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Please Visit the new UK Christian Mental Health Website for support, advice, articles, discussions and more.

This post has now been removed from this blog.

Please Visit the new UK Christian Mental Health Website for support, advice, articles, discussions and more.

There are different types of fast and reasons for fasting.

But let the Spirit lead you, first and foremost.

In scripture the majority of fasts would be declared for repentence, weeping before the Lord in repentence (Judges 20, 1 Samuel 7, 2Samuel 1, Neh 9, Joel 2, Jonah 3). The Jews also fasted whilst in mourning for Saul and his sons, for seven days (1 Sam 31, 1Chron 10). If an answer is required (Ezra 8), (Psalms 35) (Acts 13) Because of perscution (Psalms 69) Esther called all the Jew to fast for her life for 3 days.(Est 4) Religious fasts, for religion’s sake not for the Lord (Jer 14, Is 58, Zech 7)

In practice, if fasting is required for another to be delivered or you are interceding on behalf of another for breakthrough, then fast totally from food, using wisdom, for 3 days max. I normally have breakthrough within 2 days.

It is very important to increase your fluids, stick to clear fluids, but treble your intake because we get 75% of our fluids from food. Why now try fasting for one day to begin, or fast from your evening meal. Just to ease yourself into it. You will be amazed at the results, your hunger for the Lord increases, you feel so much better, because you taste the Lord and see that He is Good.

However, I think in your case you want to draw closer to the Lord, and He has put it on your heart to fast, so why not try a Daniel fast. This type of fast is powerful because of the length of the fast, I normally do 40 days, Daniel fasted from pleasant (desirable) food, meat and wine for 21 days.

What is vital is the humbling ourselves before God, in prayer, each time a hunger pain comes or you think of food, pray and then pray again. Get into your prayer closet and petition and seek the Lord, for He says “if you seek Me, you will find Me.”

Also when you break fast, it is a time of celebration, praise and thanksgiving,

Post Modernism takes delight in its inbuilt precommitment to pluralism (inherited from modernist), and many regard it to be a deliberate reaction to totalization of the Englightment.

I agree with some comments about the church, and their portrayals and interpretation of the gospel, of the coming kingdom, and the absoluteness of God.

Sadly we have had many years of preaching to ‘itching ears’ with the feel good factor, and alls well with the world….”because you won’t suffer for your faith, you will just be blessed beyond what you can imagine!”. Which still continues today with the prosperity gospel and one of the prominent teaching of …..dare I say it…. the pretribulation rapture, and the imminent return of the Lord. As the scripture says..”With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day”..one way to look at His ascension, is that it was only two days ago!! Sorry going off on a tangent, but you see my point.

Although I don’t agree with Post Modernist theology because of its embracement of world, however, for people to say that its roots are in New Ageism and therefore satanic is totally incorrect, again a lack of theological understanding. It’s roots are based in Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas, who were absolute great thinkers and Fathers of our faith!!

Conversely, from a sociologically perspective there many cultural influences in my life, as the rest of the world. Culture is the acceptable norms and values of a society, those on the side of nurture would argue that ‘we are who we’ because of the culture we were raised within.

However, as Christians we are called to be counter culture. The gospel has not changed in 2000 years, and yet we have to present it in different formats so as it is relevant and acceptable.

God has not changed and nor has the human heart condition.

Blessings

This is the passage Paul wrote to the Corinthians (1Cor 14:1-5) regarding prophecy.

1Follow the way of love and eagerly) desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.

2For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit.

3But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.

4He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.

5I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified. (1Cor 14:1-5)

Does Paul suggest that he wishes everyone to be a prophet??

No, I don’t believe that, if we were all mouthpieces, how could the body work properly, without hands, without feet, or without internal organs? No, my own belief is that we just have a misunderstanding of what “prophecy” actually is.

So what is prophecy? Is not a Rhema word from God? What does Paul mean?

Verse 3 is the pivotal verse..

“But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, (edification) encouragement and comfort.”

I believe that Paul is suggesting in this passage that prophecy is a ‘word’ or message ABOUT the Lord.

Prophecy is, in this context, a word about the Lord, a forth telling about Him, led by the Holy Spirit. It is a word about His greatest, about His grace, about His mercy and about His kingdom. It is the exhortation of God and this is why it is edification for the whole church.

I am sure we have all experienced the strength and comfort when someone starts to praise God and speak out about His great wonders, we are all upbuilt. This is why I believe Paul states that this type of prophecy is therefore more desirable than speaking in tongues.

However, I believe this type of prophecy should not be confused with the gift associated with the ministry of a prophet (particularly the Old Testament). This is very different to the revelatory prophetic messages given throughout OT. Let us take just one example, messages that foretold very specific death and disaster (1 Sam 2:27-36; 1 Kings 13:20-24, Amos 7:14-17). These prophecies are not related to any Messianic prophecy, (of which there are over 400) and were certainty not edifying to those that heard them, in fact the opposite.

The ministry of a prophet involves the foretelling and forewarning, the blessings and the curses, to reprove and to reveal, to name but a few, these messages given directly from God for a specific time and a specific purpose.

In the New Testament, after receiving of the Holy Spirit Paul encourages all to use simple prophecy, but I stress again this should not be confused with the gifting associated with the ministry of a prophet, the foretelling of future events, these messages are given directly from God and spoke through prophets by “a word of knowledge”(1 Cor 12: or “a word of wisdom”. ( 1Cor 2:6-7)

Paul wishes all speak to use simple prophecy (1Cor 14:5) and glorify God, enabling the edification and comfort of the church, but not all are called to be prophets (1Cor 12:27-29). Paul implies prophecy is for comforting and encouraging. That is why Paul continues in verse 12.

Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel.

I praise the Lord for the giving to His Bride, prophecy, tongues and all the spiritual giftings, however, I believe what is really needed is unity by embracing our diversity, but above all these things is love.

Blessings

No Devils Allowed

Sorry for adding the above image for no apparent reason…I just love it!

Anyway I have just created the new FAQ section in my main website answering all of the questions I could think of at the moment relating to myself as a christian webmaster and issues around the christian websites I develop.

Have alook when you get a moment on this link:-

eChurchWebsites FAQ

Feel free to mention any other FAQ’s that may be relevant to folks.

Webmaster eChurchWebsites

Different views are taken of the passage in Gen 6:2, Gen 6:4 :

“The sons of God noticed that the daughters of men were beautiful. They looked them over and picked out wives for themselves… This was back in the days (and also later) when there were giants in the land. The giants came from the union of the sons of God and the daughters of men. These were the mighty men of ancient lore, the famous ones.”

(1) “Sons of God” is interpreted as referring to men, (a) to sons of the nobles, who married daughters of the common people. This is the view of many Jewish authorities, who hold that it is justified by the use of ‘elohim’ in the sense of “judges” (Exo 21:6; Exo 22:8 f, etc.). But this cannot be the meaning of ‘e?lohi?m here, for when ‘a?dha?m, “men,” is used to denote the lower classes, it is contrasted with ‘ish, as in Psa 49:2, not with ‘elohim. When contrasted with ‘elohim it signifies the human race.

(b) Some commentators hold that by “sons of God” is to be understood the pious race descended from Seth, and by “daughters of men” the daughters of worldly men. These commentators connect the passage with Gen 4:25, where the race of Seth is characterised as the worshippers of Yahweh and is designated as a whole, a seed (compare Deu 14:1; Deu 32:5; Hos 1:10 (Hebrew 2:1)). They consider the restricted meaning they put upon “men” as warranted by the contrast (compare Jer 32:20; Isa 43:4), and that as the term “daughters” expresses actual descent, it is natural to understand “sons” in a similar sense. The phrase “took wives,” they contend also, supports the ethical view, being always used to signify real and lasting marriages, and cannot, therefore, be applied to the higher spirits in their unholy desire after flesh. On this view Gen 6:1-4 are an introduction to the reason for the Flood, the great wickedness of man upon the earth (Gen 6:5). It is held that nothing is said in Gen 6:4 of a race of giants springing from the union of angels with human wives, and that the violence which is mentioned along with the corruption of the world (Gen 6:11) refers to the sin of the giants.

(2) Most scholars now reject this view and interpret “sons of God” as referring to supernatural beings in accordance with the meaning of the expression in the other passages. They hold that Deu 14:1, etc., cannot be regarded as supporting the ethical interpretation of the phrase in a historical narrative. The reference to Jer 32:20, etc., too, is considered irrelevant, the contrast in these passages being between Israel and other nations, not, as here, between men and God. Nor can a narrower signification (daughters of worldly men) be attached to “men” in Gen 6:2 than to “men” in Gen 6:1, where the reference is to the human race in general. This passage (Gen 6:1-4), therefore, which is the only one of its kind, is considered to be out of its place and to have been inserted here by the compiler as an introduction to the story of the Flood (Gen 6:5-8). The intention of the original writer, however, was to account for the rise of the giant race of antiquity by the union of demigods with human wives. This interpretation accords with Enoch chapters 6 through 7, etc., and with Jud 1:6 f, where the unnatural sin of the men of Sodom who went after “strange flesh” is compared with that of the angels (compare 2Pe 2:4).

As my NKJV says in Gen 6:9 …”This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations” This infers that Noah had a pure blood line, not intermixed with nephilim or fallen angels. Perhaps this is why God chose his genes to continue the human race, Christ’s genealogy had to be pure.

Just a thought!

Blessings

Today, unfortunately in some Christians circles we are told that the varying books of the Apocrypha are erroneous, and we are advised and cautioned because their authorship is dubious. WE are told they are not inspired by God. And even if they are a mixture of truth and error, how are we to discern which is which? Many of the New Testament apocrypha are gnostic and designed specifically to pervert the gospel.

I accept that the so called gospel of Thomas and all of the other post Christ writings gospel writings are very dubious. However, what has happened is that we have (yet again) thrown the bathwater out with the baby through lack of understanding of what the actual Apocrypha works are. This is because since the 17th Century the word ‘apocrypha’ is regarded as false, rather than the true meaning of ‘hidden’. So everything that is regarded as false is now labeled apocryphal works. This is so sad as the true Apocryphal books can be a real blessing.

So below I referenced the books of what our forefathers of our faith considered to be the Apocrypha. Apocrypha was used and is still used by a large majority of Christendom, and these books can be a real blessing when read in the light of the Logos Word.

The Apocrypha of the King James is 1 Esdras (Vulgate 3 Esdras) 2 Esdras (Vulgate 4 Esdras) Tobit Judith Rest of Esther (Vulgate Esther 10:4-16:24) Wisdom Ecclesiasticus (also known as Sirach) Baruch and the Epistle of Jeremy (all part of Vulgate Baruch) Song of the Three Children (Vulgate Daniel 3:24-90) Story of Susanna (Vulgate Daniel 13) The Idol Bel and the Dragon (Vulgate Daniel 14) Prayer of Manasses 1 Maccabees 2 Maccabees

The Apocrypha of the King James Bible constitutes the books of the Vulgate that are present neither in the Hebrew Old Testament nor the Greek New Testament. Since these are derived from the Septuagint, from which the old Latin version was translated, it follows that the difference between the KJV and the Roman Catholic Old Testaments is traceable to the difference between the Palestinian and the Alexandrian canons of the Old Testament. This is only true with certain reservations, as the Latin Vulgate was revised by Jerome according to the Hebrew, and, where Hebrew originals were not found, according to the Septuagint. Furthermore, the Vulgate omits 3 and 4 Maccabees, which generally appear in the Septuagint, while the Septuagint and Luther’s Bible omit 2 Esdras, which is found in the Apocrypha of the Vulgate and the King James Bible. Luther’s Bible, moreover, also omits 1 Esdras. It should further be observed that the Clementine Vulgate places the Prayer of Manasses and 3 Esdras and 4 Esdras in an appendix after the New Testament as apocryphal.

It is hardly possible to form any classification which is not open to some objection. Scholars are still divided as to the original language, date, and place of composition of some of the books which must come under this provisional attempt at order. (Thus some of the additions to Daniel and the Prayer of Manasseh are most probably derived from a Semitic original written in Palestine, yet in compliance with the prevailing opinion they are classed under Hellenistic Jewish literature. Again, the Slavonic Enoch goes back undoubtedly in parts to a Semitic original, though most of it may have been written by a Greek Jew in Egypt.)

However, the Apocrypha proper would be classified as follows:–

Palestinian Jewish Literature Historical 1 Esdras (i.e. Greek Ezra). 1 Maccabees. Legendary Book of Baruch Book of Judith Apocalyptic 2 Esdras Didactic Sirach (also known as Ecclesiasticus) Tobit Hellenistic Jewish Literature:– Historical and Legendary Additions to Daniel Additions to Esther Epistle of Jeremy 2 Maccabees Prayer of Manasseh Didactic Book of Wisdom

Blessings,

Thanks to Wiki and particularly to the great scholars that defend and guard our faith and the truth!

At church we have begun 40 days based on the book ‘The Purpose Driven Life’ written by Rick Warren. I must admit I was little sceptical as there is quite a lot of negative criticism about Rick Warren online, but I do take this with a pinch of salt as it seems that there is much negative criticism about every prominent christian church leader online!

In truth for me finding purpose in life is a subject that touches a nerve. Even as a christian I have always struggled on this point.

I thought that I would be fulfilled and happy once I had achieved my goals such as running a successful business and was gutted when at my most successful (in worldly terms) felt the most empty, depressed and unfulfilled….ironic!

I have tried looking for avenues to do full time ministry (especially abroad as a missionary), but every door seems to have been shut which has led to a serious consideration as to my purpose in life. I’m being real honest here but I am often attacked by a sense of pointlessness in life even as a christian, I seem to be alone with this and have never come across another christian who suffers from this.

I am really pleased to be developing websites for the christian community, this has certainly given me some purpose in life and I hope that in some way it is serving the kingdom of God and may bring fruit.

Maybe this 40 days at church going through Rick Warrens ‘Purpose Driven Life’ will help, I will post up the sermon outlines each week, which are provided by Rick Warren for the pastor to deliver and maybe also make comments about the weekly small group meetings which again is structured by Rick Warren.

Who knows maybe we will find our true purpose in life.

Interestingly a prophecy was given in the church, what follows is written by someone else:-

“On Sunday evening (19/4/09) after a wonderful time of praising the Lord and coming into His presence, we moved into a time of deep worship and the Glory fell upon us powerfully.

The Word was faithfully ministered, and as we continued to worship Him, praise God, He gave us a prophecy delivered obediently by Elaine.

“The Spirit says As you begin the 40 days of purpose. The wind of change is blowing over this place. Grasp it and do not let go“.

To grasp the wind of change. Wind in ancient Hebrew is Ru’ach, however, it encompasses so much more, and is the characteristics and very Spirit of someone. In Greek wind is Pneu’ma akin to the root word  meaning to blow. In both the Hebrew and Greek  ’wind’ is also synonymous for the Holy Spirit Himself.

We thank you and praise O God for your faithfulness, and for honouring us with your Rhema Word. We receive it Lord. We receive it Lord.”

Very encouraging actually!

Lectio Divina is latin and translates “Divine reading”. Who is the Divine? Obviously God, what has He written that we can read? the Scriptures.

The bible tells us that the Spirit leads us into all truth. So when we read the scriptures the Holy Spirit comes upon us and teaches us, corrects us, and instructs us into righteousness, so we are equipped for every good work. (2Tim 3:16)

Reading the Word of God in our personal devotional time, or quiet time if you prefer, is a personal encounter with God in the person of the Holy Spirit, who will lead us to into prayer and contemplation. What is contemplation? It is to think about or meditate.

We are told in the scripture to meditate day and night on the Word. The Jewish kings only mandate from God was to meditate day and night on the scriptures, so that they could instruct the Jews and rule the kingdoms according to the law.

Unfortunately the majority do not build upon what has been learnt from the fathers of our faith, whom spent their lives seeking God for deeper understanding of the truth.

Today if it is not something that is understood, it is may be called satanic!

Lectio Divina is a powerful way to worship our God, which is deeply rewarding and edifying for a saint. Yet these are targeted and rejected, not just by conspiracy theorists, but by people who have a total lack of understanding. (The throwing out of the baby with the bathwater).

People standing in a church building on a Sunday with their arms raised to a praise and worship tune, is now seen as the only “true way” to worship. Or the use of CD with ‘soaking’ worship songs. This is good and beautiful, but there are other ways also.

It is all about coming in to the presence of the LORD. Which is exactly what happens during a devotional time of comtemplation prayer and lectio divina, except there is no distractions.

Be Still and know that I am God….

Blessings