tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4594466655926701168.post1487306370635903609..comments2024-01-20T06:33:12.603-08:00Comments on Created to Give God Glory: God Isn't Bothered by Your QuestionsCreated to Give God Gloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17298394573836878999noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4594466655926701168.post-19589167708803807822014-01-24T18:17:00.737-08:002014-01-24T18:17:00.737-08:00Cont. From above
It is common when the uncertaint...Cont. From above<br /><br />It is common when the uncertainty meter ticks high or "nothing seems moving" or we are confronting great opposition or possible ministry pause/cessation points are encountered, we seek confirmations about what we have done, what we are doing and what we are to do, moving forward; God does not despise our seeking clarification as part of our self-examination. In this respect, both John the Baptist and Jesus were examples. John was had come to almost the end of "he was to decrease and Jesus was to increase"; was imprisoned (Matthew 11) when he sent his disciples to Jesus to ask. Tradition has it that he was imprisoned for 12-18 months. From that imprisonment he went to his death, beheaded. Some people said things very negatively about John the Baptist because of his this asking, but if you look at Jesus' "eulogy given in advance" for John, The Lord gave no lack of positives for him. Jesus, when He was close to end of His ministry, Scripture specifically recorded for us that Jesus took time to seek the face of the Father. What do you think He prayed about? There was a contrasting one, Moses, but I will not go into it, here.<br />As Ps Prentis rightly pointed out, don't accuse God of ill or murmur against God in these moments, when we should self-examine properly.<br /><br />Thank you Ps Prentis, from here, I am inspired to write for my own blog, 3 entries, in time to come, along the lines of 1. Seeking confirmation of faith vs excusing our unbelief; 2. Testing God, when it is, and when it is NOT; 3. It is still God we must to go, to calm the sapping seas!<br /><br />Anthony Chia, high.expressionshigh.expressions (Anthony Chia)https://www.blogger.com/profile/15796568536820239102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4594466655926701168.post-61376940982934632522014-01-24T18:15:57.348-08:002014-01-24T18:15:57.348-08:00Get our frame right, so as to be right
When the i...Get our frame right, so as to be right<br /><br />When the issue is clearly, we seeking confirmation of what God, particularly, wants us to do, we can always go ahead and ask; generally, I don't see scripture exhorting us not to do that. Accusing God of ill and murmuring against God are different matters, these we must NOT do. <br /><br />Testing God, too, we are NOT to do. OT Scripture has it, and Jesus Himself, when tempted by Satan, repeated that for us, that we are NOT to test God. People also need to understand what falls under testing God and what does NOT; not every request you ask God for is testing God, otherwise why does Scripture exhorts prayer, for others or for ourselves.<br /><br />From writings on the internet, we can see there is confusion, and it arose because some people did not distinguish the different scenarios. For example, Gideon's putting out of a fleece is not a case of testing God, but some people discussed It as that, and then dished out "we should avoid asking". One of the reasons given was that we have the Word and the indwelling Holy Spirit, Gideon did not. That is not exactly it, for, does that mean you don't make any request of God. No, in fact, Scripture teaches us how to pray, how to make requests of God, only don't test God, and like I said, we got to be clear what amounts to testing God and what does NOT.<br /><br />Also, at times, this "loose" topic is discussed as seeking signs from God. The verse in Scripture, of Jesus saying no signs would be given, are often used by people outside of its context which included the intent and purpose of Jesus saying what He said. It isn't in all circumstances, God will no longer give signs. For example, In the Great Commission scripture passage we can read that it said signs and wonders would follow ..... Another example, words of knowledge, which I do operate in, can be a sign, too.<br /><br />If we are strictly talking about seeking confirmation from God, it is not necessary to be a subject of signs; of the case Ps Prentis discussed in this blog entry, John the Baptist was not asking for signs, he was asking his disciples to ask The Lord Jesus, directly. It was just that Jesus did not answer directly but pointed to the signs of Him healing the sick, miracles, etc (listed in the scripture text quoted in the blog entry). When we ask God, He could answer in a number of ways - speaking back to you in audible voice, speaking to you in your thought (you receive the reply in a thought, which come to you, which is not of you. I hear from God this way, it is not audible voice because I don't receive by the ears), giving you a vision, dream, a sign, etc.<br /><br />Cont...high.expressions (Anthony Chia)https://www.blogger.com/profile/15796568536820239102noreply@blogger.com