Katy

Mary’s question of “How”was not motivated by unbelief or doubt as Zechariah’s was. Mary simple wanted to know how this incredible birth was going to happen as she was a virgin. As soon as the angel Gabriel explained to her what was going to happen she replied “I am the Lord’s servant, May it be to me as you have said”. There was no trace of doubt just complete trust in her God, despite all the personal implications for her and her betrothed Joseph. Zechariah was doubtful because of their advanced years, he did not think about nothing being impossible with God. Also he should have know about the numerous other times in the Scriptures were God had opened barren women wombs and blessed them with a child. Eg. Abraham and Sarah. Jacob and Rachel. Q2.Yes Jesus was born of a virgin. It is important because Jesus was born of a women, so He was human, and understands our suffering as humans. But Jesus was also God , and without any blemish of sin, so He was conceived of the Holy Spirit. Q3.Mary’s fear is not reflective of unbelief. She was responding in a very normal human way to news which was out of the normal sphere of human experience. When the angel told her not to be afraid, it appears from the passage that she listened to him because her thinking was rational, and she seems to have clarity in her question which followed. She did not allow her fear to control her. Q4.We are wilful people with stubborn hearts and we like to be in charge and in control of our lives. Our pride and ego’s get in the way of us being servants and submissive. I find even after years of trying to humble myself and being submissive, I can have days where I plough ahead on my own and forget to consult my Lord about things! It is a daily discipline of humbling ourselves before God and seeking His will for our lives. Q5. I think one of the most difficult things I have had to learn is rising early to have time with the Lord before my day begins. It is much easier now as I am retired but when I was working and my children were small it was hard. I once read that when your tempted to stay in bed , there was a battle going on around my bedside between Satan and God, and it was up to me to win or lose the battle!

Q1. Zechariah was a priest belonging to the division of Abidjan. Both Zechariah and Elizabeth were godly people who obeyed all Gods laws and kept the commandments. Elizabeth was childless and both of them were getting old. Q2.It was part of God’s plan that the ‘lot ‘ should fall to Zechariah on that day. The angel of the Lord was able to deliver his message. The offering of the incense was a great honour only allowed one in a priest’s lifetime. The incense represented the prayers of the people. Q3..I think that the fact thatJohn would bring back many Israelites to the Lord their God is very important. This is also important for the people of Israel. Also important is that John would prepare the way for the Lord, this was his role and he fulfilled it. He would be great in the sight of the Lord, is important as it shows he was doing as he should which pleased God. Q4.Zechariah questions the fact that he is being told Elizabeth will have a baby , long after the age of childbearing! He can’t believe it because it is not a usual occurrence. I find it hard to understand answered prayer of any kind, I feel undeserving and unworthy and yet He is so gracious and kind. Q5. The symptoms of unbelief are falling away from the things of God. Complacency about the things of God. Being sarcastic about the things of God. It hurts a Christian because it is like a dark pit which gets deeper and deeper unless steps are taken to change things. The cure is to come to God in humility, confess and repent and get stuck into the word. Spend more time in God’s presence. Q6. It is good to ask questions to try to understand the bible better so we can know God better. There are often things we don’t understand or things we don’t agree with, or find hard to except. When these things happen we need to ask someone with wisdom and discernment to help us to bring our thinking into line with God’s thinking. Prayer and humility are needed. Q7.Mary asked for an explanation as she was a virgin but immediately accepted the explanation, even though it was something quite extraordinary that was going to happen to her. Zechariah was in doubt that it could happen, because of Elizabeth’s age. Q8. I think it is a rebuke, something to give him time to ponder on his doubt. Something for us to use as an example of what God thinks of doubt or unbelief, and apply it to our lives. I am sure when Zechariah wrote his story for Elizabeth and the family they dare not doubt that Elizabeth would conceive. I think God does punish us when we need it , all through His word He has punished people, we deserve it as much as anyone in the past. Eg. Adam and Eve were punished as was Cain. In the time of Noah all the people were punished.

It is wonderful to know that my name is written down in a special book. It can spur us on through this valley of tears towards the goal ahead. It is also a reminder to earnestly do all we can to serve the Lord while we journey toward our goal. I find it hard to believe that I could be the Lord’s treasured possession , I definitely feel unworthy! It makes me want to love the Lord and serve him to the best of my ability. I certainly do not deserve it but I am a sinner saved by grace. The Lord has extended this grace to me by dying on the cross for all my sins. Praise His Holy Name.

God calls those who don’t tithe or hold back part of their tithe “robbers” because they are literally robbing God of the portion of our income that we should give back to him. Everything we have belongs to him and comes from him. Also we are depriving someone of money they need , it may be our church , our pastors or those in need. God withholds blessings because of disobedience to what we know we should be doing. If we love God we will want to tithe so that his work in the world may continue. It also gives us the opportunity to show God’s love to those less well off by giving to the poor and needy. We also have the opportunity to encourage missionary workers by supporting them. Everything God gives us belongs to him , we must not squander his precious resources. Therefore we need to obey and give a minimum of 10% back to Him and more to show that we love him and care for his church and workers.

If God was changeable we wouldn’t be here because our sins would have caused God to punish us, but because of His word to Moses Abraham and Jacob He remains the same. If God was changeable our lives asChristians would be very different, we wouldn’t know for sure if our sins were forgiven, we wouldn’t know if we would get to heaven, we would have no assurance of anything because God might change His mind. God loves to hear us pray and if we come to Him and pray in His will ,and with the right attitude He will answer our prayers, not always as we desire but in the best way for our good. This doesn’t mean that we is changeable, His character and essence stay the same.

John the Baptist was the messenger send by God to prepare the way for the Messiah. His coming was foretold in the scriptures eg Malachi 3v1, Isaiah 40v3,and by John’s father Zechariah in Luke 1v76. John said of himself in John 1v23 “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, Make straight the way for the Lord.John’s message was also a message of repentance for without repentance there is no forgiveness of sin. A day of judgment is coming. The second messenger, the messenger of the Covenant is Jesus. He is the mediator of the new Covenant. Jesus fulfills the terms of the Covenant with His own precious blood on the cross. By doing this for us Jesus has given us the opportunity to repent and to follow Him as we follow He will refine us and make us as pure gold, so we can dwell in eternity in His glorious presence. As Christians we need cleansing and refining because we are sinful and not worthy of being in the presence of a Holy God. We cannot grasp just how Holy God is and how sinful we are, but He will refine us and hone us to be fit to be, by His grace in His presence. I need to be refined daily as I am sinful ! Slowly I have seen changes but I can easily become complacent!

Marriage is a covenant between the two people and God, all people belong to God because they were created by Him therefore God is very much part of the marriage. God desires couples to be united in body and spirit. The purpose of marriage exclusively between Jews is produce Godly offspring, also to ensure that only the one true God is worshipped. God hates divorce, especially when it is for trivial matters eg because the husband decides he doesn’t like his wife any more or because she is losing her youthful beauty. Divorce is breaking the covenant not only with the spouse but also with God. In Christian marriage today the same rules apply about marrying only another Christian..2Corinthians 6v 14 “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers”. If breaking a covenant with God was taken seriously maybe there would be less divorce s. Maybe some unanswered prayer is because of behavior in our marriages . This is something I have never considered before but will do so in future.

Our present day pastors have inherited the same roles in the church as teaching priests .They are responsible for: giving true instruction, walking with God in righteousness and peace, to turn people away from their sin, to serve as messengers of God, and to guard and preserve knowledge so people will ask them to teach them. Each area of responsibility is important but in this present time with the world becoming more and more secular and a resistance to the things of God present all the time, presenting the message of God in all its truth is vital. God’s wrath is as important to hear about as His deep love and compassion. No part of the Word should be avoided because people don’t want to hear it! Also important is the need to turn people away from sin. Many people don’t see the sin in being dishonest, or helping themselves to stuff at work or cheating on taxes etc. I am fortunate and blessed to belong to a church where we study all areas of God word and have had many challenging sermons on difficult subjects. Praise God!

Fearing God in the Old Testament meant and still means today to have an awesome respect for the Lord our God. To treat Him with respect in all things, in thought, word and deed. We must do this in every situation no matter what is going on. We need to understand that Our Heavenly Father will discipline us if we are sinful and displeasing Him.Until we respect the wrath of our Heavenly Father we do not truly love Him. Our fear of God interfaces with our love of God when we move from fearing God to loving God. This is when we are no longer motivated to action by fear of punishment from God but by our love for Him. We must not be terrified of God but we must have a healthy respect for Him and all things holy that we have access to.

The people were disrespecting God by bringing crippled or diseased animals to be sacrificed to God. They were supposed to bring a perfect animal to sacrifice to show honour and praise to God. By doing this they also showed their love and respect for God. By bringing a blemished animal they showed no respect or honour for God. Unfortunately we do the same thing in different ways. The Lord’s Sabbath is treated less and less as the Sabbath with children playing sports and consequently missing church on occasion. Missing church for entertainment reasons. Being late for service and prayer meetings. Seeing prayer meeting/ bible study as optional extras! Not participating in church or being willing to get involved in church activities. At times there are genuine reasons as to why we cannot do things which the Lord understands but it is when we start doing or not doing things we should be doing on a regular basis, that we need to question what is happening in our relationship with our Lord and Saviour! I need to discipline myself daily to do the right thing , as I can be lazy and complacent ! Getting out of bed to have time for my quiet time, making sure I leave in time to get to church in time etc. I do find it easier when I reason with myself : Satan would love you to stay in bed! You have an app with the Lord Almighty!

When I am disappointed with those around me, I can often feel discouraged but of course that is what Satan wants me to feel. Depending on the situation I usually say I am disappointed and say why but then make sure I don’t show any resentment or anger but treat them as I would normally trying to show the love of Jesus, being patient and kind. In privacy then I go to Jesus and sometimes cry and mourn but cling to Him my rock, my fortress, and shelter in the shadow of His wings. To keep me from being discouraged I study Gods word and spend time talking to God. There are so many wonderful promises contained in His word that are both encouraging and strengthening .

God sets a very high standard for our leaders. In 1Timothy 3 v1 we are told that being an overseer is a “ noble task”, then the verses go on to tell us that an overseer must be beyond reproach, and then continues for seven verses laying out all the virtues they must have before they can think of becoming a leader. A leader is called by God to have all these characteristics to enable them to look after God’s church. Also to be as faultless as possible as an example to us all. If our leader are involved in any wrong doing , they cannot expect their people to be living to a high standard. They are not in a position to correct wrongdoing within the church. People who are truly following Jesus will not want to be part of a church where the leader is involved in sinful ways. The teaching of God’s word will also be compromised in a church where the leader is involved in sinful behavior. If it continued without correction I think I would leave the church, but if it was a failing that was addressed I would stay. We are all sinners saved by grace. Jesus said in scripture to the Pharisee’s who were going to stone the woman caught in adultary “ let he who is without sin caste the first stone”, they all faded away, because non were without sin. I need to watch daily not to enter into sin. I need to confess to God my wrong doing every night seek forgiveness and not do the same thing the following day. If I ask the Lord’s help He is faithful to help. I also need to pray daily for myself and my church leaders. If God shows me something sinful in my life I need to deal with it immediately by confession and repentance and prayer.

Israel’s history is a cyclical history of sin, hardship, repentence, Compassion from God with forgiveness, obedience, backsliding, sin. Always God is waiting with compassion to forgive them and bring them back into fellowship with Him. God discipline’s us because he loves us and wants us to be holy. He shows His compassion by discipline. If He didn’t love us He could just leave us to wallow in our sin and die. Discipline reaps a harvest of righteousness and peace. Just as parents discipline their children because we want them to become decent God fearing adults who contribute to society in a meaningful way and because we love them so God has compassion on us and treats us as His children which means He discipline’s us. God carries this great compassion through to New Testament times by sending His precious son to die on the cross to give us the opportunity to spend eternity in His presence in heaven. Jesus gave up the splendour of heaven to come to a sinful world to serve us sinful creatures by dying on the cross to ransom us from a lost eternity.

As the Scripture’s are read the people realise just how sinful they have been and still are. As they begin to understand the Scriptures they know how they have disobeyed God and they grieve by crying and wailing. It is very important for us as Christians to read and understand the Scriptures for personal spiritual revival. When we understand the word of God and read it daily we will truly understand how sinful we are, and just how gracious and merciful God is to us. When this is understood it brings about deep hearted repentance and sorrow. We also need the Holy Spirit to help us understand and discern the things of God. We cannot have joy in our hearts until we believe in God and understand about His goodness , mercy and compassion. We truly experience joy when we know we have Gods forgiveness, and have experience His love , continuing grace and many blessings. No matter how hard life is when we are walking with Jesus and know we will spend eternity in His presence, His joy bubbles away in our hearts.

Nehemiah’s enemies hoped that by asking Nehemiah to meet them away from Jerusalem that he would not have the security of the city and he would be more vulnerable. Nehemiah was shrewd he knew what they were up to so he refused four times to meet with them saying he was far too busy on a great project to meet them. Having failed in their devious tactics they try something else. They bribed a prophet called Shemaiah to frighten Nehemiah by telling him that there was a plot to kill him and that he should take refuge in the temple. Nehemiah knew from God that he was lying and trying to disgrace him by getting him to enter the temple . This was forbidden because he was possibly a eunuch and therefore forbidden by Mosaic law to enter the temple but also because he was not a Levite or a priest. Nehemiah was a godly man and would not commit sin to save himself. All Sanballat and Tobiah’s attempts to stop the building of the wall failed. They also failed in disgracing Nehemiah, and getting him to sin against God. This lesson shows me the importance of fixing my eyes on Jesus and walking close to Him so that I can discern when a thought or an idea is of God or is of Satan.

Nehemiah knew he couldn’t wait to deal with the situation because it was badly affecting his workforce. There was a famine in the land.The people were hungry, others were losing their land ,and their houses, other were having to borrow money to buy food and then loosing their land and homes because they couldn’t pay back the money. Other were paying high taxes. They had no money to live on and to buy food which was expensive. Some were being sold as slaves to pay incurred debts. Nehemiah also wanted to stop those who were rich from increasing their wealth by taking from the poor their fellow Jews. Nehemiah called together the nobles and the officials and he held a meeting to tell them that what they were doing was wrong. He gave them instructions to stop charging excessive interest on goods, to buy back the slaves, He told them he was lending money to the poor but not charging more than 1% interest. Neither was he taking money he was due to pay his expenses as governor because the people were too poor. He also cursed anyone who would not obey what he was asking them to do. He then summoned the priests and got the nobles and officials to take an oath that they would do this. They agreed they would obey. Then they praised God. Wealthy people can be seen as more powerful than poor people! I suppose some church leaders may deal with wealthy people quicker than poor people because they want to be on the right side of them. To win favour with them. This attitude is very wrong for anyone but especially a church leader who should treat all people equal but have a special love towards those who are poor and need support. Jesus always cared for the poor and needy. All through scripture God has told His people to care for widows and orphans.

Nehemiah responded to ridicule by ignoring it and turning to God for help. They continued in their building of the wall. Nehemiahs enemies then planned military action, but Nehemiah was prepared. He had guards stationed at the most vulnerable parts of the wall, when the people were working they had a weapon close to hand. Everyone was prepared to fight if it was needed! The work was slower because of these precautions but it was necessary to safeguard the wall and the people. The wall was eventually built. As the people grew tired and discouraged Nehemiah encouraged them by telling them that God would fight for them. He encouraged them to fight for their families. He also worked alongside them so they would emulate Him. At night He told all the people to stay inside Jerusalem and not travel to their homes in the villages outside Jerusalem. He stayed with them. He also had a trumpeter who was with him and he was to blow the trumpet if there was any trouble and all the men would go towards the trumpet if it was blown. I respond to discouragement by feeling sad until I talk to myself and God , and realise that it was not for me or that I have no control over something that has happened so there is no point in being down about it. Over the years I have learnt to trust God but it is something I need to work on when something unforeseen happens. It’s not that I don’t trust but I need to thing about God’s promises and apply them to the situation I find myself in.

Nehemiah had to get his teams to work quickly to get the job completed because of the threats from his enemies all around him, he was also afraid that his enemies may approach the king again to try and get him to stop the work. By having 41 teams Nehemiah was making the huge job more manageable. Each team had responsibility to provide funds for their section. Some repaired the sections outside their own homes to ensure the safety of themselves and their families. Others involved their children and got them working as well. In this way no one was overwhelmed by the enormity of the task. With so many teams involved, Nehemiah has to make arrangements about security so as they worked they had their weapons beside them in case of attack. He also had the responsibility of making sure those working had the proper materials for the job, He would keep them encouraged by telling them that God was helping them and blessing them in their efforts.

Nehemiah could be in danger of being banished from his job or the king could decide to kill him. Servants were not allowed to speak unless spoken to, so Nehemiah deliberately looked sad in the hope that the king might ask him why he was downcast. When he explained the king could have taken Nehemiah’s story as an accusation, because the king was partly responsible for the state of Jerusalem. Nehemiah’s arrow prayer was a continuation of his four months of prayer and fasting in preparation for this time of approaching the king. Nehemiah knew he was totally dependent upon God for a good outcome to his request. I am sure his arrow prayer was for God to give him the right words to say what needed to be said to the king, or maybe a simple yet profound”Help me God”!

Nehemiah’s situation is similar to Esther’s in that they both needed to approach the King and ask him to reverse a decision that he had made. Both their lives were in possible danger. But God was using them to bring about His purpose! They both prepared in the same way by praying and fasting and showing God their total dependence on Him and also their trust in Him. Esther was putting her life on the line, Nehemiah was at least putting his job on the line and possibly his life. God very often uses people to do things which He has planned in order to bring about His purposes. It is so important to obey God to enable His will to come about. If we disobey God will work out His purposes in some other way, as nothing is impossible for Him. My life has not been put in danger nor have I lost a job due to having to stand up for Christ. The only thing I have experienced is hostility and being given ‘the cold shoulder’ in certain circumstances and situations when I have spoken out or stood up for my beliefs. This has happened within my own family when we had the referendum on abortion and then had another referendum on gay marriage! Unfortunately it has caused me a lot of unhappiness but I will not compromise my beliefs. I pray all the time for patience, and for the courage to speak out even when it is easier to be silent.

The basis of Nehemiah’s appeal is that God has promised that He would restore His people and gather them back to a place where they would be together under His care. God would do this when they repented of their wrongdoings. Nehemiah humbly confesses their wickedness and that they have not obeyed the commands of God. They are repentant. Nehemiah argues his cases by telling God that He promised to scatter them if they disobeyed but also to gather them to His chosen place when they repented . He also told God that these were His people that He had redeemed by His great strength and His mighty strength.Having laid his case before the God of Israel he asked for success in going to the king for help. I have learnt that laying all the facts before God and remembering His past answers to prayer and trusting in God is the best way to go.

Nehemiah was very upset to hear from his brother that the walls of Jerusalem were in ruins and the gates of the city had been burned down. He realised that the only way he could get help from the king was to go to God first and seek His help. By praying and fasting for so long Nehemiah was showing God that he knew that he was totally dependent on Him to get help from the king. Nehemiah's weeping and fasting is not excessive , if we are really seeking God about something important to us we should do the same. Unfortunately I don’t fast as I am too weak! We see other examples of this in the bible, in the book of Esther, she asked her people and her maids to fast for three days before she went to the king to ask him to save her people by recalling an edict he was tricked into making by the wicked Haman.

Yes this directive was from God. It seems very drastic but again I think that because my finite mind can not grasp just how holy God is and just how grave their sin was. I tend to think of those poor women abandon by their husbands with their children. What future did those women have ? What support did they have? Would any of their own men want to marry them afterwards? And the Israelite men are free to take new brides from their own people! They should have at least provide for them. They should be punished for obeying such a wise and obvious command from God. I can bear witness to the difficulties of being in a marriage with a non Christian, and I am blessed with a man who has not objected very often to my way of life. I was married before I was a believer. In Exodus 14v13 Moses says to the people as they stand by the Red Sea not knowing what to do “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you ; you need only to be still.” The people respond to Shecaniah’s solution by agreeing to it there were only four men who objected. Shecaniah said that all foreign wives were to be sent away with their children. Ezra organised a team and listened to each case individually and didn’t rush the process. He continued to pray and grieve for the sin of the people.

Ezra on hearing the report about some of the Israelites intermarrying with foreigners is extremely upset. Verse 3 of Ezra 9 tells us” I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled.” Ezra was genuine in his grief as he knew that intermarriage was strictly forbidden by God. Even before they entered the Promised Land God warned the Israelites about keeping themselves apart from any foreigners. God’s reason for this was because the purity of His people would be compromised. They would not worship the one true God who created the Heavens and the earth but would gradually introduce pagan worship into their lives and temple. In Ezra’s day grief was expressed in public and his reaction was not for show but was genuine grief that the people of God had behaved in a way that was totally contrary to God’s law for them. If we as God’s people don’t grieve over the sin of our family or those around us it shows that we ourselves do not realise how serious sin is and how grievous it Is to God. We are not in step with God and we are not like minded.

Ezra was a wise man who knew the ways of man, so he weighed out the precious metals prior to the journey. He told them that the articles would be weighed again on arrival in Jerusalem.He also told those in charge of the items “You as well as these articles are consecrated to the Lord”. This will also act as a deterrent to anyone thinking of anything wrong. It is wise to have checks and balances in place , not as a sign of distrust but every organisation needs to be transparent and be able to account for every cent that they have, especially when it doesn’t belong to individuals. As Christians we also have the responsibility of setting good example and most importantly not bringing dishonour to God by being deceitful and sinful.