Katy

Q28. Elisha asks for a double portion of the Holy Spirit to show he was the true successor to Elijah. He was probably feeling overwhelmed by the thought of the responsibility he was taking over and feeling inadequate and really felt the need to have a double portion of strength from the spirit. He was to be admired that his request for for nothing worldly but something that would help him in him God given ministry. Yes it is right to desire to have a greater presence and power of the Holy Spirit, only with His presence and power can we become as God desires us to be. He gives us the strength to do and say things that we wouldn’t say or do without His strength. We seek it by spending more time in God’s presence, praying and learning more and more about Him.

Q27. Elisha knew that Elijah was going to be taken at this time, he was Elijah’s successor, he was not going to leave Elijah alone. He was his companion on this unknown road. Maybe Elisha felt he wanted to absorb and learn as much as possible from Elijah in these last hours. Maybe he felt a responsibility as Elijah’s friend and successor to be with him right up until the end. Elijah appears to discourage Elisha from staying with him , maybe he was testing Elisha to see how faithful he would be, or maybe he felt a need to be on his own to commune with His God, who was going to take him from this world imminently. I have had many disappointments since I started following Jesus but I haven’t thought about not following Him. As Peter says in John 6 v68 “Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

Q1. Jesus death had happened on Friday, Saturday was Sabbath so nothing was done as prescribed by God in His commandments. The women had prepared spices and ointments in preparation for anointing the body of Jesus. So early on Sunday morning they went to do the anointing which they didn’t have time to do on Friday evening before the Sabbath started at sun down. There may also have been a concern about the body starting to decay in the heat of the climate in Jerusalem. Q2.The women had followed Joseph and Nicodemus when they went to lay Jesus in Joseph’s brand new tomb, so they knew exactly where the tomb was. Jesus was the only body in the tomb so they could not have mixed the body up with someone else’s. The burial cloths were on the floor with the head cloth folded , if the body was stolen the cloth would be missing as well. Q3.The angels declaration is ironic because the women were looking in a tomb for a dead person, if they knew He was alive they would not have been looking in the tomb. They did not remember in their grief that Jesus had told them He would rise from the dead. It was thrilling because the angel was telling them that after all Jesus had gone through He had risen from the dead and was alive, just as He had said but that they didn’t understand at the time. Q4. The disciples just didn’t understand because they knew Jesus was the Messiah, and they expected Him to relieve them from Roman rule and not be captured torture and killed in this way. Even though Jesus had told them He would be put to death it just didn’t register with them until now they find themselves living through the experience. Sometimes it is only in retrospect that we human’s understand things that happen in life. I can imagine them talking and thinking’ how did we not see these things coming and understand what Jesus had told us’. They just had been taught to expect a different kind of Messiah and didn’t consider it might happen in a different way. Q5. The women loved Jesus and followed Him because Jesus had healed many of them from various ailments which were afflicting them. After being cured they followed Jesus doing what they could to help, which included financial support as they were able. Q6.The women were the first to visit the tomb and they knew exactly where Jesus had been laid on Friday because they had followed Joseph and Nicodemus to the tomb. They saw the angel who had asked them “ Why are you looking for the living among the dead”, “He is not here He is risen”. That must have been fairly convincing. Q7. If Jesus body had been stolen the grave cloths would not have been left in the tomb. The head cloth was folded. If the body had been stolen the thieves would not have stopped to remove them. They would grab the body and run, taking cloths with them. Q8. Yes the validity of the Christian faith does rely upon the resurrection as a historical fact. Jesus is alive and living and reigning in heaven. The New Testament shows us very clearly that Jesus was seen by the disciples and many others after His death and resurrection. I think the passage in 1 Corinthians 15 v 12 -20 explain it well.

Q26. Yahweh is insulted by Ahaziah who turns not to Yahweh but to Baal-Zebub to find out if he was going to get well following a fall through some wood lattice window coverings. Ahaziah had to send his messengers on a four day journey to reach Elton where this false god was. Because of his mothers teaching and influence he did not follow Yahweh but Baal. In our world today many people ignore God and treat other things as gods in their lives, social media, career, money etc. I have made decisions in my life without seeking God’s wisdom. I did it because I didn’t fully understand who God is, and God did not have the place He should have had in my life. Even now I can rush into things but now know I cannot make big decisions without first praying about it.

Q25. Christian’s who identify closely with political leaders may be in danger of being aligned with anything they do that is wrong. However they may also be able to influence them to right Christian thinking if they are prepared to listen and the Christian is brave enough to speak out. Christian’s May hope to influence the leaders in question but they may also be seeking position and power themselves. The Christian person may just have the skills or expertise the political person needs and are just seeking employment with no hidden agenda. There are many who would seize the opportunity to speak out against God and His Church if a Christian worked closely with ungodly political leaders. A Christian would need to learn discernment in such a matter and may have to distance themselves from ungodly men. This may be difficult but a true follower of Jesus will do the right thing before damage is done to the church. Christian’s must take every opportunity to speak out about issues which are happening which are wrong , by being consistent and respectful influence can be brought to bear.

Q24. I wonder was Jehoshaphat afraid and at the same time in awe of Ahab? In 1 Kings 22 v 4 when Ahab asks Jehoshaphat if he will fight with him to regain Ramoth Gilead his answer is “ I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” This doesn’t sound like a very ‘Kingly’ answer, he appears to be subservient to Ahab. Maybe he was a weak man. Maybe Jehoshaphat trusted God so much that he thought if he did go to war with Ahab out of loyalty that Yahweh would protect him and his men. Maybe he was afraid of the consequences if he said he was not going to go to war. There had been no war between Aran and Israel for three years, I would have thought Jehoshaphat should have been advising Ahab to leave well alone and not be putting the lives of his men at risk with an unnecessary war. Maybe I am looking at it with twenty first century eyes. Maybe Jehoshaphat thought he could influence Ahab to return to Yahweh. He was certainly brave enough to ask Ahab to send for a prophet of God.

Q23. Micaiah is under pressure because the prophecy he has had from God is not what Ahab wants to hear. All Ahab’s prophets are false prophets and sycophants and tell Ahab what he wants to hear. For this prophecy they have all synchronised their stories so that they are all saying the same thing! Because Jehoshaphat is a devout man who love God he wants to hear what a ‘true’ prophet has to say about the planned battle. Ahab is not happy but calls for Micaiah in deference to Jehoshaphat. Micaiah is aware of the situation he is going into and yet he knows he must honour God and deliver the message he has had from God even though it will be very different from what Ahab wants to hear and very different from the false prophecies of Ahab’s prophets. So he will be in danger from Ahab but also from the false prophets. Micaiah however fears God more that men. He knows that he loves God and will honour Him by delivering exactly what he saw in his dreams.

Q22. Jehoshaphat I’d a true follower of God, and he wants to consult with God before attempting going into battle. He knows that he needs God’s guidance and help in such matters. Jehoshaphat is dubious about Ahab’s prophets , he is pretty sure that they are only saying what Ahab wants to hear. I am sure Jehoshaphat must know of Ahab’s Ndola worship and the influence his wife has on him. The very fact that Ahab marries a pagan shows disobedience and total disregard for the commands of Yahweh. Jehoshaphat though is a true believer and want’s , knows he needs to consult with Yahweh as to whether this battle and war is what they should be doing or not.

Q1. We are told in Luke 23v 50 that Joseph was a member of the Council, a good and upright man.He had not consented to the things that had been decided and carried out on Jesus. We are also told that Joseph was “waiting for the kingdom of God”. Joseph has been a secret believer up until this point but now he goes to Pilate he asks for the body of Jesus. Joseph was a rich man and owned a new tomb which had never been used. Joseph helped take Jesus off the cross , wrapped His body in linen cloth and placed Him in the new tomb. Q2. I can imagine it would be difficult to show your allegiance to Jesus when your peers are going around spreading false rumours about Him, trying to decide how they are going to stop this movement that has overtaken Jerusalem and surrounding areas. Finally coming to the conclusion that they were going to manipulate words and events to accuse Jesus of deeds He has not committed and to work towards having Him crucified, nothing less would satisfy them. I am sure if Joseph had proclaimed his belief in Jesus he would have been treated badly and probably put out of the temple and dismissed from the Council.Finally Joseph can contain himself no longer and his love for Jesus spills over and he doesn’t care about the consequences. He goes to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus. In doing this he can give Jesus some of the care, dignity and respect which He has been denied off for the previous few days, and at times even before that. Q3. The details in the gospels about Jesus burial and His tomb are of vital importance because they are documented for all time for readers throughout the centuries. In this detail is the proof that these things did take place and no mistakes were made. There will always be those who will try to bring discredit on Jesus especially in matters as important as these are. Two Godly men took Jesus gently down from the cross, wrapped Him in Linen cloth and laid Him in a tomb. The women followed them to the tomb so they didn’t make a mistake when they came with the spices to dress the body of Jesus. This was a new tomb and Jesus was the only body that was laid there, no mistakes could be made by mixing up identity of the bodies. Q4. The days that Jesus trial , death and burial are all recorded for generations and we also can put them into the context of the week because we are told about the hurry there was to have the job done and completed before sundown because that was the beginning of the Sabbath which in Biblical times was taken seriously. The two criminals beside Jesus had their legs broken to hasten death, so that they could be removed from their crosses and buried. Jesus was already death so they didn’t break His legs. John 19v 36 “Not one of His bones will be broken”. It was against the law to touch a dead body on the Sabbath, at any time a person would be made unclean by touching a dead body. This would require separation from everyone and ritual cleaning of oneself. Q5.These women were some of Jesus’s faithful followers who had been with Him during His public ministry. Many of them supported Jesus and His disciples by providing for their practical needs, food accommodation etc. Many of them had originally been cured by Jesus of either illness or from evil spirits, they decided then to follow Jesus and help wherever they could. Some of them follow Joseph to the new tomb to see where Jesus was laid. Their plan was to return after the Sabbath to anoint Jesus with spices and perfume. It was too late to do this before the sun went down. They went home and started to prepare the spices and perfumes they intended to use. Q6.Jesus’s friend were extravagant in their care of Him because they loved Him and this was the last act of love they could carry out for Him. Maybe they also realised the full reason Jesus has died, that it was for each one of us for forgiveness of our sins and an opportunity for us to spend eternity in His presence. We should react in the same way everything we have comes from Him and belongs to Him. We should praise and thank God daily for all He gives us and the many ways He blesses us. We also must spill over with this love and share this with those who don’t know or love Him. We must prove our love for Him by being obedient to Him at all times.

Q21.God is pleased when Ahab changes his prideful ways and instead goes about dressed in sackcloth and adopts an attitude of humility. God decided to put off Ahab’s punishment, it did not happen in his lifetime but in the next generation’s lifetime. Unfortunately Ahab repentance was superficial and did not last as is seen with his encounter with the prophet Micaiah, Ahab was only interested in hearing what he wanted to hear and not what God wanted to say to him. When God hears sinners prayers and repentance He can change His mind about punishment and death. To some God should not change His mind because it does not fit in with predestination. We must be open minded and accept that there are things about God that we don’t understand and won’t understand until they are explained in the New Heaven.

Q20. Modern day idolatry can be subjective and can take us off guard. What I mean is that I might regard something as idolatry but my family may regard it as progressive. Eg decorating too often, changing furniture and fittings, mainly done for show. That money could be used to give to a missionary agency, or to buy something for a poor person. Anything that takes us away from spending time with God is idolatry. We all have duties that have to be carried out but we must make time to spend with the Lord. That may involve getting up earlier etc. We need His leading and guiding each day to keep us from idolatry. If we are in doubt if we are guilty or not of idolatry, He will guide us if we earnestly seek Him. If we have idols in our lives it means that we do not find Jesus is sufficient, we feel the need to supplement with something else. How sinful this is, to demonstrate to Jesus that He and what He has done is not enough for us. It must be a sign to us that we are not immersed enough in the things of God. We don’t know Him properly and certainly don’t understand all that He has done for us.

Q19. We are all personally responsible if we are the cause of someone sinning especially someone for whom we are responsible. All kings, leader, and parents are responsible for those under them. They need to be very aware of their behavior in every situation so as not to be a wrong influence which could lead them to sin. 1Corinthians 10. V23. Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible, but not everything is constructive.Nobody should seek his own good but the good of others. James 3v 1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers? My brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. Yes leaders should have a higher moral standard because people look up to them and emulate them. However all devoted followers of Jesus should have a very high moral standard because we represent Jesus who was sinless.

Q18.Once we give in to temptation and commit sin , we are on a slippery slope of continuing in this way. Yielding to the first sin, makes it easier to do it a second time and so on until we have given ourselves over to sin. We then become a slave to sin because we are taken up more and more with our sin, and we are feeling guilty, and spend less time in God’s presence. At this stage the devil is delighted with us as he is getting a firm foothold on us. Our only hope is to turn our back on this pattern of sinning and caste ourselves on the mercy and grace of our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Q17. I don’t think Naboth has true depression, it came on as a result of Naboth’s refusal to give him what he wanted. He is just showing his immaturity, and lack of moral fibre! His wife then tells him to get up and behave like a king, but also promises to get him what he wants. She treats him like a child. She has absolutely no conscious or morals. She is a pagan princess who has no regard for the laws of Yahweh. She is full of evil and arranges to have Nabot accused of blasphemy and to have him stoned to death. She doesn’t even try to persuade or reason with Naboth, but picks the most treacherous and evil way to deal with the situation. She has no awe , respect or fear of God Almighty. I think Ahab is almost as evil although he has displayed a nominal belief in God. He doesn’t appear to even inquire just how Jezebel is going to acquire what he wants. He wants it , he doesn’t care what that costs or who is killed in the process. Neither does he care about God’s laws being broken in order for him to have his own way. Yes the elders are responsible, but I can understand that they were terrified not to obey. It would be akin to signing your own death warrant!

Q16. King Ahab goes to Naboth and asks him to sell him his land or he offers to exchange Naboth’s land for a piece of his land. Ahab wants to have this piece of land which is adjacent to the palace, in order to design and build a garden for himself and his Queen. There is nothing wrong so far with this proposal. However this land I’d Naboth’s family land, which was allocated to his ancestors when they entered the promised land many years before. This land by law should stay within the family and be passed on from one generation to the next.

Q15.God loves to be merciful and at the same time to demonstrate very clearly that He is Yahweh. God reduced Gideon’s army to 300 to show that success depends on Him and not on having large numbers of fighting men. My situation that desperately needs God’s intervention is that my husband, children and grandchildren will realise that they do need to have Jesus in their lives. Especially my husband who is now 81, and I fear his time on earth can’t be more than a couple of years max. He never thinks or has any concern about his death, or what happens afterwards!

Q14.God sends this message to this very corrupt man because despite everything God wants to have mercy on him . He also hopes that Ahab and his men will recognise that this is the work of God. Ahab’s reaction is not to doubt but to obey and carry out the Lord’s instructions. It shows that he does believe in God and was prepared to obey His instructions. Ahab’s children also were given names which indicate his belief in God.

Q4. The centurion was not a Jew but a gentile. He was used to seeing men being crucified, but he must have noticed that Jesus was different ! His gentle, acceptance of all that was happening to Him, made Him noticeable and the centurion probably watched Him even closer. During the course of the day it became clear to him that Jesus was very different and was not guilty of these charges that had been brought against Him. He would have also seen that Jesus cared for others, instead of complaining about His wounds and suffering Jesus spoke tenderly to His mother and to John ensuring that Mary was going to be looked after. The centurion would also have heard Jesus calling to His Father and committing His spirit into His hands. By God’s grace the centurion knew that Jesus was a righteous man. Q5.I think I would be devastated and bewildered. It would seem like the end of everything. To be with Jesus for three years and to be immersed in His presence and teaching and suddenly for Him to be taken and put to death. I wouldn’t want to carry on living without Him. I would also be frightened because if they put Jesus to death, they would probably start looking for those who were with Him and maybe treat them the same way, to get rid of all traces of Jesus and His “ movement”. Q6. Our relationship with Jesus is the most important one in our lives, it is the one which will sustain us and get us through good times but also the dark and difficult times. If we neglect to have a strong and daily relationship with Jesus we will not be able to weather the storms of life. If we have allowed our relationship with Jesus to be neglected and we enter a dark period, we must deliberately spend time concentrating on God and starting again to build it up, and get to know and love Jesus all over again. Q7.In this passage we see the fulfilment of the great mission that Jesus came to earth to fulfil. To dedicate thirty three years to us to enable us to have the opportunity to spend eternity in God’s presence despite our sinfulness. We can only do this because Jesus came down onto this earth to pay our debt for us. Jesus was the only one good enough to be able to pay our debt. So we can learn from this passage of God’s great love for us. Amazing, incredible love for us sinners.

Q1. The darkness may have been because of God the Fathers anger at the way His Precious Son was being treated by the creatures that He had created. Maybe it was brought about by the sin that was being borne by Jesus, who was sinless and yet He was hanging on a cross for the sin of the whole world. It was perhaps pathetic fallacy when something in nature reflects the events happening around it. The light of the world was being crucified for the sin of the world no wonder there was darkness. Q2.The tearing of the curtain from top to bottom was symbolic of the way being open for us ordinary people to approach God. This was made possible by Jesus dying on the cross for our sins. We do not need a go between anymore , Jesus is our mediator between God and man. 1Timothy 2v 5. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Who gave Himself as a random for all men. Q3.Jesus is coming to the end of His suffering including His Father turning away from Him because of the sin of the world being on His shoulders, and now He commits His spirit into His father’s hands because He knows His Father is ready now to receive Him back into heaven to Glorify Him and to have Him sit at His right hand. It brings us comfort because we know if we are following Jesus wholeheartedly we will be welcomed and received into heaven by Jesus.

Q6.This criminal admits his guilty to Jesus by rebuking his companion who is insulting Jesus and saying”We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong” Luke 23v 41. Then he says "Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom “. He expressed his faith and trust in Jesus and that was just what Jesus needed to hear from him, in order to save him. Nothing else was needed. Jesus replied to him in v 43 “ I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” Q7. I find these verses a great comfort as I see loved ones getting on in years and still baulking about putting their trust in God. I feel time is slipping away, time that could be spent working for the Lord using their God given skills but these verses show me that it is by grace through faith, it is a gift from God, that salvation comes. Nothing else is needed, no works or anything else just faith. I must keep praying so that God will be merciful and give them this wonderful gift of God.

Q1. One of the criminals took over where the soldiers left off with the insulting and demeaning insults that they threw at Jesus. Maybe he saw the huge difference between himself and Jesus. Jesus totally innocent, sinless and holy in contrast to himself, so sinful, anti authority, brash and rebellious. Maybe he realises he is not going to get away, that Jesus is submitting to His death and there won’t be any last minute retrieval from this horrible slow death. Maybe it was just sheer hate of Jesus for all the good He represented. Q2.The second criminal is a complete contrast he knows that Jesus is innocent and he knows that he is sinful and that he and his companion deserve this death but Jesus certainly does not! Maybe he has been listening to Jesus as He preached and taught people and he could see that Jesus was authentic. Now he is rebuking his companion for insulting an innocent man, who is being treated just the same as themselves who are guilty and deserving of death according to their laws. Q3.This criminal recognised Jesus as the Messiah, otherwise his statement “ Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom “, wouldn’t make sense. He could see the contrast between his own sinful life and ways and the sinlessness of Jesus. He confessed His guilt, we don’t see actual words of repentance but from what he says it is clear he was sorry and he believed Jesus was the Messiah. Q4.Not in so many words but it was obvious from what he did say that he knew he was a sinner and was sorry for it. He recognised that he deserved death on the cross and Jesus didn’t. He wanted to be with Jesus in Paradise unlike his companion who was filled with hate for Jesus. Q5.I am sure in Jesus darkest moment He was grateful for this turn of events that this man believed in who He was. He was surrounded by people who wished Him evil, He was separated from His Father, because of our sin being upon Him and here was a brightness in the darkness, someone who actually believed that He was the Messiah. I am sure it helped Jesus and reassured Him that He was doing the right thing. What a challenge to us to be a bright spark in a dark world to bring a little joy to the heart of Jesus!

Q13. A child is always looking for his parents love and approval. When the child needs to be rebuked he is hurt, ashamed and knows he has failed his parents. The child loves his parents and feels guilty. Punishment in love is unpleasant but is restorative. If we are rebuked by God we know we have sinned against Him and displeased Him. After all Jesus has gone through for us, and yet we still hurt Him. We feel guilt, shame, and self disapproval. Yes a loving but sharp disapproval does our children good because it makes them see that rules are to be obeyed and they have not done this. Or they may have done something else but the parent has to teach them in a gentle loving way , what is right and what is wrong. God’s rebuke shows us we have done something wrong and that it is not acceptable to God and therefore should not be acceptable to us. I would be defensive and I am sure hurt initially but I hope I would see the error and realise that I needed that rebuke, and ongoing rebukes if I want to become like Jesus.

Q12. God can make Himself heard in any of these way in the wind, or in an earthquake or in a fire and also in many other ways. God chose to speak to Elijah in a still small voice. This was because God wants to personally communicate with Elijah and He choose’s to come to him in a still small voice. God wants to covey His presence to us in a quiet, calm way, rather than a loud show of His power. God wants to have a relationship with us. This shows Elijah that God loves him and has not forgotten him. God renews him by giving him a new assignment to carry out. We can miss God’s gentle and quiet voice if we don’t listen for it, or if we are constantly surrounded by loud sounds. We may not always hear God’s voice but it could be something in God’s Word which conveys something to us, or an impression we get to do something or not to do something.

Q11. When we are self pitying we are taken up with ‘self’. We have no time to listen to God because we are so absorbed with self. Usually it has to do with a perceived wrong that has been done to me. Pride is thinking about how great we are, and good everything about us is and if anyone says or does anything to contradict my thoughts about myself, I lapse into self- pity because that person is so wrong about me. I can’t let go of it , and I am like a dog with a bone. I am back to self pity and self absorption. I think pride and self pity go hand in hand.

Q10. Elijah is not at fault for being depressed. He is human like us all and there are times when worried and problems can become too much for us and we can slip into depression. However there are steps we can take when life becomes difficult for us. We must spend time and extra time in God’s Word and speaking to God. It may just be short sentences asking for help, nothing major. We can try and worship Jesus and think about all His attributes and reminds ourselves that we are part of His family and He will bring us through the present difficulties as He has before during other hard times. This will help us during these times. God doesn’t chide his lack of faith but treat him gently and takes care of his needs. Jesus made sure he was feed and had time to sleep and rest. Jesus example as usual is a good pattern for us to follow when trying to help a depressed friend or family member. Don’t preach to them, just be there. Listen if they want to talk, but refrain from giving unasked for advice. Help in practical ways, making them small tasty meals, help with chores they may be finding hard to do. Do not judge.