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Posts Tagged ‘prayer’

bible_contradiction_is_it_ok_census

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: Is it OK to take a census?

Here are the two answers which the skeptic believes shows a Bible contradiction:

Yes, God likes censuses.

God told Moses to take several censuses during the Exodus

“The Lord also spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “When you take a census of the sons of Israel to count them, then each one of them shall give a ransom for himself to the Lord, when you count them, so that there will be no plague among them when you count them.” (Exodus 30:11-12)

“Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “Take a census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, every male, head by head” (Numbers 1:1-2)

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “Count the sons of Levi by their fathers’ households, by their families; every male from a month old and upward you shall count.” 16 So Moses counted them according to the word of the Lord, just as he had been commanded.” (Numbers 3:14-16)

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Count every firstborn male of the sons of Israel from a month old and upward, and make a list of their names.” (Numbers 3:40)

“Then it came about after the plague, that the Lord spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying, 2 “Take a census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ households, whoever is able to go to war in Israel.”” (Numbers 26:1-2)

Solomon had a census (like his father David’s) and God didn’t mind at all.

“Solomon counted all the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, following the census which his father David had taken; and 153,600 were found.” (2 Chronicles 2:17)

No. God killed 70,000 men because of David’s census.

“So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, “Go, count Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring me word so that I may know their number.”” (1 Chronicles 21:2)

“Now the anger of the Lord burned against Israel again, and He incited David against them to say, “Go, count Israel and Judah.” 2 So the king said to Joab the commander of the army, who was with him, “Roam about now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and conduct a census of the people, so that I may know the number of the people.” 3 But Joab said to the king, “May the Lord your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king can still see; but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?” 4 Nevertheless, the king’s order prevailed against Joab and against the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army left the presence of the king to conduct a census of the people of Israel. 5 They crossed the Jordan and camped in Aroer, on the right side of the city that is in the middle of the Valley of Gad and toward Jazer. 6 Then they came to Gilead and to [a]the land of Tahtim-hodshi, and they came to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon, 7 then they came to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and of the Canaanites, and they went out to the south of Judah, to Beersheba. 8 So when they had roamed about through the whole land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. 9 And Joab gave the number of the census of the people to the king: in Israel there were eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men. 10 Now David’s heart [b]troubled him after he had counted the people. So David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, Lord, please [c]overlook the guilt of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.” 11 When David got up in the morning, the word of the Lord came to Gad the prophet, David’s seer, saying, 12 “Go and speak to David, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I am imposing upon you three choices; choose for yourself one of them, and I will do it to you.”’” 13 So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee for three months before your enemies while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ of plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.” 14 Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into human hands.” 15 So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. 16 When the angel extended his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented of the disaster and said to the angel who destroyed the people, “It is enough! Now drop your hand!” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 17 Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking down the people, and said, “Behold, it is I who have sinned, and it is I who have done wrong; but these sheep, what have they done? Please let Your hand be against me and against my father’s house!”” (2 Samuel 24:1-17)

(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)

Here’s a closer look at whether or not there is a contradiction:

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bible_contradiction_do_christians_know_how_to_pray

For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: Do Christians know how to pray?

Here are the two answers which the skeptic believes shows a Bible contradiction:

Yes, Jesus taught them how to pray.

““Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:9-13)

No, they don’t know how to pray.

“Now in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;” (Romans 8:26)

(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)

Here’s a closer look at whether or not there is a contradiction:

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praying

Prayer is Mightier than the Sword

I am going to make this post of my thoughts on Exodus 17:8-16 on the importance of prayer in case in the future I preach on it and research more nevertheless here’s my initial thoughts looking at the passage.  The passage overall purpose is prayer is important; its so important that prayer might be mightier than the sword.

The holding up of the hands is an action of prayer; see Psalm 63:4 and 1 Timothy 2:8.

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Aliens

As our world seems to be get more dark 1 Peter seems like a relevant book to study.

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Note: Last week I posted “” that was part of my sermon preparation for a retreat.  Some of you shared you would like to see the finished sermon outline. Here it is.

the_gospel_source_of_joy_in_suffering

1 Peter 1:3-12

Establish the need:  I do think our world will become more Post-Christian and with that I do think there will be an increase of Christian suffering both in the West and already the case outside the west.  Yet can we have joy in the midst of suffering as a Christian?

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various [b]trials, 7 so that the [c]proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and [d]full of glory, 9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of [e]your souls.

10 As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, 11 [f]seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories [g]to follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to [h]look.

Purpose: Today we want to see 3 S in regards to Christian joy in the midst of suffering.

In the midst of suffering…

  • You should have joy centered on salvation (v.3-5)
  • You should have joy knowing there’s a sufficient reason for suffering (v.6-9)
  • You should have joy knowing the spectacular prophecies of our Savior (v.10-12)

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writing notes idea class

Photo by Startup Stock Photos on Pexels.com

Thought I share how my beginning steps for sermon prep is like.

This is part of my preparation for a retreat this weekend that I’m speaking for.

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This week I need to finish preparation for a retreat this weekend that I’m speaking for.  It will be on two passages from 1 Peter.  The topic will be on being Pilgrims/Sojournors in this world.  Its a joint retreat with another church.  I’m praying for the retreat to glorify God.  If you can, pray for my studies today and Thursday!  Been feeling extra tired lately.

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Prayer-Banner

There’s a lot of discussions of root causes these days in politics, society, etc.

I think the root cause for many ills are spiritual.

Its the lack of thanksgiving to God.

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ISAF afghanistan

The news the last few days that have grabbed my attention is the Taliban take over of Afghanistan including entering into its Capital.  I think its safe to say it caught the US and the world by surprise.  The United States is trying to evacuate its citizens and have sent thousands of Marines and Army soldiers to help with that.  

These appear to be the first footage of the Marines arriving (I haven’t found anything else and I put some effort searching): 

There’s always a certain bounce with Marines’ movement. As I looked I can’t help but to think about how 70 percent of enlisted marines are 24 and younger with the bulk joining right out of high school which means most of these Marines are young enough to be the sons of the first wave of Marines that entered Afghanistan nearly 20 years ago.

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Cave To The Cross Apologetics

I was recently interviewed for Cave to the Cross Apologetics Show.  It is a podcast that touch on theology, apologetics and Christian worldview.  You can catch on Facebook, Twitter and Gab.

I’m interviewed by Patrick S, one of the host of the show.

What was the topic?  Prayer!

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Do you ever hear some mockers of the faith say that on the Great Judgment Day they will stand before God and bravely accuse God of wrong doing and God not being fair, or they wish to express blasphemy towards God?

Never felt comfortable when people say that.

But I don’t think it will turn out the way they think.

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This is a thought about Jesus I had this week.

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Rooted in Revelation

I was recently interviewed for Rooted In Revelation Podcast (Facebook page here).  It is a podcast that touch on theology, apologetics and Christian living.  This is hosted by Nate Burns.

What was the topic?  Prayer!

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Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

When During the Day Do you Read the Bible?

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I am trying to work on my post refuting a Bible contradiction tonight but I need to finish it tomorrow since my eye is having a hard time.

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