Two Minutes With The Bible

[Brother Love]

This truth is driven home in Verses 3 to 5 of the same
chapter:

"For what saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

"Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" (Rom. 4:3-5).


Amen, some of my favorite verses, good teaching

Brother Love

[Ambassador4Christ]

Nov 10

THE NOBLE BEREANS

Many Christian groups and organizations call themselves
Bereans, but it is surprising how few people know what a
true Berean is.
         
The 17th chapter of Acts relates how Paul called upon his
kinsmen at Thessalonica and for three sabbath days "rea-
soned with them out of the Scriptures," trying to show them
that Jesus was the Christ.
         
Steeped in their own religion, however, the majority were
unwilling even to consider the truths Paul proclaimed. In-
deed, they resented the fact that some did believe and, in
their bigotry, "set all the city on an uproar." Finally Paul’s
life was in such peril that the Christians there sent him
away by night to Berea, a town about forty miles away.
         
At Berea Paul again sought out his "kinsmen according
to the flesh" -- and what a different reception! Here is what
the record says:
         
"THESE WERE MORE NOBLE THAN THOSE IN THESSALONICA, IN
THAT THEY RECEIVED THE WORD WITH ALL READINESS OF MIND, AND SEARCHED THE SCRIPTURES DAILY, WHETHER THOSE THINGS WERE SO" (Acts 17:11).
         
These people did not immediately close their eyes to fur-
ther light. On the contrary, they gave Paul an interested
hearing, listening with open minds to what he had to say.
But they were not gullible either for, having listened to
Paul, they subjected his word to God’s Word, searching the
Scriptures daily to see whether those things were so. For
this God called them "noble." They were the true spiritual
aristocracy of their day.
         
We should all be Bereans, spiritually big enough to listen
with open minds to the teachings of men, and then big
enough too to subject their teachings to the Word of God,
the Bible, to see for ourselves whether these things are so.
Our Lord said: "Search the Scriptures... for... they... testify
of Me" (John 5:39). As we do this we will find eternal
life -- and more -- in Christ.

Written by Pastor Stam

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Two Minutes With The Bible By Pastor Stam

Mailing Address:
Berean Bible Society
N112 W17761 Mequon Road
P.O. Box 756
Germantown, WI 53022

Web Site:
http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/
Gospel Books, Materials, & Free Mailings

Email:
berean@execpc.com

Telephone:  262-255-4750

[Ambassador4Christ]

Nov 11

"A TRUE VETERAN"

Before you have placed your trust in Christ as your Lord
and Savior, there is nothing whatever you can do to please
God or to gain acceptance with Him. John 3:35 declares
that "the Father loves the Son" and cares what you think
about Him and do with Him. This is why Verse 36 goes on
to say:

"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on Him."

But once you have received Christ as your Savior and
Lord there is much you can do to please God. You can wit-
ness to His saving grace, you can please Him by living a
godly life, you can work for Him, you can sacrifice of your
means to further His cause, and yes, you can fight for Him.

"Fight for Him" you say? Yes indeed, for this world sys-
tem, our Adamic natures and Satan and his hosts, are all
antagonistic toward the Christ who died for our sins. Sa-
tan’s forces, especially, work behind the scenes to "blind the
minds of them that believe not" (II Cor. 4:4). These fallen
angels, we read, are "the rulers of the darkness of this
world" (iEph. 6:12).

This is why God urges His children to be "strong in the
Lord," putting on "the whole armor of God," so as to meet
and defeat these evil forces (Vers. 10,11). This is why He
puts a sword ("the Word of God") into our hands and bids us
"stand... stand... stand!" (Vers. 11-14).

Ah, but a great veteran, who waged many battles in
making Christ known to the lost, gives us an inkling of the
thrill that goes with being "a good soldier of Jesus Christ."

In his last words, just before his execution, the Apostle
Paul declared triumphantly: "I have fought a good fight!"
(II Tim. 4:7). It was indeed "a good fight" in which he had
been engaged, a fight to bring light and salvation and bless-
ing to benighted souls. And the reward: "Henceforth there
is laid up for me a crown" (Ver. .

Written by Pastor Stam

Subscribe at:
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Two Minutes With The Bible By Pastor Stam

Mailing Address:
Berean Bible Society
N112 W17761 Mequon Road
P.O. Box 756
Germantown, WI 53022

Web Site:
http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/
Gospel Books, Materials, & Free Mailings

Email:
berean@execpc.com

Telephone:  262-255-4750

[Ambassador4Christ]

Nov 12

THE BLESSINGS OF CRISIS

The Apostle Paul, who had been through one desperate
crisis after another, wrote as follows:

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose" (Rom.
8:28).

How many people have found life going along smoothly
for years when, all of a sudden, they have found themselves
in the middle of some serious crisis!

Perhaps the sudden death of a loved one changed life
completely and presented serious problems wholly unantic-
ipated. Perhaps it was the sudden loss of wealth, so that life
had to be completely readjusted. There are hundreds of
unexpected incidents that can suddenly bring one face to
face with stark and stern realities completely unforeseen.

For believers in the Lord Jesus Christ such crises can
prove great spiritual blessings. They tend to draw us closer
to our heavenly Father, to cause us to pray more and to
lean harder upon Him. They show us the insecurity of all
that is temporal and give us a greater appreciation of our
eternal security in Christ. They give deeper meaning to the
Scriptures we study and even to the hymns we sing. They
sanctify and enrich our fellowships.

To those -- and only those -- who truly love God and are
"the called according to His purpose," all things do indeed
"work together for good" -- caused by God, of course, to
"work together for good."
         
This is why God’s Word to the Christian is:
         
"Be careful [care full] for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6,7).

Written by Pastor Stam

Subscribe at:
http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/twominut.html
Two Minutes With The Bible By Pastor Stam

Mailing Address:
Berean Bible Society
N112 W17761 Mequon Road
P.O. Box 756
Germantown, WI 53022

Web Site:
http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/
Gospel Books, Materials, & Free Mailings

Email:
berean@execpc.com

Telephone:  262-255-4750

[Brother Love]

The Apostle Paul, who had been through one desperate
crisis after another, wrote as follows:

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose" (Rom.
8:28).

 Amen

THE BLESSINGS OF CRISIS

 and Amen

Brother Love

[Ambassador4Christ]

Nov 13

HOW THE SPIRIT HELPS

"The Spirit... helpeth our infirmities" (Rom. 8.26).
         
A chain is no stronger than its weakest link. If one link
in a chain will hold one hundred pounds, another fifty, and
another ten, the chain as a whole will hold ten pounds, no
more. This is why James 2:10 says:
       
"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."
         
Many people suppose that we will be saved or lost ac-
cording to how good or bad we have been. This is not so. It
is not a question of how good or bad we have been, but of
whether or not we have sinned. A man need commit only
one robbery to be a robber, burn only one house to be an
arsonist, kill only one human being to be a murderer -- and
commit only one sin to be a sinner. This is why the Word of
God says that all are sinners.
         
How wonderful to know that in grace "Christ died for our
sins" and that by simple faith in Him we may be saved and
fully justified before God! (Rom. 5:6,8,10).
         
But born-again Christians find that the above principle is
just as true of them as of the unbeliever. None of us is any
stronger than his weakest point. Frightening, isn’t it, es-
pecially when we consider that Satan constantly attacks us
at our weakest point to wreck our testimony if he can.
         
But here is where the believer can rejoice that "the Spirit
..helpeth our infirmities" (Rom. 8:26). He dwells within to
help in time of need, so that we need not fail (Rom. 8:11,12).
This does not mean, however, that He takes control of us
without being called upon, as He did "when the day of Pen-
tecost was fully come." Unlike the Pentecostal believers, we
live under "the dispensation of the grace of God."  What God
provides by grace we must appropriate by faith. Thus in
any given case we may have victory. Indeed it is concerning
the weak brother in Christ that Paul declares by inspira-
tion: "God is able to make him stand" (Rom. 14:4).

Written by Pastor Stam

Subscribe at:
http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/twominut.html
Two Minutes With The Bible By Pastor Stam

Mailing Address:
Berean Bible Society
N112 W17761 Mequon Road
P.O. Box 756
Germantown, WI 53022

Web Site:
http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/
Gospel Books, Materials, & Free Mailings

Email:
berean@execpc.com

Telephone:  262-255-4750

[Ambassador4Christ]

Nov 14

FACING UP TO FACTS

Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, Chapters 1 and 2, present a
dark picture of the human race, but acknowledge the facts
they record and you have taken the first step to salvation.
By nature we shrink from facing up to our sins, but we are
better off if we do.
         
If a man has early indications of cancer, and his physi-
cian keeps the truth from him, the patient will die of can-
cer. A good and wise physician will say: "You have cancer
and we should do something about it without delay."
         
Thus God, in His Word, tells us frankly about our sinful
condition, but only to save us from it.
         
This is where most philosophies and the Bible clash head
on. Most philosophies close their eyes to man’s sinful na-
ture. They presume that man is good by nature, when over-
whelming evidence bears witness that he is sinful by na-
ture. Thus human philosophies offer no salvation from sin
and its just penalty. Only "the gospel of the grace of God"
does that.
         
The Bible says of the whole human race: "All have sin-
ned" (Rom. 3:23), and to each individual: "Thou art inex-
cusable" (Rom. 2:1). But the same Bible says: "Christ died
for our sins" (I Cor. 15:3), and "We have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of
His grace" (Eph. 1:7).
         
Trust in Christ for salvation and you will have accepted
God’s great message to the world. Then, as you consider
that great Book, the Bible, you will say with Fawcett:
         
                      "It shows to man his wand’ring ways
                           And where his feet have trod;
                       But brings to view the matchless grace
                                Of a forgiving God."

Written by Pastor Stam

Subscribe at:
http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/twominut.html
Two Minutes With The Bible By Pastor Stam

Mailing Address:
Berean Bible Society
N112 W17761 Mequon Road
P.O. Box 756
Germantown, WI 53022

Web Site:
http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/
Gospel Books, Materials, & Free Mailings

Email:
berean@execpc.com

Telephone:  262-255-4750

[Ambassador4Christ]

Nov 15

WHAT ABOUT ME?

Hebrews 2 states that unbelievers are, "through fear of
death... all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Ver. 15). How
often they must ask themselves: "What will become of me:
finally become of me?" The best they can hope is that God
will be merciful to them and accept them at last, but God
cannot do this without a just basis, and since unbelievers
have rejected His gracious payment for sin, they must re-
main under its condemnation. Many hope that physical
death will be the end for them, but they fear that the Bible
may be true and that death will not be the end.
         
This writer once talked with a profane barber who had
boasted that he was his own "God," and would be until they
put him "six feet under." To this we replied: "The Bible
says that ‘it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this
is the judgment.’ You may not believe this, or accept it as
the Word of God, but you can’t prove it isn’t so, and I would
urge you to look into it carefully, asking God to give you
light."
         
Here we ask the reader a very personal question: Are
you saved? Have you accepted Christ and His payment for
your sins, now standing before God "justified from all
things," and "accepted in the Beloved"? If not, we beg you:
do not delay. These are serious times and who knows how
soon God will take His own away and bring this dispen-
sation of grace to a close. Then it will be too late, so we
urge you, face up to your sinful condition now, and place
your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ who, in infinite love and
grace, bore the burden of your guilt and condemnation at
Calvary. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt
be saved..." (Acts 16:31).

Written by Pastor Stam

Subscribe at:
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Two Minutes With The Bible By Pastor Stam

Mailing Address:
Berean Bible Society
N112 W17761 Mequon Road
P.O. Box 756
Germantown, WI 53022

Web Site:
http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/
Gospel Books, Materials, & Free Mailings

Email:
berean@execpc.com

Telephone:  262-255-4750

[Ambassador4Christ]

Nov 16

THE VALUE OF BIBLE STUDY

"From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (II Tim. 3:15).
         
Timothy was a fortunate young man. His father was not
a believer in Christ, but his godly mother made up for this
lack as, day after day, from his earliest childhood, she
taught him the Word of God. As a result he came to know
Christ at an early age and later became St. Paul’s faithful
co-worker and close associate in making known the wonder-
ful "good news of the grace of God."
         
In his very last letter the great Apostle Paul recalls
Timothy’s "unfeigned faith... which dwelt first in thy grand-
mother Lois, and thy mother Eunice" (II Tim. 1:5).
         
If only we had more such mothers and grandmothers
today, with husbands to help them! If only our American
children were not set adrift on a restless sea of human spec-
ulation, but were taught the eternal truths of God’s Word,
the Bible!
         
We all need to "know the Holy Scriptures," not only be-
cause they teach reverence for God and build moral char-
acter, but most of all because they "are able to make [us]
wise unto salvation through faith... in Christ Jesus."
         
The theme of the Bible, the Old Testament as well as
New, is the Lord Jesus Christ, the riches of whose saving
grace are unfolded to us in the Epistles of Paul, the chief of
sinners saved by grace. It was to Paul that God committed
the preaching of the cross of Christ. He it is who tells us
about the riches that flow from Calvary. He it is who tells
us, by divine inspiration that:
         
"...WE HAVE REDEMPTION THROUGH [CHRIST’S] BLOOD, THE
FORGIVENESS OF SINS ACCORDING TO THE RICHES OF HIS
GRACE" (Eph. 1:7).

"THAT IN THE AGES TO COME HE MIGHT SHOW THE EXCEED-
ING RICHES OF HIS GRACE IN HIS KINDNESS TOWARD US
THROUGH CHRIST JESUS" (Eph. 2:7).

Written by Pastor Stam

Subscribe at:
http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/twominut.html
Two Minutes With The Bible By Pastor Stam

Mailing Address:
Berean Bible Society
N112 W17761 Mequon Road
P.O. Box 756
Germantown, WI 53022

Web Site:
http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/
Gospel Books, Materials, & Free Mailings

Email:
berean@execpc.com

Telephone:  262-255-4750

[Brother Love]

Nov 16

THE VALUE OF BIBLE STUDY

"From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (II Tim. 3:15).
         
Timothy was a fortunate young man. His father was not
a believer in Christ, but his godly mother made up for this
lack as, day after day, from his earliest childhood, she
taught him the Word of God. As a result he came to know
Christ at an early age and later became St. Paul’s faithful
co-worker and close associate in making known the wonder-
ful "good news of the grace of God."
         
In his very last letter the great Apostle Paul recalls
Timothy’s "unfeigned faith... which dwelt first in thy grand-
mother Lois, and thy mother Eunice" (II Tim. 1:5).
         
If only we had more such mothers and grandmothers
today, with husbands to help them! If only our American
children were not set adrift on a restless sea of human spec-
ulation, but were taught the eternal truths of God’s Word,
the Bible!
         
We all need to "know the Holy Scriptures," not only be-
cause they teach reverence for God and build moral char-
acter, but most of all because they "are able to make [us]
wise unto salvation through faith... in Christ Jesus."
         
The theme of the Bible, the Old Testament as well as
New, is the Lord Jesus Christ, the riches of whose saving
grace are unfolded to us in the Epistles of Paul, the chief of
sinners saved by grace. It was to Paul that God committed
the preaching of the cross of Christ. He it is who tells us
about the riches that flow from Calvary. He it is who tells
us, by divine inspiration that:
         
"...WE HAVE REDEMPTION THROUGH [CHRIST’S] BLOOD, THE
FORGIVENESS OF SINS ACCORDING TO THE RICHES OF HIS
GRACE" (Eph. 1:7).

"THAT IN THE AGES TO COME HE MIGHT SHOW THE EXCEED-
ING RICHES OF HIS GRACE IN HIS KINDNESS TOWARD US
THROUGH CHRIST JESUS" (Eph. 2:7).

Written by Pastor Stam

Subscribe at:
http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/twominut.html
Two Minutes With The Bible By Pastor Stam

Mailing Address:
Berean Bible Society
N112 W17761 Mequon Road
P.O. Box 756
Germantown, WI 53022

Web Site:
http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/
Gospel Books, Materials, & Free Mailings

Email:
berean@execpc.com

Telephone:  262-255-4750

Another Favorite

Brother Love

[Ambassador4Christ]

Nov 17

THE CHRISTIAN HOME

"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Josh. 24:15).
         
There is no place in all this world so wholesome and re-
freshing as a Christian home, a home where Christ is truly
loved and honored.
         
This writer was brought up in such a home. There were
ten of us: dad, mother and eight children. There was lots
going on all the time, but a truly happy home it was, for
dad and mother never let us get so busy with temporal
things that we brushed eternal values aside.
         
On the basis that "man shall not live by bread alone, but
by every word of God" (Luke 4:4), we read some small por-
tion of the Bible before every meal, and had family devotions
before retiring at night.
         
Result: all eight children have blessed the dear dad and
mother who led them aright, morally and spiritually, and
best of all, taught them the importance of trusting in the
Savior who died for all our sins. More: five of the children
and many of the grandchildren have given themselves for
full time Christian service, and have become pastors, col-
lege deans, Christian writers and missionaries in various
parts of the world.
         
This is not because we are one whit better than others,
but because we have experienced the help and grace of God
in our lives. And it all began as, one day, a young Amer-
ican, like Joshua of old, came to a decision and declared:
"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Written by Pastor Stam

Subscribe at:
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Two Minutes With The Bible By Pastor Stam

Mailing Address:
Berean Bible Society
N112 W17761 Mequon Road
P.O. Box 756
Germantown, WI 53022

Web Site:
http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/
Gospel Books, Materials, & Free Mailings

Email:
berean@execpc.com

Telephone:  262-255-4750

[Ambassador4Christ]

Nov 18

MELTING HEARTS

Melting hearts, in Scripture, are consistently associated
with discouragement and fear. Note a few examples:
         
"And he also that is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt..." (II Sam. 17:10).
         
"Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt"(Isa. 13:7).
         
"The heart melteth and the knees smite together..." (Nah. 2:10).
         
Christians, therefore, should not pray for melted hearts,
as so many do. There are too many believers with melting
hearts now! Indeed, men of God, down through the ages,
have always found it a real task to keep the hearts of Chris-
tians from melting. Fear can easily become cowardice and
cowardice, like courage, is extremely contagious. For this
reason God explicitly instructed the military officers of
Israel to announce to their armies:
         
"What man is there that is fearful and faint-hearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart"(Deut. 20:.
         
If ever God’s people needed confidence and courage it is in
the day of crisis -- especially spiritual crisis -- in which we
live. Here Paul’s word to the Ephesian believers is appro-
priate:
         
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against [wicked spirits] in high places" (Eph. 6:12).
         
Thank God! While the opposition of our adversary during
"this present evil age" calls for special courage and stead-
fastness of heart, God has made particular provision for us,
for He has given us more light on His Word than was given
those of former ages and we can meet the enemy with "the
whole armor of God." Moreover we have God’s Word
through Paul, that battle-scarred warrior:
         
"God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, His prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God" (II Tim. 1:7,8).

Written by Pastor Stam

Subscribe at:
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Two Minutes With The Bible By Pastor Stam

Mailing Address:
Berean Bible Society
N112 W17761 Mequon Road
P.O. Box 756
Germantown, WI 53022

Web Site:
http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/
Gospel Books, Materials, & Free Mailings

Email:
berean@execpc.com

Telephone:  262-255-4750

[Ambassador4Christ]

Nov 19

THE PURPOSE OF PRAYER

The question is sometimes asked: If God’s will and pur-
pose are unalterable, why pray? The answer is simply:
Because the divine purpose, which any answer to prayer
must represent, includes the prayer itself. It is enough that
He "who worketh all things after the counsel of His own
will" (Eph. 1:11) invites and exhorts His people to "come
boldly unto the throne of grace" to "let [their] requests be
made known unto God" (Heb. 4:16; Phil. 4:6).

But prayer is not merely petition, as many suppose. It is
one aspect of active communion with God (meditation on
the Word being the other) and includes adoration, thanks-
giving and confession, as well as supplication. Hyde, in
God’s Education of Alan, Pp. 154,155, says: "Prayer is the
communion of two wills, in which the finite comes into
connection with the Infinite, and, like the trolley, appro-
priates its purpose and power."

We have an example of this in the record of our Lord’s
prayer in the garden, for, while He is not to be classed with
finite men, yet He laid aside His glory, became "a servant"
(Phil. 2:7) and "learned obedience" (Heb. 5:8; Phil. 2:. In
this place of subjection He made definite and earnest re-
quests of His Father, but closed His prayer with the words:
"Nevertheless, not My will, but Thine, be done" (Luke 22:
42) with the result that He was "strengthened" for the
ordeal He had to face (Ver. 43).

Thus prayer is not merely a means of "getting things
from God" but a God-appointed means of fellowship with
Him, and all acceptable prayer will include the supplication
-- as sincerely desired as the rest: "Nevertheless, not My
will, but Thine, be done."    

Written by Pastor Stam

Subscribe at:
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Two Minutes With The Bible By Pastor Stam

Mailing Address:
Berean Bible Society
N112 W17761 Mequon Road
P.O. Box 756
Germantown, WI 53022

Web Site:
http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/
Gospel Books, Materials, & Free Mailings

Email:
berean@execpc.com

Telephone:  262-255-4750

[Brother Love]

Nov 20

MISUSE OF PRAYER

Many Christian people fail to pray acceptably. They
indulge their wills, earnestly praying that God will lead;
yet all the while determined that He shall lead according to
their desires, even if contrary to His revealed will. Then,
when faced with the written Word, they say: "But I have
prayed much about it." They even challenge God, like the
young woman who justified herself for entering into an
unequal marriage vow by saying: "I asked the Lord if this
wasn’t His will just to hinder it somehow." Such misuse of
prayer is worse than superstition; it is sacrilege, for the
young woman should have known -- probably did know --
that the written Word had already condemned what she
wanted, prayed about and got.
       
Then too, there is much superstition among God’s people
with respect to prayer. How readily some believers "feel
led," seek for "inner promptings" or listen for that "still
small voice" in answer to their prayers! They say: "The
Lord told me" this or that, or "The Spirit whispered to me"
or "I could just hear Him saying." When such remarks are
made to this writer he usually inquires further into the
details and invariably learns that no voice was heard at all,
but that the speaker merely took some feeling or impres-
sion to be, in some mystic way, a direction from the Lord.
       
God does speak to us through His Word, even when some
incident or circumstance emphasizes the truth of His Word,
but with the Word complete He no longer speaks to us by
visions or even by still small voices, and the instructed
believer will be careful not to depend upon "inner prompt-
ings," knowing that by nature "the heart is deceitful above
all things" (Jer. 17:9).

Written by Pastor Stam

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Berean Bible Society
N112 W17761 Mequon Road
P.O. Box 756
Germantown, WI 53022

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Posted By Brother Love For Ambassador4Christ

[Brother Love]

Nov 21

REPETITION OF PRAYERS

One of the most unscriptural and unspiritual misuses of
prayer is the repeating of prayers composed by others.
Many members of both Protestant and Catholic churches,
indeed, many sincere believers, repeat over and over again
prayers that have been prepared for them to recite. Un-
doubtedly the greatest number of all make it a practice to
repeat the so-called "Lord’s Prayer," taken from the Gospel
records.
       
Evidently all these millions of professing Christians have
overlooked the fact that it was when the disciples asked our
Lord to teach them how to pray (Luke 11:1) that He said:
"AFTER THIS MANNER therefore pray ye" (Matt. 6:9).
Moreover, He prefaced these words with the specific in-
junction:

"But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them..." (Matt. 6:7,8).
       
Both Protestants and Catholics make much of repeating
the "Lord’s Prayer." They repeat it singly and in unison, in
trouble and sorrow, in sickness and death, in storm and
drought, in war and disaster, with little or no regard for its
contents.

Imagine praying, "Give us this day our daily bread" at a
funeral service! Imagine praying, "Thy kingdom come" at a
sick bed or in a storm at sea! Yet this is solemnly done
again and again throughout Christendom. Whole audiences
continue to repeat the prayer in unison -- and this in the
face of the fact that it was in connection with this very
prayer that our Lord pronounced the mere repetition of
prayers "vain" and enjoined His disciples not to follow the
heathen in this practice.

What a difference there is between praying and saying
prayers! No truly spiritual believer will do the latter.

Written by Pastor Stam

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http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/twominut.html
Two Minutes With The Bible By Pastor Stam

Mailing Address:
Berean Bible Society
N112 W17761 Mequon Road
P.O. Box 756
Germantown, WI 53022

Web Site:
http://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/
Gospel Books, Materials, & Free Mailings

Email:
berean@execpc.com

Telephone:  262-255-4750

Posted By Brother Love For Ambassador4Christ