kreilly

Does acting out of compassion mean responding to a whim? Why or why not? I don't know, I think one might respond to compassion on a whim, if that just means it is an unplanned act. At times, we may meet someone in need and the Holy Spirit nudges us to respond. We might not ever see the person again, but I don't think that Jesus probably ever saw the widow of Nain again. If your heart breaks for someone and you can help them and the Holy Spirit is urging you to do so, I think you should do it. Sometimes when we bless people we have ongoing relationships with them, but other times we can be a blessing to them in a brief moment and go on our way. The important thing is to give the glory to God for the blessing either way.

I think I get what you're saying-yes, He does raise all dead people He encounters who put their faith in Him!

What portion of Jesus' mission do you believe he has delegated to you? I have had this feeling in my heart the last few years that the Spirit has been calling me to work with inner city churches to establish tutoring programs where children could be taught the gospel also. I don't have the faintest idea how to do something like that, but I know I need to take a step of faith in that direction. If it is not what I am supposed to be doing, it won't work out, and that's okay. There is a definite need in our community for better education and pairing that with the hope of the gospel could make a real difference.

Praying for courage and for the Holy Spirit to give you the words to share your testimony! This Bible study is bearing good fruit in your life!

What do giving and forgiving have in common? I think they both have a lot to do with holding loosely and letting go. In the process of giving, we are holding loosely to our possessions and letting go of them easily, because they are not really ours to begin with, but gifts from God that we steward. In the process of forgiving, we must hold loosely to our anger/desire for revenge, rather than nurse it or hold on to it. We have to let our anger go easily and trust God to take care of the situation.

Why is loving your enemy so much like divine love? What is the implication of this for our salvation? For our lifestyle? I think loving our enemy is like divine love because we were once Christ's enemies. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8) He loved us first, while we were still lost, and steeped in sin. He died for us when we had done nothing to deserve it. We must love others the same way Christ loved us. We love them despite their sinful state and sinful actions toward us, that is how we demonstrate Christ's love to them. This divine love is a result of our salvation. This means we must adopt a lifestyle of putting others' first, living selflessly the way Jesus did.

What kinds of situations face us today where all night prayer is appropriate? Our church hosted a 24-hour prayer event this past summer to pray about Covid, civil unrest, racism, and revival. I also participated in a 24-hour prayer event by another church that was specific to Covid early on in the pandemic. We tend to spend all night in prayer when something affects us personally in a negative way. However, if you look at Jesus, He spends all night in prayer for the church and for God's guidance. How different He is than us! We need to try to be more like Him! Can you think of any Christians in the twentieth century who were martyred? (Incidentally, they say that there were more Christian martyrs in the twentieth century than in all the other centuries combined.) When is martyrdom glorious? When is it inglorious? There are many Christian martyred every day in the twentieth century. I get a newsletter from Voice of the Martyrs that shares their stories. You can look it up online. Open Doors is another group that shares information about Christian martyrs. Martyrdom is glorious when it is borne out of love. It is inglorious if it is borne out of any other motive. 1Cor 13:3 Why do we tend to assume that miracles won't happen today? I think we are trained from a young age to put our trust in science and medicine rather than God for healing. That makes it hard for us to believe in miracles and then we look for other explanations. We have to constantly remind ourselves that God is all-powerful and can do anything. However, His glory is what we need to be seeking at all times not just a long and comfortable life for ourselves and our families.

List some of the traditions that are taken for granted in your church, but are not directly mentioned in the Bible. Which seem to aid Christian mission? Which seem to impede the work of Christ? I think some of the traditions we hold to are how we worship. When someone comes in and talks about changing up the worship service, people get all upset. They are holding to human traditions of doing things in a certain manner, order, way. The Bible doesn't lay out what our worship should look like, but it should all be unified and bring glory to Him. I've seen churches fuss about songs that are sung, order of service, the way the preacher preaches. Fussing about these things impedes the work of Christ and takes our eyes off of what is truly important--worshiping God.

I like your answer here. I think we do this in our churches, too. If we meet someone who holds slightly different doctrinal beliefs, but still holds to the gospel of Christ, sometimes we tend to argue or look for that reason to accuse. We need to look for areas that we have in common rather than accusing each other, working towards unity.

What are the structures in our lives and society that are incompatible with the Life of the Spirit in our lives? Obviously, legalism is one of the things that we often struggle with once we become Christians. The Pharisees struggled with it, but we do too, every time we think we are better than someone else because we don't struggle with the same sin they struggle with. That attitude of spiritual pride and self-righteousness is incompatible with the Spirit, who teaches us to be humble as Jesus was humble. I think in society, Christians often encourage each other to excel according to the world's idea of success (get good grades, get a good job, be a good parent, keep a nice house) more than they encourage each other to make sacrifices and build the Kingdom of God. Sometimes education, career, finances, even family (not literally) have to be sacrificed in order to further the Kingdom. Prioritizing those things above Jesus is incompatible with the life of the Spirit. Please share a struggle you had with trying to contain the Life of Christ in an "old wineskin"? I was watching a preacher on TV today talk about when his kids were teenagers and "went off" on him, he would say "thank you" when they finished unloading their emotions. He said he was willing to absorb what they were lashing out about. I was always taught to respect my parents and taught my daughter the same thing. When she lashed out at me, I became angry with her because I was trying to make her fit into that mold. It was very convicting, to realize I didn't need to try to follow my concept of society's rules for parenting. Instead, sometimes I needed to show her the grace that Jesus has shown me.

Why did Jesus succeed in making himself so at home in their presence? I think Jesus was at home in their presence because they were honest about their sinful states and not trying to cover up or pretend like they are righteous. People did not make Jesus uncomfortable because He wasn't worried about what they thought about Him. He knew who He was.

What is the connection between sin and sickness in this passage? Sin and sickness both destroy. Sin destroys the soul/spirit and sometimes has physical consequences as well. Sickness attacks the physical body and often the soul/spirit also, if it is severe or lasts for an extended time. The devil uses these tools to keep us in bondage. Jesus has the power to forgive and heal both, freeing us from Satan's grasp.

Describe the kind of faith it takes to act and speak as this leper did. What level of belief was required of him? I think the leper had a faith borne of desperation. He had nothing to lose. Having nothing to lose results in being able to lose yourself completely to your faith in God. That is why Jesus says that we must leave everything to follow Him. That is why God says we must have no other gods before Him. There really is no other way to have true faith. So even though we may have something to lose, we must turn all of that over to Jesus when we commit to following Him, otherwise it becomes an idol. What is the difference between believing God can do something for us and believing that he wants to do something for us? Would you call the difference faith? or knowledge? or both? I don't know if there is much difference, I think the two are intertwined. We may say we believe it but maybe we really don't. I suppose it is possible to really believe it and have an errant view of God that He doesn't love or care for you and therefore does not want to heal you. However, it is important to keep in mind that clinging to this life as the ultimate prize is not really what we are meant to do. It is not what Jesus or any of His followers did. Therefore, we don't put all of our hope for healing in this physical life. We will be here as long as He wants us here. It is important not to think that if God doesn't heal you or someone you love that He is negligent. That is when we start taking on the role of God and acting as though He is here to serve us and if He doesn't do what we think He should have then He is wrong. That is sin and must be repented of, even if it is borne of grief.

I agree, the homeless are treated like lepers. Even when they come to our church, I notice people really don't come up and introduce themselves the way they would to others. Many people are afraid to be asked for money and assume that is the only reason the homeless have come. Even if that is the reason they came, we still need to show them Christ's love.

Does Jesus require all His disciples to leave everything? Yes, I think he does. When we surrender our lives to Christ, we must release everything to him. He has made it clear that one cannot serve two masters. Jesus must be our first love. We may not leave everything physically--we may still live in the same place, have the same job and relationships with others, but we must submit everything to Him. If there is a conflict between one of those things and Jesus, the other thing has to go. We spiritually leave everything for Jesus. What does it mean to you personally to "follow" Jesus? Share a bit of your personal journeying with your brothers and sisters and they'll share a bit of theirs with you. Mutual encouragement and reinforcement. I grew up in a Christian home but had a lot of misconceptions about following Jesus. I used to think if you went to church on Sunday and lived a moral life that was following Jesus. The Lord has shown me through His word and the mentoring of other Christians that there is so much more to having a relationship with Christ. It is more than having a quiet time in the morning or praying faithfully, although these things are important. It is about being willing to be led by the Spirit and letting Him live in and through you. I can't transform myself through all the spiritual discipline in the world, only Jesus can do that.

1. What does Jesus' ministry of laying on of hands for healing teach us about Him? We know that Jesus could heal with just a word and from a distance, as he did for the centurion's servant Luke 7: 1-10. However, direct contact through the laying on of hands is so much more loving and shows His level of care and concern for us as individuals. He wants to know us.

I have this same problem as I have grown older, I find myself reading and studying more, but praying less. I used to have such a fervent prayer life. The Spirit has been convicting me lately that I need to return to my former devotion to prayer, while not neglecting Bible reading and study.

Great analogy! Made me think of Paul's thorn in his side that the Lord did not remove, even though he prayed about it. We know Paul had great faith. The reason Jesus healed so many was to fulfill his commission and show the world He is the Messiah (discussion last week). We ask God-sometimes He heals, sometimes He doesn't. We live in a fallen world. We must always pray as Jesus taught-Thy will be done. Even Jesus' prayer was not answered to have His cup of suffering removed.

After you've read Dr. Wilson's essay on "Demonization and Deliverance in Jesus' Ministry" (in Appendix 2, do you think he proves his assertion that demonization describes a range of demon influence, rather than complete possession? Why or why not? Why isn't recovery from demonic deception always instantaneous? What is the process of deliverance that a person must go through to come to full freedom? I do think Dr. Wilson does a good job describing a range of demonic influences that can plague a person that he supports through the scriptures he has quoted. James 1:13-15 says, "When tempted no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. I think this indicates a series of ever increasing demonic power over our lives if we don't confess our sins and look to the Holy Spirit for guidance. I don't think recovery from demonic deception is instantaneous. I think it also follows a range of progressive reliance on the Holy Spirit to deliver us from demonic influence. We have to want to be healed, confess our sins, trust Jesus to set us free, and let the Holy Spirit guide our steps.

Thanks for pointing out this "shift in emphasis". I see what you mean--first they are being told Jesus is the Messiah. Now, He is showing them He is the Messiah. Never thought of it that way.

Bailey, I hope you found someone to shovel your snow. If I lived near you, I would gladly come and do it. Praying for you.

I do think Jesus gave alms to the poor. I believe Judas was in charge of the money. When the sinful woman broke the alabaster jar and poured the perfume on Jesus' feet, Judas complained that it could have been sold and the money given to the poor (although he was really stealing the money). I think that indicates that Jesus and his disciple were giving alms.

Lisa, I will be praying for your husband. I understand. Please pray for my husband.

Thanks for your explanation of Jesus having unlimited power of the Spirit. That explains a lot.

Why do you think God staged the dove to descend in a visible way? I never really thought it was a dove. I always thought it was the Holy Spirit visibly coming down out of heaven, descending like a dove. I always thought the dove part was more just explaining how it came down, descending from up above, the way a dove would gently fly down from the sky and land. I don't know, maybe I'm wrong. I know the Holy Spirit was visible and everyone could see it, I guess I just thought maybe it looked more like the transfiguration or something, like Jesus being glorified by the Holy Spirit from heaven. Either way, I believe the reason for it was to testify that Jesus is the Messiah. What was the significance of the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus at this time in his life? I think the significance is that Jesus baptism is the beginning of His public ministry. As we discussed in an earlier lesson, when Jesus came to earth, he set aside His divine power. As mentioned in the lesson, "You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached -- how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him." (Acts 10:37-38). It seems that after this point, Jesus was empowered by the Holy Spirit to heal and perform other miracles, in order to show that He is indeed the messiah. Did Jesus become the Messiah at this point? Or become divine? Or how do you understand this decisive event? Jesus is divine and the Messiah since forever, so, no, he didn't become anything. As I mentioned earlier, I think it's more of a declaration of his public ministry and journey to the cross.