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Starting January 4, 2010 this website will begin listing pages for you to visit here that deal with holiness and becoming sanctified. We are told that we must "follow on to know the Lord."--Hosea 6:1-3 (KJV). Interesting, the NKJV says it in this way: "Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord." The Catholic translator Ronald Knox stylisticly phrases the third verse in Hosea Chapter 1 this way: "...to live in his presence anew. Acknowledge we, cease we never to acknowledge the Lord, he will reveal himself, sure as the dawn, come back to us, sure as the rains of winter and spring come back to the earth." We are restored through our acknowledging Him and by dawing close, or nigh, to the Lord of Heaven--James 4:8. Jesus said, "Love your enemies..." Does this seem less impossible than the "Be perfect as your father in heaven is perfect"? Does not God, through Christ's words to us, ask what seems to be "impossible" for us to accomplish (on our own)? In our walk with the Lord, it is I John 1:7 that applies to us (notice who all it is that "walks") "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin." So it is for us to walk in Christ's words as he taught the disciples, and as the disciples learned them; we put to practice the holy inter-living among ourselves; and we sense that our consciences-in-the-Lord are clean. We are requested and told by the Lord to become perfect and clean as the Father and the Son are, and we do this as we live among the brethren, the fellow-believers in Christ.
The "Lord's Prayer" is characteristically short. Protestants lengthened it by adding "For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever" which comes from the 145th Psalm, verse 10-11, which reads: "...and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power..." In verse 12-13, David's psalm contains the "kingdom" elements found in the Lord's prayer when it reads: "...and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations." But it is also reported in the New Testament that Jesus spent several of his entire nights in prayer. So the question arises, if he taught us to pray in short fashion, how is it that it is possible to be spending an hour or hours in prayer? This is the crux of what makes prayer difficult. WE HAVE TO BRING OUR HEARTS CLOSE TO THE LORD. Consider the apt verse that teaches: "If I regard iniquity (give it place, honor it, accept it as equal with God's directives) in my heart, the Lord will not hear me"--Psalms 66:18. If we hold to sins that are "besetting" to us (that means, we can't give them up to Christ for eliminating them), then we are bound to suffer loss in our lives of the natural blessing from the Lord and awareness of his will in our lives. Jesus could spend the night in prayer with God the Father because his heart was pure, and he could "be" with the Father and be heard by the Father. This involves time in prayer. "Drawing nigh" paints the picture of growing "closer", or "edging closer" as with two who sit side by side, decreasing their separation distance, until finally, they touch. The apostle John during the last supper is said to have rested his head upon Jesus' bosom. There is nothing wrong with that; it is not "sexual". It is, rather, natural when authentic love predominates. Recall that during the trial and the crucifixion of Christ that John was never away from him. He was in the High Priest's house and he was before the cross. He had been close to Christ sitting next to him at the last supper and the residual effect of this communion was that John did not leave him afterward even though events and circumstances dramatically changed.
It is our goal to enable you to draw closer to Christ and God the Father through prayer tips and general instruction of who God is as this is revealed in Scripture. If your desire is to draw close to Him, then God will surely meet this desire, for it is promised us that God grants us the desires of our heart--Psalm 37:4.
Half a year was spent by the website director Clif Moberg in creating a Bible study for the Gospel of John that uses the Berkeley Version originally translated by Dr. Gerrit Verkuyl, of Holland originally and then the United States. He was a Presbyterian and his knowledge of Greek phrasing was wonderful for creating a New Testament version that is a joy to read, both silently and aloud. This Bible study will again be presented within these website pages for your use shortly. So consider if you would like to have a complete study of the Gospel According to John; and it has been thoroughly reviewed by a Greek and Hebrew scholar, Pastor John M. Hill of the Berwick Christian Church in Berwick, PA http://www.berwickchristian.org/. Note: Dozens of students around the world have worked through its pages and gained a fresh understanding of how John came to see and understand Christ as teacher and his Savior. If it was your plan and hope to get sent to you our former CD offer of the free Gospel recording of the Gospel of John, it is no longer available for sending out. Thousands have been distributed, but the supply is now gone. (Sorry.)
In all, the website contains 25 very different topics for you to consider viewing and listening to. You can listen to specialized prayers for jealousy, stolen possession, lost soul on the "Hear a Prayer" page. All the links are at the top of our home page here.
Are you a songwriter? You may wish to visit our two website pages here: (1) Seminary Songs (download some tunes, free), and (2) Reworking Scripture and God's Names.
Here on these pages we want to tell you about an exciting, young ministry that is taking place in Nigeria, close to its border with Benin (formerly Dahomey). We are co-publishing with that ministry (Living Grace Christian Mission) a rather thick booklet with all the information for new Christians. If you would enjoy reading a copy of this yourself as a possible sponsor if you like it, then request a copy. Email clif.moberg@sbcglobal.net Put in the email subject line something about "booklet".
We are particularly proud of our 4-year association with the ministry of Pastor Peter Abdul-Razaq Olayinka. He and his fine evangelism team travel in Nigeria and to Benin to meet with villagers much in need of hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ. On his webpage we feature photos of two villages and now, recently, a grammar school to serve them. Consider giving your support, please. "Report from Nigeria" is the link to this page. It will be a blessing!
Many people are especially interested in childrens' prayer. For this reason we have printed the full book of prayers collected by the Bible translator, Gerrit Verkuyl. Many of these are older, Dutch prayers; they are listed according to topic and by age level for repeating and understanding by youth.
The one-act play "Checkers" has had good reports from even the academic elites of Bible seminaries, so read it through for a good laugh.
"Heaven's Crowns" is a good website page to read here if you are an active Christian worker; but if you are just "coasting along", well, perhaps the promise of heavenly reward will motivate you a little more in what is likely getting to be the 11th hour, so to speak, in this day's world.
If you can allow yourself 25 minutes to view the live production of "Pontius Pilate" that Westinghouse aired for TV back in the 50s, then enjoy the videostreaming this website can provide you. The acting is superb!
Best wishes for a successful Christian walk in Christ is my desire for you