Nana Karlsson

6. Jesus told the parable of the soils for two reasons : One is to encourage the seed sower ( believers) to share the good news of the Gospel by faith and also to have an understanding that the word will not grow in all those who hear it but only in those who receive it eargerly and whole heartedly. The second reason is to stimulate hearers to diagnosis their own quality of hearing the word. The process of self examination and an attempt at self diagnosis, help us disciples take more seriously our role as hearers and learners, self deceived dabblers in religious matters.

For most people, Jesus preaching hardened their hearts and these are the fallen mankind who do not want change and so will not embrace the truth of the gospel that points out sin and calls for repentance. What we can do for those who hardened their hearts is to pray and plead to the father constantly for the salvation of their souls.

The content of Jesus message in Luke 8: 1 . Jesus proclaimed the good news of the Kingdom of God. Jesus travelled to many towns and villages with His team teaching about the Kingdom of God not as a far away place but present and powerful. He demonstrated the power of the Kingdom and love of God through miracles, healings of all kinds of diseases, deliverance and wholeness. He spoke of the reign of God so real that you could feel it.

Simon probably was shocked, disgusted and irritated by the woman touching Jesus feet. As a religious leader bound by his customs and traditions, he was probably thinking about his own reputation too since a scandalous scenario was taking place under his roof by an uninvited sinful guest. The scenarìo must have drawn attention and people would wonder how Simon could allow a prostitute to come to his home to create such a scene .He must have been frustrated and disappointed even more because his honourable celebrity guest Jesus did not rebuke the sinful woman but rather allowed her to carry on.

The people especially the pharisees and their religious leaders were stuck up in the law and their traditions and so were critical of John the Baptist and Jesus. John's ascetic ways and his preference of locust and wild honey to the traditional bread and wine and regular fasting was something way out of the ordinary for the people. Jesus on the contrary socialised with sinners and tax collectors, enjoying meals and drink with them even in their homes. This earned him criticism and was called a glutton and a drunkard. Neither John nor Jesus way of life pleased the people. They were skeptical and hardened their hearts and so rejected the good news about God's Kingdom and God's purpose and plans for their lives. What we can learn from this is to accept the fact that people will always criticise us, but we should never be moved by it. We should stand firm no matter what, never to compromise the things of God, never to please people but rather seek God earnestly so we do not miss His purpose for our lives.

Acting out of compassion does not mean acting out of whim. It is being sensitive and responding to a person's situation through love and a deeper understanding. We cannot be true disciples and dispassionate toward people in need. We are to follow the example of Jesus and display the love and compassion of Jesus and the father.

1. I think Jesus was refering to judgemental gossip. 2.The point Jesus was making about the speck and the plank is that we need to deal with our own sins first (which could be greater than the sins we see in others) so we can see to help others rather than overreact.

1. The real test of Agape love for our enemies is a must for every believer in my opinion. Although being able to love your enemies who seek to hurt, destroy, shame and afflict you is the most difficult thing to do by our human nature. But with the love and mercy of God through Jesus and with the help of the Holy Spirit it can be done. As true disciples of Jesus we are to follow His example, to love our enemies, to forgive them and to pray for them. We are to demonstrate the Agape love that Jesus demonstrated towards his enemies when He died on the cross for us. 2. It is a hyperbole that Jesus used to make a point. The point was to refuse retaliation, to avoid hitting back, that is, the natural human reaction.

A good man brings out the good things stored up in his heart and an evil man brings out the evil things stored up in his heart. A persons regular outward expression determines what is like inside of them.

Jesus did not speak against fasting in this passage. The point Jesus was making was that it was not necessary for his disciples to fast as long as he was here with them on earth. Jesus said" but the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, in those days they will fast.( Luke 5:35) Jesus was refering to his crucifixion and death when he said this.

There are different kinds of situations globaly that will make all night prayers appropriate, for example persecution of Christians, global pandemic, political unrest,etc, etc. I think the reason why we tend to assume that miracles won't happen today is first of all people limit the God that we serve. Secondly they do not believe miracle is for modern day christianity.They believe in medical doctors, science and technology more than the supernatural healing power of God.

There is nothing in being rich as long as it does not interfere with our relationship with God. Unfortunately people who pursue riches often fall in love with the riches they acquire because they somehow experience power, control and even fame in being rich. They tend to put their trust in and honour and worship their riches instead of God. The fear of God is replaced by the love of material wealth, hence they easily sin against God. The Bible tells us that people who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. ( 1 Timothy 6:9). God and Kingdom business should be our priority. We should love and trust and honour God with everything that we are and have. The Bible tells us " seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all it`s righteousness and all other things shall be given to you". Mathew 6:33. I am trying to live according to this very scripture, and i have a great expectation of what God has in store for me.

In the past i would look for reasons to accuse people, especially people who do not share my faith, but lately as i study the word of God daily i have learnt to see people from a different perspective, to love and understand them as they are and even help them when necessary. The danger in finding reasons to accuse people is that we tend to push them away and discourage them from knowing the love of the God that we serve. We can also be blind to our own misstakes and become prideful believing that we know best.

In light of the lessons of this passage,we should follow Jesus example and love the unloved, the outcasts, the sick, unbelievers, people with addiction problems, prostitutes, people branded as social misfits, the hurting and broken hearted etc.etc. I believe Christians feel uncomfortable around blatant sinners because often times some of us are judgemental and consider ourselves righteous having a " holier than thou" mindset. We miss the whole point of being Christ-like and having the mind of Christ. Jesus suceeded in making Himself at home in the presence of the blatant sinners because He loves the unloved and the outcasts. He does not make a difference between people, does not play favourites. His mission is to rescue the perishing, the lost, to heal the sick, the oppressed, to set the captives free, to call sinners to repentance. etc, etc. Jesus did not come for the righteous.

I personaly think it is easier to say your sins are forgiven because some how you can make people to understand that if they repent of their sins they can be forgiven. Praying for physical healing requires a stronger faith ( most of the time) which most christians do not have and so would not dare to pray fearing that their lack of faith would not produce any healing. At present I feel like one of the four friends of the paralytic because i feel burdened to see the sick healed, people in bondage set free and lost souls saved. There are so many people plagued by sickness and diseases and my desire is to lead them to the master healer himself who will heal and make them whole.

I think our society today treat people infected by the covid 19 virus like lepers were treated in Jesus'day. No i cannot think of any place where Jesus indicates that He isn't willing to heal those who are sick. Ever since we studied Luke 4:42 about Jesus going to a solitary place to pray, i have learnt to spend a Quiet Time of my own. It has not always been easy as i battle with distructions of all kinds, but i am adamant and still pressing in to spent quality Quite Time with the Lord.

The laying on of hands for healing by Jesus teaches us how loving, caring, compassionate and down to earth Jesus is. He is the master with a divine nature yet very down to earth. He is humble. He sympathised with the sick, the diseased, the afflicted, and made the people feel at ease by having a close contact with them through the laying on of hands for healing. He did not play favourites nor prioritise any person or group of person, rather he made sure that everyone got healed before he retired. He is a hard worker and he never complained about exhaustion rather he goes the extra mile to bring healing, restoration, joy, happiness to the sick, the afflicted, the hungry etc. Although Jesus came down from heaven to earth with a mission, he was driven by compassion rather than duty to do the Kingdom business for which the Father sent Him.

The power of God through the Holy Spirit upon Him was the source of Jesus conviction and authority. Yes, we as believers should expect conviction and authority to attend our own meetings because we have the same Holy Spirit indwelling us who leads us and also we have been given full power and authority in the name of Jesus.

They could not kill Jesus at Nazareth because it was not the appointed time for Him to die. He had to complete His mission before going to the cross. He willingly gave Himself up at the garden of Gethsamane because it was the appointed time for Him to be crucified on the cross.

As disciples we are to follow Jesus' example by comforting the hurting and broken hurted. We must spend time with them, listening, pray with them, sharing encouraging scriptures about the Father's love and care for them, His promises to heal the broken hearted and binding up their wounds. ( psalm 147 : 3) We should be there for them and help them pull through their grievances and give them much love just as Jesus would do.

Temptation is not only inevitible, it is necessary for our growth as disciples. In the absence of temptation, faith is just innocent faith that cannot stand testing. When we are faced with temptation our faith increases by endurance and this helps our spiritual growth.

No, Jesus was already the Messiah and divine right from the womb. At birth he was given the name Emmanuel, God is with us. It was decided he would come from Heaven to earth and shed his blood for the remission of sins. He did not ceased to be God, he put aside his divine attributes and took on human form, and was dependant on the Holy Spirit whilst going about the Father's business on earth.

No, i do not think John the Baptist's humble statement is overstated. John acknowledged the Sovereignty, supremacy, and divinity of Jesus as the Messiah who was to come down from Heaven to earth for a divine purpose. We are sinners saved by grace, unworthy but made worthy to serve Christ when we accepted Jesus as our saviour and Lord.

The spirit shows Himself specifically in " pray in the spirit" and Sword of the Spirit, the word of God. Spirit directed prayer is important for the believer because the Spirit helps us in our weakness when we do not know what we ought to pray. He intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express, this is essential part of spiritual warfare. I have experienced this in my life because i realise when i pray directed by the Spirit i flow easily without struggling and searching for what to pray.

God created us in a way that music affects us at an emotional level as well as spiritual level. Singing worship has a way of bringing us into a renewed sense of God's presence. The Spirit transform us through worship. The Apostle Paul suggests that as we worship we can sense afresh the Spirit's fullness and joy. Singing worship is linked to being filled with the Spirit and Christian joy.