Prayer is an essential element in spiritual vitality. It’s in prayer that we develop the close personal relationship with God that makes his spirit a power in our lives. We repent in prayer. It’s in prayer that we labor for the salvation not only of ourselves but of others. It’s in prayer that we give praise and thanksgiving to God and seek of him those things of which we have need. It’s vital to pray–and to understand how to pray, when, for what.
Category: God
God’s Name
In the Bible are found many names and titles for God. The faithful who abide in God’s word are called by his name (Jeremiah 15:16). The true Church bears the name of God. It is said of the Philadelphia era of the Church in part “you…Have not denied my name” (Revelation 3:8). He who overcomes bears the name of God. Those dwelling in the new Jerusalem shall have the name of God on their foreheads (Revelation 22:4), symbolic of having engraved in their minds the knowledge of the inherent meaning of God’s name and the spiritual and intellectual likeness of God which his name expresses.
Mysteries of the Bible
The Gospel, sometimes called a mystery, contains the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. In this article we will survey some of the mysteries of the Bible. Each of these could take a full article of itself, or perhaps even a book, to thoroughly explain. But for the purpose of this article some of them are covered in a summary fashion, along with a discussion about why the Bible itself is a mystery to most people.
The gospel, God’s word, the Bible, is indeed a mystery. Though the most widely distributed book in history according to guinnessworldrecords.com, its teachings are properly understood by, relatively speaking, only a handful of people. Many specific truths are revealed in the Bible, that are themselves mysteries, even though, ironically, they are explained clearly in the Bible.
Why is the most widely published Book in the world a mystery? Why are its teachings mysteries? To help us understand, let’s look at the word mystery itself, as used in the Bible, and discuss its meaning.
The Bible Hell
In The Bible Hell by John Wesley Hanson, published in 1888, the author goes through a word study of the four words translated “hell” in various English Bible versions. The author contrasts the manner in which these words in both the Old and New Testaments are used and understood by the authors who used the words in question, in contrast with subsequent interpreters who attached to the words meanings from heathen idolatry, meanings alien to the Bible’s true teachings.
The author’s preface summarizes his purpose and a summation of his conclusions as follows: “The brief excursus on the word ‘Hell’ contained in this volume, aims to treat the subject in a popular style, and at the same time to present all the important facts, so fully and comprehensively that any reader can obtain in a few pages a birds-eye-view of ‘The Bible Hell.’
Do Faithful Christians Suffer?
Some have been persuaded by false teachings or simply their own misunderstanding that by having “enough faith” and “claiming God’s promises” he or she will be blessed with good health, prosperity, and a life free of serious trials. But does God’s word in fact support the idea that a faithful Christian will experience such a physical lifetime in this age?
Despite the fact that some proponents of what has been called the “prosperity gospel” have garnered huge followings and massive amounts of money encouraging a distorted idea of what the Bible teaches in respect to how God works in our lives, one who takes a view such as described above is bound to be disappointed at some point in his or her life.
While God certainly does promise blessings for faithful obedience to his word, it’s also clear from the teachings and examples found in Scripture that the life of a genuine Christian in this age is challenging, and often calls for courage, sacrifice, and suffering. Why does God allow suffering, even for the faithful, and how may we profit from the trials we encounter as we strive to please and serve God?
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Unless otherwise noted Scripture taken from the New King James VersionTM
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