I was thinking today that we as Christians have gotten into the habit of speaking Jesus name in all of our prayers as if it will make sure that we get what we want. I was praying on my personal journal blog and started to write down, In Jesus Name, AMEN, but something made me stop and think for a moment. I want God's will to be done and I don't what to fill like I am conjuring up some sort of result just because I say the right words.

I understand why we use the formula at the end our our prayers. Scripture states in various places that: John 14:13-14 "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it." Also, John 15:16 "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."

When you look at other scriptures that are talking about "in my name" they generally have to do with God getting the glory out of the outcome. For Example: Mark 16:17 "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." or another example Mark 9:41 "For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward." or concerning children: Mark 9:37 “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.” It all comes down to how does God get the Glory.

The word Amen, in the hebrew language, means "Your will be done" in not so many words anyway. So I guess in the end what we are really saying is "In Jesus Name we pray, your will be done." I think that we need to get away from saying it just because we are trying to minipulate God into doing our own will, or for the matter, the reason "this is just the way we are supposed to finish our prayer, or they might not get heard,(Like he wouldn't hear it anyway)" or anything like that and realize that when we are praying in His Name, it is so he gets the glory. I am not sure exactly what I am saying right now, but it is a good place to start. Why am I saying, 'In Jesus name, AMEN!' in the first place? What is the motive behind my prayer? Is it just a forula? I guess we just have to realize when it comes to the end of the prayer - we need to realize that it is His will we want done. I don't know what are your Thoughts and comments?

I was recently talking to a friend about church. Actually the converstaion started out about whether alcohol should be permitted in the church and went from there. He stated that, "I don't get into all that religious stuff because I don't want to be called a hypocrite." At first I thought it was a weak excuse, and then I realized what he was truly saying. It is probably the only real reason that someone who does believes in Christ doesn't want to accept him as LORD. What it really comes down to is "If I accept Christ then I cannot continue to do the things that I want to do!" It is mainly just a flat excuse out of rebellion on the part of the sinner. This is an example of someone who does not have "The Fear of the Lord!"

I do however resent the fact that what he was saying is, "that all Christians are just Hypocrites anyway." I think that it is just an excuse, but also degrades the whole Christian faith at the same time. It is not that the Church is filled with Hypocrites. It is that the Church is filled with People (Sinners) who have been saved by grace and mess up every once in a while. We are all human. The only difference is in whom we are trying to follow. Are we trying to follow the father of this world, or our Heavenly Father, who sent His Son to die for our sins?

Every other religion in the world is about "man trying to get to heaven by what he does." This is however not what grace is all about. Grace is all about God coming to us to bridge the gap that we cannot fill on our own. It is like trying to jump the Grand Canyon. We can run as fast as we can and jump, but we are not going to get all the way across. Some people are good enough that they can jump a little further, but the fact is that we cannot do it on our own initiative. The only way to get across is getting the Help necessary. Only God can pick us up and place us on the other side. Jesus is like the bridge that connects each side. You just have to choose to take the bridge. Still some try to jump across - the problem is that they are not going to be able to make it on their own.

Essentially the Good News (Gospel) is that God prepared a way to get to him. All we have to do is accept His help. That means trying to follow His direction for our lives. Granted we all make some mistakes, but he will pick us up and dust us off and we can continue on our journey. It is not that Christians are Hypocrites, It is that we are Human.

If you are reading this and want to accept Christ, follow the information provided below and the contact someone that can help you in your new faith Journey.

How to receive Christ:
1. Admit your need - The need for a saviour to help you. (I am a sinner.)
2. Be willing to turn from your sins - essentailly to try and do right before God. (Repent.)
3. Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the Cross and rose from the grave.
4. Through prayer, invite Jesus Christ to come in and control your life through the Holy Spirit. (Receive him as Lord and Savior.)

What to Pray:
Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and need Your forgiveness. I believe that you died for my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I now invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as Lord and Savior. In Jesus' name. Amen.

If you want to talk to someone or for Prayer visit:
Clear Lake Baptist Church

I have been struggling lately. In History of Israel we are currently studying the Kings of Israel. We already talked about Samuel the prophet, Saul, David, and Solomon. Dr. Chen stated that Samuel was the Prophet after God's own heart. That Saul was the king after man's heart, and that David was the king after God's Heart. Solomon was just half-hearted. Sometimes I really don't know where I stand. I am to be like Samuel and tell of God's word, no matter what happens. I know that I want a heart like David's yet feel that I probably am somewhere between Solomon's half-heart or Saul's want to please people. Four men, with very different kinds of lives and sins. Saul was a people pleaser, and prideful. David was an adulterer, murderer and he too was prideful at a certain point in his life. Solomon started well with the Fear of the Lord, yet finish poorly because his wives turned his heart away from God. I want my heart to be that of God's, but wind up screwing things up many times. My pride, and my want to be somebody hurts what I can do for God - because of the wall that it puts up, and the opportunities that I miss because I head to man's call before God.

My prayer for today is to find out what I am really made of. Can I have the Fear of the LORD? Can I have a heart after God? You would think that being in Seminary that I should have my act together, but I screw up all the time. Sometimes I wonder why I am even there, yet I feel the prompting of God.

I ask you Heavenly Father, to help me find my way in all this. I ask you to help me to be more like David in that I have the will to please you in all things that I do. I ask you to hear my prayers - I have been feeling like they are doing no good. I praise you with tributes that I don't know if I even believe. I started blogging because I wanted to feel like you hear me. I thought if I could just keep a log of what you are doing then maybe, I will feel as if you hear me and are answering me. This blog started off as something I was thinking to something I feel inside. I ask you to show me that you do hear me and help me see that. I ask you all this in Jesus Name, AMEN!

On Friday I had to go out and take pictures of a jobsite for a board meeting I have on this coming Wednesday. I grabbed the camera turned it on and everything seemed fine. So I headed down to the house I was supposed to get pictures of. That is until I got to the Jobsite and turned the camera on and it said to check battery. I didn't check it well enough before I left. I had just driven 20 minutes to find out that I had a dead battery. Upset with myself I was thinking that I was going to have to drive back to the office and then go back to the customers house. NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT! So I thought, "Maybe I could pray and God would give it just enough juice to get the one real picture that I need." Well it didn't work. I thought, "well I guess I will just have to go back to the office."

As I was walking back to my car I realized I have the Charger in the car and there is a outlet on the back of the House. God is so good! He may not answer our prayers always like we think, but He does answer them. I was able to get about 15 shots of the house (Not just one but fifteen)- and I didn't have to go back to the office to do that. It is great that even the littlest of our prayers gets answered - Thank you Jesus, for answering my prayer!

My mother in law was in a wreck about 2 weeks ago. This worried me a little bit because she hasn't had a job for a little over a year now. The car was totaled - a car smashed into her side and dented in the frame. The praise comes from the fact that even as bad as she got hit - she walked out of the emergency room. This in of itself was a miracle. God has surely been looking over her. It was just a day later that she got a call to start work for probably about 3 months - Praise number 2. I pray that it opens up some doors for a future job opportunity. Then she got a call from a group that Valerie has been on a waiting list for, to help with home care, and she maybe able to get some benefits there. This was Praise number 3. Finally, Geico gave her the results of the car and they will be paying off the car and giving her a little to help with the expense of having to get another one. This is praise number 4. All in all I can see where God's hand is in all of this. He is watching over and taking care of her and meeting all her needs. Praise God in all he does - He is a wonderful God.

It is amazing how God works. I prayed for some things to happen at work last night, but I didn't get what I asked for. Sometimes it seems like my prayers are just going to the ceiling, but it always seems to work out. I know that God hears me. Maybe it is that I just haven't learned to ask for the right things. I am glad that sometimes God loves me enough to tell me no and do it his way. I don't know! We may not always understand why, but He knows best. I will just keep praying and watching to see what happens. I think that if I was better at looking at things that I would see a big difference and would see more of what GOD IS ACTUALLY DOING because I am not giving credit where credit is due.

It is hard in today's society to really go to God in prayer. I don't really know what to say most of the time, but I do know that He does hear me. I wanted a place that I could pray at and lift up praise to God for the things that He has done for me. I wanted a place to explore the love that God has for me and that I have for Him. I know that God has done alot for me. He sent His Son, Jesus to die on the cross for me. He raised Jesus to life so that we could have communication with Him. He has cleansed me as white as snow, even though I have done many things wrong in my life. He loves me for me, and will always do that even when I am not loving to Him like I should. He gave me a wonderful wife, wonderful family and friends, a home, and a job. He cares for me and feeds me. He has been there for me when I have been lonley or even when I am down on myself and feeling worthless. I want to follow His will and live my life in a way that honors Him. I want to embrace Him like he has embraced me. I want to Embrace God!