raymond

God is indeed the God of all grace. I came from a poor family. While we were starving, no one in the family ever thought of God or religion. But God is so gracious. Not only that He provided us with our bodily needs to gete by, but God showed Himself to us. He brought us back to His grace. He saved us by His grace and compassion. I can never express in words how much I should thank God for all the lessons and blessings He showered to me and my family..It is true, only a personal experience with God shall one find Him.

From the Old Testament to the New, the faithful and constant love of God is evident. God is love. He createdman out of love, and gave His Son Jesus to the world because of love. Up to this time, God is constantly watching His people in a personal way to demonstrate His love.

Faithfulness and trustworthiness are different sides of the same coin. If we are faithful to our promises and keep them, then we are trustworthy. It really boils down to one - integrity. This is the chararcter that all Christians must strive for. One who has integrity keeps his word. The faithfulness of God inspires me to walk with Him and further study His Word because I know that He will keep His promises. Christians must be faithful not only to their word or promises but also to the precepts of the Bible. This is the only effective way we can show the world that being a follower of Christ makes a lot of difference. In that way we become effective witnesses too to Christ.

The Israelites were in the desert. Physical survival alone in that place is difficult. Now if God will punish them for their sins, they will surely not made it through the desert. So the Israelites needed the forgiveness of God in orser to survive. As later books of the Bible showed us, the Israelites did not seem to be contrite because not long after, they committed sins again. It is amazing how God can forgive our sins again and again. Sometimes I do not wish to confess the same sins again and again to God, but there is little I can do. I just keep sinning. And thank God. He is always slow to anger, as I keep praying to Him to give me the grace to sin no more.

Jesus introduced to the people a God that loves all His people including the Gentiles. Moreover, the Father that Jesus wants us to know is one Who wants intimacy with His people. A caring, loving and intimate God that wants our companionship. this is different from the God of the Jews Who is Lord only of the Jewish people, and is jealous and harsh to punish. The concept of a loving God should change our attitude towards Him. In worship, we must be motivated by love and gratitude and not fear. Our service must always be with joy, and not done of obligation.

The idea of Hofius and the Old Testament about God are the same. God is an absolute ruler as conceived in a patriarchal society and at the same time the provider and comforter of His children. Thus our attitude towards God must be one of reverential respect. We should always recognize our place in His creation.

Nehemiah's plan was dangerous. He could not just make the request before the King or he might lose his life. He prayed silently and quickly to the Lord to make a final appeal for help in that precise moment he was talking to the king. This happens everytime to anybody in a difficult situation. How does the quick prayer relate to the four months of prayer? I think the long private prayers are the more important ones, the arrow prayer is more of an assurance for Nehemiah that God is with Him at that precise moment.

Nehemiah based his appeal on the past actions of God, and His reputation as sovereign Lord and shephered of the His People. Nehemiah argued by reminding God of His promises to the Jews as written in the Bible. When we are saying intercessory prayers we should begin our prayers with confession, followed by a reading from the promises of God as written in the Book, then ask for our petitions.

The Jewish people are suffering, and God placed on Nehemiah's heart the suffering of the Jews. This is the reason for his fasting and weeping. I don't think it is excessive because of the extent of suffering the Jews experienced as a nation. We should keep in mind that the Jews are a proud people having been raised on the idea that they were God's chosen people.

This is a product of our training in school and society. We were taught to be independent and to be achievers. As a result, doing things on one's own becomes a virtue. And to a certain extent it is. But there are times when we neded God, in fact, lots of times. Many of the things we do and plan for have elements of uncertainty. No one is really sure of the outcome, no matter how meticulously plans are made. This is a fact and this is where we need God. I think faith in God will yield to us the results of our plans. I suggest that in both small and big undertakings we should always offer them to God for His blessings. This is the only way to succeed.

I cam from a poor family and I remember how our family hardly made ends meet. Only my father and two elder siblings had work during the '70s and there were about six of us in school. But somehow me and my brothers were able to through school, and are now professionals. Today, we are no longer hard up as we used to be. God has generously blessed us. We are not rich today, but surely we are not as poor as we used to be. God generously provided for us. Personally, my only situation now is not much about material needs but emotional. I am of age, in fact middle age, and I have been praying to God that he give me a partner with whom I can share the joy of living. I know that God will be generous to my request. He knows how I feel, and how lonely it could be to go on life without a human partner, and to have much blessings with no one to intimately share them with.

Like every one of us Abraham must have been doubtful if what God really wanted him to do, and at the same time Abraham had faith that all would turn out right. This is the dilemma of every believer during time of testing. Sometimes we are not really sure of what God wants for us in a particular situation, but somehow we manage to go on though most often with flickering faith. I have not yet had a situation where I had a last minute provision for God.

Filled with the Spirit and filled with the fullness of God are one and the same thing. Both connotes sanctification and is a day to day surrender to God and constantly asking for His guidance in our every action. To be filled with the Spirit, we should study God's word with our whole being, contemplate on their meaning and special message for us, and most of all, pray for grace that God through the Holy Spirit would help us understand. I think I also need this kind of grace.

Our experience in life prevents us from grasping the fullness of Christ's love. Our daily toil gives us little room for reflection which is a very essential component of faith building. Listening to God's word and reflecting on it are necessary to build faith. But in our hurried world, we have little time for it except in sunday school. It is amazing if we could only grasp the fullness of God's love, and I think this will have a profound effect on the personal life of any believer. God is the end of all things, so if we meet God through the Power of His love, I think our world view will change and we will focus more on the essential things in life.

They are complementary ideas. Christ must first dwell in our hearts before He can fill us with His Spirit. the filling of the Holy Spirit is an act of grace that is completed once a believer decides to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior; while the life of the spirit is a day to day act of surrendeer by one in whose heart already dwells.