Is God Your Genie in the Lamp?

When God chooses to answer prayers through amazing or even miraculous results, He does so, not simply because we asked, but rather because He has some higher purpose.

God will not be a "Genie in the Lamp" to be summoned forth when needed and stuffed away when things are going well.

If that is the God you desire, you will quickly become disappointed when the answer to your prayer becomes, "No".

Despite what the "Health and Prosperity" teachers claim, "No" is a valid answer. As a matter of fact, "No" is most often the best answer, because we don't even know what we should be asking for in a great many cases! Just like you tell your children "no" when they ask for something that will harm them, wither they understand the potential harm or not; the Lord often has to tell us "no"!

Jesus said "... whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you." (emphases added) By saying, "In my name", Jesus wasn't telling us to place "in the name of Jesus" on the end of our prayers as some magic tag line to make miracles happen! And anyone who come to think this will quickly find out they are wrong. Unfortunately, they often blame God, instead of ever learning the truth.

The Lord will give you anything that is in accordance with His will. That is, if "If you remain in (the Lord Jesus) and (the Lord Jesus') words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you." He can say this because, your desires will become His desires, if you do as He says (study the Scriptures, and Love the Lord God with all your heart mind, strength and soul).

Here is a person who believes "Jesus lied" because he does not understand the very words on the pages of the Bible, and the verses that he quotes. However, his page makes a very good list of verses, when studied together (with the power of the Spirit) proves the point of what I'm trying to say. Jesus didn't lie, God is no magic genie, and the power of prayer includes "no" as an answer.

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Pray for your Church Leadership

Ezekiel 33:1-6 (New King James Version)

1 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, 3 when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’

Chilling words.

Especially if you are among the leadership of the Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kansas.

You see, the leadership of that church were appointed "watchmen" over the congregation of their church. One of their members, while serving as an usher, was gunned down. He was a publicly outspoken abortion provider, one of the very few who practice late term abortion, which means he was in the practice of murdering children who could have survived if they were delivered instead of killed. Yes, his murder was just as deplorable as any of the murders he habitually practiced. And God will certainly not overlook the murder of the abortionist. But neither will He hold the leadership of that church harmless for their failure to act as watchmen over Dr. George Tiller's soul. Instead of warning Dr. Tiller, his pastor and elders implicitly agreed with his activities by not applying proper, scriptural, church discipline. Further, by allowing him to serve as an usher, they assuaged any guilt he might otherwise have felt, as certainly his church leadership approved of him and his profession.

Pray for your Pastor, your Elders and your Deacons.

James 3:1 (NKJV)
My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.

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Praise God for Flat Tires!

I was truly blessed by a flat tire today.

No, really!

A coworker was driving the vehicle that had the flat tire. We were on our way to an event, when he calls me up and tells me he has a flat tire and is taking the next exit. Fortunately, the tire held together long enough for us to get into a fuel station parking lot.

As we stopped, he tells me, "Your truck stinks!" I had noticed a bad smell some time before at a weigh station, but I figured it must of been one of the tractor trailers that was in line for the scales. (The vehicles we were driving are box trucks towing a trailer mounted LED wall.) Anyway, as I went back to assist him in changing his flat tire, I noticed an odd puddle under the rear axle beside the inside wheel. Upon further investigation, that puddle was a large portion of the oil that belongs inside the axle! If it wasn't for stopping to repair his flat tire, that axle might have failed in a more catastrophic manner.

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Dreams of moving into the slum!

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To Live Is Christ

The full 53 minute video is available here.

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Why wait?

I'm sitting in the hotel lobby. It is breakfast time, and there is a free meal available here for me; and yet I wait.

For my breakfast pleasure, the hotel offers cereal, various sugar coated confections, toast-able bread products, and coffee. But while I am hungry, still I choose to ignore these offerings. Around me, my fellow guests are happily partaking. I am different, but they don't pay much attention to my separateness, as I am not drawing attention to myself.

Why am I not eating the proffered meal? Because I have a better deal ahead!

I have been invited to breakfast at the best restaurant in town to be payed for by my host. By eating the free breakfast at the hotel, I'm going to ruin my appetite and lessen my pleasure at the superior meal to come. I am bypassing the meal at hand based on the faith I have in my host coming to get me.

Likewise is the Christian walk. We turn down the proffered pleasures of this world because we have faith in our Host-to-come and the greater things he has set aside for us in the future. Even in this life we are offered quick and easy short cuts which lessen our ability to enjoy the better things ahead. The most obvious being premarital sex. The world says, partake now because you are missing a good thing. But God says, wait and receive a greater blessing and joy.

Where is your faith? Is it in the oft broken promises of this world, or in the tried and true Word of the Living God?

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From Y!/A: "Spiritually Speaking" does excepting yourself allows others to accept you?

The Yahoo! Answers staff occasionally deletes questions that people ask in the Religion and Spirituality section that they consider offensive or off topic. One way that potential "abusers" get around this is by adding "Spiritually speaking" to the beginning of their question. Often I find that these are valid, or at least useful questions to answer. Here is one that was recently deleted.

Question:
"Spiritually Speaking" does excepting yourself allows others to accept you?

Answer:
Yes and no.

"Excepting yourself", is called hypocrisy. Setting up rules for others to follow, while not following these rules yourself is what "religious" people often do. People truly and rightly hate hypocrisy.

"Accepting yourself" (if that is what you meant), is called self-righteousness. In accepting yourself, you will begin to put down others as that is the only means to keep up your own self-acceptance, or self-righteousness. Oddly, unlike outright hypocrisy, this self-righteousness will likely be accepted by many others, because they are doing same thing.

"Accepting Jesus", is the only way to be acceptable to God, and the only way to truly accept (love) others. In order to accept Jesus, you must put off your self-righteousness and hypocrisy, and accept that you are a vile sinner who cannot be acceptable in and of yourself. Others (who are not born again, from above) will not accept you, but will revile, despise, and persecute you. But God in Heaven will accept you, and this is the only way.


Source(s):
15 Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”
Mark 8:15

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Shaving for the Lord

As I was getting ready for work this morning, I really didn't want to shave. I don't like shaving, and at this particular event, I would even fit in better with the people I work with, if I did not shave. However the boss, the owner of the company, has set a policy that his employees will not have a full beard (goatees and mustaches are okay) and will be clean shaven.

As I was mentally preparing the rationalizations that would allow me to put down the razor and go to work with a days growth of beard on my face, I realized that it was the LORD against whom I was preparing to rebel. That instead of grumbling in myself at the need to scrape the fur from my face, instead I should be grateful to even have a job. Paul wrote that we should honor our employers as we honor the Lord. I shave, not because my boss will fire me; but rather because the Lord has blessed me.

Thank you Lord, for allowing me to shave for You!

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Psalm 48

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Is science not compatible?

Is science not compatible
with religion, as they say?
Then why are they on holiday
this joyous Christmas day?

Could it be even scientists,
have hidden in their hearts,
an abiding need for Jesus
defying all their smarts?

Come, together let us reason,
says the Father from above,
though your sin be like crimson,
I'll wash them white with blood.

The blood of my Son, Jesus Christ,
who died on Calvary's tree
is offered as a sacrifice
to wash those on bended knee.


b.

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