Brethren I am not trying to be exhaustive here, nor is that possible. The Holy Bible presents prayer from the Old Testament to the New Testament, as the command, privilege, right, pleasure and delight for God’s people. We must be a people of prayer. Of course this does not mean leaving off carrying out the practical, ordinary things expected of us. For example if we pray for the poor, we should also provide any practical help to the degree that we are able to: donate food, or volunteer to help a food pantry, give gently used clothing, or any other help that we can reasonably offer, even kindness and words of encouragement.

If we pray for our government, brothers and sisters, we ought to vote as wisely as we can, and support it when it is doing good, and speak out appropriately when it does not, and try to effect any change that we can in the natural. We understand that all will be put right forever, only in the New world, ie when the Kingdom comes under the eternal, everlasting, perpetual Kingdom of God. But until the Kingdom comes, God has eternally given a direct, divine pipeline to each and every saint (G40 hagios) to Himself. In the Old Testament only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and that but once a year. But thank God, Jesus has torn down the curtain that restricted entrance to God, and through His blood every single one of us the people of God can enter, anytime into the very presence of Almighty God.

Now, beloveds, there are some things that we can do nothing about in any practical sense, but we can pray about those things too. In prayer to our God, we are never relying on our own strength, or as dictators, but we come boldly to Jesus, just as He has told us to do, in complete confidence, faith and assurance that He has given us. We come with spiritually correct humility, and right motivation of the heart, to our Great God. We come seeking His intervention and help, trusting Him alone for the outcome, trusting that He wants better for us than we do for ourselves. To be continued.

Love

serola

Dearly Beloveds, along with the rise of the mind sciences, there is also a rise in the mind counselors, those persons trained in various areas of psychiatry, psychology and such like areas. Of course there are those sciences which study the neurological, chemical and medical aspects of the mind, that influence counselors in their understanding of human behavior and problems, while they may not be directly involved in actual counseling themselves.

Saints (G40 hagios), what I find interesting with the rise of the mind sciences as the solutions to the problems of today, that there is an attempt to place these as superior over any other form of help for the problems of living, including the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Consequently, brethren, we find that some churches (NEVER All), have brought in “professional “ counselors, exclusively, handing the flock over to them with no oversight. Now, as I have said before, beloveds, certainly a well trained counselor can be of help with problems in living, and also for Christians suffering from serious mental illnesses, but there is often more involved in problems and resolutions for God’s people than the mere natural aspects of life.

Some of these counselors do not see the Holy Bible as inerrant, and often offer unbiblical “spiritual” counseling, along with the natural counseling, such as, it is O.K to curse out God, get mad at God, and blame God for certain things, which is just plain wrong and outright blasphemous. Isa. 45:9

Now even some of those claiming to be Christian counselors, but not all, proudly and arrogantly pronounce that they have made an amalgam or blend of the Holy Bible with psychology!! Others may even claim to offer more modern help, and regard the Holy Bible as an antiquated document that does not address the problems of living today.

Once they are allowed into the church, they can and do compete with the ministry ideologically, and try to influence what is preached and taught in the church, more along a psychological bent, rather than a biblical one. If a Christian seeks counsel outside the church, or concurrent with a Christian who counsels, he or she must do so with care to avoid those claiming to have made a blend of psychology and the Holy Bible, and do not respect his or her faith.

A true counselor who is a Christian is competent in the understanding of both the natural and the spiritual aspects of life for the Christian, but need not be a professional. Any mature, patient, biblically sound pastor or other saint can counsel Christians. Such counselors will adhere to and accept the Holy Bible as inerrant, committed to its absolute truth, and unwavering principles, and regard the ministry with respect. These are reasonable expectations of any Christian, professional or otherwise. No Christian should have to pay for help within the church. Christians helping Christians continues to benefit the body as a whole as the saints minister to one another in love. So what is the fat, overweight, or obese saint (G40 hagios) to do? To be continued, God willing.

Love

serola

All praises, glory and honor to our Triune God, Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient, Sovereign. It is your Kingdom alone, Lord God, that is eternal, everlasting, and perpetual, that shall stand forever, in complete triumph, victory and power. You have created all flesh, all universes, every microbe, every blade of grass, every planet, the sun, moon, and stars, all powers, seen and unseen, even the heaven of heavens, and the fires of destruction for all those who reject the Son of God. You alone, Lord God, are the giver of Salvation, Redemption, Deliverance, and Eternal life, through your Son Jesus Christ, freely to all who believe and trust on His name. All thanks, and blessings, praises, heartfelt gratitude to you alone, for all that you have done, will do, and even now do, Lord, and with such abundance and love, that is continual and overflowing to your saints (G40 hagios), whom your hands have made for your glory. With love and praise offerings, I thank you Lord God, for your Kingdom shall surely come, and your Absolute Will shall be accomplished, for there is no counsel, scheme, plot, plan, power, foe, enemy spirit or human that can delay, alter, nor prevent your Will, Lord God, from coming to pass.

Our God alone, is worthy of our worship and praises. What ever the situation, circumstance, or condition, we can trust God, children of light. He is the complete, absolute, final, eternal, perpetual, everlasting truth and standard, for all men, for all time. As so many saints (G40 hagios) have said and will continue to say, we have absolutely no reason to lose hope. O I know sometimes any saint ( G40 hagios) can feel discouraged, even occasionally out of the blue, with seemingly no known reason. But, dearly beloveds, discouragement is not the constant state for any of God’s people.

Until the return of the King, we will have some battle, some difficulty, some trial, affliction, persecution, some temptation, or some other problems in our lives, with others, and even within ourselves. Some Christians are over weight, even fat, so what can a Christian do regarding this particular issue? Now, beloveds, I mentioned earlier, that some people, including believers, are overweight due to some medical problem, not over eating.

But for many of us, the problem lies within ourselves. God can help us with any difficulty, and He will not condemn us for asking for His help, and He will do it free of charge, nor will there be any thing to purchase.

The lord loves us and has all kinds of helps available to us both spiritual and natural. It is important to understand that we cannot and must not spiritualize the natural nor naturalize the spiritual, which is not God honoring and therefore will accomplish nothing. Beloveds, it is important to look into God’s word, for He will lead and guide us in the way that will bring Him glory, and for our good. The Holy Bible is easy to understand, because that is the way God wants it: Pr. 14:6 A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth. (kjv)

Love

serola

The Holy Bible on love (charity) and truth: Charity… 1 Co13:6 Rojoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth.. (see this whole chapter, saints G40 hagios).

Speaking the truth in love results in growth in Christ.. Eph. 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. Feel free to see this whole chapter.

The absolute source of truth, and ability to discern and reprove darkness, beloveds, is found here: Eph. 5:9 ( For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) 10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. 11And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. See this whole chapter.

Truth must lead to love of the brethren, saints: 1Pe 1:22 seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.. (much more in this chapter).

We must love one another in truth, dear ones: 2 Jn. 1:1 The elder unto the elect lady and children, whom I love in the truth, and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth; 2 For the truth’s sake which dwelleth in us and shall be with us for ever.

The comprehensiveness of truth and love in the Triune God.

2Jn. 1:3 Grace be with you, mercy, and peace from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

Those who reject the love of the truth reject salvation: 2 Th. 3:7-12.

The saint that loves in truth can take stock in the realities, and love will keep that saint from mindless vengeance, but discerning a clear path of dealing righteously, with whatever must be dealt with.

One night I turned on the television, to see if there was a movie on. I came across one that the info said was a comedy, and indeed it was-making fun of pastors. No one saw me, I could have watched it, but brethren, I was appalled and angry, and refused to watch it. Suddenly memories of the pastors past and present that God has put in my life came flooding in: pastors that love/ encourage me to put God first in everything, taught me to love God and trust in His word, correctly understood; exhorted me to study God’s word privately and with the saints; to use the gift given me by God for His glory and the church, exhorted and corrected me to live a godly life according to God’s standard; instructed me never to isolate from other saints, but to love and reach out to my family in Christ, and caused me to experience the depth /richness of Christian life interdependent with one another and totally dependent on God; taught me to have compassion on the poor: to accept /love other saints different from me in race, economics, nationality; helped me to learn to forgive, to love the saints and all men; to love the truth; and never back down from the absolute truth of the scriptures, correctly divided, for anybody and anything; taught me that God is good ALL the time, and ALL the time God is good NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS; personally took me along with the whole church, out to witness again and again, and I along with the whole church, took notice of the simplicity of the Gospel to bring people to God, caused me and others to continue to witness and experience the joy of heaven, in witnessing and seeing men and women come to repentance and salvation, believing in Lord Jesus. These memories and so much more came to my mind, especially that every last one of these pastors, gave all the honor and glory to God; freely acknowledging that All their works were done by God's power and not their own.

So no, I will never accept nor approve, of those who consistently mock God directly, and indirectly through mocking ANY of His saints (G40 hagios). Certainly there have been some pastors who have done wrong, and certainly many of them have repented, but all of them “ain’t” doing it. Even today, our Lord has reserved to Himself a multitude of saints, who have NEVER once bowed themselves to baal. Beloveds, we must be careful not to brand the whole body of Christ world wide because of some sin of some of the saints, no matter the office they hold.

Now, all the saints with their gifts, from the Holy Spirit, are necessary for the good of the whole church, although certain saints are more necessary to the body; 1 Co. 12:18-22. See this whole chapter. It is God who has set His church in order and absolutely NO member of the church regardless of his gift or office is exempt from church discipline. It absolutely must be well understood that we worship none other than our Triune God. So this scripture is not talking about worship of any church leader or saint, but we ought to respect and honor them that serve righteously, for God’s sake.

1Th. 5:12 And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; 13 And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves. See 1Ti. 5:17-18.

We must pray for the saints and all men, trusting God for the outcome, and not in any sense that we can dictate to God what He must do, for He will always do better for us than we will do for ourselves. God has set up these pastors, as gatekeepers over the flock of God, subject to the same church discipline as all the church. I encourage you to along with all your prayers for the saints and all men, children of light, pray for these men: that they will continue to uphold the absolute, final, non-negotiable, non-compromising, unchanging, everlasting complete truth and standard of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to the whole world without apology, and without wavering. In doing so, we also participate, as a united body, in full battle dress, fully covered with the Armor of Almighty God, armed to the teeth, with the unbeatable, unconquerable; invincible weaponry supplied by Lord Jesus Christ, able to pull down every stronghold that attempts to exalt itself over the word of God, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against His church.

Stand firm, saints, love the brethren in the truth, uphold and live the word of God, as He has empowered every one of us to do. Stand strong in the faith of Jesus, exalting Him and putting Him first in ALL things.

Love

Serola

Dearly beloveds, interestingly some Christians (but NEVER all), believe you should or should not eat certain foods, but the Holy Bible says: there are those Christian brothers and sisters who biblically understand that they may eat any food. Even Paul the Apostle noted: Ro. 14:14-20 NIV As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.  Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.

Dear friends of Jesus, Paul recognizes a strong Christian’s right to certain freedoms, but qualifies it with the principle of regard for a weak brother’s scruples.

Of course dear brothers and sisters the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, to be overly concerned with food misses completely the essence of Christian living.

Children of the day, the strong Christian need not flaunt his freedom but keep it a private matter what he approves in regards to eating certain foods. This is not saying that a strong Christian should never please himself, but that he must be considerate of a weaker brother or sister. Paul is not talking about putting up with any practice of sin, but differences of opinion regarding food. Then there are a few Christians who fast a lot, and want to make it a command for all Christians to fast too. They somehow think they are “more spiritual” and that they have more “powerful prayers”, due to their fastings. Saints (G40 hagios), let us be patient in helping those who feel this way to go to the scriptures, regarding not trying to make our personal preferences a command for all believers.

Obesity is seen among Christians in all walks too, we are not immune to natural problems. Some Christians desiring to lose and/or maintain their weight often find themselves struggling and caught up in a pattern of losing and gaining the same weight over and over again. They would love to have the victory in this area, but may give up. Some may sink into self condemnation, due to not achieving victory in this area. God does not condemn us in those areas that are challenging for us, but is always there to help us in every struggle, so we need not lose hope.

Beloveds, there are many motivations for wanting to maintain and/or lose weight. Perhaps naturally speaking, one might want to improve, maintain or possibly avoid health problems, present a better image, avoid ridicule, or being judged, be more attractive to the opposite sex, look better in their clothing, feel better about themselves, etc. Nevertheless, our spiritual motivation must be the driving impetus for our reason to accomplish anything. As the body of Christ (G1577 ekklesia, a religious congregation, Christian community of saints on earth and in heaven-assembly, church), whether we eat or drink, let it be for the glory of God. Certainly saints (G40 hagios), God has given us food to enjoy, but we must not allow any pleasure to become our master. God has the answers both spiritual and natural. We are a forgiven, Holy Spirit filled peoples, and must never lose hope no matter the challenge. After all, beloveds, is there anything too hard for God?

One of the biggest challenges I have had lately in prayer saints, is for the pastors. I find I am bombarded with countless distractions, which makes me more determined to ignore them, and continue to uphold the pastors in prayer, as we all must, of course not leaving out prayer for all the saints, etc. Note brethren how the world and the mind sciences are attacking pastors, as being inadequate to counsel the flock. Any biblically sound, mature saint can counsel, as well as the pastors. Many of these “therapists” identify as only that, and hold underlying philosophies that do not square with the scriptures, some do not even attend any church, nor except the Holy Bible as inerrant. Worst yet is that their psycho babble gets into the church, leading to a psychological gospel and psycho-babble ramblings in place of sound biblical teachings. I am not against the practical aspects of understanding and resolving naturally occurring issues of life, but do not accept solely worldly standards and methods of dealing with them.

The truth is that God can help us to overcome problems, that would take many years in the therapists office to resolve, and God would do it for free.

Brothers and sisters, feel free to join me in this prayer:

Father I love and thank you, acknowledging you alone as the source of all true wisdom. I praise you for your love and continuing care of my mind, body, and spirit. To you alone belongs the worship, majesty, honor, and glory. You alone, are the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omniscient, Omni-Present One. To you alone, Lord, belongs the supremacy, dominion, control, magnificence, superiority, and authority, forever, and ever. Give to us Lord, your wisdom in every area of our lives and problems, all that we need to bring glory and honor to you, and godly resolutions for us. We know we can trust you always Lord, for you always desire better for us than we desire for ourselves.

Lord, I pray for the pastors, whom the Holy Spirit has gifted to the body of Christ. Lord, I pray that you will surround them with your love, peace, protection and hope. Lord, keep them encouraged, even when some in the flock do not seem to appreciate their efforts. King Jesus, give them continuing joy with patience in preaching and teaching the word, without fear of ANY opposition. God, give them the energy to do the work that you have set before everyone of them, and wisdom to know when to rest. I pray that you will send many gifted godly helpers of the flock to aid them in their labors, and relieve some of the work of the ministry. Finally, Lord, I pray that every saint shall appear before you having born fruit in witnessing, turning in souls to your kingdom, Amen.

Love

serola