that we do are part, forgiving others is a first step in that direction and it removes a foothold that Satan can use to bind us. Hate is a strong emotion that blocks love, forgiveness removes hate from our lives.

Q3. Why do we seek to be independent of asking anyone for help? Why do we seek to be independent of God? Why should we ask God to "give" us daily bread so long as we can earn a living for ourselves? I suspect that a lot of our "independence" is due to pride. To some extent it is a learned behavior, to some extent it is a part of the natural man. Pride is both good and bad, as with all things, too much is too much. Pride leads us to believe that we can do all things in ourselves; the bible instructs us that the natural man will only lead us to dead ends. Better to lean on the Word of God as in Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." The same independence from our fellow man, leads to an independence from God. We prefer to think that we can "handle it" what ever "it" is. God's word again tells us that the wisdom of man is folly, true wisdom comes from God, and it is when we seek that true wisdom from God that we learn to depend on Him for everything. It is the dependence upon God that makes us truly independent, and that when we put on the full armor of God and prepare for the spiritual warfare that is sure to ensue. Thank God He does not make us stand alone. All things were created by God, all things belong to God, He loans us that which we require expecting that we will use it to further His Kingdom, and return a portion to Him. Though it is not in the thinking of natural man, it is good that we look to God from whom all blessings flow, and give Him thanks for those necessities that He provides to us. All things are His to give and take as He sees fit. Thank God that through His Grace, He makes everything we need available to us. Praise His name.

Q2. In what sense are we asking that the Father's kingdom should come? Why are we asking for the Father's will to be done here on earth? How should this prayer affect our living? In the short term, that the Kingdom of God be replicated as closely as possible by me, in my actions and thoughts, and outward focus that leads me to care about the salvation of those around me. In a long term perspective, as with Revelation, come Lord Jesus, usher in the Kingdom so that sorrows and hardships become a thing of the past and God's perfect will be plentiful in the new heaven and new earth. The two, short and long term, may not be that far apart, and I pray sometimes that they aren't. The Father's will being done would lead to a perfect earth, since we will not know perfection before the return of Christ, the praying for our Father's will, should at least give us a modicum of perfection in our own sphere of influence. Putting ourselves lower in priority and God's will higher should have the result of making us more content with our lot in life, and enabling us to promote God's kingdom on earth with the example of our activities and the results of our prayers reflected in our persona. I think I just addressed how it affects our living in the answer above. I wish I could live the result as well as I can talk about how it should be.