In Matthew 18:22 when Jesus said to forgive 70 X 7 times do you think he might have had a reason for using this particular number?

I know we are supposed to pray for our enemies, but I run into trouble on what to pray about? Can you give me a sample prayer for the way you would do it? I’m thinking of people who are enemies of our Country foreign and domestic.

Concerning the trinity. When I read most of the verses that people use to “prove” the trinity, I do not see the same thing. When Jesus says ” if you’ve seen the son you’ve seen the Father”; and “the Father and I are one”; I always took that as meaning that they are very similar. Kind of like when someone says that your son is a chip off the old block. Could those verses like in John ch. 1 have been mistakenly copied or corrupted on purpose? I read a book about how other societies had their version of the trinity before Christ was even born. I want to say that I’m not taking anything away from Jesus and what he did for us. I truly believe he is God’s son and that he died for my sins and rose from the dead. He is my savior! It’s just that if the trinity is so hard to understand, maybe it’s because we’re trying to read it into the scriptures.

Just when I think I have finally understood and accepted OSAS, someone comes along and throws me a curve ball and steals my joy. Please help me understand 2 Peter 3:17, as that is the most recent curve ball thrown at me!!!

Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. –2 Peter 3:17

I am hoping that you can clear an answer you gave, where you state “… that in some way we don’t understand He gave up His God-like powers when He came to Earth and became fully (and only) man.” However, in one of your earlier answers, you state “Spirit led study will bring one to the conclusion that Jesus is God, and Hebrews 1:8 the Father is quoted as calling Jesus God, and the fact that Jesus is God in the flesh is well documented.”

Please forgive me if I seem somewhat confused, but it seems to me that in your answer to me you say that Jesus was only a man and not God in the flesh, but in the other answers you cite Jesus as being God as well as Man in His human form. Of course, Jesus was fully God and Man, that is why I cannot understand your first quote above.

I have been told that the ancient Rabbis call the first 4 books of the Bible the Song of Moses. They also believed that the verses in this group of books could be numbered for the years of life on earth. Each verse says something about what is going on on earth in that co-responding earth year. I also understand that there are some verses that we have in our Bible that the Jewish Bible does not have; so we have to take that into consideration. All this is very confusing and kind of far fetched. What are your thoughts on this?

Is there anything in Scripture with regards to being a disciple and being in debt? With debt being a master of sorts, is it possible that Jesus would “give the go ahead” for someone to be a disciple while in debt? I know it’s been done and is still being done but is it right?

I absolutely know that much of the time I’m not walking in the Spirit because of all the things I either do or say or the way I act. This is not how I want it to be but it seems I do all these things whether I want it this way or not. Does God the Father not see me as righteous when I’m not walking according to the Spirit? I know He must be displeased and this kills me inside that He is feeling this way about me. I want so much to be like Jesus and then I’m not again and I get so discouraged. What am I to do?

While visiting a local church, we were introduced to the idea of “a 2nd work of grace”. We were told that you can obtain perfection through sanctification while still on earth, at which point you no longer sin. Instead, you only make mistakes. In addition, you can lose your salvation before you are perfect but, you can also be saved again. This goes against everything we have ever studied and we just don’t buy it. We would appreciate your comments.

I read your article “And There Was Evening And There Was Morning”, where you say you are OK with an old earth. How is this possible? In Exodus 20:11 and Exodus 31:17 the word of God is very plain that God created the earth and sea and heaven and everything in it, in six days and rested on the seventh day. Therefore if we have been here just over 6,000. years, then so has the earth. You and I believe that these six days were 24 hour days. God created the earth mature as He did Adam and Eve. The earth would look and everything would appear old, but was only created just over 6,000. years ago. So in essence we have a young earth.