For Christian Singles - 14 Prayers to Find a Godly Spouse

Finding your God given spouse has nothing to do with your looks, age or income. It's good to have those things if you can but in the spiritual world they are of little or no significance.
It is deep spiritual insight like we're going to share here that counts.
In the book of Genesis 24:3-4 when it was time for Isaac to get married, Abraham sent his servant to his country with strict instruction to get a wife for his son.
He knew that God hated "unequal yoke" of marriage with unbelievers. Till today that is still the stand of God.
A misstep in this area can spell doom and gloom for an individual up to many generations, while the right choice can open the door to favor, bliss and something really close to heaven on earth... this side of eternity!
These prayer points are designed for those who love God and want His will in marriage.
Confessions:
Matt 7:7
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Isa 54:17
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
Isa 49:25
But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.
1. Thank God because He alone is the perfect matchmaker
2. Lord, release the man/woman you have preordained as my spouse in Jesus' name.
3. Lord, cause it to happen that the divine match will come forth soon in the name of Jesus.
4. Lord, let my spouse be a person who loves You wholeheartedly in the name of Jesus.
5. Lord, establish our home according to the scriptures in Jesus name (read Ephesians 5:20-28).
6. Father, let all satanic barriers keeping us from meeting be dissolved in Jesus' name.
7. Lord, send forth your warring angels to battle and release my spouse wherever s/he is in the name of Jesus.
8. Lord, I believe You have created me for a special person; bring it to pass in the name of Jesus.
9. I now call him/her out of obscurity into my life in Jesus' name.
10. I reject the provision of counterfeit spouse by the enemy in the name of Jesus.
11. I cut off the flow of any inherited marital problems into my life in the mighty name of Jesus (pray this one 7 times... aggressively)
12. O Lord, let the spirit of patience reign in my life until the right person comes in the name of Jesus.
13. (Please pray this one with all your strength for at least 5 minutes)
Father, in the name of Jesus, just as Abraham sent his servant to find his son Isaac a wife, send the Holy Spirit to bring my future partner to me.
14. Thank the Lord for the answer.

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Christian Dating: Six Ways To Find Your Spiritual Match

As a former Pastoral Counselor I can confidently say that one of the biggest mistakes made by Christians is thinking they can convert a non-Christian into a Christian simply by having an intimate relationship. Yes, we are to be a light in the world for non-Christians but it is beyond our earthly power to convert someone to our faith either with words or direct action on our part. We must be extremely careful to avoid trying to do the job of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who draws someone to the Christian faith. This "draw" may lead to a deeply personal decision that cannot be coerced by our logical arguments.
There is a saying: "A person convinced against their will is of the same opinion still." This is never more true when applied to matters of the Christian faith. So, how does this apply to dating and relationships for Christians? The Bible tells us that the heart is "deceitful" above all things. Emotions can easily convince us that the person of our desire is the one whom we need, and must have, regardless of their beliefs. This is at the root of the failure of most relationships between Christians and non-Christians because you can become blinded by emotional need and ignore what the Bible teaches about relationships. Eventually, the spiritual conflict becomes unbearable. Our emotional needs make getting solid Christian relationship advice more critical today than it has ever been. Society is throwing a multitude of conflicting messages at us each day.

The dating message is confusing enough for Christians without adding the influence of TV sitcoms, Hollywood movies, and pop culture magazines who set the tone for what is acceptable in relationships and marriage. By ignoring the worldly messages and following biblical moral guidelines you will stay on the right path but you will invariably be challenged because you will be counter to what the majority of society considers normal. As a Christian, you are called to be "in the world" but not "of the world" in every decision you make. This includes your dating relationships and marriage. You risk heart break when you choose to become "of the world." It is true that Christian relationship advice can seem confusing, but, there can be no confusion about what the Bible has to say about marriage and morals. With Bible teachings in mind, here are some suggestions to keep you on the right path:

 1. Ignore peer pressure! No doubt you have non-Christian friends and acquaintances. We do not live in a spiritual bubble. But, you are the only one who is responsible for your choices. No one can force you to ignore your Christian values. Yes, it can be difficult to resist a night out with friends who think that bars and clubs are fun or that casual physical intimacy is acceptable behavior. Yes, these so-called friends may even try to make you feel like a "Jesus freak" in order to convince you that a little "sin" will not hurt you. But, if you really want to be a "light in the world" then show these friends that you value your Christian morals more than what they offer and you are not the least bit ashamed of it. The serious downside of giving in is, you will immediately feel the admonition of the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us "there is pleasure in sin for a season, then comes the judgement." You may even be deeply disappointed in yourself and you could end up in a relationship with someone who will only cause you emotional pain. As you can see, there is no profit in for you by giving in.

 2. There is wisdom in a multitude of Christian counselors! When seeking relationship advice, the worst thing you can do is seek Christian relationship advice from secular self-help books, people like Dr. Phil, Oprah, and other daytime talk shows. Theirs is worldly advice that will not serve you well. If you want truly helpful relationship advice, seek out a Christian counselor or material specifically created for Christians. Since you are a Christian, only a Christian can give you advice about dating someone from another Christian denomination or dating an unbeliever. You may be advised that a Roman Catholic dating a Baptist may not work. From Christian sources you will also hear trustworthy advice about physical intimacy and marriage that will make sense from a biblical perspective. The whole point of only getting Christian relationship advice is the same as getting advice from a poor man about how you can become rich. The poor man will not know what he is talking about will he? Why then would you follow the advice of a non-Christian in matters of the heart? They simply do not know what they are talking about from a Christian perspective. That said, be careful of Christian advice that is dogmatic or that cannot be reconciled by your personal study of scripture. When Paul preached, the Bereans said: "Let us study the scriptures to see if these things are true." You should follow that advice.

3. Your true friends should be an obvious choice! Do I need to remind you that the only crowd you should hang with are other Christians? You can have secular friends, as well, but choose them wisely. Limit the level of your secular relationships to those that respect the fact that you are a Christian and who do not attempt to corrupt your values. You need to seek out places where your fellow believers hang out. This may involve becoming more active in church functions, attending Christian events, or just hanging out at a Christian coffee house. Your faith will be strengthened and your light will shine even brighter in the world.

4. Marriage may be your goal but...! It's a mistake to date if your only goal is marriage. Dating is a complex exercise of discovery and needs to be conducted as such. It's an ideal situation if you find the right person right off but life is not that simple. You should interact with several people of the opposite sex in order to learn the following valuable lesson: We are in the flesh and the flesh can be misleading. Get to know people, what makes them tick, before you get into a serious relationship.

5. Be cautious of "love at first sight." It's easy to misinterpret the Holy Spirit's leading if we choose a mate based on physical or emotional attraction at first sight. The fact is, most successful marriages begin with friendship. Friendship gives each person time to find out whether they compliment each other. Physical or emotional attraction should never be the main factors. We all grow old eventually so we certainly want true love to be there when the bloom finally falls off the rose! The inner person is the one you will want to marry (and spend your life with) regardless of outward appearances. 6. Physical intimacy before marriage. Be careful if your date tries to push you into physical intimacy before marriage. Just because he or she is a Christian does not mean they have control of their lust. We are in the flesh, remember? Your date may just want to have some fun at your expense and move on once you ask for a lifelong commitment.

 Finally, let me encourage you. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to another committed Christian with whom you can have a lifelong, loving relationship. Expect that there is someone out there looking for a Christian mate like you, too. When you ask, resist telling the Holy Spirit how that person should look, or that they should be a person with material wealth, or anything else for that matter. Leave it to the Holy Spirit and He will bring you the person that He knows is right for you. Ask and be patient. You shall receive.

How Fundraising Can Help Your Mission Trips

Missionary work calls many people. Missionary work is the act of spreading the word of god through the world. These trips are usually associated with long journeys into dark, mosquito filled lands. The trips tend to focus on remote places in Africa and Asia. They concentrate on what is referred to as the 10/40 belt. A geographic location in the southern hemisphere that contains 90% of the earths poorest and 95% of those who have not heard of Christianity. Many trips take missionaries to rural and city locations in the states. Ministry Appeals to Every Age Group Different locations and lengths of trip are available. Students can do missionary work for a couple of months between studies. Mission trips are available for adults, married couples and entire families. Short term missionary work is available for 3 month trips and packaged for students in the Youth, High School and College age. For older people or those settled there are adult and family trips too. Alternatives for Raising Money for Your Trip Depending on location and the length of your missionary trip the cost for the average missionary trip is $2,000 and up. Considering that a single person flying to Africa, $2,000 may not even cover your air fare. You may need help raising funds to help you afford this trip. You can send a letter stating your intentions asking for money. Your letter should include the date of the trip, the goal of your goodwill, pictures of the country, then get to the chase and mention the cost of the trip. Ask in a straight forward way if they could help you and the church with this mission. Then wrap the letter up with best wishes and mail it. It is possible to raise $1,000 to $1,500 through writing a mission letter to your friends and family. While you are waiting for your money to come in from your letter it would be a good idea to have a second source of income to supplement the rest of your trip. Fundraising can fit into your schedule by being available when you are. If you are a student you can run a fundraising campaign between semesters. You could even post notices and flyers on message boards on campus. If you contact a professional fundraising company many will have fundraising campaigns that have a spiritual and environmental side to them. Some fundraising companies can offer you candles with bible verses on them or guaranteed to bloom flower bulbs. These campaigns along with the regular food campaigns that are available offer you products that are more in line with your mission objectives.

A Brief History of Israel

Since Israel has been in the news quite a bit lately, and for good reason since it will be the fuse for the next world war, I thought I would give a brief history of Israel to clear a few things up.

Israel became a Kingdom in 1000 b.c. It ceased being a kingdom in about 586 B.C. when the Babylonians took Jerusalem and the remaining tribes of Judah and Benjamin along with them back to Babylon. This area, which would be known as Palestine by the Romans, passed through the hands of empires such as the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and then the Romans. Starting in 638 A.D., Palestine was taken by the Muslims and became part of the Ottoman Empire until the end of World War I, when Britain captured the area in 1917. There were no countries in the Ottoman Empire, just provinces; that means that there never was an Arab or Palestinian country in this area during this time or ever before.

The Zionist movement started buying land and settling Jews in Palestine, beginning in 1870. At the end of World War I, on November 2, 1917, the British produced the Balfour Declaration to create a Jewish homeland consisting of the area now occupied by Israel and Jordan. Out of what was the Ottoman Empire, Britain and France carved up the Middle East and created the countries and boundaries of Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and many other countries. In 1920 in San Remo, Italy, these boundaries were ratified by the nations in attendance of the San Remo Conference. If the country of Israel's right to exist is in doubt today, then so, too, is every one of the rest of these countries created at this same time by the same world powers.

To sooth the anger of the Arab countries over the one lonely Jewish state, Israel gave its first of a long line of land concessions to the Arabs by giving them Jordan for any Arabs not wishing to be part of or displaced by the Jewish state in 1921. There is no such thing as a Jordanian other than by being a person that lives in Jordan, just as a Palestinian is not a unique ethnic people but rather an Arab that lives in the land of Palestine as do many other peoples. The Hashemites, who were defeated by the Saudi's in Arabia, were transported and set up to rule over that population, which today is more than 80% Palestinian. From 1923 to 1948, Britain ruled Palestine under the British Mandate of the League of Nations.

By 1948 the world was still dragging its feet on the status of Israel, even though six million Jews had just been murdered right before their very eyes. Having just survived this holocaust with virtually no help from the world, the Jewish people vowed to prevent this from happening again: Upon the departure of British troops in 1948, the Jews proclaimed their independence on May 14, 1948. Israel offered Arabs remaining in the country a part of this new nation, with citizenship and participation in the government. Arabs however, cleansed their countries of every single Jew and confiscated all their possessions. They then warned Arabs living in Israel to leave the country so that the combined Arab armies could crush Israel. After cleansing Israel of all the Jews there also, the Arabs intended to return to take possession of the land.

As history has shown, this small ragtag army of Jews defeated the league of Arab armies to establish Israel again after nearly 2,500 years, just as God had predicted. The Jews had finally returned home. This is not to say that there were no acts of terrorism by the Jews or that the Jews did no wrong, some did, but they occupy no land but their own, and it isn't even all the land that God gave them to possess. The west bank is the land of Samaria and Judea. It's where the term Jew comes from!

After trying one more time to annihilate the Jewish state in 1973, the Arabs/Palestinians now want the West Bank, Gaza strip, and East Jerusalem for their state. When the Prime Minister of Israel recently visited the White House, he was told by President Obama that this will be the case in addition to having the U.N administer the Temple Mount area. If Israel agrees to do this and gives up the Golan Heights to Syria, Israel will become indefensible militarily. If given the West Bank, the Palestinians will almost assuredly elect Hamas as their government just as they did in the Gaza Strip. Hamas has vowed never to recognize the Jewish state and calls for the death of all Israelis. Once in control of the West Bank, missiles will pour in from Iran just as they did in the Gaza Strip. To the north of Israel, Hezbollah has re-armed with more missiles than they had before the second Lebanon war, even though the U.N. was deployed there to prevent this from happening.

I believe the Palestinians should have their own country, but not by sacrificing Israel to get it. Surrounded by nations that raise their children to hate Jews and that call for their destruction almost daily, ceding the high ground to their enemies, and letting Iran attain nuclear weapons is a recipe for disaster. The seeds are being sown right now for the next world war.

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Get The 7 Keys To Improving Your Life Every Day

To say that this book is about improving your life every day is an understatement. This book will show you how to revolutionize your life in such a way that it will change your life into the life of your dreams.
You are going to discover how to live a life that works. A life of peace, joy, happiness, and abundance in every area of your life.

I'll be the first to say that I am a huge fan of Joel Osteen. His first book, "Your Best Life Now" is a book that I have been deeply influenced by. However, as good as "Your Best Life Now" is, (definitely 5 stars), "Become a Better You" is even better.

Because he seems like such a happy positive person, it's hard to believe that Joel Osteen has ever had any problems. It's also hard to believe that he would understand what it's like to come from the bottom and overcome some of the worst problems a person could have but he does.

Osteen offers seven keys to improving your life:

1. Keep pressing forward (This means to never quit)
2. Be positive toward yourself
3. Develop better relationships
4. Form better habits
5. Embrace the place where you are
6. Develop your inner life
7. Stay passionate about life

One of the things I liked best about this book is that at the end of each section he offers a set of action points. These action points cover the main points of the entire section. I found that studying these every day helped me make a lot of progress much more quickly than if I hadn't.

Another thing I liked about this book is that it has 31 chapters. This makes it a good choice to also use as a daily reading to help you further study the material. I've read the book several times this way, and it made it much easier to apply the information. There's just so much good stuff in this book that will help you. You can't read it just one time. It's a book you will want to read over and over.

Two things I was absolutely sure of after I read this book is this: First, God really loves me. He loves all of us, and He really wants to bless us. This means that all of the hell fire and brimstone taught in church is an injustice done to those of us who truly believe. God wants to connect with us, not hurt us.
The second thing is that Joel Osteen truly understands people, and he is committed to helping others achieve the life God has in store for us. I didn't find his teaching to be shallow at all, and it's definitely not the "I'm good, you're good, God is good" type of teaching he has been accused of.

The teaching in this book is completely biblical, and even better, it will change your life. If you want a life that's even better than you can imagine, you definitely want this book.

Like this review? Then visit my Christian blog [http://blog.101christian.com] for more tips, strategies, and free resources to help you live a victorious Christian life. Get your free ebook copy of the Science of Getting Rich at 101 Christian [http://www.101christian.com] and learn how to live the abundant life.

Church Sermons- 3 Effortless Research Tips

Sermons have the ability to change lives. For those people that hear your message at the right time and place, it can literally change the course of their very decision making. So how do you construct a sermon? It can be quite an overwhelming job, especially if you've never written one before. Where do you begin? What are you going to talk about? What passages of scripture do you use? How do you tie everything up in a neat little bow? Can you even do that? After all, a lot of scripture is open to interpretation. Well, if you're wracking your brain trying to write that sermon, these 3 effortless sermon research tips should help. At the top of the list of things to do is to make sure that you have a main passage of scripture that you want to preach off of. A lot of times, this will lock you into a subject. For example, if you're preaching on Daniel in the lion's den, you're not going to stray and start talking about the transfiguration of Jesus. Having specific bible scripture in mind will make the sermon itself go a lot smoother and even, in some cases, write itself. You will be surprised how quickly research will flow when you have a topic and start connecting chapter and verse as you research. Another thing you want to do is start the sermon off with a related personal story. Try to make it a humorous one if you can. The reason for this is because you don't want the congregation falling asleep on you. If you dive right into the theological stuff right off the bat, you're going to lose a lot of your congregation before you even reach the second paragraph. Adding the human element will greatly help in keeping the parishioners interested. If you want to see an example of this, watch Joel Olsteen on Christian television. He starts off each message with a joke and gets his congregation to laugh. I think this also gives him a down to earth character and his people view him as being at their level, and they in turn can relate to him and receive the message he is giving. Finally, you want to keep your sermon brief. A clever minister used to say, if you can't get your point across in less than 10 minutes, then it wasn't worth getting across in the first place. One way to keep your sermon brief is to make a list of bullet points that you want to cover in the sermon itself. Try to keep them to 3 or 4 points in total. If you limit each one to about 3 minutes talking time, you should have no problem keeping your sermon to around 10 minutes. Some church denominations are accustomed to longer messages, and if you are a pastor from those denominations, you already know who you are. It should be prudent to note that the attention span for an adult is between 20-25 minutes so after this point, even with longer messages, your members have reached their maximum capacity to absorb your message. There are other things you can do to improve your sermon, but we'll cover those in future articles. In the meantime, if you follow the tips I've outlined above, getting a main passage of scripture, starting off with a personal story, and keeping the sermon to about 10 minutes, you will find that your sermon will go over a lot better with the congregation and they won't end up falling asleep on you or leaving service early.

How To Overcome Fear God's Way

Jesus Christ redeemed you from the curse of fear according Galatians 3:13. To overcome all the attacks of the spirit of fear you have been given mighty divine weapons: prayer, thanksgiving to God for answered prayer, the name of Jesus, your faith, God's Word and your own faith-filled words. Prayer: First of all, you need to give the problem of fear to God in prayer. The Bible says, "Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6,7). When you pray to God the Father in Jesus' name, believe according to 1 John 5:14,15 God heard your prayer and granted your petition. Thanksgiving: Whenever fear tries to attack you, begin to thank and praise God you are free from fear based on your prayer of faith and God's Holy Word. In fact, get in a habit of thanking God throughout the day for your salvation. Your salvation includes being saved, healed, protected, made whole, do well, delivered and preserved. That's a lot to be thankful for because of what Jesus Christ did for you on the Cross. There is a spiritual reason for giving thanks to God. When you thank God for answered prayer, you are releasing your faith for God's answer to be made real in your life. This spiritual principle is found in Hebrews 11:1 and I believe this is the greatest explanation of faith in the Bible. Begin thanking God you are free from fear. Remember according to Isaiah 54:17, "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper." That's something to meditate on and thank God for each day. The Name of Jesus: Philippians 2:9-11 says, "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Then, in Mark 16:17,18 it says you now have been given the authority to use this mighty name of Jesus against evil, including the spirit of fear that would try to torment you: "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." Therefore, when the spirit of fear comes against you, command it to go in the name of Jesus and it will have to flee because you have released your faith in the power of the name of Jesus. Your Faith: 1 John 5:4b says, "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." Trust in God that your faith is working through your prayers to God, your thanksgiving to God, your faith in the name of Jesus, your faith, God's Word and your words. God's Word: God's Word spoken in faith out of your mouth is powerful and will overcome all evil, including the spirit of fear. Boldly declare the covenant promises of God to defeat fear in every instance of your life. "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). Your Words: Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." And in Mark 11:23 it states, "For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith." God's Word concerning the tongue should encourage you to keep a close watch over your mouth and only say what is in line with the Word of God. Again I say, watch your words. Speak the answer, God's Word and not the problem. You want your words to be constructive and not destructive. Daily boldly declare what God has said in His promises concerning you. Don't know what God has said about you in His Holy Word concerning His promises? Then you need to find out. How? Start daily reading, studying and meditating the Word of God. And of course, if you are not a Christian then you need to receive God's free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ for this above plan of action to successfully work against the spirit of fear. If you have not done so, I encourage you to make this wise salvation decision now and receive your redemption from fear and receive all the covenant rights of a child of God by inviting Jesus Christ into your heart. Peace to you and may you continually enjoy thanking God for your freedom from fear.

The Miracles Of Jesus Christ

One of the most essential parts of Christianity lies in recognizing the fact that Jesus Christ was divine. And one of the ways in which his divinity is proved by scholars in the Bible is to emphasize the several miracles that Jesus in academic circles, are oftentimes categorized according to the act that was carried out.

Hence, miracles which involves conquering physical barriers are considered miracles of nature, those wherein Jesus cast out demons are known as exorcisms, and those miracles which involved healing are cures.

The Miracles of Nature-- although Jesus miracles at times did not involve people, they usually served an illustrative purpose (the major one being to prove and manifest divinity). And these are known as miracles of nature. It actually included walking on water, feeding large crowds with relatively little food and causing His followers to catch numerous fish though they had been failing all night. (He also at several times raised people from the dead and He also walked through a crowd that wanted to throw Him off a cliff.)

But Jesus' first ever miracle of nature recorded in the Biblical canon was when He turned water into wine at a wedding. His mother Mary was one of the guests at that wedding and He and His disciples also came. When the wine ran out, Mary approached Him and told Him that His time had not yet come. Still, He proceeded to turn the water that was to be used for cleansing into wine, which the master of ceremonies declared to be the best-tasting wine he ever had in his life, as opposed to normal conventions which had the host bringing out the inferior wine second. This miracle could be interpreted to demonstrate Him using all things to His ends, making the unclean clean, and of being straightforward in the introduction of His message. His Miracles of Exorcism.

Another category of miracle that He performed are involved casting out demons on afflicted individuals. He is recorded as having cast demons out singly and in large groups after having them name themselves and recognize His authority. These differ from His healing miracles in that they vividly portray a struggle of good versus evil instead of conquest over the natural. Jesus Healing Miracles.

The healing miracles of Jesus offered some insights into His character and His mission as a whole. And these are the best recorded in the Bible, because so many illnesses he healed were regarded as a death sentence by the cultures of that time. Jesus demonstrated His mission of loving the unloved, at the same time of course demonstrating His divinity.

Jesus words after curing many people are the same;through your faith, you are healed.(Matt 9:22). Jesus demonstrated through this that people come through Him through their own faith rather than through His compulsion. For instance, lepers were regarded as outcasts of society. They had to carry bells and cry unclean whenever they come nearer to other people. In order to cure these lepers, He would often touch them, to the apprehension of His disciples. He then made it clear through His healing that it was the faith of the people that He healed that caused the cure.

The Savior of the World

There are certain views and prejudices which stand between many people and a full knowledge of Jesus Christ and a true joy of salvation. Certain views and prejudices create fixed ideas and limits which make it impossible to obtain this knowledge and joy. For some people everything must fit into these limits or else be left outside. This charge is frequently brought against religious people. Religious people are frequently charged with being narrow-minded and having a fixed outlook and non flexible. Examples of this charge include: Religious persons: 1. A man who claims his religion is the only true religion. 2. A man who claims he has full revelation and unless you agree with and accept all his doctrines you are wrong. Non-religious persons: 1. A man who says all forms of religion are wrong. For the non-religious, religion is only meant to apply to a certain type of person. Many non-religious people recognize religion as something that does some type of people good. They feel it is all right for some, but they don't feel they are the type. They say religion is not appealing to them, but fail to realize this is true because they have not given religion a chance. Their outlook is cramped and confined and their view of the Truth is that it is something which can be fitted into their mind, instead of something their mind needs to absorb and be fitted to. These narrow-minded views result in not understanding the mysteries of life and the things which make life worth living. These narrow-minded views result in the inability to find true fellowship with one another. The view Christ came to teach: Christ taught that we are the same and there are no barriers. He came to banish and break down divisions whether religious or non-religious. He came to proclaim that all men and women are one in nature and have one great need, a true knowledge of God. Christ constantly referred to God as Father in order to stress this. The first move on the road to being a Christian is to stop being a social, moral, or intellectual snob. The way to obtain salvation is to realize the need for it and to seek it. This is the theme of the New Testament: the humble find salvation, but the proud and arrogant ever remain on the outside. The people who consider themselves in a special and particular position never find happiness, for God does not legislate for special cases, but for mankind. He provided a Savior for the world in His Son. It is therefore our own responsibility if we consider ourselves to such exceptional people that a world-Savior does not include us. The story of Jesus speaking to the Samaritans recorded in John 4:41,42 illustrates these truths and the working out of this idea. And many more believed because of his own word; And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard [him] ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world. This story reveals the power of God and the Gospel. However, there is a casual element in the story. It shows us the great possibilities that are in life for all of us if we just take advantage of them. Nothing could be quite as casual as the chance meeting of Jesus and this woman. They just happened to meet and talk about a drink of water. From their conversation came the salvation of the woman and a large number of people from her town. This is the very essence of the Gospel; that there are infinite possibilities which are present in the most unlikely circumstances. That is how the Gospel is spread. Think of the woman going out of town to the well. She was a burdened sinner who returned a redeemed soul. Life under the guidance of God is full of this kind of situations. You never know when God is going to appear or when the Holy Spirit is going to descend. You never know when Christ is going to deal with you and remove your burden and give your soul release. That is why every Christian must be optimistic. Just when you are about to convince yourself that your struggle is all in vain and your fighting is useles just then, when least expected, you are rewarded with victory. Thousands of times this has happened and it is the belief of the Christian, who believes in the unity of the human race and who regards all men and women as being equal. It is his belief that what has happened once can always happen again that if one man has been saved, all men can be saved. He who doesn't expect, doesn't receive. Consider all this in the light of the Samaritans and you will see how an honest, open, unprejudiced mind is rewarded. The Samaritan men were in the city following their occupations, not thinking of anything in particular. Suddenly the woman appears and shouts, Come see a man which told me all things that I ever did. Is this not the Christ? The Samaritans knew the woman well. They were aware of her notorious character. She was living with her sixth husband or at least one who passed as her husband. She was one of those unfortunate people who had gone down and down, who had broken every moral law and desecrated every thing that is required as sacred. Her life was in a hopeless mess, but at that moment she was a messenger of the Gospel. She was the one who called upon the people of Samaria to come out of the city to see Christ. There is enough Gospel in that fact alone to save the whole world if we could but see it. Consider the reaction of the men. They are asking, what is this woman talking about? What is this hysterical outburst? Thank goodness she found someone who can frighten her and bring her to her senses. We can easily add, religion is quite useful in slums and pagan countries; such people need something to change them. The messengers of Christ are strange people. They are sometimes the last you would expect: ex-convicts, ex-drunkards, ex-everything immoral. Would you be prepared to listen to them? Consider the woman's message. If the messenger seemed strange, the message was even more so. She said,Come, see a man which told me all things that ever I did. Not a man who told her all her good points, nor praised her. He was a man who told her of her faults and her sins. He revealed all her past with all its horror. In other words her message was,Come see a man who told me the truth. She had met a man whose religion was personal, one who stated honest bare facts. This is the very secret of the Gospel. It understands human nature. We are usually prepared to listen to a man who is serious and earnest. Jesus message may lash out and hurt us at times; nevertheless, His message shows that He is out to help us. Jesus exposes our sins and weaknesses, but He does not stop at that. Why was this woman shouting about this? Not because He had exposed her sins, but because He had removed them. The result of the woman's message was that what happened to her happened to those whom she spoke to. Their lives were changed. They knew their sins had been forgiven. They became filled with this joy and they turned to the woman and said, now we believe, not because of thy saying, for we have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, Savior of the world.

Does Purity of Heart Means You'll Live a Sinless Life?

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8). This is another of the Beatitudes that has been grossly perverted by the enemies of the Lord, enemies who have, like their predecessors the Pharisees, posed as the champions of the truth and boasted of a sanctity superior to that which the true people of God would dare to claim. All through this Christian era, also, there have been poor, deluded souls who have claimed an entire purification of the old man. Others have insisted that God has so completely renewed them that the carnal nature has been eradicated, so that they not only commit no sins but have no sinful desires or thoughts. But the Spirit-inspired Apostle John declares, If we say that we have [present tense] no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). Of course, such people appeal to the Scriptures in support of their vain delusion, applying to experience verses that describe the legal benefits of the Atonement. The words and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin (1 John 1:7) do not mean that our hearts have been washed from every trace of the corrupting defilements of evil, but primarily teach that the sacrifice of Christ has availed for the judicial blotting out of sins. When the Apostle Paul, describing the man who is a new creature in Christ, says that old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17), he is speaking of the new disposition of the Christians heart, which is wholly unlike his inner disposition prior to the Holy Spirit's work of regeneration. That purity of heart does not mean sinlessness of life is clear from the inspired record of the history of God's saints. Noah got drunk; Abraham equivocated; Moses disobeyed God; Job cursed the day of his birth; Elijah fled in terror from Jezebel; Peter denied Christ.Yes, perhaps someone will exclaim,but all these things transpired before Christianity was established! True, but it has also been the same since then. Where shall we go to find a Christian of superior attainments to those of the Apostle Paul? And what was his experience? Read Romans 7 and see. When he would do good, evil was present with him (v. 21). There was a law in his members, warring against the law of his mind, and bringing him into captivity to the law of sin that was in his members (v. 23). He did, with the mind, serve the Law of God; nevertheless, with the flesh he served the law of sin (v. 25). The truth is that one of the most conclusive evidences that we do possess a pure heart is the discovery and consciousness of the remaining impurity that continues to plague our hearts. But let us come closer to our text.Blessed are the pure in heart.In seeking an interpretation to any part of this Sermon on the Mount, the first thing to bear in mind is that those whom our Lord was addressing had been reared in Judaism. As one said who was deeply taught of the Spirit, I cannot help thinking that our Lord, in using the terms before us, had a tacit reference to that character of external sanctity or purity which belonged to the Jewish people, and to that privilege of intercourse with God which was connected with that character. They were a people separated from the nations polluted with idolatry; set apart as holy to Jehovah; and, as a holy people, they were permitted to draw near to their God, the only living and true God, in the ordinances of His worship. On the possession of this character, and on the enjoyment of this privilege, the Jewish people plumed themselves. A higher character, however, and a higher privilege, belonged to those who should be the subjects of the Messiah's reign. They should not only be externally holy, but pure in heart; and they should not merely be allowed to approach towards the holy place, where God's honor dwelt, but they should see God, be introduced into the most intimate intercourse with Him.

Can These 3 Types of Suffering Make You Rejoice?

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you (Matthew 5:10-12). Our Lord mentions, in verse 11, three sorts of suffering that His disciples should expect to endure in the line of duty. The first is reviling, that is, verbal abuse or vituperation. The second is persecution. This word is a proper rendering of a Greek word meaning to pursue, which means, in this case, to harass, trouble, or molest(either physically or verbally). It may include the sort of handling or hunting down to which Saul of Tarsus subjected the Church before he was apprehended by Christ (Acts 8, 9). Christ sets forth the third type of suffering as follows: Blessed are ye, when men shall say all manner of evil against you falsely.Thus He describes the defamation of character to which His saints must he subjected. This last is doubly painful to sensitive temperaments, finding its realization in the countless calumnies that the Devil is never weary of inventing in order to intensify the sufferings of the children of God. The words persecuted for righteousness sake and for My sake caution us to see to it that we are opposed and hated solely because we are the followers of the Lord Jesus, and not on account of our own misconduct or injudicious behavior (see 1 Peter 2:19-24). Persecution has ever been the lot of God's people. Cain slew Abel.And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous (1 John 3:12). Joseph was persecuted by his brethren, and down in Egypt he was cast into prison for righteousness sake (Genesis 37,39). Moses was reviled again and again (see Exodus 5:21; 14:11; 16:2; 17:2; etc.). Samuel was rejected (1 Samuel 8:5). Elijah was despised ( 1 Kings 18:17) and persecuted ( 1 Kings 19:2). Micaiah was hated (1 Kings 22:8). Nehemiah was oppressed and defamed (Nehemiah 4). The Savior Himself, the faithful Witness of God, was put to death by the people to whom He ministered. Stephen was stoned, Peter and John cast into prison, James beheaded, while the entire course of the Apostle Paul's Christian life and ministry was one long series of bitter and relentless persecutions. It is true that the persecution of the saints today is in a much milder form than it assumed in other ages. Nevertheless, it is just as real. Through the goodness of God we have long been protected from legal persecution, but the enmity of Satan finds other ways and means of expressing itself. Let persecuted Christians remember this comforting truth: For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake ( Philippians 1:29).

Why It's Hard For A Richman Or Even the Poor To Enter The Kingdom Of God

Note: Having money is not a sin; however, you can easily become more devoted to money than to God.

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matthew 6:21)

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. (Matthew 6:24) (See also: Luke 16:13).

However, riches have the potential to deceive those who possess them. This is not always the case, but it is, indeed, a potential pitfall--so much so that Jesus does say it is quite hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

The Parable of the Sower sheds more light on this. In this parable, there are four different types of soil on which seed is sown. The seed represents the Gospel and the soils represent different responses people have to it.

The third type of soil/response is described as follows:

but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. Mark 4:19

Why is that? Here are some reasons why it's hard for a rich (or even poor) man to enter the Kingdom of God.

1. The rich (and poor alike) tend to look to riches for ALL their needs
The carnal, unrenewed mind thinks worldly things. Just like the rich young ruler that Jesus talked to prior to the earlier passage (see Mark 10:17-22), all of us tend to trust in our riches because of the tremendous comfort, security and privilege that it brings.

Seriously, money can buy many things, but it can only buy so much. It can't buy salvation. Thus we won't be receiving the free gift of God in Christ Jesus through it.

2. Salvation is NOT by works or riches

No one can work or pay his way to heaven and the Kingdom of God. Ephesians 2:8-9 says "God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it."

Salvation is a gift from the Lord, paid for in blood by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. It's a gift that no money, no favour, and no amount of work can ever purchase. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."

3. Salvation is God's own work, NOT ours

Hebrews 12:2 says that Jesus is "the founder and perfecter of our faith." He was, is, and will always be the One who made the way for us to be saved. He was the one who worked to bring us to salvation (see Ephesians 2:4-7), who works to continually produce the fruits of our salvation in Him (see Philippians 1:11; Galatians 5:22-26), and the one who will bring us to completion (see Philippians 1:6).

Those who trust in their riches to provide all they need to live a godly life (yes, even that) will find that riches aren't even needed to save, to build up in the faith, and to grow in Christ-likeness. All we need is less of us and more of Christ (see John 3:30; 2 Corinthians 3:18).

As already mentioned, it is entirely possible for a rich man to go to heaven. The problem is that a rich man can more easily trust in his own merits or wealth.