March 30, 2008 7:34 AM
Sam wrote:
"Two things I ask you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither proverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I many have too much and disown you...." Wow...that a bold, bold prayer. I see the first part of the prayer to be sensible.....don't let Satan encourage me to be a liar. We all know that lying can only lead to greater sin, and we all know where that leads to. But the second part, 'keep me average', he is praying. For he knows that if you have a lot of 'things' (riches), then you tend to want to spend time with the riches rather than with God. On the other hand, he wants to not be poor because he thinks that he will become disgruntled with God for not 'blessing' him. Is this a prayer you guys pray? Or do we all pray for just one part of it, and that is to keep up from poverty? Heck, I bet all of you 'faithful readers'. as Stephen King refers to the people who buy and read his books, have at one time in your life prayed to God to give you riches...and probably LOTS of it. "Let me win the lottery, Dear God, and I will use the money for good." "RIGHT", as Bill Cosby said when 'God' spoke to him in one of his comedy routines. Right, indeed. We all know that that prayer was selfish in substance. A big lottery winner, as has been shown again and again, is tempted by so much that he or she ignores God and becomes so entangled with the world, that their lives are no longer as good as they used to be before they won the multi-millions. "Oh, I wouldn't be like that", you'd say.....I say, "rubbish!". Yes you would, and so would I, because the temptation and other nuisances would overcome you before you know it. Yes, this is a good prayer. Pray to be a faithful, honest person, without too much wealth, but enough to support your family. That's all that is needed. THAT is how we have life to the full as Paul describes. I hope you all have a great Sunday worshipping God....it was for 40 days that Jesus came back after rising on 'Easter' morning, and let people see and learn from him.....just imagine if He were here today in resurrected human form.....would you be worshipping Him in the same way? Well, gotta go....my brother, who never goes to church in Vermont, is coming with us again this week to NLCC as he did last. Reply to this
March 30, 2008 8:01 AM
rik wrote:
this morning i picked out the same scripture as mac. I thought to myself I agree with the writer. I do not want to be rich and have never desired to (in my adult life) nor do i want to be poor. mac is correct these two extremes have there pitfalls but 'average' has its pitfalls also, it is complacency. I pray never to become complacent in my walk with God. have a good day all. Reply to this
March 30, 2008 7:51 PM
Rich wrote:
Late start today. I had a great day. Attended Northview church. Ran into several old friends who have always been very encouraging to me. My daughter also liked it. The lesson was on grace in a way I have never thought of before. I left very encouraged. Best of all my wife wanted to hear all about it when I got home. Something she struggles with greatly is understanding God's grace. She was very excited to see how excited I was. The rest of the day has been busy but very rewarding.
It was great to see you guys last night. I felt at home among my closest of friends. I want each of you to know how much I appreciate you and how much you all encourage me. I owe much (if not all) of my spiritual changes in the last year to the three of you (Mac, Tony and Rik) and to this blog. Thanks for being there and for sharing. I look forward to more "real" time together. Please keep me informed of any get togethers or let me know if you ever need a helping hand. I am not always available but when I can I want to spend time with you guys.
I was hit today by verse 5: "Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him." I particularly like the picture of God being my shield. My family, my home, and myself need the shield of God to protect us. We all need to take refuge in God and in his mighty power. We need his forgiveness and his guidance. My prayer tonight is that God be your shield to protect you and your families from the arrows (missiles?) that satan keeps trying to launch at us. Reply to this
"Two things I ask you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither proverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I many have too much and disown you...." Wow...that a bold, bold prayer. I see the first part of the prayer to be sensible.....don't let Satan encourage me to be a liar. We all know that lying can only lead to greater sin, and we all know where that leads to. But the second part, 'keep me average', he is praying. For he knows that if you have a lot of 'things' (riches), then you tend to want to spend time with the riches rather than with God. On the other hand, he wants to not be poor because he thinks that he will become disgruntled with God for not 'blessing' him. Is this a prayer you guys pray? Or do we all pray for just one part of it, and that is to keep up from poverty? Heck, I bet all of you 'faithful readers'. as Stephen King refers to the people who buy and read his books, have at one time in your life prayed to God to give you riches...and probably LOTS of it. "Let me win the lottery, Dear God, and I will use the money for good." "RIGHT", as Bill Cosby said when 'God' spoke to him in one of his comedy routines. Right, indeed. We all know that that prayer was selfish in substance. A big lottery winner, as has been shown again and again, is tempted by so much that he or she ignores God and becomes so entangled with the world, that their lives are no longer as good as they used to be before they won the multi-millions. "Oh, I wouldn't be like that", you'd say.....I say, "rubbish!". Yes you would, and so would I, because the temptation and other nuisances would overcome you before you know it. Yes, this is a good prayer. Pray to be a faithful, honest person, without too much wealth, but enough to support your family. That's all that is needed. THAT is how we have life to the full as Paul describes. I hope you all have a great Sunday worshipping God....it was for 40 days that Jesus came back after rising on 'Easter' morning, and let people see and learn from him.....just imagine if He were here today in resurrected human form.....would you be worshipping Him in the same way? Well, gotta go....my brother, who never goes to church in Vermont, is coming with us again this week to NLCC as he did last.
Reply to this
this morning i picked out the same scripture as mac. I thought to myself I agree with the writer. I do not want to be rich and have never desired to (in my adult life) nor do i want to be poor. mac is correct these two extremes have there pitfalls but 'average' has its pitfalls also, it is complacency. I pray never to become complacent in my walk with God. have a good day all.
Reply to this
Late start today. I had a great day. Attended Northview church. Ran into several old friends who have always been very encouraging to me. My daughter also liked it. The lesson was on grace in a way I have never thought of before. I left very encouraged. Best of all my wife wanted to hear all about it when I got home. Something she struggles with greatly is understanding God's grace. She was very excited to see how excited I was. The rest of the day has been busy but very rewarding.
It was great to see you guys last night. I felt at home among my closest of friends. I want each of you to know how much I appreciate you and how much you all encourage me. I owe much (if not all) of my spiritual changes in the last year to the three of you (Mac, Tony and Rik) and to this blog. Thanks for being there and for sharing. I look forward to more "real" time together. Please keep me informed of any get togethers or let me know if you ever need a helping hand. I am not always available but when I can I want to spend time with you guys.
I was hit today by verse 5: "Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him." I particularly like the picture of God being my shield. My family, my home, and myself need the shield of God to protect us. We all need to take refuge in God and in his mighty power. We need his forgiveness and his guidance. My prayer tonight is that God be your shield to protect you and your families from the arrows (missiles?) that satan keeps trying to launch at us.
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There's a way about it: tearing people down, but not tearing them apart.
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