Jemima

Why do you think John the Baptist calls people a brood of vipers, a den of snakes? - John sees the people come out as if forced by some smoke to emerge from their hiding places. He sees them come to him, but among them he probably sees the Pharisees and the Sadducees who have come to listen to him, not because they intend to change, but because they are looking out to see what he is saying, and probably condemn him for it. So, John sees their motives and realises how ready they are to strike. How did the Jews' religious pride in Abraham keep them from taking John's call for repentance seriously? How could religious pride have that same effect on us? - Jew's religious pride in Abraham and piously following the Law of Moses made them deaf to the message of repentance. Pride made them self-reliant and blocked their minds from recognizing their mistakes. Religious pride can affect us the same way today. Religious rituals like the ones exercised by the Pharisees can easily blind us. We can easily fall into pride by our religious association and start living the motions while neglecting the true call to discipleship and being living examples of Christ by loving our neighbors and being merciful and compassionate towards those in need. In what way does sharing clothing and food with the poor constitute meaningful repentance? What ways do you find to do this in your everyday life? - By sharing with those in need and the poor in our midst we express mercy for them and true reliance on God for our sustenance. If we only shared with others who can give back to us, we are then not truly giving but investing in them. When we give to the poor, we are showing compassion to them. Our sharing is an act of service. In every day life, I can do this by giving to my community church towards the needy in our midst, serving in the children's homes around me and giving of substance towards their needs. Tax collectors were tempted to collect more than was due them. How does this same temptation show up in your line of work or education or home? - In my line of work, the temptation to get more than I should shows up when I am tempted to be selfish. It can come from doing less than is expected for the same pay. It can come in the form of wasting time at work or doing things that are not work related during my work-time. Being diligent helps me to overcome this temptation. How will we know when we have repented? What are the fruits of genuine repentance? - Genuine repentance calls for us to be selfless. To show mercy and be compassionate to the poor among us. Love genuinely as Christ loves us and be true ambassadors of Christ wherever we are. How does discontent with our lot in life cause us to sin? What would constitute repentance in this circumstance? - Discontentment causes us to be greedy and to want more than we already have, even when we have enough. This makes us want to even take shortcuts to satisfy our greed, which is sin. True repentance in this circumstance would be being grateful for what we have and being thankful to God for His provision in our lives. true repentance would be trusting God to provide our every need. I have found that when I share what I have with those in need, even when it is not enough, I find peace in God.

Q1. Why do you think God chose someone like John to be Jesus' forerunner? God chose John for a special assignment. From his birth, John was set apart for the assignment of "the voice calling from the wilderness" for people to prepare the way for our Lord Jesus Christ. From his conception, filled with the Spirit of God in his mother's womb, set apart as a Nazarite and bred in the desert. John's assignment was both divine and radical, and could not be corrupted by human ideology or compromised by human norms. Q2. How can we be sure that all our personal differences are part of God's plan and purpose? Can't some be patterns of sinful reactions to past events? God has made each one of us unique and has destined each one of us for an assignment. We believe in the word of God which tells us He has given each one of us giftings that we may glorify His name. Some differences can be patterns of sinful reactions to past events but if we examine our personal differences through the lenses of the Word of God and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can be able to identify sinful reactions and surrender them to Jesus. Submitting ourselves fully to the Lord enables us to walk in the light, worthy of the calling we have received, bearing the fruit of the Spirit. Q3. John was raised in the desert. What kinds of circumstances has God used as a training ground for your preparation? I have grown through difficult circumstances and experienced persecution in different levels. Through these challenges, I have learned to trust in the Lord. His unending grace and mercies have embraced me. Because of this, I can empathize with those who are going through similar challenges. If we fully surrender to Christ, the Lord refines us continually for His purposes. We are called forth to show His excellence in every situation we find ourselves in. Q4. How dependent are you upon what others think and say about you? How can you change this without becoming callous? I find that sometimes I worry about what others think about me especially when I have to do something that I know is the right thing to do, but a majority do not agree with. Otherwise, as long as I have a clear conscience, I do not worry. I can change this by being humble, and where circumstances allow, lovingly explaining my point of view to the others without judgement. Q5. What would you say to a person suffering from chronic guilt over past sins? How can guilt be healthy? How can guilt be unhealthy? We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But we have been justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ. He that the Son sets free is free indeed! If we repent of our sins and surrender to Jesus, the Lord blots out our transgression and we are redeemed. Some things we did in the past can be constant reminders and envelop us with guilt. However, if we believe the Word of God and in the forgiveness of sin, we are set free. Guilt can be healthy when it helps us avoid situations that will put us into temptation. Guilt can be unhealthy if it paralyses us and causes us to dwell in the past and avoid availing ourselves to server our Lord and savior. Q6. Why is humbling (such as repentance and baptism in John's day) necessary to form disciples of Jesus? Humbling allows us to submit to the power of Christ. By humbling ourselves, we surrender our pride and prejudices and die to the flesh, so that we can be alive in Christ. By humbling ourselves we acknowledge that we are surrendering ourselves to the power and authority of Jesus. We are in essence, agreeing to walk in obedience to our master - the Lord Jesus Christ. Q7. What kind of cutting, filling, straightening, and smoothing work has God been doing in your life? What does he still need to do? Why is this necessary preparation for disciples? This is a deep question. God has been teaching me the depth of "trusting in the Lord with all my heart, and leaning not on my own understanding. Submitting to Him in all my ways, so He can make my paths straight". This has been an amazing journey as I am becoming more sensitive to obvious things I have leaned on my understanding rather than seeking the Lord regarding them. Trusting the Lord and leaning not on my own understanding is necessary preparation for disciples as it enables the disciple to fully depend on the Lord. It's AMAZING!

In what ways does stress pull us away from God? While in some cases stressful events happen suddenly, most times stress creeps in subtly. We don't even realize it until it has occupied us so much that our attention is shifted from focusing on God to concentrating on the pain of the stress. By removing our focus from God, we begin to worry. We even begin to think of what we can do to 'help' the situation. This is how stress pulls us away from God. In what ways does stress draw us closer to God? Often, when we recognize the stress and step back, and surrender it to God, we find peace as He takes our burden away. As we learn to fully surrender to God, we are strengthened in recognizing God's power to do exceedingly above all we can think or ask (Ephesians 3:20). As we rejoice in the victory over the stress, our faith is strengthened and we draw closer to God. Have you given your stress points to God fully? Although I have taken my stress points to the Cross, and I am trusting God to deliver me, sometimes I feel like I subconsciously pick them up. I know that God is able to deliver me. What are you asking him to do about your stresses? I am encouraged by today's Psalm 120. That even though I might be afflicted, God is able to deliver me. This psalmist, even when he was dwelling in a foreign land was still able to go up to Jerusalem. The Ascend may not be easy. But there is hope for deliverance in God. I am asking God to help me to trust Him more and more.