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TheLordIsMyShield
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Name: Jeff
Birthday: 12/9/1988
Gender: Male
Interests: God + The Truth + Guitar + Singing Praises + Bible + Friends
Expertise: This department under renovations
Occupation: Student
Message: message me
Member Since:
1/30/2006
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| Let me share something cool I learned about Prayer. It all starts with the words of Christ in Mark chapter eleven:
Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. When you pray for something, do you actually believe that God will give it to you? Really, if you don't believe that God can do it, or if you're "not sure" whether he can, how can you expect Him to give you what you pray for? So point number one: When you pray, you have to believe that yes, I will receive what I'm asking for. That as long as you have faith that God will answer your prayer, then He will. Now for the qualifier, because obviously we don't always get what we pray for, right? Just for an example: 2Corinthians 12:7-9 So to keep me from being too elated by the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Paul prayed that a "thorn" would be taken away for him--and I'm sure he had faith that God had the power to do it--however, what was God's answer? "No." So why would God ever say no to us? I mean, just look at Matthew 7: Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Jesus specifically promises that if we ask for something, that it will be given to us. So why do we have examples of people like Paul who ask for something from God, but then don't receive it? Jesus answers this in the following verses of Matthew 7: Matthew 7:9-11 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! If you ask for bread, will God give you a rock? Of course not! You see, the thing is, you can ask for bread thinking it's bread, but really...it's a rock. Or maybe you ask for what you think is a fish, when really it's a serpent. Is God going to give you this serpent even though you think it's a fish? No! Paul says in Romans 8 Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. God will not give us serpents or rocks--things that work together for evil--even if we ask for them. Even though we might think they're good for us (bread and fish), God in His infinite wisdom knows what is, and what isn't good for us. So to wrap up, have faith that what you ask for will happen, but also understand that if it doesn't happen, then God had a good reason for it not to happen. God always answers prayers, it's just not always with a "yes." Sometimes it's with a "no," or a "wait." Pray without ceasing, guys, the prayer of a righteous man person has great power as it's working (1 Thess 5:17; James 5:16).  | | |
| Hi.
Wow, after 7 weeks of Truth Corps, a week of being home, and then a week of youth conference, it feels weird to know that everything's over now. Well, at least for the time being.
I must say, Truth Corps was an amazing experience. All of you out there who haven't gone on it, I highly reccomend that you do. God uses it to teach you so much.
Sorry this isn't too interesting; I'm tired and didn't really feel like doing this, but felt obligated to. I'll see if I can put something "good" and bibley up soon.
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| Well, it's not a dot com, however, it IS a new xanga! Go to www.xanga.com/truthcorps207 (yes, it's only got one zero for some reason). Various members of the team should be posting blogs and pictures and stories, etc.
Yay!
The Lord be with you all
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| Well, it's 11:50 pm right now, and I leave tomorrow morning (at 6:30) for the airport. Wow! It's so weird, I've never gone on a big adventure like this before, haha. I'm nervous and excited.
Truth Corps is going to be awesome! Pray for us.
Jeff
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| Proverbs chapter fifteen verse one states:
"A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."
When I first read this, as well as in the years that followed, I thought, "Hey, that makes a lot of sense."
Well, there's a lot more to the soft answer than you think.
Ok, so let's say your playing some sport with someone or something like that (sorry girls, I guess this example is more guy-oriented; not because it's a sport, but because guys tend to be more competitive and get angry while playing). You and some other kid start out as a friendly game, but somewhere in there it evolved into a neck and neck battle for who would come out on top. You even (if you have the wrong mindset) start to get angry when that person starts scoring points and etc, and they feel the same way towards you. In the end, you win the game, and the other guy stomps off the field in anger.
Ha, now go ahead and try to apply your little "soft answer." Not gonna work pal. No matter what kind of words you use, you're not going to stop that person from stomping off in anger; in fact, anything you say, good or bad, will just make it worse.
But this doesn't make sense; if we apply what the bible says, shouldn't it work?
Well, the thing is, you can't just decide to use the soft answer when you win and then suddenly feel bad about being too competitive. It's something you need to apply right from the start of your playing. If you play and you feel that tension is starting to build, than back off. Give them back the soft answer, not the hard one. That might even mean letting them win, or changing the way you play. In some cases, this might mean swallowing some pride, but it's well worth it. Friends that God gives are blessings; don't let something stupid cause tension or even a rift to form between you. Put away your pride. Put away the hard answer.
Use the soft answer every time, and all the time.
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