The Power of Prayer

The Power of Prayer

Welcome again to my blog. I am delighted you have come to visit. 

Teleios, along with other sources, has shown Christian belief actually can improve personal wellbeing! Therefore, we are examining the Christian life in more detail to see how to uncover some of the potential underlying causes of the improved wellbeing. 

We are now discussing the practice of Christianity based on Acts 2:42 and 47. These fascinating verses describe the activities involved in the Christian walk within the early church. They are repeated throughout the Epistles. I call them the ‘5 tools to maturity’.  These activities most easily can be summarized as: prayer, fellowship/community, outreach, Bible study and praise. 

Today’s tool for consideration is prayer. We do indeed have a great God who to whom we are privileged to pray. How do we pray? Here are the basic concepts:

• Access - As a forgiven Christian God views us as sinless which allows us the privilege of direct, unimpeded access to Him so we can pray. We can come before God with courage (Hebrews 10:20-23)! The only limitation is ourselves from lack of obedience, guilt or fear, that would limit or damage the content of our prayers (1 Peter 3:7).

• Attitude in prayer 

o Faith - James tells us not to doubt when we pray and we can accomplish much (James 1:6-7; James 5:16).

o Glorify Christ - We are to pray in such a way that is consistent with the goals of Christ as established in the Bible (John 14:13-14).

o Continual - Our prayers are to be persistent and frequent (Romans 12:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:17).

o Everywhere - Pray in all places (1 Timothy 2:8).

o Attitude adjustment - Allow prayer itself to correct our attitudes and requests (1 Timothy 4:5).

o Unhindered by sin - 1 Peter 3:7

o Sober and watchful - 1 Peter 4:7

o According to the Spirit - Our prayer should be consistent with God’s revealed Word (i.e., scripture) which the Holy Spirit uses to provide us power (Ephesians 6:17; Jude 1:20).

• Content of Prayer 

o Thankfulness - We should express gratitude for what God has done in in our and other people's lives (Philemon 1:4)

o Praise - We should acknowledge God’s holy character and actions

o Note: The first two aspects of the content of our prayer adds to the proper attitude of prayer mentioned above but are also important content.  

o Our requests - We may petition God with anything that worries us or concerns us. We should remember that we are praying to the great God of the universe in our attitude as mentioned above (Philippians 4:6-7; 1 Peter 4:12).

 Specific requests - They should be consistent with God’s desires and example prayers (John 14:13-14; Ephesians 1:15-19; Ephesians 3:15-18; Colossians 1:9-14).

 Pray for others – Examples of prayer for other people are frequent in Scripture  (James 5:16) 

 Request prayer from others - It is not a numbers game but allow others to share in God’s answers to your prayers by asking them to pray for you (Colossians 4:3).

What about confession of our sins? This is a controversial point. We are free to confess but it is not necessary for the following reasons: 

• The Epistles do not instruct us to confess our sins to God.

• We are already forgiven. 

The common injunction in the Epistles for our attitude with respect to sin is simply to obey. It is the Holy Spirit who helps us obey and defeat our sins. Therefore, our prayers can be more forward-looking, service-oriented and filled with praise and thankfulness. 

Thank you for joining me today. Come back next week and we'll discuss fellowship, the third of the 5 tools to maturity.

William C. Stewart, MD

For questions or to view more of our research…

Email - info@teleiosresearch.com 

Website - http://teleiosresearch.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TeleiosResearch

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/TeleiosResearch 

Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh6wIbPgxeP0YvypwAn5-9Q

Disclaimer - This blog and its content are provided only as information and are intended for visitors 18 and older. No content on the website should be taken as advice or recommendation to any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and or do your own research into the scriptures.

Walk the Walk

 

Walk the Walk

Welcome again to my blog. I am delighted you have taken the time to visit. 

Teleios and other authors have shown Christian belief actually can improve personal wellbeing! Therefore, we are examining the Christian life in more detail to uncover some of the potential underlying causes of the improved wellbeing. We have spent the past few weeks discussing the convincing biblical truths which explain why your salvation is forever secure. Today we begin to discuss what scripture teaches about our Christian lifestyle. 

As a biblical basis for the Christian life, let’s consider 1 Thessalonians 1:6  

And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:

Let’s discuss the importance of accepting God's word in our lives.

In Paul's informative prayer in Colossians 1:9-14, he indicates the importance of approaching our Christian walk in a knowledgeable way (verse 9). Accordingly, to act correctly (verse 10) we first must know how to think. We do this first by knowing God's Word, especially the Epistles in the New Testament (Romans to Revelation 3). This is the section meant specifically to provide directions for the church age. 

How do we come to understand the importance of the New Testament epistles in our lives? There is a process by which it develops:

• Jesus Christ - He came and spoke to us in the Gospels so people would believe in Him as Messiah. Upon the rejection of His message (Matthew 12), He taught the disciples about the coming age (Matthew 13-18,24,25; John 14-17) and later the Apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 12:2-4). 

• The Apostles – To the apostles it was given to teach God's truth to the church (Matthew 28:19-20, apostolic authority). It was the listener's duty to obey what they heard from the apostles, not yet having the written Scriptures. Importantly, the authority of the Scriptures themselves are established not by just direct statements that they are Scripture (2 Peter 1:21; 2 Peter 3:16; 2 Timothy 3:16) but also by verses that indicate the authority of the apostles (2 Thessalonians 3:4,6; 1 Thessalonians 6:12; Colossians 1:25).  To them God gave the charge to teach His truth and later to write the epistles, because they were taught by Christ Himself. 

• Second generation Christians - These received the Word from the apostles and taught new believers under their authority (e.g., Timothy in the Pastoral Epistles).

• The Biblical canon - The true Word of God was written down as Epistles with guidance by the Holy Spirit. These letters were circulated probably in the early church period when apparently an informal canon of Scriptures was formed. A generally accepted canon existed in the 2nd century. The New Testament in its current form was finalized at the Synod of Hippo in 393 AD. The late finalization occurred probably due to Christians could not openly meet until Constantine legalized Christianity after he became the Roman emperor in 313 AD.

• Biblical authority for the Christian walk - The Bible speaks of accepting God's Word and using it as a basis for how we live our lives. Consequently, we receive not only the will of God and the benefits of the Spirit but also a healthy mind and good wellbeing through the Christian life as outlined in the Bible. 

Far from being restrictive, the Bible liberates us by teaching us wisdom and what is true … with very few commands! It allows us to live a life of faith without being deceived by damaging practices in the world.

That's all for today; thank you for joining me. Next week we'll begin a series of blogs on how to apply this Word to our lives to receive its benefits.

William C. Stewart, MD

For questions or to view more of our research…

Email - info@teleiosresearch.com 

Website - http://teleiosresearch.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TeleiosResearch

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/TeleiosResearch 

Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh6wIbPgxeP0YvypwAn5-9Q

Disclaimer - This blog and its content are provided only as information and are intended for visitors 18 and older. No content on the website should be taken as advice or recommendation to any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and or do your own research into the scriptures.

We are secure; you better believe it!

We are secure; you better believe it! 

Welcome to my blog. I am so glad you have taken the time to read it. 

We have been examining the Christian life in more detail to see if we can uncover some of the potential underlying causes of the improved wellbeing. This week we cover the fifth point regarding the security of our great salvation, God’s unhappy attitude to those who do not believe in eternal security.

So yes, God not only endorses eternal security with wonderful promises, as we've discussed in the last four blogs, but also expresses His displeasure to those who do not believe it. This statement is supported by two main passages in Hebrews Chapters 6 and 10. Let's briefly examine the main passage in Hebrews 6, which although it can be controversial, is an exciting statement to our eternal security. 

Here are the main points:

• The author tells the young Hebrew believers that they should be mature by now; being teachers and able to judge quickly between right and wrong (Hebrews 5:12-14).

• He urges them to leave the rudimentary principles of the faith dealing with issues related to their salvation (Hebrews 6:1-3).

• He inquired how could those who were saved (have known God’s gift and enlightenment and receive the spirit [all words or events consistent with salvation]) and have believed their sins were forgiven, could have another means to salvation apart from Christ. Indeed, their insistence that some sin was not forgiven indicated they would want Jesus to return to the cross and submit to public humiliation again. This is not viewed favorably by God (Hebrews 6:4-7).

• The Hebrew Christians should recognize their salvation as evidenced by the acts that they have already done (Hebrews 6:9-10)

• Certainly, the wonderful security we have based in Abraham; God’s promises to him and His confirmation by an oath are two things that provide a sure anchor for our souls (Hebrews 6:13-20).

Hebrews 10 also indicates that for those who are unsure of forgiveness there is no other means for salvation except by Christ. The author urges those who doubt their forgiveness to progress in their faith (Hebrews 10:19; Hebrews 10:26-39).

Certainly, we have a wonderful salvation by which Christ is sufficient to cover each and every one of our sins, past, present future. For us to say that somehow His painful, long, suffering, humiliating and unjust death is not enough to cover even one of our sins is an offense to God.

To review, to date we have covered now five spectacular scriptural proofs of our internal security: 

• Direct statements (e.g., 1 Peter 1:4-5)

• Unchangeable positions in Christ (noted in our recent blogs, especially our: spiritual baptism, justification, sealing by the Spirit and adoption)

• Perseverance (2 Peter 1:12)

• God chose us to salvation (Romans 8:28-30)

• God’s critique of those not believing in the sufficiency of Christs sacrifice once for all to salvation (Hebrews 6:1-10)

Well, that is my blog for today. Thank you for visiting. Join me next week when we begin to discuss the Christian walk! 

William C. Stewart, MD

For questions or to view more of our research…

Email - info@teleiosresearch.com 

Website - http://teleiosresearch.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TeleiosResearch

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/TeleiosResearch 

Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh6wIbPgxeP0YvypwAn5-9Q

Disclaimer - This blog and its content are provided only as information and are intended for visitors 18 and older. No content on the website should be taken as advice or recommendation to any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and or do your own research into the scriptures.

God chose us!

 

God chose us!

Welcome again to my blog. I am delighted you have taken the time to visit. 

We have been examining the Christian life in more detail to see if we can uncover some of the potential underlying causes of the improved wellbeing. This week we cover biblical statements to those who do not believe in eternal security. 

The fourth point of our wonderful salvation is that God chose us for himself. Again, this was all God's doing and not from our own efforts and work. Although some think this doctrine is controversial, let's look at the scriptures and you can decide for yourself. 

    • God chose us - God elected us for salvation before all time to come to faith (Ephesians 1:4-5; Ephesians 1:11; Romans 8:28-30). 

    • The choice was individual - God did not choose a group, such as the church, but each of us distinctively (John 6:37,44,65; John 10:28-29; 2 John 1:1).  

    • God’s character - Choosing is consistent with God's character and past actions. To accomplish His magnificent work on earth He has always had to choose those that would serve Him (e.g., Noah, Abraham, Moses and Israel). 

    • God dragging and convicting - After choosing God had to convict and drag us to Himself or we would not have come (John 6:44; John 16:8). The Bible uses the imagery here of having to ‘drag’ fish into a boat by use of a net. The fish, like us, do not come willingly!

By our very nature we never would have chosen God, understood Him or desired Him because of our fallen nature into sin (Romans 3:10-18; Ephesians 2:1-3). As you know from last week, he causes us to persevere. He alone keeps us in His hand and brings us to our eternal glory (John 10:28-30; Romans 8:28-30).

Although some think that God's choosing is unfair there was no other way and scripture says it was done out of love and knowledge (Ephesians 1:4-7). If God had not intervened all would have perished! 

God's glorious salvation accomplished by first free gift on the cross that we can be saved by faith alone not our own work. Every aspect of salvation is God's, and all to His glory. 

To review, to date we have covered now four spectacular scriptural proofs of our eternal security: 

    • Direct statements (e.g., 1 Peter 1:4-5)

    • Unchangeable positions in Christ noted in our recent blogs especially our: spiritual baptism, justification, sealing by the Spirit and adoption (Romans 6:2-9; Romans 3:21-26; Ephesians 1:5; Ephesians 1:13-14)

    • Perseverance (2 Peter 1:12) 

    • God chose us to salvation (noted above)

Well, that is my blog for today. Thank you for visiting. Join me next week!

William C. Stewart, MD

For questions or to view more of our research…

Email - info@teleiosresearch.com 

Website - http://teleiosresearch.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TeleiosResearch

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/TeleiosResearch 

Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh6wIbPgxeP0YvypwAn5-9Q

Disclaimer - This blog and its content are provided only as information and are intended for visitors 18 and older. No content on the website should be taken as advice or recommendation to any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and or do your own research into the scriptures.