Worldview: Learning to Think and Live Biblically by Greg Laurie: The Prayer Chapter

Worldview: The Prayer Chapter:

The Lord’s Prayer

-He is my mighty awesome God

-God is worthy of my respect and submission

-aligns ourselves with His will and purposes

-Jesus is the greatest example of prayer warrior

-Jesus provides a template and pattern so we pray like Jesus

-we should want to understand what prayer really is 

-ask for His will in every area in our lives

-ask for HIs provision for our daily needs

-admit our sins and turn from them asking for forgiveness

-determine our minds to to forgive all those who have offended us

“God will allow hardship, challenges, needs, and sometimes even tragedy to enter our lives so He can reveal Himself to us in fresh ways and put His power and glory on display.”

Why pray?

-we need to pray because we are weak

-prayer shouldn’t be the last resort, but the first resort

-when I am weak I am strong

-thankfulness when life is going well

-because you have faith

-to stand in the gap for others

-go to God with your needs

-talk to Him about what is on your heart

-He loves to talk to you and hear your voice

“That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

“Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord” (James 5: 13-14).

-the Lord’s prayer is really the people’s prayer

-the Lord’s prayer should be called “the disciples prayer”

-the Lord’s prayer is a model, or pattern for the sort of prayers we should offer every day

Here is the Lord’s Prayer spoken by Jesus

Our Father who art in heaven

Hallowed be thy name

Thy kingdom come 

Your will be done

On earth a sit is in heaven

Give us day by day our daily bread

And forgive us our sins

For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us

And do not lead us into temptation

But deliver us from the evil one

(Luke 11:2-4)

The Lord’s prayer is divided into two sections

-the first deals with the glory of God

-the second concentrates on in this chapter

Three Petitions

1. Our Daily Needs

“Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11).

-bread was a staple for the first-century Jew and a part of every meal

-Satan himself brought bread into the conversation when he challenged Jesus to turn stones into bread in the wilderness to curb his physical hunger

-the Bible is not speaking of physical bread as food

**it is speaking of food in general

-when we pray “give us this day our daily bread”

-we are asking for the Lord to provide me with my human needs that I need to live (ex. Food, clothing, shelter, etc…)

-so we ask God to provide for our needs 

-God wants us to come to Him in prayer to make our requests

“You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God” (James 4:2).

-ask for His provision over your life and the lives of your family, friends, and community

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him” (Luke 11: 11-12).

**Make note that Jesus said pray for needs and not greeds

**The Bible doesn’t promise that God will meet our every desire so he may overrule you

**God willingly provides but we should not just sit around, be inactive, or neglect to work

(don’t be a lazy bum saying the Lord will provide)

“For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

When you pray

-acknowledge that everything we have comes from God for all days

-speak to Him about this provision “our daily bread” on a daily basis

-keeps you connected with Him as our Father and Provider

-to be a good steward of what He does provide for me

-faithfully give back to Him and invest in the work of the kingdom of God

“But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi”, says the Lord Almighty. “So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people. Because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law” (Malachi 2: 8-11).

2. Forgiving and Being Forgiven

“Forgive our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12).

--we need to pray for the forgiveness of our sins

-we are always in the process receiving forgiveness and forgiving others

-the term “debts” is not referring to credit cards

-the team “debts” is translated as “sins”

-to forgive our trespasses means our shortcomings or our resentments or what we owe to You for the wrong we have done

-we need to pray that God opens our eyes to how we have sinned against others

-to remove the stain called pride

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).

-thoughts that go through you mind can leave a stain

-attitudes of the mind can leave a stain

-we all fall short of the standard of God

**As we receive that forgiveness, we should extend it to others

**Forgiven people ought to be forgiving people

Embittered people are unwilling to forgive:

-our culture esteems vengeance and payback

-they spread bitterness 

-the bitterness grows to be more and more toxic

-society does not value forgiving and is seen as a sign of weakness

-not being forgiving brings sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit

-holding grudges or hate grieves the Holy Spirit

“See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many” (Hebrews 12:15).

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4: 31-32).

***The Bible says we are to be forgiving and to extend this forgiveness over and over again

“Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive” (C.S. Lewis).

2. “Lord, Don’t Let Me Fall!”

“And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6: 12).

-we all need to pray the we not fall into temptation

-pray that the Lord will not allow to be tempted above my captivity to resist

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

-satan is like an expert who knows just the right bait or lure that will attract you most

-pray daily to the Father to keep me from falling

-pray that the Father guards me from the temptations I will encounter today

-we can be quick to condemn sin in someone else’s life

-we can easily rationalize our own sin or compromised behavior in our own life

-pray God keeps you from doing wrong and displeases the Lord

Jesus encourages us to keep praying and not give up 

-our Father wants to answer so be persistent and keep asking 

-Jesus says to ask, seek, and knock

-the word “ask” implies requesting assistance

-we realize our need and we ask God for help

-set that we are not going to stop praying for the  answer and provision from God

-intercessory prayer means you stand in the gap for someone

-interceding for someone’s life or someone’s salvation, and refuse to give up

-ignite our passion into prayers for nonbelievers

-asking should be your passion

-seeking should be your patience

-knocking should be your persistence 

-ask God to reveal any sins or attitudes that displease Him

-extend God’s forgiveness to those who have hurt or offended you

*****To Pray is a Privilege

“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59: 2).

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is an offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139: 23-24)

 “Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity[a] he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Luke 11: 5-9).

April 20, 2024 Posted thoughts mental health's downward spiral

 Checklist of the past few weeks:

Check-had to have a root canal

Check-sent to orthodontist to finish root canal

Check-back to dentist to finish the crown on top of the root canal

Check-woke to ice pick chiseling in my ear so ear infection

Check-ear infection infected my sinus canal

Check-I am too old and healing takes a lot more time 

Check-still worked through so I must be a glutton for punishment

Final Check-posted a lot of writing to my blog today so check them out

dreamsdontfade.com

I feel like I work at a mental health facility. I had 5 students admitted into a hospital due to extreme anxiety, depression, suicide ideation, etc. last week. Then when released I am supposed to fix the student’s educational issues. I am still in shock when I hear that students have been locked away in their room since 2020. Now they are so credit deficient that adult education will be flooded with post seniors still needing credits. 

I have parent conferences and they want to clear attendance, have the student skip assignments, and tests and quizzes not count against the grade as the student is too anxious to deal with tests. 5 years? So, a senior in high school has not been actively involved in a normal life since age 13 or 14. 

The hard part is the family doesn't seem to comprehend when I mention the student being able to bounce back, but only want to lower expectations of the student as it stresses him/her out more. No, let's build up resilience, personal accountability, remove excuses, and overcome mental health issues. It is like this is just how it will be for the rest of the student's life and the world needs to figure out how not to upset the newly formed fragile being. This is learned helplessness! 

People need purpose in their lives. They need to know they are valued. Here is a scripture and my prayer for our young people:

Isaiah 40: 28-31

28 Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom.

29 He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

Maybe the circumstances of life has swallowed your kid whole and you feel the family is in a dark place with no way out then it is time to rely on a God who can handle and help you all to overcome:

If you have found yourself crying today in your loneliness, in your discouragement, or over the feeling of rejection; know this that those tears that fall don't go unseen. God keeps track of every one of them. The Bible tells us:

“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help. This I know: God is on my side!” (Psalm 56:8).

Revelation 21: 3-8

3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.[a] 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.

8 “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Consumed by Fire has a new album out, “First Things First.” A song by the same title is what this world needs. 

First thing's first

I seek Your will

Not my own

Surrender all my wants to you

Keep the first thing first

To live Your truth

Walk Your ways

Set my eyes

Lord I fix my face on you

All my desires reversed

To keep the first thing first

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpTOcZN9JB4

Why voting matters: The Identity of the American Citizen is Erased, The New Equitable Census

The Census matters:

Open borders = votes

How do we make the census equitable? Flood states with non-white illegal citizens who now are counted as citizens deserving of political representation.

If an illegal immigrant applies for welfare they are asked to register to vote. Non-citizen overriding a citizen's  vote. Non-citizens out numbering citizens will break the system in the name of equity.

The census’s ability to fulfill its core purposes of allocating political representation and funding to everyone according to their fair share. And they show that the only path to true census accuracy is census equity. The Census Bureau must put equity at the forefront of its plans as it begins to prepare for — and improve — the next census.

Seats in the House of Representatives are divvied up among the 50 states based on their relative population sizes. Redistricting allocates seats in state legislatures among communities in much the same way, with district boundaries drawn based in part on where populations increased or decreased. And the size and characteristics of specific communities help determine the funding they’re allocated for many critical federal programs, such as Medicare and food assistance. 

Who are undercounted? According the the 2022 Census

Black people 

Latin people

Indigenous people

Renters

Who is overcounted?

White people

Asian people

Home owners

Numbers like these produce inequitable distributions of political power and federal funding, reinforcing societal inequality and undermining the census’s core purposes. When groups are statistically invisible, we are all worse off. Undercounted states can lose out on congressional representation

Both Congress and the Census Bureau are scrutinizing how to improve the count going forward. Centering equity in future reforms will be key to producing the census our democracy demands. We recently released Improving the Census: Legal and Policy Reforms for a More Accurate, Equitable, and Legitimate Count, a report that proposes how to reach this goal.

Replacement theory electoral votes.

The count would be # of people in the state, not the number of citizens.

Border open but not about race, it is about electoral votes.

Can't replace working class illegal representation.

Why politicians change from border security to open borders.

Ever ask yourself why Obama, Pelosi, and Biden all agreed on borders but now replace lost voters population representation congressional districts.

Call you a racist to stop you from talking about their replacement plan. 

Could things get worse?

Unrealized gains tax is an economic fallacy

Taxed on future money you will make?

Equity Census Reference

Why voting matters: James Lindsay stands up for our Christian faith-and antisemitism emboldened

"I have a feeling this is going to go really badly for me, but it has to be said. The dynamic must be explained. Yesterday, on Good Friday, one of the high holy days of the Christian faith, the Biden Administration proclaimed Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024 *specifically* to be a "trans day of visibility."

The official White House press release page shows an Easter Bunny by the White House, indicating they are fully aware that they are making this proclamation specifically about Easter Sunday, even though Easter is not specifically mentioned in the proclamation.

This isn't just an insult to the Christian faith, and indeed an intolerable one that proclaims a form of embodied Gnostic theosophy that misleads and destroys kids. It is entirely consistent with Woke Theosophy, as I've discussed elsewhere and may attach here as a thread, but it is more than that. It is also a deliberate provocation against Christians that must be understood.

A key principle of Woke activism is "your target's reaction is your real action." That derives from Saul Alinsky in Rules for Radicals and has been codified in the updated activism manual called Beautiful Trouble. They do these provocations intentionally, as I have discussed at length in the past, as a means of stoking a reaction they can use to their advantage. On the reactionary side at present, it must be indicated that there are multiple overlapping active measures to drag faithful Christians into reactionary stances.

One is the prevailing "Operation Christian Nationalism," which this same administration is framing as one of the most dangerous threats to "democracy" in the world today. Another is the more local and specific radicalization attempt during Holy Week that follows the Christian rhetoric of "Christ is King," which has been successfully tied to an antisemitic trope and active measure meant to drive a wedge between Christians and Jews and Christians and Christians.

I have taken tremendous heat for exposing this active measure, as have many others, which is a testament to its status as an active measure. This provocation, published yesterday, is overwhelmingly likely aiming to feed into those prevailing active measures ("ops") meant to drag Christians into a positions of fruitful reaction that the Regime can use to clamp down on them. Again, Christian reaction is their real action, and we know for certain that Christian circles are deeply infiltrated with a chest-beating and growing radicalism that is being baited toward and associated with a growing antisemitism.

The responses to this post will almost certainly prove this out, btw. Your evil government wants this to happen. They are baiting you into it. What should you do? You should cleave to your faith with wisdom and discernment. You should celebrate your Christianity as loudly and publicly as you want, and you should do so aware that a reaction is being solicited from you. Pray for those caught up in the trans cult. Make your prayers visible. Welcome them to healing and communion, even if they're not ready to take it. Likewise, pray for these evil "leaders" that they repent of this wickedness.

Pray also for those professing Christianity but not practicing it, seeking to lead Christians into error from within, that they repent and find forgiveness, peace, strength, and ultimately faith. More than that, celebrate your faith openly and on terms that avoid the desired reaction of these enemies of both the church and our nations. Proclaim "He is risen" and celebrate your salvation through Him.

Do not be afraid, but do not take the evil path that is being offered to you. I advise reading Matthew 10 in its entirety in this dangerous time in which your religion is targeted and in which you are being targeted and identified for this persecution, which is being set up through these provocations. It contains wisdom and guidance for times precisely like these.

Happy Easter, everyone, and may the Good News of your faith overpower the evil being done against it, not through chest-beating reaction and temptations to evil, but through the power of peace, repentance, and forgiveness that is at the heart of it, for all the people in all the nations of the world. Let not this weapon that has been forged against you prevail.

Keep your faith, and keep you head. These are trying times"

White House Proclamation:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/03/29/a-proclamation-on-transgender-day-of-visibility-2024/

Why voting matters: Parents Protect your Children & Women the Battle is Here

Notice the removal of women which also is ironic that it states "dominated by male students." Trans women are male-biological males-not changing sex on a whim. They are prioritized over women-biological women/girls in women/girls sports. 

What does the new Title IX mean?

Title IX was designed to end discrimination based on sex in educational programs or activities at all institutions receiving federal financial assistance, beginning with sports programs and other spaces previously dominated by male students.

“On the Basis of Sex…”: Title IX Compliance in a Time of Evolving Legal Interpretations of “Sex” 

https://cdn-files.nsba.org/s3fs-public/10.%20Schultz%20Title%20IX%20On%20Basis%20of%20Sex.pdf 

 I do not need a visibility day made by man. I do not need validation from any man who repeats “I see you.” It is just creepy and I sure as heck do not want any adult saying that to a child. I certainly do not find my value that I can cross off on some calendar. August 9th is Tanya visibility day.  It is my birthday, but I don’t expect the entire society to stop in their tracks to honor my existence. 

Only deal with aesthetics and not the heart, mind or soul. Delay puberty clinical experiment genetic clinics culture war it is not hidden.

Trans is a belief. There is no biological evidence or marker that identifies a "trans person." 

Gender dysphoria is a form of mental illness or distress. 

Trans is the pseudoscientific and religious belief that the soul of a boy can reside in the body of a girl, and vise versa. 

Providing irreversible medical treatment and removing the body parts of mentally ill people and children is medical malpractice, fraud, and it's evil.

Urge Congress to pass the Families' Rights and Responsibilities Act (FRRA)

My Faith Votes, along with over 40 organizations, is working at all levels of government to protect every parent’s right to make decisions regarding their child’s education and health care. This coalition called Promise to America's Parents recently sent a letter to House and Senate leadership urging congress to pass the Families’ Rights and Responsibilities Act (FRRA). 

This Act was introduced in the House and Senate on 1/10/2024 

S.3571 and H.R.6934 

This Federal Act does the following: 

• Gives parents a way to hold the government accountable when it oversteps its proper bounds.  

• Ensures parents have choices regarding their child’s education and health. 

• Ensures parents have access to their children’s education and medical records.  

• Provides parents with the transparency needed to make decisions for their children.  

 

The Families' Rights and Responsibilities Act aligns with the principles outlined in the Promise to America’s Parents coalition effort to protect the rights of parents through law and policy and we encourage you to contact those who represent you in Congress to support this legislation.

https://www.myfaithvotes.org/contact-your-elected-officials/#/6

Voting for Less Evil

Voting as Christian

Is Your Vote Based on This One Thing?

Do You Desire to Please God with Your Vote?