Could you clarify for me the difference between the Roman Centurion who asks Jesus once to heal his servant, and why we are told to pray unceasingly as the widow petitioned the judge? I believe that I only need to ask God once for something, then I can leave the matter with him. Am I taking the easy way out?

In one of your commentaries on the Psalms you wrote this about the Jews: “Much of this will come from the realization that God will have just intervened in a battle where they were on the brink of defeat and given them a resounding victory.” My first question is : could this statement become a truth, a reality in a Christian believer’s life too? I mean, when we face seemingly insolvable problems, troubles and hardships. And what can we do? Only asking the Lord to intervene in the mentioned way is enough or there are conditions?

I have read here and there in a few of your answers (the most recent is: Am I wrong to be angry?) that we can ask God to forgive another’s sin. Could you tell me where that is in the Bible? I find it hard to comprehend that I can ask God and He will forgive another’s sin even though that person has not repented. What if they are not a believer? Can I still ask and how does that work?

I recently received a Daily Devotion from a Christian website, which began as follows: “Do we fully understand what it costs the kingdom of God when we live with a restricted commitment to Christ? Countless souls may never hear the good news, much-needed Christian workers may never put feet to their faith, and prayers that would have been answered are never uttered.”

This statement disturbed me, because it seems to imply that our shortcomings can somehow prevent God’s Will from being done in the lives of others. I can understand how our decisions directly effect our own lives, but if we fail to witness to someone, for example, does this mean that they will never hear the Good News and in effect, we are hindering their salvation? Thank you for bringing clarity to issues like this that are not always so easy to understand.

I was attending a church in my small town and really enjoyed it at first. But the longer I attended I noticed that there were quite a few people (the more well to do) that felt they owned the church as well as the pastor of the church. One of the ladies even asked the pastor if she was still the one that gave the most money to the church. One elderly couple in the church are not happy unless they are running the financial end of the church and when the pastor disagreed with this man on an issue, the man decided to have his tithe designated to a certain thing in the church and convinced others also to do the same thing. That way there would not be enough money in the fund to pay the pastor his wages. This is only a small amount of what this church has done. I felt angry every time I attended so I quit!

I read my Bible daily and I pray throughout the day. Am I wrong for quitting and for feeling angry at these people? Our pastor was a genuine God loving, Bible preaching pastor. If God put him in that church what right did they have running him off? This is not the first time this has happened. Our church is still without a pastor. I pray for the church but sometimes I don’t mean what I pray. Honestly, I would love to see some of these people fall flat on their faces. I know that is not a christian attitude but they are just wrong. I thought God owned the church and we were to depend on him to lead us. I refuse to follow any man. I guess I just don’t belong there. What is your opinion?

My wife and I disagree over the topic of how many times on Sunday we must attend church. We both come from Baptist backgrounds but I was always a Sunday morning person and she was raised in the belief that you should attend twice on Sunday. I work a lot through the week and weekends are the only time I have to get all the chores around the house completed. Does it state anywhere in the Bible that it is “required” to attend church twice on Sunday, or is this just an individual choice?

I recently found the following definition for repentance. It’s different from others I’ve seen. Can you tell me if it’s correct?

The word in the New Testament usually translated “repent” is the Greek word “metanoeo”. It means “to change your mind; reconsider; or, to think differently.” Granted, if a person changes his mind (repents) toward certain sins in his life, he may become very sorrowful and may even stop committing those sins, but this would be a result of repenting, not repentance itself.

When God tells an unsaved man to repent, He means for that man to change his mind about how to reach God and accept His way of salvation. The person must change his mind from any idea of saving himself through religion or good works, and trust Christ’s death as payment for everything he has done wrong.

How do Christians not live in the world? What does not living in the world mean exactly?

In today’s world and in my opinion, it seems as though the word disciple is being flaunted as a bait word to attract a lot of fish. And yet my conclusion of what I see is that a lot of churches consider going to church, taking discipleship classes, maybe doing some community service, etc. as a way to become a disciple. It’s almost like to become a disciple, it’s okay to have your cake and eat it too. It’s like they’re all saying, Luke 14:33 doesn’t really mean what it says.

“So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

Is this to be taken literally or spiritually? For many years now I’ve long desired (spiritually) to be a “true disciple” but don’t consider myself one because I have not denounced all that I have (physically). And I get so frustrated when I hear Pastors, in particular, saying that “we will make disciples out of you” and yet, the church goes on as it always has. Please help as my prayer is to be able to really share the real Truth in this matter with others.

Thank you for your wonderful ministry! I have always been confused by the Beatitude which states, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. What exactly does “poor in spirit” mean? I have been told it stands for the righteous, but I would like your clarifying interpretation.