faith & hope 2017

God had created us to be the glory of His praise. Our purpose is to expressively give Him praise not only for the things He does, but for who He is. We are destined to live for glory of His praise. In order to give Him the praise, we need only to have the confidence that we are chosen by God and to live a life that is reflective of His glory. Our purpose of praise as related to Matthew 5:13-16 in that we are to be that light He placed in us that shines ever-so-brightly that all may see our good deeds and glorify God.

The significance that all things will be bought under one head is that in Jesus Himself who was given dominion over all flesh by God will be the sum of the parts in which everything in heaven and on earth will be gathered up onto Him. He will in the end times reveal the mystery of God's plan of salvation. He will once again be united with God, the Creator, in heaven because we are taught that Jesus prayed in John 17 to be received in the glory of God's presence endued with the glory He had before the world began. All unity of things in heaven and things of this earth is and will be in Jesus Christ. Jesus in His faithfulness and willful obedience will surrender all things of heaven and earth that He had gathered to our Father God including the last enemy destroyed which is death. Then, when all is accomplished in the fulfillment of God's plan of salvation, He will subject Himself unto the Father. Glory Hallelujah!!!

It gives me great joy to know that I have been redeemed by Christ. I am no longer bonded to sin. Jesus' redemptive powers He has worked in my life constitute a long list of indulging and presumptuous sins. The phrase, "I should have been dead and gone" clearly illustrates what life for me would have been like had I not been redeemed. I was trailing hard on the path to destruction. I strongly believe that I would have died in my sins because of the hopelessness I felt during that time and the dark place I was in. Honestly, there would have been no future for me.

God adopted us because He truly loves us and He wants us to be with Him where He is. There is nothing we can do, say or think that would warrant His love for us as His adoptive child. He created us in His marvelous image therefore, we are created in His greatness. When He forgave us, He didn't hold anything against us and He didn't withhold any good thing from us. He wipe the slate clean each and every time we sinned. What great love He has for us. God is a relational God and how dearly blessed we are to be adopted into His kinship.

First of all, it is an honor and a privilege to be holy before God. Its about loosing the things of old and putting on the new. Its acknowledging God as head of your life and having the confidence of being a new creature in Christ. Its also being fully persuaded that God is in you. In my opinion, we are blameless before God when we repent of our sins wholeheartedly and turn from our evil and wicked ways. Simply put when we display a repentant heart.

The scariness of predestination is living up to its expectation. When obstacles comes or set-backs comes about, we have a tendency to doubt ourselves. We sometimes forget that our predestination is the established plan God has for us and we forget that God's plan is perfect for us. We don't forget entirely. Or should I say that we become sidetracked or distracted. Nevertheless, it is comforting to know that Jesus and God has patience with us. Again, He will never leave us or forsake us. He's not standing by looking at us, He's helping us. We must be receptive to receive and ask for His guidance. Paul brings up predestination so that we will know that there is a purpose for us. God has a purpose for us and all we have to do is willingly obey God as Jesus Himself did. Paul, as a respectful leader of the church, raise God in the hearing of the Ephesians to build their confidence in God so that they will live a godly life reflective of Jesus Christ. Jesus, when He prayed often said that He did it so that those will know that God sent Him. Well, I believe that Paul did the same so that the people would know that He was sent by Jesus.

In my opinion, to be "in Christ" is to live ones life for Christ, to put away the things of this world, and to have a renewed way of thinking, behaving and speaking that reflects Jesus. This is not as easy as it may sound. It is hard to not yield to the things of the flesh. I believe that is why we are taught to pray without ceasing, to study His Word and to trust God. If we attempt to do these things on our own, we will fail because we cannot do it alone. We need God to see us through. Through God, we are given the power to endure and preserve. James 4:8 instructs us to draw near to God and He will draw near to us. We're also taught to approach the throne grace with boldness, having no fear or even being timid. To me the greatest connection to being "in Christ" is having the full assurance of faith, confidence, that I am His people and He is my God and that He will never leave me or forsake me and that there is no one or no thing that separate me from His love.

1. In verses 13 thru 21, I counted eleven uses of the personal pronouns "I," 'me," and "my." The significant of this count of the uses of the personal pronoun clearly indicates that the person(s) has an excessive amount of trust in their own abilities as well as having total reliance in their possessions. 2. I would define greed as being an attitude or character of one who is possess with quantity whether than quality. Greed is the desire to want more selfishly than what is sufficient. For some it is achieving the "best," the "greatest," by any means necessary. Beside material wealth, greed can be seen in sports, political arenas, corporative structures and sometimes in family settings. 3. No, concern for justice in financial mater does not always involve greed. I have personally witnessed family torn apart (destroyed) because of financial inheritance whereas siblings tried through legal matters in an effort to gain more than what was allotted. On the other hand, I witnessed some families where the division of financial inheritance was amiable. Most time you can tell through acts of selfishness. 4. Both a poor man and a rich man can possess the character of greediness. A poor man who is not accustomed of having anything can willfully withhold his abundance from others who might benefit from it for selfish reasons. Likewise, a rich man who is accustomed to having the abundance regularly can also willfully withhold his for the reasons of obtaining power and authority over others. 6. Christians, believers of Christ, can become rich toward God by adapting a lifestyle of holiness and humbleness, by being obedient to His Word (studying, meditating and applying), praying, fasting, and giving generously of time and to the needs of others.

The four arguments Jesus gave to us for remaining faithful to Him in time of persecution is first, to fear God who has the power to cast us into hell, secondly, to have the confidence that God will never leave us or forsake us because He loves us and we are very important to Him Thirdly, we are to always acknowledge Him and finally, to know with the full assurance of faith that the Holy Spirit will help you. Jesus wanted His disciples in time past and us, today, to know with confidence that we will be tried and tested by non-believers who are agents of the enemy. He wants us to know His sovereignty and power. The enemy has no power or authority over us. He cannot touch us without God's permission. However, he is the master of deception and he can be persuasive. If we truly understands who has all power and we do not waiver in this knowledge of truth than we can withstand opposition of the enemy. But Jesus knows that we are flesh and how weak we can become at times of persecution. So He encourages us to know with certainty that He will never leave us or forsake us and that the Holy Spirit that dwells within us is the great Comforter to help us and lead us. We must be willingly obedient to our allegiance to Christ. My efforts are not always effective and I fall short, but I try to stand on His promise that He will never leave me or forsake me. My challenge or struggle is to overcome the will of the fleshly nature. I know that it is of God and not the enemy (I hate saying his name) that can both kill men and throw us into hell because God has all power. God created all things. Jesus related to His disciples and us, today, that He cares and loves us deeply. He is truly acquainted with all our ways. He knows every single strand of hair on our head. If He cares for the least of the animals, we should know that we are of more valuable than the least of animals and God cares for us. That is His unconditional love. Our reverence for Christ and our love for Him should be exemplified in our lifestyle. When I am challenged with confrontation about the Bible, and/or contradictions of the Word of God, I always try to remember how Jesus response in answering Pontius Pilate's questionings and how He responded to the enemy when he tested Him on the mountain. He respond to the truth and not to false accusations. God's Word is faithful and true.

1. Jesus, I learned from this lesson and I praise God for His teachings, gives us according to what we are destine in our assignment. It may seem unfair but it totally base upon what we are capable of. It by no means indicates or reflects that one abilities is much more important than the others or that lesser capabilities are insignificant. Everything given to us by Jesus is of great importance and significance in fulfilling the purpose and plan of God . Jesus knew that James, John and Peter would play important roles in the building of His church after His resurrection and ascension into heaven. He even prophesized beforetime of Peter being the rock of which He will be His church and that the gates of Hades will not overcome it. Jesus had to see something in Peter, who denied him, something so great in order to make this declaration. In Acts 8:15-17, Peter and John went to Samaria to lay hands on those who were baptized by Phillip so that they would receive the Holy Spirit. The Bible does not provide us with an explanation as why Phillip didn't do it, but after receiving the knowledge of truth from this lesson, we can understanding better. We don't take everything to God in prayer as we are encouraged to. We lean too often to our own understanding to what we see than rely totally on the word of God. Therefore, we make rash decisions that we rely on and trust. These decisions, if not addressed immediately and humbly, can be detrimental to our relationship with God and it damages our characters here on earth. Thank God for His mercies, and sovereign grace. True repentance from our heart is healthy and reaps great benefits.

1. In my opinion, Jesus waited to be alone to address the question of who they thought He was to His disciples because He did not want the interruptions of daily activities of the place of where they were to interfere or influenced their responds. Many times, Jesus had expressed disappointment to His disciples for their lack of faith. He knew just where they were in their walk with Him spiritually. He knew everything good and not-so-good about each of His disciples. Yet, He loved them and never gave up on them. He prayed for them. Jesus went to God for counsel and directions. I can imagine that Jesus went to God in prayer to receive God's affirmation and confirmation on how to best prepare His disciples for His death. He knew that the enemy would be targeting them with all of his might. And that the scripture will be fulfilled, when He declared in the book of John (paraphrasing) "None have I lost." 2. Setting the tone, Jesus, who is the master planner, knew exactly what He was going to do. He wanted His disciples to respond to His question wholeheartedly when He ask them who do you say I am. He knew there respond beforehand. It was not that He needed to know but His disciples needed to know. It was a part of His plan in preparing His disciples for His death. Therefore, when He asked them, who do they say I am? In given it thought, they responded to what they overheard from conversations spoken about Jesus or from remembrance of personal conversation they had with some of the people. 3. Sometimes, it is difficult to express ourselves simply and clearly because we are not eloquent in words. We cannot recall in scripture the verses that describe what it is we are trying to or want to say. Not that you want to use "big" words but you lack the ability to convey exactly how you feel. If you're in a setting where everyone is siting scriptures and projected Jesus in a manner that is so elaborate. You don't open your mouth. Your only response is "Amen, Hallelujah." Writing is easier because you have many aides at your disposal. But speaking is undoubtedly different. 4. Often, I made my declaration of my faith in Jesus, when I am ministering to someone. Either they are either sick (hospice), battling a disease or are consume with problems of life itself. I find comfort and courage in speaking as Holy Spirit leads me. What a joy. My relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ enables and empowers me to rise above my inhibitors and to exceed and excel in prosperity in the knowledge of Him.

When you know and believe that God's plan is perfect, you can trust that He chose the right place, the right timing and the right people to be available for His use. They were sanctified, set apart for holiness. These shepherds experienced a night they would never forget. Their lodging was illuminated by the brightest light ever known to them. Their flocks were unusually quiet. Their ears heard the sweetest heraldic sounds and their eyes beheld the angelic host in the sky. These were men of renowned, they did not run away from or hide themselves or even tried to fight. They listened and marveled. I can imagine that in their lifetime, they heard prophesy of the coming of the Messiah. It was predestined for them to be on the hill which was in close proximity to the place of Christ birth. After beholding the baby lying in the manger, confirming what the angles have told them, can you imagine the enthusiasms they reported these things to others. The confidence they spoke in. Yes, God can use anyone to do His bidding. His point being made is the affirmation and assurance of His Word. Deuteronomy 10:17 says it all. The three titles given to Jesus or referred to in Jesus is "Savior", "Messiah" and "Lord." The title "Savior" indicates His purpose for coming to earth in the fleshy body to save souls and redeem sinners. The title "Lord" refers to His deity. As Lord, He is anointed. Furthermore, He holds the highest conceivable and most lofty designation. He is called the "Messiah" because He is thought to come in the last days to deliver the Israelites. As the "Messiah", he was thought of as an agent sent by God.