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Practice of Prayer (Part 1 of 3)

I believe I would find myself hard pressed to devote time to a topic that doesn't cover the gospel and prayer. Both are so important, a part of each other and enrich us yet one or both is often overlooked.

Most scholars agree upon a recorded 38 times Jesus is accounted for in prayer throughout the four gospels. To some this may seem like a staggering number but my educated guess is that the number is greater of the times it wasn't noted. How many prayers were said that didn't fall under the authors pen?

Likewise, Jesus is our Lord and Savior, if he saw fit and knew to pray this much I truly shudder how pale my prayer life would fall under his and would rightly pay attention to this.

We are told of Jesus's praying in Hebrews 5-7 NIV. During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.

One doesn't have to peruse the old testament very long to see a striking difference in the act of prayer then compared to when Jesus fulfilled the new covenant between God and man.

It was more difficult, there usually was a animal sacrifice of sorts and sometimes a priest would need to be involved. Fast forward to the new testament and God's people are able to pray anytime they feel the need to as often as they want as much as they want.

It's amazing how we have a direct line to talk to God and a lot of times we fail to use it. Prayer is our direct link to God until we are all called home.

It's how we commune with him, give our thanks, ask forgiveness and blessings. Regular practice will make the spirit work and flow more fully between us and our Lord as it is said in Romans 8-26 NIV In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. Granted this cannot take place if we have a cold or dead prayer life. In reality it is nearly impossible to be a active Christian in practice and not have a healthy prayer life.

The scriptures and God himself states this is how it is and the way he wants his children to do it. It is a blessing to be in heartfelt fellowship with the believers of your church family. Everyone freely prays for the other, coming together in God's holy name and the Father will certainly bless this.

As we are told in James 5-16 NIV. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Jesus's disciples caught on to the importance and necessity of prayer by watching and talking with Jesus, which led them to ask him to teach them how to pray properly. This became known as "The Lord's Prayer."

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First Impressions

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Biblical Times

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Getting Started

These are some of the top rated, user friendly Bible apps you can access online for free. It is simple and convenient for you to change the translation on them. Which is helpful until you find the translation that is best for you.

They have free audio Bible apps with translation options as well. Study Bibles help out big time if you're further along in the faith for your studies. For the more intermediate students a Bible Concordance is available for free as well. Bible Gateway, Bible App by Olive Tree, YouVersion.

Hope this information is helpful and helps you understand what you're studying so you can continue to grow in the faith with no immediate upfront cost.The Bible App for Kids is a free app for Android, Apple, and Kindle devices, available in over 65 languages, and is already installed on over 100 million unique devices all over the world.

This is YouVersion's children's Bible. SuperBook is another familiar children's Bible app. One of the benefits of this app is it has several games, puzzles and trivias tied into the lessons and makes it more enjoyable for children and helps keep them focused on the lessons. The stories are told in live animation bringing them to life as a biblical cartoon for kids.

Hannah Hanna-Barbera produced a very good, wholesome line of animated stories from the Bible. The episodes run close to 30 minutes in length. These were very popular when I was growing up. The majority of the episodes are online and free to watch on your digital device of choice. I would recommend perusing the free apps and sites that are available starting out. It's always an easier route when you don't have to pay for anything to study and read the Bible.

I have always found it ironic that people always say you need the Bible but charge you to have one. You would think it would be free for everyone. Never underestimate the help of a Christian friend in your studies and journey. Most churches have different levels of Bible study groups.

This is a very comfortable setting for anyone just starting out. Ask questions and get help as needed. Pray on it and ask others to do so as well. Once you start spending time on God's word and get to know Him you'll be surprised how He'll give you understanding and guide you along the way when you put in the effort.I hope this is helpful and is made good use of.

If you know anyone who's struggling or just getting started in the faith please share it with them. We must help our neighbors, friends and acquaintances in our towns and cities before branching out of our community. Just as Jesus preaches in Luke 6:41-46 NIV. We have to be at a certain place in our faith long before we're able to assist our brothers and sisters.

Regardless of our backgrounds we all started the same way on the same journey. One of these days you'll be one of the chosen and help someone get started on theirs just like someone did for you. Thank you for taking time out of your day to spend here.

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Overview

Calvary's Call is the culmination of a calling over a period of years. At first I did not heed it and went on my way for several years. When our son had to have emergency surgery out world crashed. Powerless, we stood on the sidelines helpless as could be.

God took over and laid hands on the situation. The emergency surgery was a success. The majority of these cases result in death. The entire medical staff was speechless and amazed he survived. Along the way, God pulled me so hard I was unable to ignore it. My early years in church were Southern Baptist and my adult years was Methodist.

I started this site with the vision of spreading the gospel. I would love to be able to accept speaking engagements with any of the churches. Later on I would enjoy planning out a revival for the community. Depending on people's interest I would consider starting a gospel study online. I have an active membership in the National Association of Christian Ministers.

The site benefits from having a third party ok it and back their statement of faith. All legitimate questions submitted are going to be be reviewed and answered. All content on the site will be originating from the NIV Bible. Visitors should use a Bible translation they are comfortable with.

Has the site been a benefit to you? Did you have a positive change or did you make a commitment with Jesus during your time with us on the site? I would love to hear about it from you. Please take time to share your experience and testimony with us.

There is no better way to praise God and helps us continue to be a blessing to others. This is one way for us to minister unto others better. Thank you for spending time with me on the site and I hope you will be a regular visitor here.

Feel free to share the content and messages here with others that you know or someone who needs it. I've been working on converting content to audio so folks will have the option to read or have it read to them. Hopefully it's all steps in the right direction to allow the site to grow and the message spread.

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Deathbed Conversion

Today we are looking into the only deathbed conversion that's in the Bible. A coined term that I'm sure most of us are familiar with. Most of us would picture a individual with a devil may care attitude. Their focus on life is what they want and what makes them happy. Right and wrong, morals and good character doesn't play much of a factor. They would only use them to get their way. This personality type favors repenting near the end of their life. The second type is a hardened nonbeliever.

Their lifestyle and choices hang upon the logic of science and technology. They are often recognized by their favorite quote, "science proves and answers everything. Our final type is the skeptic, scoffer. They will categorize religion and faith with fairy tales. Emphasizing it's all made-up for people scared of death. Yet, when confronted with the finality of death, they have a habit of accepting a Savior and repenting.

It's almost like a side bet to they make in case they are wrong. This sets a very dangerous stage of events in place. None of us know the future. There is no way anyone could ensure everything is in place in time before their own death. It becomes a scary game of roulette played with your soul and it's eternal destination.

Once you face your judgement there is no going back. It is much better to make your decision now and know where you are going. Jesus has made and opened the way for us all. It is so simple and easy that children understand it as well as adults when it's explained.

Christ holds forgiveness, redemption and love in his hands. All we have to do is ask and with it comes peace. Roman's in general were a violent and bloody empire. The jail cells were crude, cramped and unsanitary as could be. Stale air and heat would bake prisoners held during the summer months.

Conditions were prime for dehydration. It's safe to say they likely suffered the effects of this. In winter, prisoners would find themselves in a consistent state of hypothermia. Attempting to stay warm enough to survive was a neverending uphill battle. Now we're assuming the prisoners were in good health at the start.

How would they have faired if they were unhealthy or became sick during this? Rome was one of the most bloody empires the world had ever seen. It was their entire culture. Their entire society reflected this. The condemned were usually whipped or beaten before their execution. Soldiers used a flagrum for this.

It resembles a cat-o-nine whip. On occasion they would use flexible wooden rods that resemble reeds. A lot depends on the crime committed and it would determine how they would be beat. The times the soldiers had free reign over the prisoner they could use both if they wanted.

The condemned would have been beat and bloodied. It wouldn't be as severe as Jesus though. Rome did happen to have a particular dislike of the Jews to begin with. Rome looked down on the Jews and treated them as a inferior race. Rome always considered them a ongoing problem in regards to their religious practices. This always hampered Rome's ability to keep the peace in Jerusalem.

Bruised and bloodied, it's doubtful any of the prisoners slept. Food or drink was not even a thought for their captors. The number of people in Jerusalem for their Passover holiday flooded the city. By the time Governor Pilate held Jesus's trial, the crowd changed. As the death squad made ready to carry out the sentence, the people boiled over into a bloodthirsty mob.

Reserve soldiers pickett streets in effort to hold them back and create a path. One by one, thick and heavy horizontal beams placed across their upper back and shoulders. Soldiers fixed them in place at their wrists and forearms. Struggling with the 100lb beam they traveled the main street out of the city.

The length of the way people spit, mocked and screamed hateful insults at the condemned as they passed by. You can imagine the blood curdling screams from the condemned fill the air. The soldiers drove long, spiked nails into their wrists and feet.

They placed them to prevent as bloody a wound as possible to lengthen the person's suffering. In agony they would fight to breathe as their own body weight fought against each breath. It was a question of whether their lungs or heart quit first. A band of mourners and onlookers gathered here as well.

Soldiers stood guard to ensure the condemned received the full measure of suffering. Now as we turn to the gospel of Luke NIV we'll get a closeup of the encounter as we read. Luke 23:39-43 NIV. One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”Here we have the first criminal. The definition of criminal in Rome is similar to our capital crimes in modern society. Joining in with the rest mocking Jesus. Concerned about himself and not others. In contrast we see the second criminal chastising the man for insulting and jeering at Jesus.

Stating that the punishment for their crimes was fair and they deserved it. The man went as far to ask Jesus to remember him. What did this man observe that led him to see there was more to Christ and he wasn't a ordinary man?

Furthermore, if we read Matthew 27-54 NIV When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”. We see that he wasn't the only one that thought this.

The closer Jesus got to death the more abnormalities in nature began taking place. Reading Luke 23:45 NIV. It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. We see a phenomenon of darkness.

Jesus took our place and bore the penalty of mankind's sin, giving his life in our stead. Now if we go to the book of Exodus. You see that the plague of darkness came right before God's final judgement on the Egyptians. The two are related.

Reading Matthew 27:51-53 NIV. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.

An earthquake followed immediately upon Christ's death. Again if we go back to Exodus 19:18 NIV. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently.

We see that when God came before his people there was a reaction on nature to his presence. These calamities reaffirm that Christ is Lord and made believers out of the centurion and the criminal. Looking at Matthew 27:51NIV. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. We see the establishment of the new covenant that Christ completed.

Looking at the old testament and covenant it's clear to see that it was never meant to be permanent. It wasn't possible for us to be completely reconciled with God as he intended. God's everlasting grace and love gave us Jesus. Only through him was it possible for us to claim our eternal inheritance as the Father intended.

There wasn't enough offerings or priests to cover the gap between God and man. No one was able to do this to the extent that we needed. It was impossible until Jesus. Through Christ's ultimate sacrifice the old covenant was abolished and the moment the temple curtain was torn asunder God's new and everlasting covenant was ushered in.

The curtain itself stood as testament of the bridge between God and man that Jesus created and provided. Truly ending the separation between God and man. It was perfect, final and complete and Christ and he alone was the only one that was capable of doing this.

It doesn't say if the criminal was Jewish. We know there wasn't time for him to be baptized. Christ didn't come to die for the select few he died for everyone then and now. The criminal crucified next to Christ got up that day knowing death would take him but had no idea that his very death would also be his deliverance.

Turning to John 11:25-26 NIV. Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Christ states his power over life and death. Offering eternal life to all who come to him. His power of forgiveness is so complete that it promises eternal life.

We make salvation harder than it really is. Jesus made it so simple for us all that even young children understand it. God loves you, so much that he offered up his son to save us. Is it really worth sacrificing your forgiveness, salvation and eternal life by attempting to play both sides of the fence?

You've risked it long enough, come to Christ now and receive your everlasting inheritance of the kingdom of God. Now some might be thinking and feeling like they aren't good enough. My past is too bad. I'm beyond help or it's too late for me. I just want to leave you with this one thought. What bible character do you think was ushered into heaven by the new covenant Christ created?

Noah, Moses, David, Eliza, what about Samuel? But truth be told it wasn't any of them. It was the criminal on the cross. In closing, if you would like to get involved and make a immediate difference, I would encourage you to volunteer and get more active in your home church.

Donate or give your time at your local food bank or goodwill facility or your local united Way as well. First and foremost our efforts should be targeted at the home town level making a difference and only then will we be ready to branch out and assist our neighboring communities.

Are you ready to meet Christ? In fact, time waits for no one. Jesus loves you. So much that he freely gave himself to be humiliated & insulated publicly. On our behalf he submitted himself to torture and hate. Lastly, serving God's will, dying from crucifixion because he alone was the only person who could save us.

His love for us was what made his mission because he knew we were worth the cost. All you have to do is come before the Savior pray for him to enter into your life. He'll take away your sin and wipe it clean on heaven and earth. Receive your heavenly inheritance and guarantee your salvation until the end of your days.

By the grace of God you will be saved and all you have to do is ask. Let me know and we'll help you with anything we can for your new life as a Christian and suggest you go to a local church near you to help you grow and enrich your life further in Christ. Thank you so much for your time and joining me here to day.