“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”
1 John 5.13-15 ESV
Category: Life in Christ
Evening Reading: Philippians 4.6-7 ESV
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4.6-7 ESV
Prepare Your Children for Life
“The moment you took part in a conception you got a job description; raising your children well is your responsibility.”
Prepare Your Children for Life. by Rick Warren
“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” (Luke 2:52 NIV)
The Bible says that one of the goals for parenting is to prepare your kids for life. God intends the family to be a learning center for life. You learn things in your family that you don’t learn anywhere else. I remember when my youngest taught me how to burp and sneeze at the same time — a very cool thing! I don’t know if I’ll ever use it anywhere, but it’s a great spiritual experience to be able to do that. Continue reading “Prepare Your Children for Life”
PDL 12 – Developing My Friendship with God
“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” James 4.8 NLT
“My determined purpose is that I may know Him – that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly.” Philippians 3:10 AMP
Day 12 of 40: “Conversation, focused thinking, honesty and obedience build intimacy, i.e. friendship with God.”
Let’s be clear… any problem I may have of “distance” is not on God’s side. God is with me, for me and in me. As the old saying goes: “If you feel far away from God, guess who moved?”
But, personally, I don’t feel the need to do a lot of talking back and forth with God. Maybe it’s a guy thing… or a personality thing… I don’t know. I’m happy to drive in the car for hours without a lot of conversation. Barbara tells me that I apparently have a very rich inner life… it works for me.
But honesty is important to me. Not because I need to be “real” before God… I’m sure He gets His fill of that. But I honestly do want to know what God thinks about the “think, feel, do” stuff in my life. And I really do want to take on the “mind of Christ” in all matters – large and small. And I do want to live it out in practical ways.
That’s why reading the Bible is so important to me… and trying to apply it to current circumstances and conditions is a never ending process.
I realize that this is off topic but here’s the kind of thing I wrestle with – “justice and mercy” – as applied to people who live totally irresponsible lives, make consistently bad choices, and expect me to pick up the tab directly (charity) or indirectly (taxes).
I get the issue of giving mercy just as freely as I have received mercy… but… if that involves my continual support of their bad behavior… Where’s the justice? Haven’t I just become an enabler… and nothing changes? I just don’t see Jesus as an enabler of bad behavior.
Anyhow – back to the topic: “Lord Jesus, help me to understand your mind in the choices I face today and give me a willing spirit to do what you want me to do.”
Which Country Believes in God the Most, Least?
Peanut Gallery: Why is this important? Because it gives us a clue as to who is operating on a similar value system. Muslim countries were not included in this study, but we already know they have different values. Looks and traditional alliances can be deceiving.
__________________
Among all the nations mentioned in the report, atheism is highest in former East Germany, where 52 percent of people don’t believe in God. Smith indicates in his analysis that “countries with high atheism (and low strong belief) tend to be ex-Socialist states and countries in northwest Europe. Countries with low atheism and high strong belief tend to be Catholic societies, especially in the developing world, plus the United States, Israel, and Orthodox Cyprus.”
Which Country Believes in God the Most, Least?.
By Jeff Schapiro , Christian Post Reporter | April 30, 2012|4:10 pm
A recently released report from the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago shows which countries have the most, and the least, belief in God by population percentage.
The Philippines, a predominantly Catholic nation, was found to have the highest percentage (84 percent) of people who “know God really exists and … have no doubts about it,” and the lowest percentage (less than one percent) of people who said they “don’t believe in God” at all.
The report, titled “Beliefs about God across Time and Countries,” analyzes 30 countries based on surveys from the International Social Survey Programme conducted as far back as 1991 and as recently as 2008. The survey’s findings do not include Middle Eastern countries where a Muslim majority exists. Continue reading “Which Country Believes in God the Most, Least?”
