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Repentance is very important, otherwise we are still in sin. We will not have a close relationship with God if we live in sin without repentance. He wants us to have a close and imtimate relationship with Him so he wants us to let go and turn back to HIM. When we repent we acknowledge our sin and put it away to have an intimacy with God.

God is giving him authority to speak and act on behalf of him. This was encouraging him. The power is the authority given by the person that is God. We are also given authority to go and make disciples and speak his gospel. We have to listen to the Holy Spirit and go where he leads us to go for the ministry

Our thoughts, our words, deeds and attitudes towards others, that hurt them or lead them away from God causes defilement and sin in us. We should repent and ask for forgiveness before we even carry out our chores in church or anywhere else.

God gave the promise to Joshua that He is with Him. They should not fear but be strong. When I am discouraged I also hold on to this. " I can do all things though Christ who strengthens me"

Yes. I have been through hardships in almost every phase. Every time I learn a new lesson that helps me walk closer with God. There are times where I have thought why is God not listening and why is he so far away. But I have experienced His divine protection and strength in every circumstance. These experiences are there to make us stronger and trust longer. We must not lose our faith but stand firm amidst any storm. Psalms 23 says that "He will lead us through the valley" and so many verses in the Bible remind us that he will be with us in every area.

God is displeased when we disobey His commands, when we fail to follow His commands and sideline Him. He takes pleasure when we are ready to do His will and be His child. The pressures of the day, the difficulties and sadness that sometimes come in life.

The world around us is full of temptations and the people around us look down at us when they see us. This is similar to the days when the disciples were following Jesus and gentiles would have done the same. We live amidst people of numerous cultures and practices that day by day we are prone to various temptations that can lead us astray. Our daily life in prayers and meditation on His Word is the only means by which we can stay way from the worldly desires and passions. We should prepare ourselves by repenting the sins we commit in thought, word, deed and action knowingly or unknowingly. We should come before His throne with a broken and contrite spirit that He never turns away. Our lives should be led in purity by staying away from those who can influence us in bad ways and turn our hearts away from Jesus. we can only receive that strength from Jesus.

We give so easily because our faith is not rooted firmly in Christ. Our foundations may not be strong and we are like the seeds who fell on the stone that the wind blows away. We are discouraged as we fear failure and rejection. Faith has to overcome the fear, if we yearn to be as disciples who retain a robust faith we must have a prayerful walk with God facing all odds with the strength and trust that God will control and take care of the situation. We should be able to persevere in difficult situations.

The churches globally have a mixed group of people. The ones who are truly committed with their hearts want to take every effort for the upliftment of the church and the community, however the other lot may be looking for personal gain and glory. The latter do so because they have no commitment towards and close walk with God. The leading of the Holy Spirit does not exist amongst such a community. The dangers of allowing people to redesign worship would be allowing them to portray Christ in a wrong way. Our testimony is our image and our life that we live, in a way that pleases God. The people will be led astray and follow footsteps which are not aligned to God's will. We can be innovative by ensuring that the way we redesign our worship is by the leading of the Holy Spirit. We can stop practices that tend people to be led to focus on music such as ensure that the music is sober and the words of the songs are well understood by those who are singing, allow the worshiper to sing from their hearts with the words clearly displayed.

I should firstly thank God for allowing me to be part of the Bible Study. This question makes me realize that God is genuinely speaking to me and wants me to restore and revive my personal worship to him. I love to sing and praise him through songs. Though I pray, I still need to have a close relationship and daily talk to him. I need to develop more intimacy. When I read the Bible , sometimes I do not internalize it so my personal devotions has to be improved.

God moved the heart of Cyrus to make the proclamation and together with that he moved the heart of the Jews who were willing to return and rebuild the temple. Though these Jews were in Babylon they believed that the Lord will intervene. They had a great desire to return to their homeland and rebuild the temple. The Jews who had settled in Babylon, had started to live their life as exiles and did not want to return to a place where they thought was no security and they would have to set up everything right from the beginning. They would have thought that it would be a tedious and tiresome journey back to set up their lives starting from scratch. Their comfort, material possession and security in Babylon led them to think that it was not worth sacrificing everything to build the temple that was completely destroyed. The task was too big for them to imagine. They who returned remembered how the Lord had led their ancestors through times of trials and tribulations and given them victory over the enemies. They believed that the Lord who had moved the heart of Cyrus the King will lead them through to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem. They were protected all throughout their exile period. If God can move the heart of Cyrus and touch their hearts, it was his leading and the temple can be rebuilt with God’s help. God was calling them to do the service that was required then. They were ready to be part of God’s plan The people who give ear to God’s call experience changes in their attitudes, desires and beliefs. They change themselves to be in line with what God wants them to do and hence follow His will. There is a desire in them o follow God more closely and hence they adapt to the new lifestyle and mission assigned to them. True disciples heed to God’s voice and follow the plan God has assigned to them. They follow in obedience without being complacent to their circumstances and they carry the burdens of their Master and do what they can in fulfilling the purpose.