Posts by mdb

148

Have you ever had a prayer answered?

by nicolaou in

prayer topics seem to be the bandwagon of the moment so i'm jumping on!

seriously, has anyone here asked for something specific in prayer and actually gotten what they asked for?

what convinces you that you wouldn't have got it in any case?

mdb

Because I am in no way saying or even implying that my prayers were answered because I am more upright nor more righteous than anyone else on this forum. We are ALL sinners, my friend. Not one of us is better in any way. I believe it is just a matter of faith thats all.

Lovelylil,

My post was in no way intended to offend, but if someone is offended because they want nothing to do with the truth, then be offended (I know that is not the case with you). What I posted is directly from the Scriptures. Take it for what it is.

If you are deep in divination, worshipping trees, or in your heart choose to live your life in a way that contradicts the faith you may or may not profess in God and pray expecting that your prayer will be answered, you deceive yourself. I am not saying that any or all unanswered prayer is because you're a wicked person who does not deserve your prayer(s) to be answered - sometimes God says, "No. I have a better way."

As you said, "we are ALL sinners" and it is a "matter of faith". What was it said of Abraham? Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. It is by faith and the prayer offered in faith will save and heal the sick. If it was because of our righteousness that our prayers would be answered, we would be better off not to pray at all - none of our petitions would be heard. Our righteousness is like filthy rags to our Holy God and the righteousness we do have, as children of God and followers of Jesus Christ, is not our own.

God seeks the sincere hearts of those who love and fear Him. Our faith will be proved by what we do and we are justified by our works (NOT saved by them... I had to add that).

I am certain we agree here.

148

Have you ever had a prayer answered?

by nicolaou in

prayer topics seem to be the bandwagon of the moment so i'm jumping on!

seriously, has anyone here asked for something specific in prayer and actually gotten what they asked for?

what convinces you that you wouldn't have got it in any case?

mdb

i would think in most cases answered prayer is somethig that cant be proved. same as people who believe their stars and then when it happens think it must be true. or people that say they seen a ghost.
what i dont get about prayer, is most people say their prayers dont get answered, and some say they do. does God have favourites?
i have never had a prayer answered.

Why are some prayers not answered while others are?

if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. ~ 2 Ch 7:14

When we look at the scriptures (Rom 8:26-27, Eph 6:18, Jude 20:21-22), all saints aught to be in intercessory prayer whenever they pray. If we are followers of Christ, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us as a deposit. The Holy Spirit interceeds on behalf of the saints and in Eph 6:18 and Jude 20:21-22, it says to pray always in the Spirit. If we pray in the Spirit, the Spirit will make intercession for us so that we may pray and bring our supplication to God in accordance to His will (Rom 8:26-27). Are your prayers selfish? Are you praying to have a bigger house, a better car, to win the lottery? Is that God's will or yours? If you pray in accordance to His will, pray in the name of Jesus and believe that you will receive that which you have prayed for (a prayer offered in faith), your prayers will be answered. If you pray with your lips, but your heart is far from Him, do not expect anything you ask for to be answered.

praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints ~ Eph 6:18

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. ~ Jude 20:21-22

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. ~ Rom 8:26-27

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. ~ 1 Jn 5:14-15

____________________________________________________________________

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,
But the prayer of the upright is His delight.
The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,
But He loves him who follows righteousness. ~ Prov 15:8,9

The Lord is far from the wicked,
But He hears the prayer of the righteous. ~ Prov 15:29

One who turns away his ear from hearing the law,
Even his prayer is an abomination. ~ Prov 28:9

Hear the word of the Lord,
You rulers of Sodom;
Give ear to the law of our God,
You people of Gomorrah:
“To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?”
Says the Lord.
“I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fed cattle.
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
Or of lambs or goats.
“When you come to appear before Me,
Who has required this from your hand,
To trample My courts?
Bring no more futile sacrifices;
Incense is an abomination to Me.
The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies—
I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.
Your New Moons and your appointed feasts
My soul hates;
They are a trouble to Me,
I am weary of bearing them.
When you spread out your hands,
I will hide My eyes from you;
Even though you make many prayers,
I will not hear.
Your hands are full of blood. ~ Isa 1:10-15

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their prayers;
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” ~ 1 Pet 3:12

And they were helped against them, and the Hagrites were delivered into their hand, and all who were with them, for they cried out to God in the battle. He heeded their prayer, because they put their trust in Him. ~ 1 Ch 5:20

Jeremiah's prayers for the people of Israel were not answered because God said He would not hear them:

“So do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not hear them in the time that they cry out to Me because of their trouble. ~ Jer 11:14

Even when I cry and shout,
He shuts out my prayer. ~ Lam 3:8

You have covered Yourself with a cloud,
That prayer should not pass through. ~ Lam 3:44

Do you believe you will have what you ask for?:

And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” ~ Matt 21:22

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. ~ James 5:13-16

Your prayers can be hindered by your lifestyle:

Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. ~ 1 Pet 3:7

148

Have you ever had a prayer answered?

by nicolaou in

prayer topics seem to be the bandwagon of the moment so i'm jumping on!

seriously, has anyone here asked for something specific in prayer and actually gotten what they asked for?

what convinces you that you wouldn't have got it in any case?

mdb

Yes.

One recent example is my son (9mo. old now). My wife had experienced some abdominal pains around the 32nd week of the pregnancy and the doctors put her on bed rest. During other hospital visits, we were told that she would more than likely deliver by the 34th week if she took it easy, but probablly wouldn't make it much past that time. I prayed for her and our baby - that our son (didn't know at the time he was a he) would be born at full term. I remember a peace came to me about the situation and knew it was from God. I told people that he was going to be born full term because I knew before the time came, that God had answered that prayer. When we went in for the doctor's appointments to check on the progress of the pregnancy, the doctor's were baffled and kept commenting, "you should be having this child right now. We don't know why you aren't."

He was born on the 40th week. Due to a discrepancy in testing, the doctors are not sure if he was a week early or a week late. I say he was born at 40 weeks to the very day, exactly as God planned. One prayer request was that God would get the glory for answering that prayer and again, He gets the glory here.

God answers prayer.

41

Do you believe in sin?

by MsMcDucket in

if so, what is a sin?

who makes the definition?

mdb

Obedience keeps the law. Love knows when to break it.

God is love and love came to fulfill the law, not to break it nor destroy it. Does love "break the law"? Not God's law. If it comes down to a choice of obedience toward God or obedience toward a command given by men and there is no possible way of peace, the command given by men will be broken and the law of God obeyed.

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. ~ Matt 5:17-20

Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!”
But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.” ~ Acts 5:26-32

41

Do you believe in sin?

by MsMcDucket in

if so, what is a sin?

who makes the definition?

mdb

You can sin against yourself, your own sense of morals. I've done it and there's nothing worse.

What if your personal morals say it is okay to kill a righteous man and wrong to take care of the fatherless and widows?

What is sin? Whatever is not from faith is sin...

Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.
However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled [Rom 14:14]. But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse.
But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble. ~ 1 Cor 8:4-13

I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.
Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves [1 Jn 3:21]. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin. ~ Rom 14:14-23

Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. ~ 1 Jn 3:21

You can sin against your own body...

Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. ~ 1 Cor 6:18

14

Who is sending who?

by mdb in

flee from the land of the north, says the lord [yhwh]; for i have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven, says the lord [yhwh].

up, zion!

escape, you who dwell with the daughter of babylon.

mdb

lovelylil,

In my bible the New International Version it reads very differently than yours. Which one are you using?

I am using the New King James version (or the KJV), I have the NIV, but I won't use it anymore.

14

Who is sending who?

by mdb in

flee from the land of the north, says the lord [yhwh]; for i have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven, says the lord [yhwh].

up, zion!

escape, you who dwell with the daughter of babylon.

mdb

If the eternal Son, the Lord of hosts, is not God, how does the Scripture in Zechariah make any sense at all? I'm look to see if anyone has a legitimate, logical, NON-SARCASTIC explanition to the above which aligns itself with the Scriptures. I don't want a "well, Jesus cannot be God because the Watchtower says so". If you don't believe it, how is this verse explained? Yes, the NWT probablly distorts this verse some how, but I'm sure most people here think the NWT is a bunch of garbage anyway (and some think everything is). I'm interrested to know what people think on this specific verse because it is very clear that there are two (2) persons of yhwh here and God says there is no other God but Him. If Jesus was not God, which He claimed to be, then who is this other yhwh of hosts? Jesus also said that the Scriptures speak of Him, but men refuse to come to Him to have life. The OT books are the Scriptures Jesus spoke of.

14

Who is sending who?

by mdb in

flee from the land of the north, says the lord [yhwh]; for i have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven, says the lord [yhwh].

up, zion!

escape, you who dwell with the daughter of babylon.

mdb

“Up, up! Flee from the land of the north,” says the Lord [yhwh]; “for I have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven,” says the Lord [yhwh]. “Up, Zion! Escape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon.” For thus says the Lord [yhwh] of hosts: “He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye. For surely I will shake My hand against them, and they shall become spoil for their servants. Then you will know that the Lord [yhwh] of hosts has sent Me. ~Zech 2:6-9 The Lord [yhwh] of hosts sends the Lord [yhwh] of Hosts? Two distinct persons, yet one God, one Lord. If the eternal Son, the Lord of hosts, is not God, how is this possible?

1

"The Lord rebuke you Satan"

by mdb in

who says, the lord rebuke you satan?

and the [angel of the] lord [yhwh] said to satan, the lord [yhwh] rebuke you, satan!

the lord [yhwh] who has chosen jerusalem rebuke you!

mdb

Who says, “The Lord rebuke you Satan”?

And the [angel of the] Lord [yhwh] said to Satan, “The Lord [yhwh] rebuke you, Satan! The Lord [yhwh] who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”
~Zech 3:2

[angel of the] : Addition made into the NWT. Any additions added in brackets [] (according to the Forward in the NWT) are to clarify a passage and not add to the meaning of a passage. Does the addition of the phrase [angel of the] change the doctrinal meaning of the verse? It certainly does in this case. Without it, we have the Lord [yhwh] saying to Satan, “the Lord [yhwh] rebuke you”. With the added phrase, we have the angel of the Lord saying, “the Lord [yhwh] rebuke you.” In the verse above, there are two (2) distinct persons of yhwh, but in the NWT, one person of yhwh is removed.

One yhwh is the eternal Son of God, the pre-incarnate Christ. This would go against the Watchtower teaching that Jesus is "a" god rather than God. Therefore, the addition of the [angel of the] to support their doctrinal bias and remove the reference to a second person of yhwh.

3

The last supper: "is" versus "means"

by jstalin in

i was raised catholic, so i was a bit surprised when i attended the memorial last year with my jw friend and the speaker was recounting the last supper.

he quoted mark 14:22 and as they continued eating, he took a loaf, said a blessing, broke it and gave it to them, and said: take it, this means my body.

23 and taking a cup, he offered thanks and gave it to them, and they all drank out of it.

mdb

The translation in the NWT is more than likely incorrect, but I've never looked into that specific verse.

One thing to note: the wine and bread do not literally become blood and flesh while they journey down your gullet - they're symbols and objects of rememberance. Jesus' flesh and blood are spiritual food and drink. If we eat and drink, we have eternal life and will live forever (if we accept His sacrifice and believe on Him, we have eternal life). If we feed on Him, we live.

Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”
These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. (Jn 6:53-59)

Jesus' body was not literally made of bread, and the emblems we partake of in rememberance of Him are and do not become literal flesh and blood.

Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. (1 Cor 11:27-30)

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” (Mt 26:26-29)

And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” (Lk 22:19)