linda bass

Jesus deals with Nathaniel's skepticism by referring to him as "a true Israelite, in whom nothing is false". Nathaniel replies, "How do you know me?". Jesus refers to an incident Nathaniel had experienced "under a fig tree" before Phillip even called him. The nature of this miracle is, Nathaniel responds with instant faith. Upon coming to faith, Nathaniel bestows upon Jesus the title of, "Son of God, the King of Israel".

Jesus doesn't tell His inquirers where He is staying because, He wants them to come along with Him and walk with Him. It was important for the disciples to "be with" Jesus because, they needed to learn from Him. What "being with" Jesus today means is spending time with Him by reading our bible and praying. We need to spend time with Jesus so we can learn from Him.

Andrew and another person started following Jesus on the recommendation of John the Baptist who pointed out Jesus as "The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world". This recommendation caused John the loss of two of His disciples.

The difference between John's baptism and Jesus' baptism is, John baptized with water, while Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit. What a "baptism of the Holy Spirit" implies about this event is, we receive the power of the Holy Spirit to guide us in our Christian walk.

What the title "Lamb of God" tells us about Jesus' ministry is, He has come as a sacrificial lamb, to offer Himself as an atonement for our sins. According to John 1:29, Jesus came to take away the sins of the world(humanity). Jesus fulfilled Isaiah 53 by, being arrested, going through a mock trial, being beaten and whipped, being nailed open a cross and dying a cruel death.

John baptized because he was preparing the people for the coming ministry of Jesus. The meaning of the baptism John was performing was, a symbolic act of repentance and forgiveness of sins. What baptism represented to those John baptized was, a willingness to forsake their sins and accept the coming Messiah.

I believe John the Baptist was being hassled by the religious leaders from Jerusalem because they didn't like their sins being exposed in public. Most of them believed they were upright and righteous. What the religious leaders were afraid of was, they would lose the people to John's ministry as well as the money people would bring to the temple. John understood his mission was to announce the coming of the Messiah. A lot of conflict could be expected from John's mission because there would be much opposition from the Pharasees and other religious leaders.

What it means that Jesus is the "only God" or the "only Begotten God" is, that Jesus is fully divine, He is the Alpha and the Omega, He is eternal. What all this means for our understanding of the Trinity is, one God with three distinct personalities- God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The idea of God "becoming flesh" is important to the basis of the Christian faith because, He needed to become flesh and blood in order to save us from our sins. If God was only pretending to "become flesh" then Christ's crucifixion and resurrection would be empty and meaningless. We would be without hope and would die in our sins with no chance of redemption.

What it means to "receive Jesus is, we include Him in our life and we recognize His authority in our life. What it implies to "believe" in Jesus is, we entrust oneself to Him with complete confidence. We make a total commitment to Christ. The spiritual relationship to God of those who receive and believe in Jesus is, the right to become children of God, to be adopted into His family. Those who reject Christ have no right or authority to consider themselves children of God.

What it means that John was sent to "testify" to the light is, he was to be a witness for the ministry of Jesus. We are put here with the purpose of "testifying to the light in the sense we are to share our faith with those that don't know Christ. Have to admit I don't share my faith as much as I should. I know I need to do better. What happened to John the Baptist is, he was arrested and imprisoned by Herod Antipas. John had rebuked Herod for committing adultery and incest. Later John was beheaded. What happens if I testify clearly is, I will probably face rejection and ridicule. Or else, I might get to led someone to Christ. What happens to the people to whom I testify is 1) they accept Christ or 2) they reject the gospel outright or 3) I plant a seed and somewhere along the way someone else leads them to Christ.

According to John, Jesus is fully God. What it means that Jesus is the "Word" is, that He is an independent personified expression of God. What this says about Jesus and His ministry is He has the power and authority to forgive sins.

The verses of Isaiah 35:1-10 brought hope to their first readers by a promise of hope. What is promised here is, the desert will bloom,water will gush forth in the wilderness,the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the mute will shout with joy, the lame will leap like a deer. Isaiah relies on heavily figurative to communicate these promises because He wanted God's people to catch a vision of what the New Jerusalem would be like. He is trying to get the point across that the land will not just be a place of abundance only,but also a spiritual place to those who love the Lord. Isaiah describes the "highway of holiness" as The Way of Holiness. Those who have been redeemed and ramsomed by the Lord will be allowed to walk on the highway. Those who are wicked and unclean will not be allowed to travel on the highway. What it means to be redeemed and ransomed is,being freed from sin and bondage to Satan by the atoning blood of the Lord Jesus.

We tend to seek help from every source except the Lord because we are stubborn creatures trying to rely on our own self. Many times we come to God as a last resort when all other options have failed us. He should be the first one we come to whenever a need or problem arises. The way this is similar to idolatry is,we are putting our trust in some other solution to our problems rather than putting out trust in God to help us in our situation. The remedy Jesus taught His disciples in Matthew 6:31-33 is, don't worry about anything,but seek God's kingdom first. Then God will take care of one's needs.

God longs to show us grace because He has compassion for His people. What this says about God's character is, He is a God of justice,but also of mercy. What prevents God's grace is not confessing our sin and not waiting upon the Lord. There have been times when I have experienced the kind of guidance Isaiah mentions. However,have to confess that most of the time I get so distracted by the lure of the world and my own problems,that I am not always sensitive to God's voice. What is necessary in us so that we hear God's voice is,being obedient to His commands and His will for our life.

When Isaiah prophesizes the gathering of all God's people at the sound of a great trumpet call,the New Testament event this corresponds to is, the rapture of the church.

The passage Isaiah 26:19 actually teaches a bodily resurrection. it points to hope beyond the grave. What this passages teaches us about resurrection is, that the dead in Christ will be reunited with their bodies which will be glorified. According to the New Testament the resurrection will take place after God has brought judgment upon the earth because of the wickedness of the people and their sins.

According to Isaiah 26:3-4 the key to perfect peace is, trusting the Lord and learning to lean on Him. When we get distracted from trusting the Lord,we live in a state of constant fear and anxiety. The Lord is called the "Rock Eternal" because He anchors our life.

The reason the promise "he will swallow up death forever" provides comfort to us when we grieve the death of loved ones is that assures us we will be reunited with those who have gone before us in death. When we contemplate our own death,this promise comforts us by assuring us we will be reunited with family who has previously passed on and that we will be with Jesus forever. What we will experience instead of death when Christ comes is everlasting life and eternal fellowship. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.

What the theme of "feast of rich food for all peoples" represents in Isaiah is God's people throughout the ages gathering in the New Jerusalem for a great banquent. What the theme represents in the New Testament is the wedding supper of the Lamb. This is the time when Christ will be married to His bride,the Church. Oh glorious day! What this promises about the Last Day's is that those of us who have placed our faith in Christ will be with Him forever in heaven and eventually on the new earth..

The reason Yahweh will devastate the earth is because it has been defiled by people's sin and rebellion against God. They have disobeyed His laws, violated His statutes, and broken His everlasting covenant. We feel threatened by this kind of prophecy because we don't like to think about God judging and destroying the earth. This kind of prophecy is important to forming faithful disciples who "fear the Lord" because God wants people who will trust Him and be obedient to His will. The way the glitter and glory of man in I John 2:15-17 contradicts this kind of prophecy is that the people have the attitude that they don't need God. They think they can continue to commit sin and lead Godless lives without facing the consequences of judgment.

Judah is faulted for making necessary military preparations in the face of the Assyrian armies because they didn't seek the Lord first nor humble themselves before Him. What they should of done at the same time was seek the Lord's will first and ask Him for direction instead of just relying completely on their security system. The sin of Sheba,the steward of the palace seems to be pride and self-importance.He is more concerned with using city resources to bulid a fine tomb for himself than being concerned by the threat of attack from Jerusalem's enemies. I have been guilty of selfishness instead of doing my duty to Christ. In those situations I have to ask the Lord's forgiveness for my disobedience.

God commanded isaiah to go naked for 3 years because it was a reminder to Judah not to rely on Egypt. The meaning was that Assyria would attack Egypt,carrying off captives who would be stripped of their clothing. The effect this acted prophecy had on Judah's foreign policy was that at first Israel wouldn't Egypt in their rebellion against Assyria. However eventually they would turn to Egypt for help rather than rely on the Lord for deliverance. If I were Isaiah,not sure if I would obey God on this matter or not. Can't imagine going naked for 3 years especially in a hot desert climate. I would probably have to pray to have the faith to be obedient to His will and to know His purpose for the acted prophecy.

The attitude of the heart in the ruler was pride. The scripture reference that this indeed refers to Satan is Isaiah 14:12. "How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star,son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!" This verse shows that God wasn't talking about a mere mortal king or ruler. There are times when I do try to exalt my opinion and will over God's will and His Word. However after trying on my own without much success and after much frustration,I learn the hard way that God's way is best. The best way to humble oneself before the Lord is to be obedient to His Word and His will for our life.

The peace that the passage describes is the kind where there is no longer any war or conflict among nations. This peace will extend even into the animal kingdom. Animals that were once natural enemies or predator and prey will live peacefully side by side. According to isaiah 11:9b there will be peace because the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord. "knowledge of the Lord" means that everyone will have a personal relationship with the Lord, not just an intellectual awareness of Him. How widespread this " knowledge" will be is, the whole earth will be filled.