Tyler's tips on prayer

Here is a list of helpful tips on prayer. These tips are for both individual and group prayer.

1.) Don't be afraid of silence. (Psalm 40:1)
Sitting in silence can be a great part of prayer, where your thoughts are organized and your heart can be calmed.
2.) Use your own words.
No need for fancy language, just talk how you would normally talk every day.
3.) Don't try to impress people. (Matt. 6:5)
This is a conversation between you and God, don't worry about what other people think.
4.) Remember you're talking to God.
5.) Find a quiet place. (Matt. 6:6)
6.) It doesn't have to be long. (Matt. 6:7)
Prayers can be long but that does not mean they have to be in order to be meaningful. You should not feel like you have to pray for 7 hours before God hears it.
7.) Pray throughout the day. (1 Thess. 5:17)
At times I have been in the habit of beginning my day with prayer and seeing my whole day as a prayer to God. I then end the day with "Amen" before I fall asleep.
8.) Nothing is too small to pray about.
9.) Be honest.
10.) Talk slowly.
11.) Closing your eyes is to block out distractions.
There is nothing more holy about closing your eyes or folding your hands, it simply allows you not to be distracted by other things. Do it if it helps.
12.) Write your prayers down.
In your journal write out whole prayers or lists of things or people to pray for. It will help direct your time in prayer.
13.) Tell other people what you're praying for.
14.) Pray through Scripture.
Try the Psalms or other of your favorite passages.
15.) Don't pray where you sleep.
Because you'll fall asleep!
16. Pray while you're doing daily tasks.
Laundry, cleaning, driving to school, etc.

This list was given out at Bible study. If you would like a hard copy or if you have any questions please feel free to contact me at tandersen84@live.com

Tips On Running From Sin

I am in no way an expert in the field of resisting sin. So this list is not compiled by a master but by a guy who desires to grow and find greater success in fighting sin as I grow in Christ. Here is a list of some techniques in the battle to resist sin that I have compiled based on advice I have received over the years from better men than myself.
You will notice that nearly each suggestion is followed by one or more of the 5 pillars of the JHC. This is to show how instrumental these pillars are in the everyday life of the believer.
1) Prepare

• Know who you are (God's glory/Gospel). Romans 6:11
• Know what you struggle with.
• Know what the Bible says sin, and sins in particular (Scripture).
• Know that sin breaks God's heart (God's glory).
• Confess to others (family). James 5:16
  
• Pray for one another (prayer/family). James 5:16.
  
• Seek advice from Christians you respect (family).
  

2) Get away!

• Get away from the temptation.
• Tell someone about the struggle (family).
• Pray; alone and/or with others (prayer/family).
• Get busy-set your mind on things that honor God (God's glory). Colossians 3:2
• Have reminders around you of who you are in Christ (Gospel). Romans 6:11
  

This list was given out in a handout at Bible study. If you would like a hard copy or have any questions please feel free to contact me at tandersen84@live.com

Lessons from the Saints: Joseph and Resisting Sin

Read: Genesis 39 (emphasis on 39:6b-13)

Joseph has been betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery. Now in slavery the Lord has shown favor on him and helped him to find success even as a slave. He becomes second only to the master of the house, Potiphar. But the Lord is not the only one who showed Joseph favor. As he worked in the house of Potiphar, Potiphar's wife also became interested in Joseph. She continually tried to get him to sin, but he resisted. Finally when he was alone with her and tempted he ran away, resisting sin.

In doing so he became an example to us all on the how to resist sin rather than give into it. Through his story and principles taught in Scripture we can learn how to also resist sin rather than give into it.

First a definition of sin to understand what it is.

Sin: Deciding to live your life your way instead of God's way; it's saying you know better than God.

God has told us how we should live in a way that brings Him honor and means only good things for us. But in sinning we are saying that we know better than He does what is good for us.

How to overcome sin:

1) Decide that you will resist sin and live for Christ.

see: Joshua 24:14-15; James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8-9

If we are going to resist sin we need to first make a decision on how we will deal with it before we are faced with temptation. It is nearly impossible to make a Godly decision against sin when faced with sin if we haven't decided before hand how to handle the temptation. We have to decide that we will serve Christ rather than ourselves.

2) Prepare accordingly

Study Scripture, get accountability partners, have quiet time alone with the Lord, fast, etc. All these activities help place our minds on Christ and help us to either learn about a life of holiness or help us to quiet our hearts and give us strength to resist sin. Jesus, when He was tempted spent forty days fasting in preparation. How could we not prepare if Christ Himself had to.

3) Call sin sin

see: Genesis 39: 9

I believe that what helped Joseph in resisting sin was that he decided before the temptation that what Potiphar's wife was asking him to do was sin. Then when faced with the temptation head on he did not try to justify it, he called it out as sin. He said that what she wanted to do was a sin against God. We need to do the same thing. When in the face of temptation we need to admit that its sin (even saying it outloud). "No, I'm gonna do [insert sin here], because it is sin, and will dishonor God who has saved me from my sin."

4) Run away from temptation

see: Genesis 39:12, 1 Corinthians 6:18-19; 1 Corinthians 10:14; 1 Timothy 6:9-11; 2 Timothy 2:22

The biggest mistake we can make in sinning is thinking we are strong enough to face temptation and logic our way out of it. We can't do it. I know I can't. When face with temptation we need to run away. Just go! Don't stand around. Don't debate, get yourself away from the temptation. Just like Joseph did. So when you face sin- RUN! RUN! RUN! Are your friends gossipping and you feel yourself wanting to join them? Walk away! Fighting with your sister? Walk away. Watching bad stuff on tv? Turn off the tv and go do something else with your time. Just run away!

this week we will talk about how the 5 Pillars of the JHC can help us in resisting sin.

Lessons from the Saints: Jacob and Esau and Forgiveness

See: Genesis 32-33 (with specific emphasis on Genesis 33:1-11)

(note: I know this is a longer explanation than normal but should be helpful in understanding both the overall story of Genesis and the topic of forgiveness in the story of Jacob and Esau.)

A major purpose in writing of Genesis is to explain where the nation of Israel came from. The man Jacob is one of the most important people in answering that question. It is Jacob who, after going through discipline by God and learning from his sins, is renamed Israel by God Himself. Jacob had twelves sons from whom would come the twelve tribes of Israel, making up the nation of Israel.

Jacob was not ever deserving of this role as father of God's chosen nation. Genesis 25-32 give various examples of how underhanded and manipulative Jacob was. He was not a moral example to be followed often in his life. His immorality was often mostly directed at his older (well just a few minutes older, they were twins) brother Esau with whom he constantly competed.

Jacob tricked his brother out of his birthright (Esau as the older brother would have gotten the greater portion of their father's wealth when he died had he not given it over to Jacob) in a moment when Esau was weak and thought he would die. Then when it was time for their father to die he called to Esau asking him to cook him food and then he would be blessed by his father and inherit the promises given to him by God (that he would be the father of a nation that outnumbered the stars in the sky). When Jacob heard about this he impersonated his brother and tricked his father into giving him the blessing instead of Esau.

Fearing Esau would kill him Jacob ran away and they did not see each other for twenty years.

This brings us to Genesis 32-33 where we see Jacob do all he can to make peace with his brother and Esau forgiving Jacob for the wrong he had done.

From this story we look at the idea of forgiveness. If Esau can forgive his brother for all the wrong he had done to him, then we can also be people who forgive. Here are a few notes on living a life of forgiveness.

Forgiveness:

see: Genesis 33:1-1

1) has no limits
see: Matthew 18: 21-22

If Esau never forgave his brother people would have understood that. His brother did not deserve that forgiveness. In the same way we are called to unconditionally forgive all the time. No matter what people have done to us we are to be people who forgive.

2) Is complete
see: Psalm 103:12

Once we have forgiven someone they are completely forgiven for it. We are told that God has forgiven us of our sin and separated it from us as far as the east is from the west, which means we are completely forgiven of that sin and it is permanently removed from us. God does not remind us of our sin. So we cannot forgive someone and then remind them of that same sin later on. We don't hold things against people, we forgive and move on.

3) Is commanded in the Bible
see: Ephesians 4:32; Matthew 18:23-35; Colossians 3:13

Over an over again we are commanded to forgive others of the wrong they have done to us. We aren't given an option. We are to be people who forgive. When this commandment is given it is given with God as the ultimate example of someone who forgives.

4) Is modeled by Christ.
see: 1 John 1:9; Colossians 3:13; Ephesians 1:7

We are told to forgive just as Christ forgave us. We are able to forgive because Christ forgave us. He provides the example of the forgiving person. There is nothing in this world anyone could do to us that is worse than the sin we have committed against God. But because He loves us He forgave us and made a way for us to have a relationship with Him again through His death and resurrection. Through the work of the Holy Spirit we are being made more like Christ. One of Christ's great characteristics is unconditional forgiveness. Since He forgave us we need to forgive those who do wrong to us.

Lessons from the Saints: Abraham's Radical Faith

see: Genesis 12:1-9; Genesis 22; Hebrews 11: 8-19

In these passages on Abraham leaving his father's home and sacrificing his son at the Lord's request we are shown an example of a man who has radical faith in God.
In looking at Abraham's example and looking Biblically at the concept of faith we see there are five principles to learn about the life of radical faith.

The life of faith will:

1. Be difficult.
The life of faith is not easy. God calls his people to do difficult things, things that may go against popular opinion. The sacrifices we have to make will be hard at times, there's no avoiding that. If you want to follow Christ at times it will be difficult. But its worth it. We have to accept that at times it will be difficult, count the cost, and realize that it is worth the sacrifice every time. Living a life of radical faith may be difficult but its better than the alternative: living a safe life that doesn't serve the kingdom of God.




2. Come from trust in God.
see: Hebrews 11:1; 1 Corinthians 2: 5; Galatians 2:20
We see in Hebrews 11 that Abraham believed that even if he did kill his son the Lord would resurrect him, he was so confident in the Lords promise that he knew that not even death could stop Him from making Isaac his son through whom the whole world would be blessed. We can live lives of radical faith if we believe God's promises to us and know that He is faithful!

3. Brings praise to Christ.
see: 1 Peter 1:7
Our lives of faith in Christ bring Him honor as He is able to prove His nature again and again in our lives.

4. Make us more like Christ.
see: James 1:2-4
There is no one who lived more of a life of radical faith than Christ. As we step out in faith we take on more of His character as we follow His example. Living a life of faith builds more faith and that faith produces Godly character.

5. Be worth it in the end.
While stepping out in faith is difficult and may not make sense at times it is worth it in the end. Now that Abraham is in Heaven he does not regret leaving his father's house or obediently preparing to sacrifice his son. The Lord has proved Himself over and over in the lives of others, so we can count on Him that whatever He asks us to do (while it may be difficult) it is best for us.

Lessons from the Saints: Noah's Unquestioning Obedience

Noah's example provides for us an example of a life of unquestioning obedience to God's call on our lives, to follow Him no matter what the cost may be.

God told Noah to make an ark to hold himself, his family, and two of every kind of animal because He was going to make it rain for 40 days and flood the earth. This command seems crazy. Some think that there was no rain before God sent the flood, making it all the stranger for Noah to tell his neighbors that he was making a giant boat in preparation for water falling from the sky. Whether or not it had rained before this event it is clear that building the ark would have been a difficult experience. It would have been grueling, back breaking work. Not to mention having everyone think he's crazy for devoting his life to building such a large boat-no one could understand his sacrifice.

God isn't calling any of us to build a giant boat for an oncoming flood. But He is calling us to be obedient. So I thought we should focus on to whom we should obedient to help guild us in our faith.
See: Hebrews 11:7
We are called to be obedient:

To God
See: Acts 5:27-33, Romans 6:16, 1 John 5:2-3, James 4:7-8
Warning: this may not be popular! In Acts 5:27-33 the disciples take a stand against the government, proclaiming that it is better to follow God's law over the laws of men. The result: the people try to kill them! While the response for us will not be so intense, we can expect to meet resistance from the world when we choose to follow after Christ.
Roman’s 6:16- we are obeying someone/something- Paul tells us that we are either obedient to sin or righteousness, but we are always obedient to something. The question we must ask ourselves i will be we obedient to the right thing?

To our Parents
see: Ephesians 6:1-3; Colossians 3:20
A big part of the Christian life is honoring parents by obeying them. Do you argue with your parents? Do you talk back? Do they have to ask you multiple times to take out the trash or do the dishes? As Christians we are called to honor our parents in everything, lets being in the small things.

To authorities in our lives
see: Hebrews 13:17; Ephesians 6:5; Mark 12:13-17
If you want to be an example of Christ to the world being obedient to authorities is a good place to begin. No one respects authority anymore, which is a bad thing. You wanna look different? You wanna stand out? Start by listening to teachers and other authorities.